Side by Side Comparison of: Weed Eater vs Black & Decker

I purchased this to replace a black and decker cordless 18v trimmer that all 3 of the batteries I had died.This is a VAST improvement on the 18v version I had.The 2ah battery this comes with lasts twice as long as the 18v ones I had. I'm able to trim 80 linear feet of fence line, around a Swing set, around 3 raised beds, edge a double wide driveway and about 70 linear feet of edging around a sidewalk. This is at varying power levels and still have one bar of battery left.I find that for most trimming tasks a power level of 2 is sufficient. Thick weeds are a 3 maybe 4 and edging is a power level of 4 or 5.The ergonomics are improved placing the trigger and unlock closer to your hand and the swivel head for edging is awesome.This took out 1/8 and 1/4 inch weeds with no issues at all.Charging takes about an hour so it is definitely light years ahead of the old 18v version.I'm very pleased with my purchase.

I am able to complete my entire job of ~1000 linear feet of trimming the front and back yards, sometimes with 1 LEDs still lit (~25% remaining charge). The 40V, 2Ah battery lasts long enough to trim my 1/2 acre lot which is fenced in the back, entirely at the 6 setting (100% power).This trimmer is an excellent upgrade from my old 18V B&D trimmer which was still working fine after 8 years. The old trimmer was good but on one charge could barely finish my front yard and couldn't finish trimming around the backyard fence. This new trimmer largely has the same good shape, feel and function as the old trimmer but with a battery that has 3X-4X capacity. I couldn't finish my front and back yards on the same dayFor battery life I charge the battery inside at room temperature, as per instructions, to help the battery last longer.For people switching from gas the cost is a bit more than most gas trimmers but no maintenance and hassle for potentially several years is worth it. No pull starting, mixing gas and oil, etc., etc. With corded trimmers in mind, there's no worry about running the battery down for larger jobs so time is saved from dealing with cords. I'm free of a cord to do my front yard and then walk my entire fence in the backyard.My trim job - Out front about 500 linear feet: around the house, a grass strip between the curb and sidewalk, and the front and side yards along the driveway and sidewalk. I usually finish with a "flat trim" along the edges of the sidewalk, curb and driveway to give the edge of the lawn an even appearance. Out back about 500 linear feet: around the house, around the fence and around a few trees and propane tank outlet.

This product is great My husband can do the hole yard with one charge. He has went and got another battery for a back up just incase he does not have the one fully charged and needs to change batteries. This far he has enjoyed this product and would recommend this product to use. He has used it on thick weeds to get them down and it works great on those weeds as well.. The only thing is the batteries do not last long. We went to use it this summer and the battery would not charge. The battery was kept in the house so that would not be the reasoning of the battery to not charge. The replacement battery cost close to 100.00 and that is a little high for a battery that does not last long. It did keep a charge and did the yard at least 3 times before we had to recharge it again. The battery should at least last you for 2 to 3 years instead of a year. We had to use one of our old ones that the batteries are weak and only last for half the yard. We loved this product last year when we bought it but was unhappy not to be able to use it this year because of a bad battery that will not charge.

I've had a 4-cycle gas edger for 6 years, and it finally started causing me some problems. I'm a software engineer, so I don't pretend to know a lot about gas engines. I've come to terms with it. So, I decided to see what alternatives were out there, and found this.I was a little dubious at first, but decided to give it a shot. The verdict? I like this one better than my old gas one in every way, and I won't be going back.40 volts is a lot of juice for an edger. It cuts through weeds and edges along my driveway and walkways without any hesitation. And the battery lasts quite a while. I leave it on the maximum setting 100% of the time, and I can trim around all the trees and natural areas in the yard, and then edge around the back patio, the driveway and the walkways, and still have over 50% battery when I'm done.It is lighter weight and lower maintenance than my old gas edger. You don't have to worry about running to the gas station to refill the gas can. You don't have to put oil in it. You don't have to worry about a spark plug. You don't have to adjust a choke. You don't have to troubleshoot when it won't start. And, the automatic line feeder works surprisingly well.All you have to do is charge the battery (I throw it on the charger right before I start mowing and it's ready by the time I'm ready to edge), throw it in, and pull the trigger. It's really that simple, and it has the power to do everything my old gas one did. Why would I ever go back?

Having gotten tired of hard-to-start gas trimmers, I started searching for an electric. This one had an incredible number of good reviews so I took a chance. When it arrived I was shocked to see a single skinny cutting line coming out. My gas one had a MUCH thicker line coming out of both sides, so how on earth could this skinny thing do the job? I'm still not sure how it does it, but the performance is really amazing. The line feeds automatically and I only had to open it once when it wrapped around a big branch and snapped off inside the spool. That's very easy to open too, so it was no problem. The unit is very light so my arms aren't about to fall off when I'm finished.I also used to use a gas edger with a steel blade and it took a long time to do all the edges the first time each spring. This unit also took a fair amount of time the first time, but it's not cutting into the dirt as the gas one did so there's hardly any dirt flying about. The second time I used it, it did the job quickly. The head swivels easily and you just snap down the wire edger guide. You can see where the cutting string is hitting & how well it's doing, making it quite easy.I've only got a quarter acre but I can wack out any weeds in the beds & edge around them all in about an hour. That's when the battery is about to die, so I switch batteries before using the compatible blower. Goodbye gas tools and good riddance!

I have tried my luck with cordless electric trimmers before and the batteries never lasted very long, or they were underpowered so I was hesitant to go that route again - but like most people I can't stand dealing with oil+gas mix, or priming and yanking the cord 50x to get a gas model to start after you've owned it for a year or two.This 40v lithium battery works wonders and I can do my entire yard on one charge. It also recharges the battery in < an hour if you need to do more. The edging feature is nice although i've only used it a couple of times in the 5 weeks i've been using the strimmer (you can press a button to rotate the head 90 degrees and flip down the edging guide).The auto feed spool seems to work great and I bought a 2-pack of extra line when I ordered this to be sure I was set for all summer. If you really have a larger yard, I think on a moderate speed setting you should get 45 minutes to 1 hour of trimming so you may want a 2nd battery if you have a lot of trimming to do. I recommend spraying down the trimmer with a hose after each use to keep it clean and the grass from clogging up the guard.The other big plus of this battery powered model is it is a good bit lighter than any gas trimmers that i've used in the past. Did I mention you just squeeze the trigger and it runs every time? No yanking a cord and hoping you can get it to work.A note on height: i'm 6' 6" tall and it works well for me, I wish it was slightly longer but if I just switch from left handed to right handed trimming I don't have any issues doing the whole yard and having to stoop much.

Here are my thoughts:PROS:- instant on/off as needed- plenty of power when needed- lightweight (although I don't have anything to compare it to)- battery fully charges in around an hour and from what I understand you can just leave it on the charger until needed- the flip option that inverts the trimmer for edging is greatCONS (possibly):- my first use it almost fully drained the battery (had no lights left), but was still working when I stopped. I'd speculate it lasted about 25 minutes but for perspective this equated to about 200ft of edging(driveway/sidewalk) and trimming along house and 5 ~4ft diameter patches of light brush. About 70% of the time I was at full power (#6) and 30% at #4. I did finish the job, but it'd be nice to have that comfort zone where if I needed more juice in one battery it'd be there.- I don't know if the included line spool is just a starter, but it only lasted about 1 1/2 charges worth of battery life. I was hitting the driveway pretty frequently though with it while edging since it was so overgrown I didn't know where the edge was, so I'm sure that ate a lot of it.My advice:To conserve battery keep it on a lower setting for light grass and up it to #6 for thick grass/edging. If you only have the latter, you may want to invest in a second battery (get a 2.5Ah) or stick with gas. I feel though that having to hinder power for the sake of battery life kind of defeats the purpose for buying a 40v trimmer to begin with. BTW the included battery IS the 2.0Ah, not 1.5 or 2.5. (FYI volts=how powerful, Ah=battery life) I've seen some misinformation here about that, although Black & Decker may have changed the pack in battery at some point. Lastly, if you don't plan on re-spooling yourself, buy the extra spools of line with it!

Recently switched from 2 stroke combustible to this 40V lithium Lawn trimmer. From Central Florida- St Augustine grass.Pros- very good power, light, does great trimming and edging.Cons- Battery lasts about 30-40 minutes on the 3-4 setting. sometimes have to kick it up to full power to get through thick St Augustine grass and the battery will drain in 20-25 minutes (not enough to get my yard done on 1 battery charge). Very thin cord. I'm burning through a spool of cord every 1.5 uses (Spools are about $3.50 each).If there were a thicker cord option, this would be a perfect tool.

I've had an electric corded trimmer and several 2-cycle gas trimmers in the past. The electric corded trimmer was obviously a pain. The gas powered trimmers would get a couple years out of them but you always have to deal with the mix of gas/oil, make sure air filter is cleaned out, and ultimately somehow adjust the idle speeds to keep the thing running. This B&D 40V cordless seems to be a good fit. Battery was shipped without a charge but filled to full in about an hour. Note that this one has the speed charger versus the combo one with the blower does not. Still trying to figure out the cutting wire "auto feed". Old versions were a tap of the bottom on the ground and this one is supposed to just feed when needed. Have to open it up manually and feed. It's lighter than the gas powered and has good power for regular residential trimming. The 6-level power setting is interesting, in a good way. I think I'm happy so far.

I was looking for a light to medium duty trimmer to use around my small suburban property and this cordless unit caught my eye. As a point of reference, I have owned and operated both gas and electric trimmers in the past and I wanted the battery powered option for ease of use.This trimmer arrived in great condition and was very easy to assemble. It feels very sturdy and the battery locks in place securely.As far as performance goes, it seems to have enough power to do everything I want to with it, which is to clean up around the edges of my back lawn against a rock border, edge a couple of hard to reach spots, clean up around the sprinkler heads and what not. The pivoting trimmer head feature is nice for edging, although I wouldn't buy this thing in hopes of replacing your edger.Speaking of edging, I decided to see how much of my lawn I could edge before the battery ran out. I was surprised that I was actually able to do my whole front lawn on 1 charge, and this is after a year without edging. The automatic line feed feature works well, but the line provided is super cheap and I used an entire spool of it trying to edge the front and back lawns. I would highly recommend buying a higher quality trimmer line. I also had to fiddle with the trimmer head a couple of times when the line ended up getting socked back into the spool housing for some reason. Luckily, the trimmer head has a snap-in-place retainer cover over the spool so it's quick and easy to fix.The downside with this trimmer is that I don't believe it will work with aftermarket replacement trimmer heads or attachments as the factory trimmer head is stamped in place and there is no threaded journal that I can see where you would screw on a replacement blade assembly or roto line thingy.Overall, this is a sturdy and very functional unit and it will serve you well for light to medium use.Tldr:Pros:Light weightReasonably powerfulSufficient battery life for use on small propertySturdy designFunctions reasonably wellQuick release spool for easy line managementCons:Line sometimes gets sucked back into trimmer headCheap factory line providedNot compatible with aftermarket attachmentsBattery charger light is very dimNot suited for edging large areasBattery life too short for use on a large property.

Considering what I replaced this item for, this is a worthy five stars item. But, there is one issue that forces me to honestly give it four.The battery life isn't the best. If you have a larger yard, you would want to have a backup battery which would set you back about $90 a pop. Battery: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CTPXXEE/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A99MZGWBBIGK9On the plus side, this trimmer is extraordinarily powerful, especially for one that isn't power fueled with gasoline. The trimmer is also very sturdy and solid. The one I got rid of for this one wasn't nearly as sturdy and definitely showed it's wear with continued use. It's also telescopic so you can adjust the length to make it just perfect. Being a woman, this is important. It's nicely balanced too, not heavy and easily maneuverable. This was an excellent purchase and I feel confident if I did have an issue, I have the 3-year warranty as a back-up.

This really works! I have a normal city lot yard, On a full charge I can set the trimmer power to 4 (6 is highest, 4 is plenty strong for even high grass) and trim the front and back yard with power to spare. It is so much easier to drop in the battery and go than it is to prime and start a gas powered trimmer. I am finding myself trimming once a week because it is so fast and convenient. The edger setting works really well too. There are two things I dislike. The string feeds a bit short. The auto feed works, but it just never lets the string out as far as I would like, so if I were to use this to mow down large patches of grass, it would be a problem. The other issue is that the thing is mostly plastic. I would prefer aluminum for durability, and pay more.

Own the LST136 , bought this as a back up , charger is redesigned , Battery fits older tool , but both battery and tool get HOT . Old Model seems to charge faster and last longer . It's an AWESOME too , but go with the older model if its available.

I generally like this trimmer/edger. It is easy to use and has plenty of power and the L/I batteries have long life; more than enough to do my hole 1/4 acre lot with driveways, 60+ feet of sidewalk, bushes, fence, etc. Couple of drawbacks however. Eats through string very quickly. Not sure if it is my tough St. Augustine or the auto-feed; maybe both. I only get 2 applications out of 1 pre-wound spool. Additionally, I wanted a wire edge guide (vs. a wheel) but this one is not adjustable and does not allow for the deeper cut that I prefer. My previous trimmer wire guide did not restrict the depth of cut. I may purchase a separate blade edger.

pro: light, quiet, well balanced.con: 20 min run time on #4 setting in tall grass (not brushes) from a full overnight charge. I was not getting 13" cut per swing, more like 5".Bottom line if you have less than 1/4 acres the pros would outweigh the cons.I have over one acres so this baby got returned.

I bought this trimmer 1 year ago it worked great and was everything they said it was; until this year when the plastic gear in the wonderful power drive transmission went out this was after normal use around the house.And no I didn't try to bump feed the line apparently when I go on b and d Web page to buy one other people have had the same problem as it is the only part that is back ordered. Get it right next time b and d make both gears metal. Oh and by the way the part is a nominal 9.88 but the shipping is 11 dollars for a part that weighs 16 ounces nice.

This little rascal cuts well. The only thing I'm not crazy about; it seems a little off balance no matter where the handle is eventually placed and tightened down. It just seems a little short in length for me but in the event most women might use it, could be the ticket for a well manicured lawn but only if a man can talk his woman into using it. Ask me what I think about it in a year. Hopefully my answer will be positive but in this day and time most tools of this nature never last a year so we will see.

This is update to my review below. I've had this trimmer now for its second season. I just bought it last July. I have lowered this trimmer by two stars for two reasons. The first reason is that the auto feed stopped working as I have read in previous reviews; it also uses a lot of string (which is expensive). Second the 40V battery stopped charging. I did everything the instructions said including charging during the winters and keeping the battery indoors and out of the cold. However; now I believe it is either the contacts in the charger or the contacts on the battery. Unfortunately; I cannot tell? I first tried cleaning the contacts with a cotton swap and alcohol but that didn't work. Then I tried playing with battery and charger to see if I could get it blinking green. I noticed that when I first put the battery in I saw green but went immediately to red and no movement of the battery would help. Then I noticed when I had the battery in the charger and plugged it in; it also went green to red so then I knew it was something with the contacts so my last attempt was to set the battery on the charger loosely but not pushed in. Then I took my finger and tapped it in on the contact end. Amazingly the contacts met and the battery started to charge. It is charging now. I don't know if this can be repeated but I just purchased a 20 volt backup unit (also Black and Decker). This one has a button to feed the string with an extra battery. I'm sure this might fail as well but as long as the battery charges and the trimmer works; I can deal with feeding the string on a manual basis. A new battery would have been $96 with tax and this trimmer with batteries and a spoon was $101 with the $10 rebate. I love a battery trimmer and will never change back. Forget electric cords or gas. Pulling a cord around with you or pulling a cord 20 times to get it started is not acceptable (plus gas and oil). Black and Decker is the only reasonable battery powered trimmer out there that I see and is basically a good trimmer. I use bulk string to save money. $5 dollars a pop for string is just too much. I hope this review helps with someone who has the same battery issue with this trimmer. I believe if my charger/battery has this issue; others may as well. Thanks for reading.I have owned my house for 25 years and gone through gas and corded trimmers. I have a 75 by 125 ft chain linked fenced in back yard which is usually too much for these trimmers and string is constantly destroyed or drawn into the fence using up tons of string. The feeds usually break in time with the constantly hitting the feed. I have tried those trimmer attachments that supposedly do not break but have proved to be a disappointment. This is one of the best trimmers I have ever used for the price point. The battery has not disappointed yet after almost two months of use and my grass grows extremely fast during the summers. I no longer have to pull cords 10 or 15 times. I usually have it charging while I mow so its ready to go when I'm done. The battery lasts for all the trimming I need to do on my 1/4 acre although I don't think these batteries are meant to stay charged for long trimming jobs. I have no heavy brush and its only grass so its powerful enough for my purposes. I never need to have it at full power which gives me more time. The auto feed works well and I am still on the original string that came with the trimmer. I purchased a 3 pack to go along with this so I expect the string to last a couple of more summers. The battery will be stored in the house over the winter but we will see how it performs next summer. At $80 for a battery I hope to get at least a few good years. Last as for the chain link. The trimmer comes with a metal guard that drops down. By using this guard I am always the correct distance from the wire so I have had to no problems with trimming along the fence line. So far so good! Seems perfect for my property size and needs. Highly recommended for 1/4 acre or less.

The trigger start/stop switch is inconsistent in use. The trimmer has been garage housed, cleaned, battery maintained according to directions. When it works (turns on & stays on) it does do a good job. The light-weight design makes it easy to use in "tight places". I have used Black & Deck products for a very long time - they have be great - this device was cranky from the first day. I clean it, charge the battery, wind the string according to directions, and don't ask it to do what it was not designed for. I will do an autopsy of this one and see if the trigger switch or a plastic "part" failed and report back.

I used it for the first time and was NOT impressed with the power. It's definitely a light duty trimmer.

It certainly is a lot more comfortable to use than my cheap corded string trimmer was.But by comparison it's incredibly weak. Also, it breaks the string much much more often.

It's a testament to the improvement of battery technology that I can state that this trimmer is over-powered. Specifically, its lowest speed is too fast for my purposes, namely, trimming and edging a small suburban yard. The charge on the battery itself lasts much longer than I need, but I removed the edging guide since it cuts too wide a swath and pulling it over an exposed aggregate driveway did not work. Also, the trimmer is going through trim string at a rapid rate. I suspect that is because of the power of the unit. Would I buy it again? Not if I could find something better for my purposes.

The weed eater is great. The battery not so much. It goes flat relatively quickly and seems to be very temperature sensitive. One moment you are cutting, the next moment nothing. And it does take a while for it to cool down.

I bought this "used--like new" from Amazon Warehouse Deals...about a year ago, and have been too busy to report until now. From the beginning, it would conk out every few minutes...it seemed to overheat, and then after a few minutes of cool down it would start up again. As a result, i made do...til it finally stopped (on a full battery) and won't restart. Of course, now the window for returns is (rightly) closed, so just be forewarned, and make sure to return it quickly if yours acts up.

First time ever writing a review on Amazon (been a shopper for at least 5 years). I'm only doing it because I hate this product and the general line of thought behind its development (very pervasive in manufacturing corporations nowadays).This product reeks of planned obsolescence. Lot's of metal used but the few critical spots are made out of plastic. For example there are two gears used to transfer torque from the engine to the blade. One gear is steel one is plastic. It's only a matter of a tiny bit of resistance before the metal gear will chew the plastic one and the product dies.Or for example the spool cap. Extremely weak design intended to break. They even sell replacements here on amazon. It's a best buy product: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000H5R722/.And like others have stated, it eats through obscene amounts of spool or it gets stuck and then you have to take it apart and wind then put it back together.

I ordered this string trimmer along with the blower and battery as a package less than one year ago. The string trimmer was used in a small yard for edging and lawn trimming--no heavy duty. One day it started vibrating and then quit. It was still under warranty so I consulted the Black and Decker website for a local warranty service center. I took it there along with my proof and date of purchase. After about two months of "evaluation" the tool was deemed fixable and operational. When the service center contacted Black and Decker to be paid, they were informed that they were not an authorized service center despite their name being listed on the Black and Decker website (that's where I got it). I was offered the option of paying $133 for the repairs (completed during the time the tool was under warranty) or not. I chose NOT. I think you should too should you consider the purchase of a Black and Decker product.

Purchased one in 2014 (for home use, not commercial.) It died this summer, but it is fairly cheap so I purchased another which worked 1 timed. I thought it may have been a faulty battery, but the old battery from my previous model worked on it the first time i used it. Both batteries were fully charged and the trimmer only worked for 10 seconds and died.

Bought 2 of these trimmers, both electrically burned out ( part 13 ) I did not register my trimmers because I thought Id get more than a year from a name brand product, my bad! The 136 40V ran great when it was new, but I would suggest to only purchase this product if you have a small yard with very lite trimming.I have a large yard with medium trimming at times and the Black+Decker LST136W 40V MAX LITHIUM COULD NOT handle the job!!!

Dismal! Charged it new.........lasted 40 minutes. After that.....fully charged (or so it said) lasted about 10 minutes. Battery or charger.......who knows. It's going back! Spending more time unpacking and packing then we did with use. Sad as we really wanted it to work. We are beekeepers and it would have been perfect to use around the hives.

Buy the insurance. It only lasts 4 monthson the motor. I bought mine July 16 last year. I used it for 3 months last year and one month this year on my small lawn. I'm still on my first original spool of line although I bought a spare box of three rolls. I was on 5 and it just slowed to nothing - maybe 1. The battery still works, the motor does not.