2017 - How do battery power tools compare to petrol?

[crank39]

I even saw they do a 9Ah FlexVolt now... crazy. Quite tempted...

Treat yourself!

 

[Nige F]

Stihl produce the 4-mix engine.....a curious device that has valves like a 4 stroke but also has a total loss lubrication system, just like a 2 stroke!

Hope this helps
John

Not that curious - like a motorbike engine in the '20s. Around the time Ricardo Engineering invented the 4 valve cly. head The engines were mostly drip feed. Got to hand Honda for miniaturisation of 4 strokes though - the erstwhile Honda 50. et al

 

[d000hg]

I've been reading reviews on blowers and it seems even the Flexvolt blower is really only for paths and dry leaves; it's not going to cope with a large (40x15m) lawn covered in wet leaves? Or would it?

 

[d000hg]

Looking in more detail at the specs, I reckon the FlexVolt brushcutter must be running at 300-400W based on battery capacity and quoted run-time. That's about 0.5hp, and equivalent priced petrol strimmers like the Honda UMK 25cc are double that. But maybe a direct-drive brushless motor is more efficient?

I really want to like the electric option, for near-silent running and no mucking with oil or petrol, but am struggling to see why anyone would really think the Dewalt Flexvolt one is better. If you don't have battery life problems it seems on a par at best to me. Batteries presumably have a certain life but then petrol units need servicing and so on. 30-40min battery life sounds low when charging takes double that, but of course with electric you only pull the trigger when cutting so one imagines you'd actually get an hour's garden-time which is just enough to recharge your spare.

Equally, buying into FlexVolt for a single tool doesn't seem that efficient. Leafblowers look like a bust except for a smaller hand-held one for yard/gutters, but I could see a reciprocating saw or hedge trimmer with decent battery grunt being useful - kind've wished I didn't buy my corded reciprocating saw now since the free battery giveaway would make that a good deal.

Bottom line seems to be the Dewalt Flexvolt Bushcutter will cost me ~£350 for the unit, charger and two batteries with the current giveaway. For £235 I can get the Hyundai 31cc 4-Stroke Petrol Brushcutter HYBCF31 (maybe even as low as £200 looking online) which gets good reviews. For £350 or a bit less I can get a 25cc Honda UMK 4-stroke (LE or UE not sure the difference) and I've heard this is a great product - close-run to the Stihl which I think really is outside my price range (and to be honest I don't want a 2-stroke).

As I was reading up on things writing this post, I noticed the Honda UMK 425/435 brush-cutters also allow an interchangeable hedge-trimmer head - is that right? If so that might just swing it for me - though this looks to cost more than a hedgetrimmer in its own right?!

I think I've just decided to drop Dewalt for my strimmer

 

[ntb]

Maximum output is typically 10A for a Lithium 18650 cell so you can expect up to 540W out of a 15 cell pack.

 

[SammyInnit]

Maximum output is typically 10A for a Lithium 18650 cell so you can expect up to 540W out of a 15 cell pack.

Those typically found in dewalt, Makita and Milwaukee are 20-22A

 

[d000hg]

Those typically found in dewalt, Makita and Milwaukee are 20-22A

My understanding is the biggest Dewalt Flexvolt battery is 9Ah @ 18V and actually only 3Ah @ 54V, though it's slightly misleading (probably on purpose). I saw it rated at about 180 Watt Hours. If you run a 3Ah battery at 20-22A you're only going to get 9 minutes out of it!

 

[SammyInnit]

My understanding is the biggest Dewalt Flexvolt battery is 9Ah @ 18V and actually only 3Ah @ 54V, though it's slightly misleading (probably on purpose). I saw it rated at about 180 Watt Hours. If you run a 3Ah battery at 20-22A you're only going to get 9 minutes out of it!

You're not running it necessarily at 20A, that's what's the cell can deliver. The flexvolt grinder for example is Max Out 1700watts.

 

[Burnerman]

I'll confirm the Honda UMK has a brushcutter blade as an alternative to the strimmer head.
I bought two from Screwfix a few years ago, and both are still going strong.....apart from the one that's hired - the hirer parked his van on the cow horn bars
£40 for a replacement which was a tad high!
John

 

[d000hg]

As a slight tangent, my gardener's mate has recently retired and was getting rid of his kit... I got a Stihl BR400 backpack blower for the princely sum of £20! It's rather old and clearly seen heavy use but it runs OK so seems to be a bargain and by golly is it powerful. I'd bought a Dewalt 18V one for my yard and quite like it, but even on idle the Stihl is almost as powerful. At full power it's practically pulling plants up! Apparently it hadn't been used for 3 years and started on the second pull or something too...