Ryobi Touch Start Gas Trimmer
It looks like Ryobi has some pretty nice looking lawn and garden tools coming out this spring. To us, the most interesting is their new Touch Start Gas Trimmer. Apparently, it's the first electric start trimmer on the market. We found that hard to believe, but then we did some research we couldn't find any other trimmers with the feature, so it looks like it's true. We're not sure what's taken so long for the innovation, but it sure is a nice option to have, especially for that first start-up of the season. If you're looking to throw out your shoulder, the Ryobi also has the traditional pull-start system as well.
In addition to the electric start, the Ryobi has a two-string head, a telescoping shaft, and a low-emission engine. It comes with a shoulder strap and a two-year warranty.
The Ryobi Touch Start Gas Trimmer will be available next month (May '08) and will cost in the area of $170. That price puts it right in the middle of the very high-end trimmers and the very low-end trimmers, which is pretty much standard for Ryobi. Our guess is that this is a nice trimmer and that it's going to be quite popular this summer.
Available exclusively at Home Depot.
Read More in: Lawn/Garden
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Posted by Tool Snob at April 14, 2008 5:00 AM
Along the lines of your comment on why "push button starter" took so long. Tell me why all the solar panels have to be attached directly to the loght fixture.
Why couldn't a cord connect a moveable solar panel to a bank of lights. That whay you could locate the solar panel in the sunlight and have the lights located in the shade.
05/29/2008
Richard A. Stafford
879 Tamarack Ave.
Tallahassee, Fl 32303
Homelight actually was the first to market (1999-2001) with a push start gas powered string trimmer. The homelight's battery was poorly designed and didn't last long on a charge. You could only get about 3 - 4 weekends worth of starting out of (1) charge and the battery would stop holding charges after one season. The homelight also had NO hand-pull back up system - so if the battery was dead so was the trimmer. The homelight was also a little on the heavy side and trying to get a new battery from homelight was nearly impossible. It was almost comical trying to tell someone at homelights tech support that they actually DO have an electric start gas trimmer when many "customer service reps" would swear there was no such model. I finally trashed it after the 3rd season. What WAS wonderful about the trimmer is that when it was charged it started quickly w/o blistered fingers and worn arm muscles. I just purchased the Ryobi electric start trimmer last week I can say with confidence that I feel this one is going to last a while. Ryobi went with their tried and true 12-Volt NiMh battery that you find on all of their other 12 volt power tools. They also include a standard battery charger you normally find in the cordless drills packs, so, if you have any other 12 volt ryobi stuff your already set with a back-up. This trimmer is balanced well enough and has the multi-attachment functionality that I have come to love from my later troy-bilt model. I use the string trimmer "head" and the "edger" every weekend and the hedge trimmer "head" every couple of months with great success. The ryobi attachments look identical to the troy-bilt ones - so I feel safe to say that they will hold up well and perform great. The troy-bilt ones I sold with the trimmer or else I would have still used them on the ryobi. I will post an update in a couple of months on how well I like/dislike my new Ryobi but for right now I am very satisfied. Hope this helps someone out there looking for a new trimmer.
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