normaldave
GON Weatherman
This may not help, but here's where I ended up. My wife wanted to try a battery weed eater so she didn't have to fool with the gas engine Husky and the weight.
I've read and studied reviews and in part, due to this thread, pulled the trigger on the Ryobi One+ 18V Brushless, attachment capable weed eater. I tend to trail behind the curve on the hottest newest technology. I bought DeWalt 18V drill driver on a big closeout sale right after the 20V models were released. I still use them for light work on the job and at home frequently. Perfectly satisfied.
We bought my father in law a Ryobi bundle to replace his older model Ryobi drill, (had to be that exact one), and the only way was to buy the bundle kit. He gave me the circular saw, and reciprocating saw, along with the old charger, and two batteries, so now I have Ryobi 18V, along with DeWalt 18V. I added a Ryobi 18V vehicle buffer later which works quite well.
So I had lots of questions about the newer 40V Ryobi, vs. the 18V. I saw a Ryobi tent at the local Home Depot, and stopped by to see if the techs had any knowledge. I ended up talking with TTi Regional rep, area rep, and local rep. Very sharp folks. So the 40V system is the new hot ticket, and provides more power to run bigger equipment, (mower for example), and potentially a little better run time. Marketing goes along with that, so everybody thinks they need the newer higher voltage. In the process of reading up on Ryobi's parent company, TTi, I discovered they own several other brands including the famed Milwaukee brand (Fuel 18V). That was encouraging, I also learned Ryobi has nearly 75% market penetration.
TTi Techtronic Industries
I stayed with the boring 18V system, but did opt for the brushless motor. more power, longer motor life, more efficient but remember more power means less run time. I also have attachments which will transfer to the Ryobi system. I got a new 18V brushless weed eater, 4AH Lithium battery, and charger for $ 149.00. The battery itself is $ 68.00 so that means the weed eater itself is only $ 81.00. If we like it well enough, we'll order the 2 pack of 9AH batteries to get the run time we want. The Ryobi rep said that's the key regardless of voltage. Bite the bullet, get the 9AH batteries. The smaller AH batteries don't have the reserve to offer acceptable performance. I also am running the shorter cut length of 13" and low power setting to gain run time. They are also about to release a dual charger that will handle 18V and 40V batteries for customers who want to run the old 18V tools while transitioning to the 40V system.
Ryobi P20110 18V One+ Brushless attachment capable
I'm happy with the Ryobi weed eater so far, well balanced, light, seems to have the power, bump feed works well. Pull the trigger and it goes. They have three tiers of quality and this one is the top of the 18V system, and much less than the top tier 40V system. It's not stocked in stores anymore, I guess since they want folks to buy the new 40V attachment/brushless system, which is currently $ 229.00.
BTW, my beloved DeWalt is now owned by Stanley/Black and Decker and the baseline offering weed eater is a 20V system, which would require yet another battery and charger system.
I've read and studied reviews and in part, due to this thread, pulled the trigger on the Ryobi One+ 18V Brushless, attachment capable weed eater. I tend to trail behind the curve on the hottest newest technology. I bought DeWalt 18V drill driver on a big closeout sale right after the 20V models were released. I still use them for light work on the job and at home frequently. Perfectly satisfied.
We bought my father in law a Ryobi bundle to replace his older model Ryobi drill, (had to be that exact one), and the only way was to buy the bundle kit. He gave me the circular saw, and reciprocating saw, along with the old charger, and two batteries, so now I have Ryobi 18V, along with DeWalt 18V. I added a Ryobi 18V vehicle buffer later which works quite well.
So I had lots of questions about the newer 40V Ryobi, vs. the 18V. I saw a Ryobi tent at the local Home Depot, and stopped by to see if the techs had any knowledge. I ended up talking with TTi Regional rep, area rep, and local rep. Very sharp folks. So the 40V system is the new hot ticket, and provides more power to run bigger equipment, (mower for example), and potentially a little better run time. Marketing goes along with that, so everybody thinks they need the newer higher voltage. In the process of reading up on Ryobi's parent company, TTi, I discovered they own several other brands including the famed Milwaukee brand (Fuel 18V). That was encouraging, I also learned Ryobi has nearly 75% market penetration.
TTi Techtronic Industries
I stayed with the boring 18V system, but did opt for the brushless motor. more power, longer motor life, more efficient but remember more power means less run time. I also have attachments which will transfer to the Ryobi system. I got a new 18V brushless weed eater, 4AH Lithium battery, and charger for $ 149.00. The battery itself is $ 68.00 so that means the weed eater itself is only $ 81.00. If we like it well enough, we'll order the 2 pack of 9AH batteries to get the run time we want. The Ryobi rep said that's the key regardless of voltage. Bite the bullet, get the 9AH batteries. The smaller AH batteries don't have the reserve to offer acceptable performance. I also am running the shorter cut length of 13" and low power setting to gain run time. They are also about to release a dual charger that will handle 18V and 40V batteries for customers who want to run the old 18V tools while transitioning to the 40V system.
Ryobi P20110 18V One+ Brushless attachment capable
I'm happy with the Ryobi weed eater so far, well balanced, light, seems to have the power, bump feed works well. Pull the trigger and it goes. They have three tiers of quality and this one is the top of the 18V system, and much less than the top tier 40V system. It's not stocked in stores anymore, I guess since they want folks to buy the new 40V attachment/brushless system, which is currently $ 229.00.
BTW, my beloved DeWalt is now owned by Stanley/Black and Decker and the baseline offering weed eater is a 20V system, which would require yet another battery and charger system.