Battery kombi or individual pieces of equipment

[noidea]

Hi everyone 

So went self employed this year and I need a new blower and hedge cutter. 
I had been looking at switching to battery stuff so thought this was an ideal time. 
my local dealers are mainly Stihl ( one has some husky stuff)

I had thought of just buying a bga 86 blower and a hsa 100 trimmer. Then in time get a long reach trimmer when funds allow ( currently would be replacing a blower and Stihl hs45 trimmer). 
from reading reviews these two seem to have good reviews but I also keep seeing people recommend the Stihl battery kombi units as being better that the stand alone hedge trimmers. 
I’ve never really used a kombi units so don’t have anything to go off for that. 
 

Any advice or recommendations ( even if it’s to stay away from Stihl stuff ) would be great. 
I’ve been going around and around on what to invest in as my funds are limited so obviously want to make the best choice 

 

thanks in advance 

robin

 

[tree-fancier123]

the only battery kit I have is Stihl top handle saw, the old MSA160T, I am happy enough with petrol for hedgecutters, I feel they are more profitable, as last longer. 

For a battery hedgecutter have a look at the newest model 150, single sided (with 1 metre blade option) is equivalent to hs87t 40" which I have 2 of, been using them for 10 years, best thing for facing up big hedges that I have used , better than combi attachments 

[noidea]

Cheers will take a look at that one. As I said never used kombi stuff so don’t know how they cut. 
Do you run a 12” bar on the top handle? How does that handle full bar timber?
 

[Mark_Skyland]

Blowers use a lot of battery power so whatever you buy get a good capacity battery or two and a fast charger. Its worth getting the S series of batteries as some of the more powerful machines require that battery to run properly. The kombi machines are really good as the motor is away from the cutting equipment so its doesnt suffer from vibrations etc. They will be more of a drain on the battery but they will last longer.

 

[tree-fancier123]

46 minutes ago, noidea said:

Cheers will take a look at that one. As I said never used kombi stuff so don’t know how they cut. 
Do you run a 12” bar on the top handle? How does that handle full bar timber?
 

yes 12" bar, but it is not quick, nothing like a petrol ms200t. Fine for most work upto 8 inch cuts, although I once felled a 14 inch diameter alder with it, was all I had with me. I guess I ordered it with a 12" bar thinking it would help make more versatile, but 10 inch would have been ok too.

The kombi hedge cutters are good for long reach with extensions, but I prefer the hs87t for the side of the hedge, my long reach kombi stuff mostly does horrible wide tops

[Stere]

Id  also consider the  makita 40v platform as  batteries  are free on promotion atm  with each new tool and the cost of batteries is a big % of total cost

 

So you could  buy 3 tools & get 3 free 40v batteries I think..

 

Makita - Products

WWW.MAKITAREDEMPTION.EU

 

Agree about blowers they are very battery hungry.

 

 

If you look on yotube there some reviews of the makita products

 

If you look at the Kw rating of the electric  motor in the various  toppers compared to a 200t will tell you roughly how rapid with it cut in comparison.

 

So the msa220t for example should cut about the same i reckon as a ms200t.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited Thursday at 22:47 by Stere

[gand]

If you want to buy a blower look at the one that takes the Stihl 500s batteries. If you buy a battery with the machine you get a free battery. I think it's the BGA300

[noidea]

Will take a look at those different options.
Typically my battery hand tools are all Milwaukee. Wish they would make the batteries interchangeable 

Good to know on the blower front. 
maybe a petrol version of that would be best. 
Got a bit to think about. 
 

the top handle wouldn’t be a purchase for now but always wondered what the performance was like
Thanks

Edited yesterday at 06:10 by noidea

[doobin]

If you already have M18 batteries I'd be looking at the Milwaukee combi tool and accesories- I only hear good things about it.

 

The M18 top handle is pretty pokey but a big lump. The polesaw is the best I've used.

[Steven P]

14 hours ago, noidea said:

Will take a look at those different options.
Typically my battery hand tools are all Milwaukee. Wish they would make the batteries interchangeable 

Good to know on the blower front. 
maybe a petrol version of that would be best. 
Got a bit to think about. 
 

the top handle wouldn’t be a purchase for now but always wondered what the performance was like
Thanks

 

 

Got a friend who worked for Milwaukee... once said that there are converters between batteries systems... though might be the sun and old age, I might be wrong, but it would be for the major makes so should be OK there.

 

However, yes, it would be great if we could get interchangeable batteries.

 

Quick google search looks like the converters are for tools where the batteries hang off the bottom of the tool like hand drill and not the good tools

Edited yesterday at 19:03 by Steven P