What Hedge trimmer should I buy??

I have an electric model from Home Depot. I want to say its a black and decker. My kids got it for me for Father's Day about 6 yrs ago. I only trim my 8 shrubs and bushes 2x a year so the corded works just fine.

 

I had an old dull black n decker. I borrowed my friend who is a landscapper one. I think both times I used an echo. The last set I know was echo. She has 2 or three of them??? They work so well I threw away the electric ones. There a joke and only work well on delicate shrubs. The gas ones will cut your finger off!!! As well as limbs that big. The electric ones cut leaves well.

 

I have had a Homelite Bandit and a Weed Eater green one for years but they are only good for the fresh new delicate chutes. I've had the Homelite 30 yrs and the green one 20 years. I don't recommend these but they still run perfect. The Homelite has had the blades replaced once and the Weed Eater has had a carb kit and new fuel lines. These are what I call single action cutters as the top cutter is stationary and only the bottom blade moves.

Then I have a Echo that I consider to be a genuine hedge trimmer. Many times better than the Homelite or Weed Eater. I got it from Craig's List a couple years back. It is a grey one but is just like new. 21 cc but plenty of power. Both the top and bottom cutter move back and forth.

I have an old Stihl HS80 that is a little better than than the Echo but is a little heavier too. The Stihl HS80 will knock (in two) any piece of wood that gets into a cutter notch. This came from Craig's List some years ago and the HS-80 is now discontinued. It's possibly 20 yrs old. Sun faded, but starts and cuts perfect. 27 cc? Is a dual action cutter like the Echo.

 

I have a Black and Decker electric model that has been fantastic ! But my brother is a pro landscaper..... And he has a rarely heard about Kawasaki.... And its impressive i must say ! Runs and starts like all our Shindaiwa trimmers.... Which is excellent

 

Tanakas are ok also, What ever you get look at the cutter bar. If the blades are riveted together pass, if bolted ok as with these you can take them apart for cleaning and sharpening, and of course if replacement blades are available. Most of the electric ones are throw away units with riveted blades and no replacement blade assemblies. If you get a gas one make sure you run gas with blue( i think ) Stable in it before putting it away, then drain tank run it out of fuel. ethanol destroys everything if not directly then by pulling moisture into the carb causing corrosion. The plastic carbs get around some of this.

 

In the past 45 years my wife(s) have had some of the $30 electric variations of hedge trimmers. The first Black and Decker one was used until the oscillating mechanism wore out. The last one is still out in the barn. They all were single action cutters and would do nothing of any size stick over 1/8 inch. They were all homeowner cheapies. None of these were as serious as the gas ones offered by Shinny, Echo, and Stihl. But they didn't cost as much either. Although the electric versions will only cut the small new growth of hedges, they will cut the thick electric cord in two so quick you will not know how it happened.

 

I got fed up with my 100' extension cord last year, so over the winter I picked up a new display model Stihl HSA 65, which is one of their battery-powered models, for about half price (still not cheap) on eBay. The hedges around my lot were overgrown so a few weeks ago I did a bunch of remedial reshaping, cutting 6" or more off the tops. The thick, woody stems slowed it down, but didn't stop it very often.

The battery model is similar in weight to gas models. It's considerably heavier than the plug-in version I used in previous years, but not having to deal with the extension cord makes it well worth it. I prefer electric over gas because my hedges (I have a lot of them) grow quickly and need frequent trimming as the weather warms up, and electric lets me do that work in the cool early mornings without bothering the neighbors.

 

I trim about 20 ft of bushes once a year and the electric B&D was a huge pain. I just borrow my friends once a year now.

 

That baby is nice! I haven't used the HS45, but my dealer has plenty of good to say about them. He said that he has plenty of landscapers and lawn crews running them on a regular basis and they hold up well.

 

Time to do a muffler modd on that weed eater.

 

Oh 4stroke do they respond as well to MM?

I ran one of the large stihl weed eaters thats was about 8 years ago at one of my first real jobs. It was clean up day we weed seated around the buildings and fence. The bought them to run saw blades. Anyway those were beasts of trimmers!!! They cut down overgrown knee deep stuff like my trimmers edge along a maintain as fence!!

 

Hedge trimmer = Dolmar 64oo 28" blade, haven't met a hedge it couldn't handle yet. 60 ft of hedge out front, done in 20 minutes + 45 or so for clean up. No I am not taking them out at the base. Just got tired of not being able to get past some of the big branches - very over grown so have nipping them back to a more respectable size.