Electric Yard Tools... Ryobi?

[Greg]

I have a decent sized yard and it's a bit of a chore to stay on top of it. One of my main tools is a Toro Pro shaft drive trimmer, I do plenty of weed whacking after mowing and also have a pole saw attachment for the thing and it's super handy. At this point, it's close to 10 yrs old and doesn't want to start/run, even with a new spark plug and only ethanol-free gas being ran in it from day one, it leaks gas pretty bad and is falling apart at this point. I'm getting tired of fussing with it, it's time to move on.

I keep hearing good things about Ryobi electric tools.... thinking about picking up one of their trimmers. I'm hesitant, just not a fan of the idea of electric tools, but it had to be at least as good as the gas tools, if not better over time?! Anyone have experience with them?

RYOBI 40V Brushless Cordless Battery Attachment Capable String Trimmer with 4.0 Ah Battery and Charger RY40270 - The Home Depot

The RYOBI 40V Brushless String Trimmer gives you the cordless convenience you want with the GAS-LIKE POWER you need. The EXPAND-IT attachment capability allows you to transform your trimmer into an edger,

www.homedepot.com

I'm hoping my pole saw attachment will work with it, otherwise I'll have to buy theirs. - https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-4...ry-and-Charger-Included-RY40270-PRN/312664594

 

[DAA]

I used my Milwaukee hedge trimmer, edger and string trimmer today. I hate yard work. Wouldn't want to go back to gas for these tools though.

All the Ryobi stuff I've had worked okay. But definitely not Milwaukee quality.

- DAA

 

[johngottfredson]

I have Milwaukee trimmer, blower, and chain saw. Had Stihl gassers of all three that I ditched for the electric. Absolutely endorse.

 

[TRD270]

I had a Ryobi cordless string trimmer. It was fine for light stuff, but if I went more than a week without string trimming it would struggle with longer stuff and was quite gutless.

I've since gone full E-Go with a string trimmer, mower and snowblower. No complaints string trimmer is crazy powerful and I could cut down a jungle in my yard on one battery. I could mow my lawn twice with the mower on one charge. Snow blower consumes battery a little faster but i've never ran out doing my driveway and sidewalk.

 

[SnwMnkys]

Do you plan on upgrading your garage tools to electric? I run Makita cordless in the garage and rarely bring out the pneumatic anymore. I decided to buy the lawn tools and they are awesome. The blower, string trimmer and hedge trimmer work great. Going to buy the mower this year.

 

[TurboMinivan]

My co-worker Mike has a full assortment of Ryobi cordless electric tools. When I told him I was finally ready to make the plunge and go cordless electric, he urged me to buy any brand except Ryobi. I listened, did some comparing, and decided to go Makita (18v). Mike now likes my electric tools much more than his own (except his single Milwaukee wratchet).

$.02

 

[Greg]

Thanks for all the insight guys! I haven't looked at electric yard tools at all, so this is new to me. I had seen how much presence Ryobi has at Home Depot, but didn't realize other well known brands were also making similar tools.

I do have a bunch of DeWalt 20V tools in the shop (grinder, drill, small impact) and also didn't realize that the batteries and chargers will interchange with the yard tools. That fact made it easy to choose a DeWalt weed trimmer with the option to add attachments. It's charging now, need to see if my pole saw will work on the DeWalt.



I'll probably add a electric DeWalt leaf blower to my collection down the road, possibly more. I have a gas Husqvarna chain saw.... it's been great, so it'll stick around for awhile.

 

[Greg]

Ok, new favorite tool... hands down. It's so nice not dealing with a gasoline engine.

 

[Hickey]

I have that 40 volt Ryobi trimmer and I like it a lot. Matching batteries wasn't an option for me at the time I bought it, but I would have made the same choice if I was you and had the Dewalt stuff already.

 

[Tebbsjeep]

I really like my kobalt 40v trimmer. I'm going to get a chainsaw from them too.

 

[Greg]

Nice, they have a Blower attachment for this trimmer! I saw it on the box, but wasn't sure how it worked.

Blower Attachment

Get the adaptability and clearing power needed to finish the job with the DEWALT Universal Blower Attachment. This durable add-on will quickly change your attachment-capable power head into a blower. It"s the ideal choice to tackle a variety of tasks with an axial fan design that delivers a high...

www.dewalt.com

 

[Kiel]

I've watched all my hippy lib neighbors struggle with the electric stuff, but most of theirs are a couple years old. My two stroke stuff and honda commercial mower continue to keep working after ten years

 

[johngottfredson]

One side benefit of ditching the gas tools is the family will use them. Kids now blow off the driveway and patio and string trim the yard, and the wife will bust out the chain saw and trimmer as well. So quiet, light, and easy to use. Now it becomes a game of how many tools/attachments can you get? My next one will be a little hand held vacuum for my cars.

 

[TRD270]

I've watched all my hippy lib neighbors struggle with the electric stuff, but most of theirs are a couple years old. My two stroke stuff and honda commercial mower continue to keep working after ten years

I had the same thought, I had my Honda mower for almost 20 years I don't believe I ever changed the oil . Started on one pull until the day I replaced it. I even sold it for close to what I paid for it. But I love the electric, is so quiet and and it doesn't bog down when the grass gets super long. Its nice to put my headphones in and hear the music without them turned to 11

 

[mesha]

Makita, Milwaukee, and Dewalt are so far ahead of ryobi it isn’t even funny.

 

[N-Smooth]

We went to electric yard tools years ago starting with a corded weed wacker because my wife couldn’t handle the gas powered one. Then we went to a battery powered lawn mower. I honestly love both of them.

I was also very happy to be rid of gas cans and oil for a couple years before getting a generator for our camper and now a chainsaw. I feel like I went backwards 😕

 

[kmboren]

I recently bought and love the Milwaukee trimmer. Went that route so when I buy more garage tools they will be Milwaukee and all interchange batteries. I have an older Husky chain saw that does great and gas mowers (riding and push) both craftman better quality ones that will stay around for a while as well as an echo backpack blower.

 

[jeepin4x4james]

Makita, Milwaukee, and Dewalt are so far ahead of ryobi it isn’t even funny.

What’s interesting is looking at mother companies.
Rigid, Ryobi, Milwaukee, AEG... all the same mother.
Dewalt, Porter Cable, Black&Decker, Mac, Craftsman... same momma.
I imagine they share research, tech, etc and test different products under each brand. ...and there’s no doubt the quality of each line varies along with price.

 

[RockChucker]

I bought a stihl battery weed eater and blower combination a few years ago when we bought our house. Definitely a nice purchase. I was even tempted to get the husqvarna “roomba” robot mower too. But decided the tech needs to mature a little more. I hate yard work and that quiet thing would mow at night a few times a week. It would look like the grass is always mowed!

 

[TurboMinivan]

I do have a bunch of DeWalt 20V tools in the shop (grinder, drill, small impact) and also didn't realize that the batteries and chargers will interchange with the yard tools. That fact made it easy to choose a DeWalt weed trimmer

This was a no-brainer choice. Once you've 'bought in' to a certain brand/line of tools, it usually makes sense to stay with that family for interchangeability.

One side benefit of ditching the gas tools is the family will use them.

Funny story: last spring I decided to replace my dead gas lawn mover with a new electric one. Because of my Makita cordless garage tools, I initially wanted to choose the Makita mower... until l saw its price tag. I then did some research and eventually bought a very highly rated Kobalt 80v model. After my first use, I was convinced--no more gas mowing for me. The next day, I raved about it to a co-worker... so he asked to borrow it to take it for a "test mow" in his back yard. He liked it, too, but his wife insisted on also trying it and she really loved it. I thought that was interesting.

But I love the electric, is so quiet and and it doesn't bog down when the grass gets super long. Its nice to put my headphones in and hear the music without them turned to 11

With my electric mower, I now carry my phone in my pocket while I mow because I can hear it ring over the mower. I could never do that with my gas models.

I was even tempted to get the husqvarna “roomba” robot mower too.

Long ago--like 10+ years ago, when they were essentially the only game in town--I bought a Roomba vacuum because I was curious. I quickly fell in love with the little thing. After many years, it eventually developed a few issues. New replacement parts are available online, but after doing a lot of research on the now-hugely-competitive market I decided to replace it with an off-brand entry-level model: the Deebot 79N (or something like that). While this exact model has one or two pros and cons compared to my old Roomba, overall I am just as satisfied with it... probably even more so, actually. I'm so pleased, I've considered buying a robot mop model to accompany it... and I admit I have thought about the robot lawn mowers on a couple of occasions.