Lets talk hedge trimmers.

[Jacob]

 

[Spectric]

Hi

You need to hold and feel the machine to make sure you like it, I brought one of these locally after looking at several and this one just felt right for me.

https://www.gardenmachinerydirect.co.uk/hedge-trimmers/husqvarna-hedge-trimmers-122hd60.html

 

[jimmy_s]

I'm reading with interest.

I have a Kawasaki petrol job and about 120m or so of hedge. I got one with a fairly long bar (Its about 1m) but find it on the heavy side. Cutting the hedge isn't my favorite job.

I've got a wee suitcase type generator and have been contemplating getting an electric hedge cutter - as it would be considerably lighter. I thought about a battery one but was thinking its possibly more hedge than a battery one could handle.

 

[Stevekane]

Our hedge is getting a little over 2mtrs high and Im trying to cut it back a bit, we have people walking past but I cant see why I need it taller than I can reach without towers and special ladders?,,,its bad enough cutting it as it is.
I now have a Makita cordless, bought quite cheap through an ebay factory franchise place as a bare unit, takes my regular drill batteries and Im very pleased with it. It seems to operate a little slower than my old mains powered trimmer but it seems to cut just as well and its not too heavy either. Ive got regular hedge for around 14mtrs and a rought scrubby hedge of perhaps 20mtrs or a little more, but it only has its top and face done, one battery more than copes with it.
Steve.

 

[slavedata]

I use a Stihl extended pole job with an angle adjustment on the blade for doing the tops. What really helps with the weight is the stihl long reach backpack. Makes the job much more managable.
RTS Harness - For long-reach hedge trimmers

 

[Garden Shed Projects]

Don’t be tempted to go for the cheaper ones. I bought a Hyundai multi tool and first time out with the hedge trimmer it sheared the gears off in the head on a twig no more than 10mm thick. Had it back twice and it has done the same again.

Got fed up with it and bought a Makita cordless one and it copes with it great. My hedge is only around 10m long by around 1200mm high.

 

[hairy]

I bought a hedge cutter with a long reach so I didn't have to get on a ladder.
Having spent a lot of time on construction sites working at height and trying to get it done both as safely as was reasonable and safe enough so those wearing a tie and shiny rigger boots are happy, the first step would usually be don't use a ladder, most especially not a step ladder. If you had to use a ladder which was tied at the top, you still had maintain three points of contact for a task which was described as momentary, not all day up there. Never something requiring both hands, in theory at least. Small towers are fairly safe but a pain to use.
I think it was said most accidents on site were falls from height, most of those were from less than 2m.
I like the little chainsaw attachment for mine because it forces the blade to be a long way from me. The harness for hedge trimming slavedata links to would do the same, the blade can't fall back at you, you are on the ground.
Not trying to be a numpty, but think about how to do it safely before you set yourself up for a fall

 

[danst96]

The Stihl Kombi is kind of the festool of hedge cutters. Its expensive but its powerful and will last you generations. Extremely versatile as well with the attachments and extensions you can get for them. You can get cheaper chinese copies too which are reasonably good but probably wont last you as long.

 

[Tris]

To add to what Hairy mentioned, I can highly recommend Henchman mobile platforms as they are designed for hedge cutting with large wheels for uneven ground and long stabiliser legs. Not cheap but really make the job quicker and safer.

 

[paulm]

Another Stihl Kombi user here, excellent bit of kit albeit pricey, but has worked hard for me for a good number of years now without any issues.

The ability to add extension poles is fantastic when occasionally needed, although does make things even heavier and unwieldly !

As mentioned, the small chainsaw unit, strimmer etc are all heavily used also.

I went for the largest engine in the range as I didn't want to find I was lacking power for any of the applications, but it does come at the cost of extra weight and extra fuel consumption, so if choosing again I think I might drop down a size or two without sacrificing much usable power in practice.

They are hard work on arms and shoulders though so using a harness of some sort is advisable if doing more than a quick job

Also have a low geared stihl hedgecutter for cutting heavier material and find that useful on occasion I need to cut something back heavily into thick old wood, but the Kombi unit gets used for probably something like eighty percent of the time and does most normal trimming.

 

[Boris D Bus]

Yet another Stihl kombi owner, but several years ago I bought a dewalt cordless (as I was already using the 18v batteries). I assumed I’d only use for the fiddle bits and tight to wire fences. Turns out I now use it for as much as I can reach, then use the Kombi. Really impressed with battery life and cutting ability from this lightweight battery hedge cutter.

 

[JAW911]

Stihl kombi long reach hedge trimmer

I have this set-up including the 1 metre carbon insert to reach my high hedges. I also have a normal Stihl petrol hedge trimmer as they are so light and manageable for the lower hedge faces.

 

[artie]

It's about a year since I started this thread and what happened was, I bought a cheapish 2 stroke trimmer off Amazon and used it to trim up my hedges, but it wasn't much good and would stop when the tank was still half full.

So finding myself in the same position but 12 months older I asked around some more, perused utube etc, and got the idea that cordless tools are much better than they used to be.

So yesterday I bought one of these.
https://www.cheapmowers.com/acatalo...6511011224527&utm_content=Ego [Hedgetrimmers]
But I paid £11 more for it in a local store.

I tried it out last night on said hedge and it worked very well.

 

[Sandyn]

I use the Bosch advanced hedgecut 70. I'm just on my second one after years of use from the first one. It still works fine, but getting blunt and more noisy.
The Bosch is an excellent machine. Easy to handle, it has a 70cm cut, 34mm cutting capacity and a 'sawing' ability. This allows you to saw through larger branches. The new design is a lot quieter than the old one.
For me, the most useful features are the 70cm cut and the 34mm capacity. I have Hawthorn, holly, leylandii, beech, and some other stuff in the hedges, so a real mixture of density and size.

 

[artie]

I use the Bosch advanced hedgecut 70.

Is it 240V?

 

[Noel]

It's about a year since I started this thread and what happened was, I bought a cheapish 2 stroke trimmer off Amazon and used it to trim up my hedges, but it wasn't much good and would stop when the tank was still half full.

Check the fuel in the tank and the filter pick-up. Might be a small hole in the line or filter getting stuck in upper part of tank.

 

[Jameshow]

don't know the height. I have two:
1) stihl hs45, which is a "home owner" version of a pro trimmer. It's been good to me (has the 0.75" large finger severing cutters and not the tiny homeowner kind that are more common in box stores here. I don't remember the designation of the "pro" version. Mine is about a dozen years old.

2) a large chinese combi machine that's 52CC and was cheap as dirt. It's also super heavy - it can be made to be three segments long plus hedge trimmer and is a real man's tool when it's that long with as much weight on the end. Not that sharp as arrived, heavy and fatiguing, relatively slow oscillating on the head (which is kind of annoying), but I'll give it credit - over 3 years, it's worked fine and was $160 shipped in the US (also is a string trimmer, brush cutter, and pole chainsaw). It's overpowered probably by a factor of two - I figured it wouldn't be 52cc and wouldn't have the 3.something horsepower it claims. It's just a transferred chainsaw engine and when used as a string trimmer, a blip of the throttle and there's bare dirt. Unstoppable - and ungainly to use for hedges.

tanaka and echo and shindaiwa (I believe at least some have been subject to merger and can be different colored versions of another name) are sold here, and husqvarna's non-chainsaw power equipment has taken some hold. All of it is considered a little substandard to stihl, but all is good if the dealer is good.

SGS do a simalar model...

 

[artie]

Check the fuel in the tank and the filter pick-up. Might be a small hole in the line or filter getting stuck in upper part of tank.

I sent it back

 

[Sandyn]

Is it 240V?

yes

 

[Seascaper]

My advice would be firstly to consider what you are capable of doing, how fit you are etc. I have friends who have tackled hedges using ladders and tripods, fallen off and caused serious injury to themselves. If you are young and fit you can stand on something solid and reach across and cut the top of the hedge. It you are of good age or want and easy life you don’t want to be climbing up ladders or tripods to cut a hedge. Firstly consider cutting the hedge down to a manageable height so that you can cut it easily without any need to climb up and do the job. Secondly if you need to get a hedgecutter get a Stihl Kombi, this will enable you to cut the hedge standing on the ground, you can reach the top easily and angle the blade to cut the far side, and extension piece is available to add on, if extra height is needed. The. Stihl Kombi is a balanced tool, one adjusts the supporting strap so the the weight is taken on your upper body so you can use it all day and not get any aches. There are all sorts of similar machines, copies and lesser models, but you will find that if you decide to get a hedge cutter in to the mod you will easily find a buyer for a good machine. Take care, and do it safely standing on the ground,
Regards