Greenworks PRO 16" 80V Cordless String Trimmer (Open Box)

This is a fantastic trimmer and I'm beyond happy with it. Granted Troy-Bilt may have lowered my expectations so much anything would have been better, but this trimmer has far exceeded my expectations... Little background - I had a 4-Cycle Troy-Bilt trimmer for MANY years while living on 8+ acres. It was awesome. No mixing fuel, powerful, smooth speed changes, and attachments. I have the trimmer, edger, blower, leaf vacuum, and tiller. With this much land to handle - it got a workout. Eventually the fuel lines cracked/rotted and had to be replaced. Easy to do and it still worked great. Eventually I moved to a neighborhood on a MUCH smaller lot, but took the old faithful with me. Sadly it finally gave up the ghost a couple years later, but certainly owed me nothing (I think I had it for close to 15 years). So I drove right out to Lowes to pickup another. I knew TB had been purchased by MTD I think and there was a good chance the new stuff wasn't great. But I had much less land to care for and really liked the 4 cycle convenience. Got the new trimmer home and HATED it. It ran terrible, there was NO smooth speed up and it would bog down constantly if it wasn't running at full speed and full speed didn't really FEEL like full speed. It could barely drive the leaf blower. It was so bad I thought something was wrong with it because it ran NOTHING like my old one. I took it back to Lowes and exchanged it - the replacement wasn't better. I should have taken that one back but toughed it out. I learned to adjust with how badly the engine ran and when trimming near our fence - ran it at full speed, covering my legs in lots of green bits. But all my attachments worked and once it warmed up it kinda ran OK. It never started easy. < 2 years after purchase, the pull rope gears broke. SO done. Being 2018 I was hoping there was a decent battery powered alternative. After a bunch of research I found this 80V line of tools and decided to give it a try. I only needed the trimmer currently, but the idea of an electric mower appealed to me as well (though the cheap MTD mower I bought when we moved runs like a dream and has never given us trouble - go figure, thanks Briggs & Stratton). But I wanted a trimmer that would work with my attachments which all were in great shape. Could a battery powered unit work with my edger? I had just replaced the blade in my edger, so when the Greenworks trimmer arrived, that was the first task. A new square edged blade is going to be even harder to drive until it wears down to a rounded edge. This thing drove it like a boss! My trimmer had been dead probably 3 weeks so my 'edges' were pretty much gone. So this was an even harder chore than normal and this trimmer mowed through it. Then I put on the included trimmer attachment and trimmed: it made fast work of the, now, heavy grass on the fence edges, all at LOW speed. This trimmer was so solid at low speed, I was able to trim my entire yard and my legs were pretty much clean - not covered in tons of shredded vegetation. Even better - I bump fed trim line MUCH less than I did with the gas trimmer (which I always had to run at higher speed to maintain cutting) With a lot of cement edging - this is huge for me. The trimmer is well balanced, not too heavy, and the 2Ah battery lasted through the entire job (and given how hard I had to edge - wouldn't have surprised me if it hadn't) So a couple things to note: 1) This trimmer does take a couple seconds to ramp up to full speed. I suspect this is a design choice, not a flaw. Electric motors can produce a LOT of torque and if the motor hit full RPM when you jammed the trigger - it would possibly over stress internal components or attachments designed for the more laggy ramp up of gasoline trimmers. It's not a huge deal because... this trimmer holds low speed and instantly reacts to changes in trigger position so once it's going, it stays going and you can easily ramp up/down. You quickly get used to it (and it's so easy to maintain cutting speed - you rarely have to ramp up anyway) 2) The trimmer also will 'stop' if you overload it to protect itself and the attachments. When I was edging in well overgrown edges with a new blade and pushed too deep (pretty much ALL the way into the ground), it would stop. Pull it up and restart - worked fine. I quickly adjusted the angle and pressure to edge a little slower without overloading it. This again is likely meant to protect the motor, gears, and battery from a stalled motor (which causes huge current spikes in a motor). It was a MINOR adjustment - this thing is that powerful. When I edged again normally a week later - didn't even have to worry about it because the edger flew through it. 3) Attachments - I can't speak to other brands, but all my Troy-Bilt attachments fit. It ran the leaf blower at a MUCH higher (and normal) RPM than the gas trimmer did - the gas trimmer always seemed to struggle with the blower. They fit perfectly and there was a ton of grease inside the shaft to lube things up during initial use. You may have to wipe a bit back into the shaft after a couple uses. So I'm thrilled with this! Given how batteries are about half the cost of these electric yard tools, I already have a 2Ah battery - so looking forward to getting a mower with a 4Ah battery and being done with yardwork gas for good! Highly recommended!

This 80v string trimmer was the perfect solution for my 1/3 acre lot. The trimmer arrived and required some basic assembly (the only tool needed is a Phillips "X" head screwdriver). The trimmer guard has a reversible guide that needs is delivered in the 14" position. If you want the full 16" cutting swath, you need to reverse the guide (which is as simple as backing out two Phillips head screws and then putting them back in). The large plastic handle was the most difficult part of the procedure: the plastic handle ships screwed together. It should be a simple procedure to unscrew, fit the handle anywhere that is comfortable on the upper length of the trimmer and then screw together again. Unfortunately the factor had tightened these screws very tight! And the screws are located slightly under the handle which makes it difficult to get a direct angle on the heads. I had to use my cordless driver to back the screws out. The trimmer arrived with some string loaded, but you'll soon need more. I was very pleased with how easy it was to load string into this trimmer. I cut a sing 10-foot length off of SuperTrim2 SSQ080D1/2-12 1/2-Pound Spool of .08-Inch-by-200-Foot Home Owner-Grade Square Grass Trimmer Line. The 0.08 thickness is the recommended string, but I have seen people use the 0.095 string as well. After cutting the length of string, line up the lines on the trimmer head. Insert the string through one hole and pull it through until both sides are approximately equal length. The bump feed head has arrows showing you the direction to wind. Hold the trimmer head and turn the button. The button clicks as it winds the string into place. The bump feed also works brilliantly. An easy tap or two on the grass and fresh string advances into place. This easy feed system means no down time even when working along the chain link fence line. Since I already had the GreenWorks GLM801600 80V 21-Inch Cordless Lawn Mower, I was familiar with the power in Greenworks 80v system. I also knew that I wanted the bigger GreenWorks GBA80400 80V 4.0Ah Lithium Ion Battery so that I could use it interchangeably with my mower. The trimmer equipped with the 4.0Ah battery has a lot of staying power. I was able to edge the front yard. The handle allows you operate the trimmer sideways. It makes beautiful lines along the edges of the sidewalk and driveway. I still had plenty of juice to take the trimmer into the backyard. There is a turbo button on the handle that revs up the trimmer and slices through vines, weeds, and runaway stalks. The only downside to the 4.0Ah battery with this trimmer (besides cost) is that it can be heavy. Fortunately there is a shoulder strap that really helps balance the unit and takes all the weight off of the arms. When I figured out the shoulder strap, it enabled me to use this trimmer indefinitely. Investing in this admittedly pricey system was worth it to me. I had the freedom and power to do heavy yard work without the hassle of storing gasoline at my house. Since my garage also doubles as a home gym, I can store the trimmer in the garage without introducing noxious fumes. I was very happy with how quickly the battery chopped through vines and tall grasses. Finally, the added convenience of a second battery to use with my mower means that I can work non-stop in my large yard by simply charging one battery when I trim and charging the other battery when I mow.

Let me start by saying, I love the Greenworks Pro 80v tool lineup! I've purchased every 80v tool except for the snow blower... don't really need it here in TX. The string trimmer and all the other tools are working well and have good power and reasonable run times on the 2Ah battery. The lawnmower really needs the 4Ah battery, as I've only been getting ~ 23 minutes of runtime out of the 2Ah batteries in the mower. But, my grass has been kind of high both times I mowed, causing the mower to stay revved up most of the time I've been mowing. The mower revs up automatically when under higher load (i.e. deeper grass). The 4Ah battery lasts much longer. Haven't put the stopwatch to it (while it's in the mower), but it's probably doing @ 45-50 minutes or so. Not bad at all... Just wish it was a little more affordable! The 4Ah battery is just a little too heavy for the handheld 80v tools. Not a big issue though, either use a shoulder strap or just swap between 2 of the 2Ah batteries. Given that they fully recharge in ~ 30 minutes, you can pretty much keep on going. On hot days, 90+ degrees, the batteries will typically have to cool in the charger for up to 5 minutes before charging will start. The battery packs have an integrated temperature probe and the temp data is communicated to the charger in some manner of operation. The charger has an integrated fan that does a great job of keeping things cooled off... It blows air through the battery pack. Now onto the issues I've encountered... sorry GreenWorks, but you guys made some dumb design choices. I've communicated these issues to you, but don't have much faith that anything will be changed. The 18" 80v chainsaw, 2 issues I've noted, but first, some praise. The chainsaw has plenty of power and cuts really well. As good as any similarly sized gas chainsaw I've used. No noise or fumes in your face!!! Love electric chainsawing!!! Great work in making it powerful and capable. Love the fact that it revs up under load like the lawn mower. I'm sure this really helps add to the total cut time available from the batteries. I had problems for a while with throwing the chain often, not sure if something could be improved in the design or if it's mainly due to me just needing to use more finesse. I've worked to be less sloppy with how I'm cutting and that has helped a lot with keeping the chain in place. Now onto the issues I've noted; 1st Issue - The chainsaw turns itself off after only 15 seconds of idle time. Who decided this was a good idea? How does this make it safer or save battery power? It doesn't! So why the 15 second auto-shutoff? You know how annoying this is when I'm limbing a tree or a felled branch and having to move around and reposition branches and what not. Even though I never sit the chainsaw down, it always seems to turn off between trigger pulls! 1 minute would have been a reasonable auto-off time delay, but 15 seconds is just plain dumb and annoying. I'm always having to stop, to let go of the chainsaw to reach up to turn it back on... thanks for designing in a very annoying and useless feature!!! 2nd issue - the motor drive chain sprocket has a plastic retaining lip that I guess is supposed to help keep the chain on the sprocket. I got the bar/chain in a bind as a limb pinched it and the chain broke this retainer piece off. I kept going and used the chainsaw for several days afterwards, without issue. But not impressed with how this piece broke off or with the fact that it is plastic! 3rd issue - chain lube oil tends to leak out, at least when it's between 80 - 100 degrees outside. Maybe it doesn't leak as much in cooler weather when the oil is a bit thicker? Not uncommon for self-lubricating chainsaws, but annoying nonetheless. Wish it could be less leaky or that GreenWorks would include a hard shell case. I have to keep the chainsaw in a paper bag (to absorb the oil) inside of a plastic bag (to keep the oily paper bag from transferring the oil to my trucks interior carpet). Guess I need to just go and buy a hard case. Trimmer issues; 1st issue - could have just a little more power and rev up quicker. I'm quite sure both these very minor issues were specific design choices to maximize battery life, so I can overlook them. But, for the size/weight, it seems like the unit is only achieving ~ 85% power output. And yes, I am running it in the higher power mode by pressing the high power toggle button. Just wish high power mode was a wee bit more "high power". Run time is great though! I would sacrifice a few minutes for a little better deep grass/weed cutting performance. 2nd (serious) issue - stupidest design decision I've seen!!! The motor output shaft to cable drive shaft coupler is simply hot pressed onto the motor output shaft. AND the coupler is totally cylindrical!!! No splines, no flat area, it's not pinned, it's not keyed, it's just completely smooth and cylindrical, same as the motor output shaft. This is JUST PLAIN STUPID!!! A LOT of power is being transferred by this coupler and your brilliant design engineers have decided that a perfectly smooth hot-pressed on coupler is never going to slip or crack (as mine did) and then spin in place??? If you had chosen a splined or flat area or pinned or keyed coupler desing, the chance of slippage would have been practically eliminated, even if a coupler crack developed. You guys are going to be repairing or replacing a LOT of these units until you change the motor coupler type! There's no way this current hot-pressed perfectly smooth coupler is going to work under strain of load. You made the trimmer attachment capable... How well do you think the coupler is goining to stand up to someone using a tiller attachment? Change this ASAP or you're going to be fixing the vast majority of these units! I've included pictures of the couple that stress fractured in my first unit. See for yourself what I'm talking about. I'm just wondering how long my second replacement unit is going to last. I'll update this review when it fails too. So in summary, great lawn care tools, with good power (maybe great power, haven't compared competing lower voltage competitor's offerings yet). Good battery life which will only improve over the next few years as battery chemistries/designs continue to advance. But no need to wait... battery life, cycle time, initial costs, etc., combined with resulting tool performance all currently FINALLY beat what you can do with gas powered lawn care tools. GreenWorks Pro 80v lawn care tools definitely provide cost savings, with serious advantages in ease of operation, with no mess, fumes, engine maintenance or starting hassles! I'll never buy another gas powered device... the era of the battery operated lawn care tool has finally arrived in my opinion!!! Fix the design flaws and dumb design decisions GreenWorks and you'll take the market by storm! Don't forget to check out the pics of the seriously stupid design choice in coupler utilized on the string trimmer.

Every successful technology reaches a point where it moves from an 'interesting novelty' to a 'useful tool.' This has been especially true of battery-powered appliances: a 7V hand vacuum showed promise, an 18V one eliminates the need to even own a plug-in vac. We've finally crossed that point with yard tools, and the rubicon's name is 80V. The GreenWorks GST80320 not only replaced my ailing Echo PAS260 for detailing after mowing the yard; it has the torque to tack other jobs like cutting down branches -- and even smaller trees -- with industry standard attachments. The GST80320 seems well-built, and while the battery isn't exactly featherweight, the overall heft and balance is on par with the average 25-28cc gas trimmer. The 'other' handle can be adjusted to suit the grasp of users of varying height and bulk, and the controls are minimal: a power switch, a hi/lo power selector, and the typical trigger with lockout of other higher-power trimmers. The trimmer starts up in the lower-torque setting, what I like to call '40V mode,' which is fine for most lawn trimming tasks. A push of the speed switch lights the second indicator and puts the trimmer into '80V mode' for heavy-duty tasks like clearing undergrowth from the edge of the woods, or cutting trees with a pole saw attachment. (Note: Those are my names for the settings. I have no idea if the trimmer actually switches from 40V to 80V and back. I just know that the 1-LED setting has less power than the 2-LED setting.) There isn't really a speed change when switching modes; the difference is felt in a subtle change in the motor vibration -- and in the end results. I'm pleased to see that it uses the 'attachment-capable' standard that is beginning to catch on. That means it should be able to use attachments from TrimmerPlus (MTD/TroyBuilt), Ryobi, Homelite, and others. I had no problems connecting and using a TrimmerPlus PS720 pole saw with the GreenWorks head. With a 20V, or even a 40V, head this might have been a sketchy combination -- I didn't love the results in 40V mode when cutting up the tree -- but the higher performance of the 80V battery never complained on 7-8" wide logs. Here's what I managed to do with the first battery charge: 1) trimmed the edges of a 7/8-acre lot, including a couple of small hills that my lawn tractor can't tackle (due to the grade); 2) cut a 3" branch off a Maple tree that was creeping toward the power lines in the street, and copped it into 3-4 pieces for chipping; and 3) cut down a 10-12" (at the base) tree that had died in the past couple of years and chopped the trunk into 18" logs for drying out for the wood stove. Yes, that took me *right* to the edge: the power died a couple of seconds after the last log cut, without even enough juice to clean out the saw. But at no time in all of that work did I find myself thinking, "Man, I should have never switched to an electric trimmer!" The GreenWorks equaled or exceeded the performance of my Echo in every way -- and it didn't require the two-minute dance of starting and idling the two-cycle motor before heading off to work! I can't say much about reliability yet, having only used the trimmer for about a week. I plan to update this review in the fall.

Great product

I'm moving across from stihl tools. Specifically this is to replace an FS55 RC. It has the power. It has a slightly shorter cutting swathe than the stihl by an inch, but not so much that it bothers me. Trimmer equipment is ALL about ergonomics. And that is the problem here... The only thing that's wrong with it, is the ergonomics. They're off. The Stihl is perfectly proportioned and balanced. I don't even need to use it with a strap. The weight is something similar, but the GW has ALL the weight at the back meaning, with the greenworks, I have to use it with a strap. I put the two trimmers side by side and immediately noticed why the tall people are complaining about it making them stoop. I'm only 5.8, but it was doing the same to me. It took a while to figure out specifically why it was doing this. Firstly, the grip handle placement as shown in the pictures is far too low, shortening your range, and meaning that by the time you angle it down, it's tilting the cutting head forward and toward the ground, rather than flat, the way you want it. This means you have to stoop or bend your knees to keep it flat and cutting correctly. If you raise the handle all the way up, and raise the strap clip ALL the way to the where the trigger mechanism begins, you regain tons of tool length, and reposition all that weight so the strap can hold it, not your throttle hand. The problem with raising the grip handle up, is the placement between your two hands gets closer together the more you do so. With the Stihl, it's a couple of feet apart meaning less fatigue with pulling and pushing. The closer your hands get, the more strength it takes to twist and scythe the trimmer. It seems like some give and take is in order here, and it is not weighted as well at a gas version, even with a lighter battery. Once you go about finding the correct strap length for you, you want it to where you're just bending the elbows when it's at cutting height. Finally, and it's something we can't change. The switch mechanism is set far too far along, and down the handle, which again costs you reach. The stihl's is set considerably higher, closer to the motor. This allows you to feather the throttle, and lean your forearm against the motor housing, or in this case it would be the battery. As it stands, you are gripping that switch way further down, costing reach, and because it's further down, the weight of the motor and battery pulls backwards, forcing you to counter it... Again, more potential fatigue. All these things combined make for a tool that has the exact same length, but feels considerably shorter. This is what taller people are noticing. The power switch is a real problem as it's so low, you not only can't regain that length back, but it has no auto hold as the Stihl does, so you're not only forced to continuously grip it too far down, not only costing reach, but the combination of that along with positioning means you fatigue faster. It forces you to lift more. A simple auto hold to keep the throttle on, and an extender would solve everything. It would balance better... It would reach further, and taller people would not have any problems using it. Any chance of a switch extender, greenworks? It would be the difference between being able to use this tool and not for some. It's really ticked every box, save for the user position. I think if I'd not had the experience of a more comfortable tool use, I wouldn't have been able to figure out why it's a little off. I'll upload a picture of them side by side and you will be able to see how I've been forced to move the handle so much further up on the GW, only to be met with the impassable switch placement problem, compared to the Stihl. I really do love the convenience of battery powered tools now they're powerful enough to truly contend, but the ergonomics are the worst part of them right now. Considering how the weight of the battery forces you to use a shoulder strap. Perhaps, realistically it might be more sensible to separate the tool to a shoulder battery mount, and take all that weight off the tool, then focus on handle and balance placement, with the tools needed reach in mind. I'm going to work on a 3D print to extend and move that switch and throttle back. It might really be all it needs.

The battery lasts a long time and the trimmer takes down tall weeds and grass. I bought this back in 2020 and just wanted to give a review as the trimmer has worked well for me and i have a small farm with lots of areas to trim. I will never go back to a gas trimmer, turns on and off with a pull of the trigger, quiet and no fumes. The trimmer has more power then my old gas trimmers did and no smell or trouble of having to have 2 stroke gas mixed up. I also own the Greenworks 80 volt blower and chainsaw, all I recommend to own.

8/25/18 Update - Another headache with these things is how awkward the string replacement is. It uses the "bump" system to release more string. That works terribly. Have to hit it several times. Replacing string is the WORST though. I have many Greenworks products, mostly 80V and one 40v device. They are all pretty good, some very good. This string trimmer is just awful. AVOID. 4/29/17 Update - I have a number of attachments that go with this unit and they all mount the same way. There is a collar with a bolt you turn by its green thumb handle. A close up of the unit will show you what I'm talking about. The threads on the bolt seem to have stripped right at the place where it tightens down and so nothing stays in place now. The warranty is "limited" and 4 years so I'm hoping they cover it. I'm always careful not to overtighten these things and it's clear the bolt is made from a softer, cheaper metal. The design looks unrepairable so it's doubtful whether I can upgrade the bolt somehow. === While the line lasted, it did a decent but not amazing job of cleaning up the weeds along the edge of the property. My biggest disappointment with this product is the absolutely abysmal support for new owners wondering how to install new line, what line is compatible, etc. There are zero videos showing how to do it, as far as I can tell, no online manuals (pdf). I am now looking at some line I ordered from Amazon which I will need to return because it's not correct. The line sellers were equally unconcerned about which trimmers might be able to use it. I purchased the mower, branch saw, blower, several other Greenworks products because I wanted this to be an effortless experience. I like the mower. The 80v battery keeps a charge (only a month old). But this is not effortless. Just the opposite. Maybe I should have gone with EGO, which has a much better mower design as far as I can tell. The trimmer is without line so the weeds have won the day. I'll get this figured out eventually but my happiness with Greenworks is very short lived. I did see someone from support offer an email address to another customer requesting support. I will have to try that. An email address. Are they kidding? -- By the way, I tried the email address provided by Greenworks to another customer. It came back with an error - no such email address. Another issue - replacement parts? No information readily available.

Ok, this is a very heavy trimmer, even if you use a small battery pack. The strap helps, but does not make it easy if you are working on areas that require multiple angles to trim. The head does NOT rotate so trimming along a sidewalk can be difficult. Consider your physical ability and endurance before buying this! Not like using home trimmers!!!

I was skeptical after using a gas brush cutter, I questioned the capability and the horsepower and torque. If it would be able to run a cutting blade and significantly cut down the massive amount of brush growth behind our property. It is very quick to charge 30 minutes as it says. I cut for nearly a half hour or more, and was tired and sweaty and couldn't I physically couldn't cut anymore. So it definitely has the battery life at 80v. It's very quiet in comparison to a gas cutter. I wonder if the neighbors could even hear me. I was able to tackle everything that I put it up against all the way up until 1 inch plus size saplings with attachment. The blade isn't designed for that 1" greater size and would take 30 seconds to go through something that size, but made short work of everything else, especially half inch, and all grass and large weed types. I had it paired it up with aWORX WA0221 40V Nitro Driveshare 10" Universal Brush Cutter. I will get a chainsaw blade for the bigger saplings, to try. All in all I was afraid that it wouldn't have enough power when paired up with a brush cutter. And whether or not it could compete with the torque and horsepower of a gas and oil. I have no doubts that it is quite capable of doing everything that I needed to and more. Extremely satisfied. Can't wait to get some more blades to try out on it. Such as a edger for the lawn and additional blades for the brush cutter. Now for the bad it is heavy on one end and can be difficult to maneuver. Have to play with the handle and strap settings, to eventually get them to be as comfortable as they can be, but it's not like the T handlebar design for control and comfort. A little awkward and for it's weight balance. For the price, and convenience you couldn't go wrong, and would absolutely recommend to another. The cutting power and torque is all there easily compatible with the standard gas and oil operated. It was very very quiet experience compared to the other gas. Normally you can hear the other ones echoing for blocks and blocks when the neighbors use them. This was a whisper quite in comparison. Very impressed by it's lack of sound. That was one of the absolute highlights in addition to its ability to cut everything in the path. It's not light and is a meaty tool for sure. Will put a 80v smile on your face as it revs up to full torque spins, and cuts though the hillside, and adds a pain in your lower back for good measure, but don't for get about the 80v smile.