American Gardener YS24 YardStick 10-Inch 24-Volt Cordless String Trimmer
by American Gardener
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List Price: Category: Lawn & Patio See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of American Gardener YS24 YardStick 10-Inch 24-Volt Cordless String Trimmer
Customer Review: Saves string but requires removing spool to advance string
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought mine at [a store], where it is called the Craftsman weedwacker Model 74805 (or 240.74805). ... This trimmer/edger is heavy but I welcome the opportunity to build my muscles, and I only need to use it for about 30 minutes per week. I need to switch arms after about 10 minutes because of the weight. The thick string does not automatically advance by bumping. It is tangled and jammed inside the spool (the manufacturer was not careful about winding it neatly). I have to lay down the unit and manually remove the spool to untangle the string and pull out more. This was not necessary when trimming grass (horizontal orientation), but was when edging (vertical orientation), which involved applying the string to dig a groove in the dirt next to the curb. During such heavy-duty edging, the string required manual advancement 3 times in a half hour, which I found inconvenient but acceptable. Manually pushing on the spool hub button against the inner spring (a gentler equivalent to bumping) failed to allow the string to advance, so I had to remove the spool to advance the string. This requirement for manual string advancement may save money by preventing wastage of string, ...Customer Review: A little disappointing.
Summary: 4 Stars
Given the prominently featured rave reviews, I wonder what changed at American Gardener in the last year. I've just taken it out for a spin, and was deeply disappointed in the runtime off a fully charged battery. After 15 minutes of trimming weeds along the perimeter of our jungle-surrounded lot, it was still willing but wimpy. Perhaps runtime varies with the nature of the trimmee: whispy grass along the flower bed edging might not use much battery power. Vigorous, rampant growth might eat the battery alive.String advance is, if anything, a little too easy. Bumping the ground accidentally advanced the string more than I intended. But that's a good thing, compared to the wrestling matches I've had with string and pliers on other trimmers.
I'm still glad we purchased this unit because frankly, my attention span doesn't last much longer than fifteen minutes anyway, and the mere touch of my hand is death to a 2-cycle engine. We have a gas-powered string trimmer, but I can't start it to save my soul, it's loud, it's stinky, and it's too heavy for me. So this trimmer will actually get a lot of use around our weedy lot, in spite of the lackluster runtime.
Customer Review: Whimpie cutting line is a drawback but as an edger it wins the day
Summary: 2 Stars
There really do not seem to be any electric string trimmers around which get glowing reports. I was a little dubious when I ordered my Yardstick as the reviews were mixed, although on balance mostly positive. Here is my take: The cutting line is not up to the job of trimming around concrete and on occasion even mixing it with some of Texas' finest grasses. I will see how a fresh spool performs and also try some heavy duty line to see if things improve. Otherwise for trimming around obstacles it does a decent job. Flip the handle however and as an edger and this tool does a sterling job. This alone makes it worth its purchase price in my book. I can put up with feeding line every half a minute or so when trimming around my foundation slab in return for the ease of edging my paths in minutes flat. Overall a decent effort in a market of generally mediocre performers. Update: After two seasons of trimming the battery gave out. The cost of replacement combined with the wimpy trimming performance swung the decision to ditch this trimmer and move on. I gave it to one of my neighbours who has a small yard and she seems to be happy.Customer Review: Quality Concerns
Summary: 2 Stars
Pros: -Charge lasts quite a while. Get about an hour out of it. Trims 3/4 acre yard without any degradation in power.
-Best torque and power for an electric trimmer
-Environmentally friendly
Cons:
-Heavy and can cramp your hand a bit for larger jobs (1/2 acre+)
-String cutter blade broke off after third use.
-Dropped the unit on to concrete from 2 ft. off the ground. Handle cracked and the string guard cracked. My fault, but my old gas powered Toro and Homelite took similar abuse without damage.
-String snaps off a lot during edging (every 3 or 4 feet I had to mess with the string feeder). Edging is a bit difficult if you have some overgrowth on a driveway, for example. The owners manual does state the string will break until the yard is edged a few times, so at least the manufacturer realizes this issue. Thus, edge often and the string won't snap/jam as much (20 - 30 ft on average before having to advance the string).
Recommendation:
-Light duty trimming.
-1/4 acre lots best used, 1/2 acre at most.
-Heavy trimming or edging, not recommended.
Next purchase will be a gas-powered model.
Customer Review: Works for me
Summary: 4 Stars
I sold my gas lawn mower to reduce my polluting ways and purchased this trimmer with the plan to use a small solar collector to keep it charged. Meanwhile, the grass (weeds) continue to grow. The neglected and overgrown yard now in my care contains some pretty heavy duty weed beds and this machine, with a little judicious use, cuts right through them. Here is where the heavier gauge string really pays off. The edger can be a little tricky to use and tends to cut the string short. This requires removing the spool and threading the end of the string through a little hole. Otherwise, the automatic spool function works well, just tap it gently on a firm surface while the tool is running. Battery life is acceptable at between 30 and 45 minutes and I make a practice of using all of the available charge and then fully charging it up again, which takes about 12 hours. The weight and balance of the machine strike me as reasonable and the moveable handle allows me to switch hands. It was delivered right on time and shipping was free. All in all, I find this a very useful tool.