"Freckles" wrote:

I read the reviews about this trimmer on Amazon.com and found that even
though the trimmer was considered good the batteries weren't.

I have this trimmer and I like it very much, but the batteries are a pain.
They will not hold a charge any longer, and had very little power after the
first season of use.

I have found that if I put a battery in the trimmer, lock the on/off switch
on
and allow the machine to run until the battery is completely drained, then
give the battery a quick charge (2 hours) the machine works almost as good
as it did the first season.

However, for the best results the machine needs be used as soon after
charging the battery as possible

Cordless rechargable garden tools typically last only one or two
seasons, their batteries deteriorate rapidly, especially during the
off season during storage. Many such cordless rechargeble products
are also made so that their rechargeble batteries can't be replaced
with off the shelf rechargables by the consumer, if sent in to the
manufacturer's service center it'll cost more for their special
battery pack replacement than to buy a whole new tool. And even when
these tools do operate they do so for a very short duration between
charges... you really need to own two complete units because there are
no extra battery packs available like with cordless drills. You'd be
far happier with a 2 cycle gas string trimmer. In my opinion Echo
makes the best. Always buy these motorized tools from a certified
dealer who services what they sell on premises.