American Gardener YardStick 10-Inch 24-Volt Cordless Electric Edger and Trimmer #YS24

I love this product and highly reccomend it! It is the best trimmer I have ever used gas or electric included. Who is American Gardener? With a product this awesome I am surprised that I don't see their products everywhere.

I was skeptical when I purchased this cordless unit but I had it with gas and have too much yard for an extension cord. This is the best string trimmer I have ever used period (gas or electric)! I have a 3/4 acre lot and it worked well in edge and trim mode. The string is .080" and seems to be high grade. There is a lot I love about this product: dual switch, flip over design for edging, edge wheel, balance & weight, and charger/charge rack, customer service, etc. - all are excellent. The only question I have is how come this product is so hard to find and not sold everywhere (at least not yet).

I recently moved from an apartment into buying a house. With a house (usually) comes yard care. I needed everything--lawn mower, trimmer, garden hose, rake--you name it!

Gas trimmers were not considered. Friends' and co-workers' experience indicated they were loud, hard to start after a few years, and belch a continuous stream of blue smoke. Plus, I didn't want to deal with the mixing of gas and oil, and filling that wee little tank. Corded electric trimmers are fine, but my yard is big. It would take considerable time to handle the lengths of extension cord required.

So, I started to look closer at the battery powered trimmers available. I checked out the Black and Decker CST1000 and CST2000 (the "Grass Hog" models). The CST1000 was too light-duty, and the CST2000 had a gear drive I thought was doomed to fail after a few years of grass clippings and dust. Plus, neither model had a way to feed line manually in case of jams within the spool. The Toro 24 volt (model 51465) trimmer looked promising, but the safety switch was awkward and required too much constant effort. I didn't consider the 12 volt Toro because of the small 7" cut.

I had never heard of American Gardener before, but several selling points caught my eye. I liked the idea of 24 volts for power and run-time. And with a ball-bearing motor, I am hoping the trimmer lasts several seasons (Both Black and Decker and Toro DID NOT have double ball-bearing motors).

I had the "Yardstick" for a month and think it is well worth the money. The run-time is excellent. I swear I've had mine running for an hour almost continuously munching grass and weeds! The power is also excellent, and the motor is quiet and very smooth. The weight balance is good, and the safety switch is easy to operate for long periods of time. The housing is made of a thick rubbery plastic that looks like it would take the occasional "whoops!"

It is, in my opinion, superior to the other battery trimmers out there. Overall, a well engineered and made trimmer. The only "cons" I can think of is: It takes a long time to recharge (they all do). Figure about a day and a half after heavy use. And with 24 volts worth of batteries, it is no lightweight. But, I have had no trouble carrying for all the trimming I need to do (about an hour).

Kudos American Gardener!! HIGHLY recommended.

I just bought this on July and have just used twice and the battery died .
It does not take recharge at all ( the LED keeps green all the time )

Customer Service is terrible, no help at all. They clearly do not stand behind their products. Needed parts and they were unable to help me.

After reading reviews both pro and con, I decided to try the AGY 24-volt trimmer. My biggest concern as a woman was its weight, but I figured that I am stronger than most and that the extra power would compensate for any fatigue. Only way to know was to try it for myself.

After charging it for the full 16 hours, I took it out to try on my two-week-neglected Bermuda grass lawn. First thing I noticed is that the weight is unevenly balanced so that my wrists rather than the support arm acted as the fulcrum, resulting in excessive strain and overcompensating through the shoulders. It also was a bit short for me (at 5'7") so that I had to hunch to get it to reach the edge of the sidewalk. After only ten minutes, I was definitely feeling it.

But the thing had power! Compared to the Black and Decker cordless models I had used previously, this baby was a champ, whacking through thick matted Bermuda turf as though it were bluegrass. I went all the way around my back yard, then the neighbors', then their front, sidewalk, flower beds, and got half way across my sidewalk before the battery wore down. Three to four times the battery life of the Black and Decker!

I did have to remove the spool to pull out more line two or three times in the half hour I used the trimmer, and it was harder to put back together than other units I have owned. But the heftier line diameter was a definite plus in chopping through bad stuff. I will say, though, that my edging was not nearly so neat as with more petite models -- not sure if I needed more practice or if it just cuts a choppy line. I did notice it did better when I stood on the grass side and faced the sidewalk --some kind of funky angle on the line as it exits the head.

Still undecided as to whether I would keep it, I put it back on the charger to power it back up. Was concerned about the numbness in the two fingers of my right hand that had supported the trigger -- strange for just a trimmer! But after twenty minutes or so, I had the use of my hand back. Gave it another several hour charge and went out to finish the front yard. Five minutes into some pretty happy whacking, kaput! No power. No response from either trigger, no nothing.

All I can say is that I am just glad mine died on the first day and not after I had recycled the box! I won't be keeping it or trying any other American Gardener trimmers.

Oh, and the charger requires you to hang the entire unit from the wall (others I have used required only the battery to be hung). This battery is not removable, nor is there a backup. My shop space is at a premium and the requirement of a full four vertical feet of trimmer recharging space was going to be a big sacrifice.

I guess I'll go back to Black and Decker -- their units only last a year or two and require frequent chargings, but at least they work!

The American Gardener YardStick cordless edger and trimmer is a great two-in-one yard tool for the homeowner; this battery-powered trimmer converts to a rolling lawn edger with just a turn of the handle using the Quickedge Transition design. The 24-volt Power-Core double ball-bearing motor with Power-Core deep discharge battery will give you up to 45 minutes of cutting time on just one charge. A 10-inch cutting swath makes quick work of yard trimming, and when you need more line, just bump the head and it feeds out more .08 commercial-grade line automatically. We like the symmetry and nice balance of this trimmer in hand, too; it comes with two comfortable grips and a hassle-free start switch. The unit stores in the included wall-mounted charger, which indicates battery status with red and green lights. --Kris Jensen-Van Heste

This battery-powered trimmer converts to a rolling lawn edger with just a turn of the handle. The 24-volt Power Core will give you up to 45 minutes of cutting time on just one charge. A 10-inch cutting swath makes quick work of yard trimming, and when you need more line, just bump the head and it feeds out more .08 commercial-grade line automatically. We like the symmetry and nice balance of this trimmer in hand, too. The unit stores in its wall-mounted charger, which indicates battery status with red and green lights. A great two-in-one yard tool for the homeowner.--Kris Jensen-Van Heste