Cheers Vladimir! Soggy plants mean cleaner blades!! Might need a little extra grease in the gearbox every couple of weeks or so.

@@quedecree my hla 65 has recently started cutting out after 10 seconds of use and the battery then flashes 3 led lights in red? Any suggestions why, and a quick fix? Thank you

@@chrishewson40 Mine have done that a few times - it's usually a bit of gunk on the blades causing the motor to work too hard and trying to pull too much current. Give the blades a really good clean - surprisingly, cutting long wet grass or running under the tap can clean things up nicely although I generally use a foaming citrus solvent. If that doesn't work, check/clean/lube your gearbox. If there's still no joy, then back to the shop. Taking the battery out and putting it back in seems to reset the battery warning too.

@@quedecree I've taken the battery out several times and it seems to be ok for 10 seconds then cuts out, i haven't cleaned the blades yet. I have oiled the motor/cogs under the black casing. Maybe it's something inside the orange box adjoining the black casing? I'll check it out tomorrow. Keep you posted. Cheers

@@chrishewson40 It doesn't take much resin build up on the blades to make em stick as you describe. I sometimes hang my blade scabbard on the end of my work bench with a couple of tekscrews, fill with equal mix of kerosene/oil, put the blades at 90 degrees so the machine sits horizontally on the bench but the blades soak in the scabbard overnight - that cleans things up nicely too.

Not remotely as good as the petrol ones

Hi Kurt. You are absolutely right about blade wear and sharpening only going so far. However I have to say that both the 65's and 85's cut every bit as good as my petrol machines when sharp. I am very particular about how my machines cut and demand that the finish - particularly on cypress hedges - is smooth with no bits hanging from them or obvious tears/bruising- which dull and gappy blades leave. If the cut wasn't spot on, I would not use them. The power of the battery powered machines is certainly less than the petrol - particularly the torque at start up. The battery machines are far more easily stalled. However, I take this into account and don't point them at as heavy stuff as I would my petrol machines. Most of my hedges are twice yearly cuts, so it's not problem for the battery machines. Longevity wise, for the price and build quality, I do not expect them to last anywhere near as long as the petrol machines. But this is a trade off I am more than willing to accept to spare neck, shoulders, ears & lungs! I haven't used any other battery machines at this stage but have used Echo, Shindaiwa & Sthil petrol/electrics over the years. And a brief go with an Ozito which was....erm.....Crap. So far I've given the HLA 65's a good workout since Dec 2016 - they are still going well, but yes, there's certainly a bit more play in the gearbox than I'd like to see. I've sharpened them a couple times and they're still cutting very well. If I get 18 months out of them I'll be very satisfied. I was originally concerned with the lower blade speed on the battery machines, but it has not proved to be any problem at all. The future of the cordless machines is looking pretty good.....

quedecree thanks for the reply. I constantly alter my machines in hope of finding the perfect universal one. I am close but there are always trade offs as I am sure you are aware. The battery stuff is only for fine work as you say and yes the technique is varied slightly to compensate for the load.

In my experience, petrol is alot better then battery and electrical trimmers.

My first ET was adjustable but I don't think my replacement is and it's the opposite of yours, just a little too light. Check the tension knob on the back but be careful as I think a lot of these were broken by people trying to dial in more tension. The 'strap' is just a bit of 5mm accessory cord tied as a prussik knot with a carabiner attached. I placed this a bit closer to the balance point as the harness attachment point provided on the machine is too close to the battery end to be usable for me.

Yes, I did a separate review on it - kzfaq.info/get/bejne/o9uYnseivL2sfY0.html There is also an English version that uses a solid arm and pneumatic piston setup which also looks good but I've never tried. Has saved my neck and shoulders heaps!

I have on occasion used these hedge trimmer machines for 1ft high grass but it's slow going as they're not really designed to do that. I also have a cordless Stihl brushcutter that I have a few different blades for that's pretty good - but only about 20minutes from a battery. If a petrol brushcutter won't do it for you, perhaps google 'walk behind brush cutter' and see if something suitable turns up.

I cant use anything with four wheel because there is bunch of rock and it is not horizontal space. But thank you anyway!

@@DusanTomic2 .. use a goat 👌

Thanks Serge. They're Monterey Cypress - left unpruned they become a massive tree. I trim these twice a year.

I've had the Stihl KM 94 which I thought was an excellent machine. I traded it in on the Husky cordless long reach hedge trimmer :) I also like the Shindaiwa long reach trimmers - a bit cheaper, a bit lighter than the Stihl's although perhaps not quite as robust.

There around the $700 mark without battery or charger. As far as I know, the pole chainsaw is a separate tool.

Cheers. Six positions.

@@quedecree thanks,i think no have 90° ?

@@user-wv7sm1vu4b Mine doesn't quite get to 90 degrees in either direction. Maybe 70 degrees up/down.

Try getting in touch with Stihl USA and find out where your local distributors are.

It's a GTM Elephant's Trunk 2

Hit the subtitle/closed caption option - they're there.