Budget battery operated Hedgetrimmer?

SinDinero

Hi.

I'm looking for a battery operated hedge-trimmer (but has to be fairly powerful to also cut small branches). The last one I had was one of those cheap Florabest ones for £30 - which was just about adequate enough for the tasks - including conifer trees. I believe the power of the Florabest cored was 600w and the cutting length was 600mm - I wouldn't want to downgrade from those.

Has anyone got any advice? Are there any deals out there?

How about the battery life on these things? It doesn't have to be amazing as I'm not a constant gardener I just need to clean up around twice a year.

Petrol ones are out of the question - due to pollution and corded ones due to 'safety concerns' - The last 2 I had both broke because of the cables (the 2nd time I accidentally cut the cable when in thick undergrowth ).

Thanks in advance (and possibly more thanks coming soon).

DaftyDuck

Given you had a Florabest one (Lidl, I think), how about their cordless, when it comes back into stock?

However, noting the word "budget" in your question (so I won't recommend a £400 model, how about:

this Qualcast?

I have seen (but not used) one, and it is light, and the motor is small. Reports say it works well, nonetheless. Homebase are quite good at accepting returns under guarantee (2 years in this case) and, for the price, you won't do better.

It will be slightly - very slightly - less able than your corded one... but you'll need to spend around twice that price or more to get that power.

SinDinero

DaftyDuck wrote: »

Given you had a Florabest one (Lidl, I think), how about their cordless, when it comes back into stock?

However, noting the word "budget" in your question (so I won't recommend a £400 model, how about:

this Qualcast?

I have seen (but not used) one, and it is light, and the motor is small. Reports say it works well, nonetheless. Homebase are quite good at accepting returns under guarantee (2 years in this case) and, for the price, you won't do better.

It will be slightly - very slightly - less able than your corded one... but you'll need to spend around twice that price or more to get that power.

I did think about the Florabest cordless. As I was pleased with the corded one (especially for £30). But as you noted about 'stock' - any non food items in Lidl come and then vanish when sold and don't seem to return for a year, it at all. I also liked their 3 year guarantee - as I exchanged the first one I had when there was a wiring problem - as for the 2nd time, well... unfortunately, of course, cutting through the cable isn't covered under a guarantee

I'm not sure at what price Lidl were selling their cordless version. but I've seen ebay sellers that are selling at a touch over £90

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Florabest-20V-Li-Ion-battery-2-Ah-Powerful-Cordless-Hedge-Trimmer-520-mm/201972621767?hash=item2f0681a1c7%3Ag%3AcYgAAOSwpONZVZX7

Gloomendoom

I just bought my wife a Makita cordless trimmer last week (a belated birthday present). It cost just under £70 from Amazon but, if you already have other Makita 18v tools, I reckon it is a good buy cost to quality wise. If you don't already have any Makita 18v tools, forget it. Far too spendy.

She likes it as it is well balanced and not too heavy.

Silvertabby

We've got the gtech extendable hedge trimmer (and the lawn mower, strimmer, and blower)

All are highly recommended.

Davesnave

SinDinero wrote: »

I'm not sure at what price Lidl were selling their cordless version. but I've seen ebay sellers that are selling at a touch over £90

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Florabest-20V-Li-Ion-battery-2-Ah-Powerful-Cordless-Hedge-Trimmer-520-mm/201972621767?hash=item2f0681a1c7%3Ag%3AcYgAAOSwpONZVZX7

The sellers on ebay price their Lidl kit well above Lidl prices.

That machine uses the same battery as their new drill and small DIY machine range. The battery + charger was last sold at £17.99.

As Lidl aren't selling the hedgetrimmer just now, you could buy the similar Einhell model at Toolstation and get a free extra battery:
https://www.toolstation.com/shop/p64297?table=no

Or you could mend the machine which has the cut cable, as a cable repair is easy and cheap as chips.With the £65 you'd save, you could then buy a portable RCD to make 240v tools safe outdoors.