Customer Rating: - Under powered and can not hold a charge

I was not expecting much from this product. I have a very small yard, and just needed to do light weekly trimming. So this seemed like a good option for me. The convenience of cordless electric vs. gas. With the trade off of less power and limited time. Given that my needs where not very demanding I did not think it would matter. I was wrong. My low expectations still turned out to be too high.

The product is:

1. Under powered
2. The batteries drain quickly
3. Batteries need half a day to charge
4. The batteries start to lose their charge as soon as they are un-plugged.


1. Under powered
Even the 18 volt model is lacking in power. Just cutting grass can not be done in a single pass unless you move very slowly. It will eventually get the job done, but it takes a log longer than with other products.


2. Batteries drain quickly
My yard is very small. It takes about 15 min to mow. Even fully charge BOTH batteries will only last about 30min. This is in part due to the second battery never being more than 1/2 charged.(See #4) 30min is just barely enough for my small yard given how slowly you have to go. (See #1) So I am always rushing to get done before both batteries go dead.


3. Batteries need half a day to charge
The batteries realistically have to be plugged in over night to charge completely. After 3hr of charging they will only last about 5 - 10min. Fully charged they only last about 20 min. My other cordless power tools, not Black & Decker, only need around 2hr to charge, and last 1hr. - 6hr.


4. Batteries start to lose their charge as soon as they are un-plugged.
I was originally impressed that they included two batteries. I quickly realized that you really only have one and a half batteries at best. You can only charge one battery at a time. As soon as you un-plug the batteries they start to lose their charge. So while you are charging one the other is always draining. After a full day of being un-plugged the batteries will lose about half of their charge. So even if you plan ahead and switch the charging batteries the night before the best you can expect are one and a half batteries.

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Customer Rating: - worthless, no power and about 10 minutes of life/battery
This was the huge dissapointment. You can not alway trust reviews. I have a 2000 square foot ranch on less than 1/2 arce well manicured yard and I can not even make it around the house once on two batteries. It would take me 4 batteries to do the whole yard. If this is the best reviewed battery powered trimmer stick with gas. I'll try and return it or throw it out. Just a waste of space in my garage.

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Customer Rating: - Better than expected
I read the reviews on this product concerning the limited battery life and was a little concerned, but I decided to give it a try. I'm very glad that I did. I was amazed at the power generated by an 18 volt battery. This trimmer does an excellent job on normal grass and weeds. It's not really powerful enough for tough weeds, but that's why I have a gas trimmer. The auto-feed line spool and front guard are nice touches. You can trim right up against trees and not damage the bark. It also works very well when flipped and used as an edger. I used it to edge around a flagstone walkway and it worked perfectly. It was much easier to control than a gas trimmer. As far as the battery life is concerned, I purchased an extra battery and the quick charger. Each battery lasts about 20-30 minutes at full speed and can be recharged in 3 hours. With 3 batteries that only leaves 1 ½ hours of downtime.

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Customer Rating: - Works for me
After using B&D cordless polesaw ,had to buy 18v grass trimmer .No cord & no gas.No it's not a weed wacker but cuts most till you try cutting "wood like " stalks.Shoes & pants stay cleaner LOL. No "bump & feed" nice feature.
2 batteries are needed (included),3rd one we used from pole saw.Charging time to long ,so a $25 rapid charger took care of that,well worth it.
Bottom line ,Works for Me