Never heard of cordless weed wacker, I am sure electric is available but the cord nonsense takes any pleasure out of roaming free.

I would go to a Mower shop and pick up and get a feel of the one you feel most comfortable with. If you buy a cheap homlite or sears or Ryobi you will have starting problems. See Redmax,Echo,Styil brands

There are many cordless trimmer/edgers available.

MM

I'm afraid there are no simple answers to your question. To trim effectively, you need about 1/2hp electric or 1hp gas. That would be about 4amp at 120v or 500watts.

An electric drill uses far less power and uses power intermittently. A better comparison is a 90deg 4" grinder. These spin at 10,000rpm and pull 4 to 6amps. You never see one of these battery powered, because the technology to store and deliver that much power doesn't yet exist.

As for electric start, typical gas powerhead weighs about 8 or 9lbs. Adding starter motor and batter would easily double the weight. Some people already complain about four-stroke trimmers which are sometimes 2 ro 3lbs heavier.

Agree with previous suggestion that you look at high quality trimmer like Echo, Stihl, Tanaka, or Redmax. You still have to pull start them, but they are well made, reliable, and easy starting.

Ok, then...since I already HAVE a 'decent' weed whacker that will do the 'tough' stuff once a month when it really needs it (and no one's looking at those parts anyway)...

...and all I really want is something a little easier to use to keep the 'looked at' parts of my yard tidy on a more regular basis...

...talk to me about these cordless trimmers. It would only be used on grass. Plain old grass. I try to keep away from 'solid objects' such as edging, trees, and fences already, so it would be 'carefully' used and not abused. If I want to abuse something, I'll get out the 'real' weed whacker...

I'm looking at the Pit Bull String Trimmer. Will a lightweight 'cheapo' work for what I need to do with it? Or are they truly 'throw away' models that won't even cut it for a single season? Remember, I'm not talking about abuse or heavy-duty trimming. Just a weekly 'trim.' But I also don't want to waste my money if I can't get at least 5 seasons out of it.

The 18 volt tools seem to be much, much better than older versions. I have been using Black and Decker's 18 volt hedge trimmer and reciprocating saw for similar small jobs. I am confident that if the 18 volts can spin the trimmer sufficiently, it will do the job for you and it will last for the 5 years. Suggest visiting a store and discussing an 18 volter with a sales person.

Sometimes, nice clean fresh gas mix will temproarly solve starting problems. Until the gas is approaching a month old.

You might want to take a look at the Yardman (used to be Ryobi) unit. Only 12volts, but the design is very balanced and the battery very large. Good power too. You don't see them many places, but we got one last year from Harbor freight for about $60 for a reconditioned. My wife loves it, and she won't use a gas one. Runs for 30+ minutes of medium trimming, much more than the other brands we have tried.

I just bought the Honda HHT25SLTC Trimmer Bush Cutter.Four CYCLE engine. It is a bit heavy, but the shoulder strap makes this bearable with no real effort.

Last year I bought an Echo two cycle with the head that uses replaceable strings. The string is easy to replace, but one must start the engine each time. This can be very tricky with a two stroke engine. It worked fine last year, but his year it wouldn't start reliably. I called the service depots and couldn't get it looked at for about six weeks, because the yard was full of two strokes requiring repair.This was a message to me. NO MORE TWO STROKES. I might add the Echo gas tank leaks through the gasoline gasket, and they use a gas line that deteriotes in gasoline, believe it or not.

Anyway I bit the bullet and purchased the Honda. What a marvellous machine. I even learned how to wind the string on the bump real, which is easy after one knows the method.The instruction manual is well written. Apparently all those English Teachers in Japan are having an effect.

My yard is large and I needed a reliable product, and this Honda meets the requirement. Expensive yes, but it is well made. I gave the useless Echo away, since there is no second hand market for two strokes that usually don't start reliably. Such is life.
Durgan.

Someone at one time offered an electric start trimmer.
I am thinking Homelite. Whomever it was had already lost their following due to the lack of quailty in their past products and it did not sale to well.

Stihl has an easy start setup for their trimmers. Go to the last video shown on the link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Easy start trimmer

Booster,

In general, I hate 2-cycle engines, but I tolerate the one on my Stihl MS361 chainsaw because that is one place where you really do need high power and light weight. If I were buying a string trimmer, I very well might buy one of the Stihl models for that same reason.

But it usually takes me six to eight pulls for a coldstart on my chainsaw and I wouldn't expect anything much better on a string trimmer. I would accept that for the benefit of extra power on the cutting head.

I don't have the Easy-2-Start feature on my chainsaw, but my impression is that it is aimed primarily at making the pull cord easier to pull. If you have old gas or any kind of carburetion problem, Easy-2-Start isn't going to solve that. I prefer not to have the extra weight of the Easy-2-Start system on my chainsaw. I want it to be a lean machine.

String trimmer reviews have confirmed that. The article I just linked to says,

"Reviews find that special starting mechanisms, though adding to the price, don't always guarantee easy starts. For example, Popular Mechanics' tests show the Stihl FS 55-RC-E (*est. $230) is sometimes quite hard to start, even though it features the Stihl Easy2Start mechanism."

However, that review wouldn't stop me from buying the Stihl trimmer.

MM

Maineman: I am sure you are correct about the easy start just referring to pull cord setup. For you or I, it probably would not make a difference, as we are strong enough to pull the cord fast enough to get a good start, but for a woman (or a weak guy like they showed in their TV spot), it could make a big difference depending on there strength. I know my Stihl will start in 2-3 quick pulls, but is much tougher if you pull it slowly. My wife can't start it at all (she is under 5') as she can't pull it fast enough.

The easiest two cycle I have to start is my Echo trimmer, which always starts in 1-2 pulls, and does it at idle, not with the throttle open like most others.

If you have trouble starting a 2 cycle, you can give them a TINY shot of ether right in the beginning, and they will almost always start on the first pull, but you must be very carefull about how much you use. I have been doing this with my Homelite, horrible starting, stuff for many years without a problem.

Booster,

I agree that Easy2Start could be useful for a woman. It might even be useful to me, but I prefer a few extra pulls to the added weight of the spring, gears, and such of the Easy2Start.

I seem to recall that ether can damage an engine. Your caution about using a TINY shot could imply that. If it meant the difference between getting an engine started or not, I might try ether. But I wouldn't use it as a routine starting convenience.

MM

One of the easiest starting engines available anywhere is Tanaka and the quality of Tanaka products is equal or better than any of the top of the line products such as Stihl, Echo etc., quieter than most also.

Tanaka's Pure-Fire engine is really great. Do yourself a real favor and stop in to a Tanaka dealer and check out their products and try one out, you will be very pleasantly happy you did.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tanaka Power Equipment

Go to Lowe's and buy the 18Volt Black and Decker for $99 and enjoy. It will do everything you want it to without the stink, mess, or starting problems.