Customer Reviews: Decent trimmer, but there are far better green ones out there due to the poor battery on this one.April 12, 2010 A. Chandler(Austin, TX) 24 out of 24 found this review helpful
I actually wound up buying another trimmer after having this one for just a short time. While it wasn't a bad trimmer per se, I now realize why the product listing talked little about the battery...but I'll get to that in a minute.
First, the positives. I love the green factor of this. Not only is there no carbon footprint, but it is very quiet compared to a gas or electric trimmer. So that's nice. That said, it is ONLY green if the battery is disposed of properly when it kicks the bucket. This kind of battery is very toxic. But I'll get to that in a minute as well.
I realized the battery didn't last long and I began quickly having trouble with it in charging so, after seeing an ad for another green trimmer at one of the "big box hardware stores" that had a lithium battery, I did the comparison. This trimmer has a Nickel Cadmium NiCd battery...and here is the scoop on that kind of battery:
Nickel Cadmium batteries may suffer from reduced run time if they are are not discharged completely before being recharged. This is the so called memory effect which reduces battery life but can be reversed by completely discharging (Not to zero volts but 1 volt per cell. Running the device until it powers down is sufficient.) and recharging, sometimes over a number of cycles (at least 3 times). A more common reason for reduced life is overcharging by poorly designed battery chargers which continue to charge the battery rather than automatically shutting off and is not reversible. You can determine if this is occurring by checking if the battery is warm or hot sometime after the charger indicates a full charge.
Ni-Cd batteries use cadmium which is highly toxic to the environment if not disposed of properly. They have a life of approximately 800 cycles or 3-5 years but in practice this is probably much less due to memory and overcharging.
I got to test out a lithium green trimmer after asking my neighbors if anyone had one (I live in a neighborhood where every home is "green built" by the builder so it's not so difficult to find any green product with a quick shout out.)
It not only lasted longer (once for 30 minutes, once for an hour, when I used it twice, but I wasn't required to keep trimming even after I had nothing to trim just to make sure I tapped out the battery in order to ensure it would charge fully the next go round like I had to with my old Ni-Cad trimmer. This is a huge factor if you only have to wack a couple blades. It allows you to do so without messing up the battery for the next time. Here's what I learned about lithium batteries:
Lithium ion batteries have the greatest charge density (twice that of Ni-Cd) and do not suffer from memory effect. Although more expensive they offer longer use, lighter weight and less self-discharge than other battery chemistries. They have a life of approximately 400 charge cycles . They are more environmentally friendly as they don't contain toxic materials such as Mercury or Cadmium.
The biggest shortcoming of rechargeable lithium ion batteries which is seldom mentioned is that they lose some of their capacity after one year and may fail after 2 or more years even when they are not in use. Another good reason to not buy cheap, discount batteries.
So...for 20 more bucks I found a lithium powered green trimmer (well, to be fair, it was on sale) that is not only twice as green since I no longer have to worry about where I dispose of the battery, but it works great and for twice as long.
I'll be honest, the green factor is a bonus but I really, really wanted to not have to fool with gas or a cord. Most any trimmer I found came with a battery charger so you just recharge it when done and you never have to have a can of gas in your garage or have to buy gas (I was run off the road once and rolled my car; now I actually think of things I am carrying in the car and it's safer in the garage not to have it as well, God forbid.) And there is also no cord to unwrap from trees, or stream, bushes, etc.
So...while this wasn't a bad trimmer, it also wasn't a great one for us and, having compared the two, I highly suggest shopping for a lithium battery charged trimmer. Incidentally, if you have an enormous yard and need to trim for more than 30 min to an hour, just buy a second battery and keep going as long as you need.
