budget petrol hedge clippers..will it do this?

[steveo3002]

got an established garden hedge id like to make a bit smaller , my elec clippers arent man enough

would a budget screwfix etc petrol clipper go though pencil size stalks with ease?

thanks

 

[james butler]

yes but
the cheaper hedge cutters and chainsaws are generally heavy making them harder to wield
as for cutting through pencil sized stalks my aldi special hedge cutter is still going after battering similar and worse
think i paid £60 for it

 

[steveo3002]

not overly fussed if its a bit heavy its not a huge hedge , just want to get it back to the size i want , might sell the petrol one and keep it up with the leccy one afterwards

 

[Kram]

How big or tall is the hedge, got a photo?

I got one of these, it is heavy and hard on the fingers to start it, but running its fine. Good value for all the tools.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0C69MHNNL

 

[JOEPRO]

Cheap petrol tools are disposable. You get about 4 or 5 years out of them then when it comes time for a repair you either can't get the parts or its not worth fixing cost wise.

Get yourself a Stihl or similar branded trimmer good used condition and it'll last you 20+ years if looked after.

A HS45 will cut most branches including thicker ones yes.

 

[james butler]

Cheap petrol tools are disposable. You get about 4 or 5 years out of them then when it comes time for a repair you either can't get the parts or its not worth fixing cost wise.

Get yourself a Stihl or similar branded trimmer good used condition and it'll last you 20+ years if looked after.

A HS45 will cut most branches including thicker ones yes.

my aldi jobby is 12 years old, only had to replace the primer bulb in that time that i bought off ebay

Pardon our interruption...

stihl make fantastic products but massively overkill if your only going to use it once and then sell on
maybe better to hire a stihl??

 

[gaz1]

not overly fussed if its a bit heavy its not a huge hedge , just want to get it back to the size i want , might sell the petrol one and keep it up with the leccy one afterwards

you dont want it at the size you want as you want it smaller

this allows growth and then to be slightly trimmed there after

 

[MattF]

Get yourself a Stihl or similar branded trimmer good used condition and it'll last you 20+ years if looked after.

Not necessarily. Depends on how established the shrubbery is, & how strong your arms are.

I like to look after tools, whether they be my own or works, but a tool needs to be able to do the task required of it.

 

[Erie Fred]

Look at the openings on the blades.
I have been pruning back some neglected hedges, and the electric is just fine..
Until I come to a stem over maybe 13mm that won't fit into the fingers of the electric, I dig out the loppers, and trim it back deeper into the surrounding area.

 

[Ali]

I’d be inclined to nip down your local hire shop and get something decent for the day, then maintain it with what you’ve got.

 

[MattF]

got an established garden hedge id like to make a bit smaller , my elec clippers arent man enough

would a budget screwfix etc petrol clipper go though pencil size stalks with ease?

thanks

Should do. The budget stuff generally works okay. It's merely the finer details where they're lacking. The head adjustment mechanism on longreach cutters is one example which immediately springs to mind. Sturdy on the Stihl's, p*ss poor on the import stuff.

 

[JOEPRO]

my aldi jobby is 12 years old, only had to replace the primer bulb in that time that i bought off ebay

Pardon our interruption...

stihl make fantastic products but massively overkill if your only going to use it once and then sell on
maybe better to hire a stihl??

You can usually pick up HS45's used for around £150 on the usual local free add sites.

That's not far off what you'd pay for a comparable none branded one from screwfix or similar.

Buy cheap, buy twice that's all I'm saying. Buy a good one and it'll last decades.

 

[Kram]

Stihl are over rated for a lot of their kit. I hate their hedgers as they are simply too loud compared with other brands, also about double the price of Echo, Husq..
I have seen plenty of worn out Stihls, would prefer a new import over a used one!

I should add for thicker stuff, a cordless finger chopper is excellent. I have pruned whole trees with them, they can do 40mm branches.

 

[JOEPRO]

Not necessarily. Depends on how established the shrubbery is, & how strong your arms are.

I like to look after tools, whether they be my own or works, but a tool needs to be able to do the task required of it.

Sorry Matt, I'm not sure what your point is above(?) Give me that one again

 

[JOEPRO]

Stihl are over rated for a lot of their kit. I hate their hedgers as they are simply too loud compared with other brands, also about double the price of Echo, Husq..

I should add for thicker stuff, a cordless finger chopper is excellent. I have pruned whole trees with them.

Stihl, Husky etc take your pick.

Just avoid the usual cheap suspects.

 

[MattF]

Sorry Matt, I'm not sure what your point is above(?) Give me that one again

The hedgecutters can only deal with thicker stems for so long. If you're doing anything other than a general tickle, then occasionally you start having to lean into the cut a bit, & there's a good chance the head will pop. It's fine people saying use loppers for anything above ½" or so, but when thicker stuff is above reach height, else if you're doing more than a few yards of shrubbery/hedges, you're going to be leaning into the tool a bit to cut some thicker stems with it. It's not feasible, unless you have unlimited time on your hands, to start manually pruning/lopping thicker stems.

Working on properly maintained shrubs & hedges, you're generally fine. Doing cutback on a less well maintained section to get it back to where it ought be, even a Stihl will just gives you the V after a while & pop the blade head.

 

[JOEPRO]

The hedgecutters can only deal with thicker stems for so long. If you're doing anything other than a general tickle, then occasionally you start having to lean into the cut a bit, & there's a good chance the head will pop. It's fine people saying use loppers for anything above ½" or so, but when thicker stuff is above reach height, else if you're doing more than a few yards of shrubbery/hedges, you're going to be leaning into the tool a bit to cut some thicker stems with it. It's not feasible, unless you have unlimited time on your hands, to start manually pruning/lopping thicker stems.

Working on properly maintained shrubs & hedges, you're generally fine. Doing cutback on a less well maintained section to get it back to where it ought be, even a Stihl will just gives you the V after a while & pop the blade head.

OK I see. I didn't post any comment about branch thickness.

OP talking about budget trimmers definitely good advice and will need to be careful what capacity of branch spec trimmer should be and really avoid cutting anything too thick.

For me, my hedges are well kept so I don't have issues with branch diameters. I also have 3no different petrol Stihl hedgetrimmers which I use for specific tasks around my house. All razor sharp and well maintained, no issues. But I understand not every homeowner feels the need to invest in such tools.

 

[Kram]

Doing cutback on a less well maintained section to get it back to where it ought be, even a Stihl will just gives you the V after a while & pop the blade head.

Disagree there, a Stihl hedger blade will take a lot of abuse, theres a lot of people using them every day, boucing the blade off 40mm connifer and they last a reasonable while. The ones we used in rail were not well maintained or sharp, and it wasnt the gearboxes that let go.

Its rare for a homeowner to call out a tree surgeon for a well maintained hedge. Many have had 5 years or more growth to be cut back.

 

[JOEPRO]

FWIW, my 3 Stihl hedge trimmers:

For laurels:



for finer conifers this one sided long reach one gives a fine finish:



This one for trimming and topping larger laurels or garden trees without ladders.

 

[frank horton]

my lidil special must be nearly 10 years old now n still working.....
I just screem it flat out all the time....never a prob with the thicker branches and even the occ fence wire....