Black & Decker LST220 Review

The Black & Decker LST220 instantly turns an average lawn to a manicured work of art. The handheld, cordless trimmer/edger reaches areas of the lawn that lawn mowers can’t get to. The trimmer creates even surfaces while the edger maintains neat edges along hard surfaces.

With a speed of 7,500 rpm, the Black & Decker LST220 quickly gets the job done. The unit, which converts from an edger to a trimmer, is said to be a better trimmer. A push of a button activates the trimmer/edger and the noise is tolerable.

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Providing Black & Decker LST220 with oil or gas is unnecessary; it’s powered by a 20-volt Max lithium-ion battery. The battery is said to hold its charge for 35 minutes, but many don’t get more than 10 minutes out it. Altogether, the Black & Decker LST220 weights 5.2 pounds, making it a lightweight gardening tool. The Energy Star-Qualified charger that comes with the unit requires eight hours to charge one battery. This seems like a long time, but because the unit comes with two batteries, you can charge one while using the other. Aside from powering the Black & Decker LST220 GrassHog string trimmer/edger, the battery is compatible with other Black & Decker cordless lawn tools.

Black & Decker LST220 Customer Reviews

The following review gives a good overview of the Black & Decker LST220:

This is my first cordless electric trimmer. Despite of mediocre reviews at consumer reports I decided to try this one, after yet another half hour on my knees in the garage trying to start my diva-esque 3-year-old 2-cycle gas engine trimmer. Shipping was slow, packing the worst I’ve ever seen from Amazon! But it worked, and it was fairly easy to put the parts together. I used it twice now, so here is my impression: Sleek looks, length is adjustable (but barely enough for me, and I am only 6ft tall), charging really takes 8 hours for each battery (!), and the trimmer runs between 10 and 12 minutes with a fully charged battery – less if you are edging stubborn St Augustine grass. It is louder than I expected, but still much better than a gas engine trimmer.
Trimming: The line is a little thinner (.65) compared to my Ryobi gas trimmer (.80), the diameter of the cutting area is a lot smaller and it uses only one line instead of two, so it takes a little longer to trim the same area. But it still works fine on a regular size suburban lot like mine. I did not find anything that this trimmer would not ‘mow down’, so this is a success! It takes a little more time, but the lower weight, noise and aggravation level are making up for it. No more mixing gas and oil and fiddling with starters.
Edging:

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The Black & Decker is too weak, at least for edging the stubborn crawling shoots of our Floridian St Augustine grass. It still works, but I have to carry a manual pruning cutter with me and walk the edged line again to cut the remaining grass by hand. I am not sure if the line is too soft or too thin or whether it’s just the lack of power or rotation speed, all I can say is it cannot compare to a good gas-powered edger. The batteries are gone fast too, when you are edging. That’s a disappointment. Since this unit is very light weight and the batteries are small, it makes you wonder why they didn’t double the battery size/capacity. It would still be very small and light weight. All in all a really nice tool for a suburban lot, and good enough if you are willing to add some manual work here and there. I consider trying the cordless lithium-ion leaf blower, but since that one comes only with one battery, I am worried it may work only a few minutes – waiting for your reviews!

Even though the trimmer/edger does a good job manicuring a lawn, additional manual work may be required. If you are willing to deal with this and the limited battery-life, don’t hesitate to look into getting the Black & Decker LST220.

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