Stay petrol or switch to battery garden tools?

[Keitai]

My brilliant husquvarna 122 was stolen last year. Very powerful and reliable but the shop I went to the guy said people switching over to stihl battery tools. Shall I buy another husquvarna petrol or try the stihl 60.1 with battery and charger. Which is better?

 

[opps]

A friend of my is a gardener. Most of his tools are Stihl. He wants to move away from breathing in petrol fumes but he is concerned about the number of batteries he will need given that he isn't always guaranteed to have access to external power supplies during the day.

 

[Why Not Indeed]

Shall I buy another husquvarna petrol or try the stihl 60.1 with battery and charger.

If you have the opportunity to try it then surely that's a no-brainer?

I know Stihl stuff is aimed at pro's but the batteries are eye-wateringly expensive. One hopes they're very good at that price. I don't see any generic ones on Aliexpress either, unlike other brands.

 

[ETAF]

we have a gardener who comes in periodically to do various jobs for us - He recently changed from Stihl Petrol to Dewalt battery , been about 6 mths now - he is here today and still using battery , although stil uses the Stihl chain saw

i have both stihl petrol and stihl battery , very expensive batteries - i have the extendable stihl hedge trimmer battery - brilliant

but i'm not doing so much in the garden - what takes me most of a day 10-3 he does in an hour

 

[aveatry]

That petrol husquvarna looks like it weighs a ton. Hedge trimmers do do much work do they ? I mean you dont need lots of umph so I would of thought a lightweight battery one would be better espicually if you are waving it around on top of a step ladder and if you are already into the dewalt system you already have batteries.

 

[jj4091]

That petrol husquvarna looks like it weighs a ton. Hedge trimmers do do much work do they ? I mean you dont need lots of umph so I would of thought a lightweight battery one would be better espicually if you are waving it around on top of a step ladder and if you are already into the dewalt system you already have batteries.

The light weights don't usually cut through the same thicknees of stems.
So i suppose it depends what and how often you are trimming

 

[HERTS P&D]

I know Stihl stuff is aimed at pro's

So no good for Keital!



Andy

 

[Mottie]

Nothing beats the smell of burnt petrol. All the better if it’s a 2 stroke.

 

[Deluks]

I use mostly battery stuff now, 36v Husqvarna, but have encountered some reliability issues.
I still have the petrol tools for heavier work. As mentioned, if you are trimming the same hedge regularly, then even an 18v garden tool will tackle it. I've used Metabo and DeWalt 18v and been happy with them.
But if you are clearing jungles then you'll need a 36v tool and a minimum of 2 batteries.

The Stihl batteries go on for ages though, they are quality tools, the cost is offset by not having to buy petrol, 2 stroke, plugs, filters etc. Less maintenance overall, but not so good in the rain if you are a pro and have to work in all weathers.

 

[Why Not Indeed]

but not so good in the rain if you are a pro and have to work in all weathers.

Are they really not rainproof???

 

[Deluks]

Are they really not rainproof???

They are ok in the wet, it just depends on how much wet, a light shower is ok, but do you really want water getting into the terminals on a £250 battery? Whilst some are rated to IPX4, they aren't gonna be as reliable as petrol engines.

 

[aveatry]

It's actually better for the hedge little and often so an electric one is ideal. And disposal of the smaller trimmings is easier too.

 

[ericmark]

I have Aldi petrol and Lidi battery, the Aldi has a blower as part of the kit, and the Lidi has a brush cutter, so not quite the same, but the 40 volt Lidi does such a good job, the Aldi one just sits there unused. Lidi is lighter, no pull starter, and with a pair of 20 volt batteries, it is just as powerful as the Aldi one. I have a twin battery charger, and 4 batteries, which also fit my drills, they take around an hour to fully charge, and about 40 minutes to discharge, so after 1 hour 20 minutes I have to have a 20-minute break.