Thanks for the reply. Did some more research comparing other Lithium-Ion models, replacement battery costs, other tools that the same battery can be used with, etc. While checking out the Toro 20 & 24V models at Home Depot & Menards, I also looked at the Black & Decker LST220 (20V) and LST136 (36V). Menards had the LST220 on sale for $119 (same as Toro), Lowes had it combined with a Blower for $129, and both H-D & Lowes had the LST136 for $169. The 24V Toro Battery (88504) is labeled 88.8 W-Hr (3.7A-Hr @ 24V) and best price found was $99. The 20V Toro Battery (88502) is labeled 48 W-Hr / 2.6A-Hr but I had no luck finding this part number anywhere on the web. The 20V B&D Battery (LBXR20) is labeled 1.5A-Hr (30W-Hr @ 20V) and can be found for as little as $40. The 36V B&D Battery (LBXR36) is also 1.5A-Hr (54W-Hr @ 36V) and can be found for as little as $90. The only other tools Toro makes for use with their batteries is a Hedge Trimmer (both 20 & 24V). B&D however has a dozen different drill kits as well as 6 other yard tools that run on the 20V battery. The 36V is new so there is just the string trimmer, a hedge trimmer and a cultivator ... a blower/vac will be out next year. With the higher Amp-Hr batteries, the 20V Toro SHOULD outlast/outperform the 20V B&D and the 24V Toro would be a pretty close match to the 36V B&D. The non-existant 20V & higher cost 24V repl. Toro batteries bothered me though. I ended up picking a "lightly used" LST220 at Lowes for $116 and talked them into throwing in a extra spool of line as well ... figured if I did not like it, I would not be giving Lowes back another USED one to try and re-sell !! Did some trimming with the one battery that had juice left (partial or full, no way to tell / other needed a charge) and got about 3/4 through my yard with it. I'll know better next week how long a fully charged battery lasts. With it's 12" cut and 0.065" line, it trims much more effortlessly & faster than my old 7" 0.050" line model ... I'm real happy so far. Really liked the "Auto Line Feed" feature (all 4 of these new models have). Only down side is the LST 220 charger takes "8-Hours", however B&S has a fast charger available ... both the Toro models as well as the 36V B&D claim to come with "Fast-Chargers". Put it on the UPS Scale at work today and it is only 5.42 lbs with battery (B&D claims 5.2), so it is quite a bit lighter than my old Toro (7.7 lbs) as well as the 2 current Toro's or the 36V B&D. We'll see ... there is a 20V drill kit that includes a "Fast Charger" and I've seen another one that comes with "2 Batteries" so if I can find either of these on sale somewhere I may pick one up to add to battery & charging capacity and gain a drill at the same time. Doug

I bought the Worx GT 2 years ago. Recently, after charging both batteries, I attempted to use it again but the motor just grinds which I think may be the weak batteries. I have liked working with this trimmer however, it has deficiencies. One is fine, longer grass gets tangled up in the head which you cannot access unless you disassemble the unit. You can see the grass but can't get to it. The battery time is limited - about 25 minutes. It takes overnight to charge it. I love the way you can adjust the head and especially perpendicular for a clean trim around the driveway or sidewalk. For a woman, it's light and easy to handle. And, of course, it's quiet. They've got a good product but with shortcomings. Like someone commented earlier: they need to put more money into research. I wish I had put the money towards a Stihl gas trimmer. I won't be buying another.

I've been using a B&D electric trimmer for at least 6 years. I think it's a Grass Hog model with a 5 amp motor and .065 line. It works very well on my St. Augustine grass as long as it's being used in the horizontal position and just for the blades of grass. It is not powerful enough to effectively trim the thick runners the blades grow from. Takes alot of extra line to get that done. Also when the head is turned to vertical to use for light edging, it's performance diminishes. More line is used in this mode and the line gets jammed frequently. I'm somewhat embarrassed to confess that I have even "mowed" my entire just-less-than-1/4 acre with it on two occasions when I was without a mower. People looked at me like I was nuts, but later commented that it looked almost as good as when it's really mowed. Also on the plus side was that when something, I don't remember what it was, went wrong with my first one, the local B&D service center just confirmed by the code # on it that it was just within the two year warranty period and had a new one sent out to me which arrived within a week. No hassle at all. It starts every time I plug it in and pull the trigger. Moving the cord around has never really bothered me and if I limit the amount of heavy edging I occasionally do with it, I rarely think about upgrading.

It might work for you but I don't think you'll save as much as you might think. The batteries on the cordless tools are a wear item. And they are not cheap to replace. Price a new battery for the trimmer and see if the deal still looks good. In general I don't like corded or cordless outdoor tools. They can be useful but for all around use, I prefer something with more power. That said, my neighbor maintains hi yard with a corded trimmer and I can't tell the difference :). I can definitely do more with my gas trimmer like shred my leaf bins and use mine as a brushcutter. I also have to work to maintain the small engine. His is a throwaway and gets done what he needs to get done. Can't argue with that.