{"id":15022,"date":"2017-09-16T06:00:01","date_gmt":"2017-09-16T10:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dougbittinger.com\/thoughts\/?p=15022"},"modified":"2025-04-21T01:56:37","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T05:56:37","slug":"lithium-ion-hedge-trimmer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/lithium-ion-hedge-trimmer\/","title":{"rendered":"Black & Decker Lithium Ion Hedge Trimmer"},"content":{"rendered":"

I recently bought a Stihl string trimmer<\/a> from a local hardware store.\u00a0 While I was shopping for that, I was looking for a lithium ion hedge trimmer too.<\/p>\n

\"not<\/a>I\u2019ve been considering buying a lithium ion hedge trimmer because keeping up with all the trimming that needs to be done using the giant scissors style trimmer is getting to be a real burden.\u00a0 So I haven’t been doing it.\u00a0 So things are over-grown.\u00a0 And now I REALLY need a better way to trim.\u00a0 Power cords are a pain on a large property and gas power is heavy and noisy.\u00a0 Lithium Ion batteries are a big improvement over the older NiCad batteries.\u00a0 That seems a viable solution. \"lithium<\/a>I was thinking about the bottom of their line Stihl battery powered trimmer.\u00a0 But it\u2019s $220 and says not to cut anything bigger than 5\/16\u201d with it.\u00a0 It uses an internal battery that cannot be swapped out easily, and it’s heavy.<\/p>\n

A friend loaned me his Black & Decker battery powered hedge trimmer to test out.\u00a0 I used it yesterday, it did okay.\u00a0 Would not cut stuff bigger than 1\/4\u201d or so, but powered through the smaller stuff and the 18 volt battery lasted around a half-hour.\u00a0 Maybe a little more: I wasn\u2019t timing it.\u00a0 It was quiet, light, and easy to handle.\u00a0 I was pleased.<\/p>\n

I went on Amazon.com to see what the B&D lithium ion hedge trimmer costs.<\/p>\n

The model Tim owns, and is happy with, has been replaced at least twice with newer models.\u00a0 The current model: the LHT321FF is $89.00 and is equipped with a 20 volt Lithium Ion battery (which, incidentally, is the same battery my cordless drill uses, so they would be interchangeable if I needed to work a long time \u2013 like say an initial trim-up).\u00a0 It\u2019s rated to cut up to a 3\/4\u201d branch with it\u2019s Power Command button, which switches the cutter action from a steady reciprocation to a punch and rest stroke.\u00a0 It rates well: (currently) 82% of the 117 reviews are 5-star.<\/p>\n

The model that the above replaced: the LHT2220<\/a>, uses the same 20 volt Lithium Ion battery but does not have the Power Command button technology.\u00a0 It does say it will cut up to a 3\/4 branch (probably not hardwood) and because it\u2019s on close-out is marked down to $67.00 from it’s original $85.00 price.\u00a0 It also rates well and is listed as the Top Seller in this product category.\u00a0 Features include:<\/p>\n