It's time to replace that old weedeater! Do you have a favorite one? I'd like it to be gas, lightweight and easy to start...tough criteria. Thanks for your help! Liz C./Austin
weedeater for a woman
I bought a Poulan brand gas weed eater at Walmart and it's perfect. You don't have to roll string like the old ones, it's super easy to re-thread and really lightweight, ran about $90 and it is perfect!
I haven't found a gas one that I can handle easily. But the little Black & Decker cordless is lightweight and easy to handle. The battery doesn't last long enough for me, but it comes with an extra.
Why you not come to my garden for "look, see?????????????????"
I bought a Sears Craftsman 4-cycle last year. I am tall, but older, and have no problem handling it with a shoulder strap. It starts easily, runs on straight gasoline, oil goes in another place, and the cutting cord is easy to replace. I would not recommend it for my 80-year-old mother, who still does all her own yard work but has a bad back. She uses a light weight Black and Decker battery model that came with an extra battery.
How does the B&D cordless do against thick and healthy St Augustine grass? I would love to find a battery-powered weed eater that can cut through St Aug easily (ie, without the line breaking every 5 seconds).
Carla
I just saw Mother and asked how the B&D cordless handles her St. Augustine. She said she has no problems with it and the line lasts well. She edges her lawn and knocks down other grasses and weeds that grow outside the area she maintains for a lawn.
Carla, I use mine on St Augustine. It has done pretty well. The only problem I've had is that the batteries don't seem to have a very long life. I had to use both my batteries today, and neither one lasted very long. But still, the convenience of a cordless weedeater makes it worth it to me to have to replace batteries every couple of years.
When I get mine replaced, you're welcome to borrow it and try it out at home.
I think my B&D 18V cordless is fine. I just make sure I have 2 fully charged batteries at all times. Takes about 1 and 2/3 to do the back yard and about 1 and 1/4 to do my front yard. Battery changing is MUCH easier to deal with than 2 stroke gas! The line seems to last quite a long time for me and I'm cutting quite a bit of St. A with it.
fyi
Carl
How heavy is the battery one? And would it cut through oak sprouts? Thanks tons to everyone who is giving me great ideas!
I wouldn't trade my B&D cordless for all the tea in China. I'm 55 and have to take care of a VERY long ditch. True, the battery doesn't last long, but I divide up the work and it all stays nice.
It looks like I'll be buying myself a B&D cordless weedeater very soon. :-) It only needs to stay charged long enough to edge around the house. Last year the landscaping company scalped the St Aug so badly around the house that I lost some of it on the north side (and I'm a fanatic about my St Aug), so I won't let them do anything but edge the driveway and around the edging of my flowerbeds this year. My current weedeater is an old, bulky, electric model with string that breaks if I even point it in the direction of the thicker St Aug, so it will be nice to use something better suited to what I need.
Carla
Google them and see if you can find a coupon!
I think you'll like it, Carla. I use it not just on St Aug, but it also manages to chop down the suckers from my Bradford pear.