DeWALT 14” Cordless Trimmer Review
The big advantage of using a battery-powered string trimmer is convenience and how fast you can get to work. There is also less mess without having to use gasoline and oil. And, either the unit runs or it doesn’t.
Like any product, the laws of economics come into play - you get what you pay for. There are lots of options in the market, including very cheaply priced units that border on being disposable - they will last about a season or so, and then into the garbage they go. On the other hand, there are high-end units that are heavily constructed, and in some cases, use higher-powered battery systems. It pays to consider how much you’re going to use the tool and the features that you want to pay for.
We chose the DeWalt® DCST922P1 setup. This comes with the 14” trimmer, a 5Ah Li-Ion battery, charger, and 0.080” (2.0 mm) trimmer string pre-installed in the bump-feed trimmer head.
There were several reasons for our choice. First, we already have several DeWALT 20v cordless tools, along with an array of batteries and charging bases. It made sense to make use of what we already had is we could. Second, the overall quality of the tool for the price. The tool appears sturdy, and with the folding feature to allow the tool to be 40% shorter when fully extended, that was a plus. The head is easy to load, but time will tell how much we like it. Lastly, the package deal made sense. DeWALT (and other manufacturers) PURPOSELY do special pricing on kits to get you to have even more investment in their suite of tools That was the case here. In June 2020, the bare tool would cost $149. The kit was $199. For $50 more, we got the tool, 5 Ah battery, and the charger. I have plenty of chargers, but you can’t have too many batteries! And, the battery alone in the took aisle was priced at about $140. Crazy, but they know what they are doing.
While we have just begun to use the tool as of the day of filming, we do have some initial observations. To begin with, the tool feels good in the hands, and is moderate weight (tool only is about 8 lbs, add a couple more for the battery). I DIDN’T like how the tool was balanced with the shaft handle installed as illustrated, so I reversed it and moved it below the folding knuckle and that’s just about right! Once attached to the shaft, the handle won’t rotate, which I REALLY like. It makes the machine much easier to handle.
As for running out of battery charge, we didn’t have a problem. You can run the unit either on high (0-6000 rpm) or low (0-4600). We have a very large yardscape and we had plenty of power in a single 5 Ah battery to do the job. We used both speeds, depending on how heavy the cut.
Also, the machine will feel differently initially than the typical gas-powered string trimmer. Why? With a gas unit, the engine is at the top of the unit. With this unit, the battery is at the top, but a brushless motor is at the bottom. Getting the handle placed correctly makes a big difference in how balanced the tool feels and the effort you’ll need to expend to use it.
So far, so good! It’s fast, quiet, easy to get to work, and DirtFarmer Maggie will use it as well. That just wasn’t the case with the heavier gas-powered unit we’ve had.
We’ll update this info after a season of use and let you know our honest observations.
Lastly, I have a gripe. This tool, like most that are readily available, was made in China. We could get into all sorts of politics and such, but that isn’t our emphasis. We do think we should do business with countries that have mutual best interests. We’re challenged to find evidence that China has acted in the global best interest, even with the Covid-19 controversy taken out of the conversation.
Let us be clear. We are not anti-other countries or cultures. We just think that we should develop and support national, regional, and local industries and economies if at all possible. That holds true no matter where in the world you live. DeWALT, and other major tool companies, how about more seriously investing back into your national economy? How about doing industrial development projects to get the supply chain for your products coming from much nearer to home?
That’s the way we DirtFarmers see it.