Stihl fsa135r electric string trimmer (for commercial use)
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- čas přidán 23. 05. 2022
- Are electric trimmers the future of commercial lawn care? I'm sure many of you watching this are wondering if the new stihl fsa135r is capable of being ran for commercial use. We purchased this and are eager to keep you informed as to how well it works.
- Zábava
What I like about going electric is no exhaust smoke. When I edge with my gas trimmers it's close and I get a lot of smoke. I'm also an RN and work in the operating room where we have a saying, " no smoke is good smoke"
Amen to that! They are super clean and much more enjoyable to be around.
Batteries will only get better and lighter.
But it's nice not sucking fumes all day and
who knows how much that saves the lungs for the future! Good info
God bless ya'll
Thank you! Yes it's just all around a much nicer machine for the operator. Appreciate the comment, thanks for watching! God Bless!
Thank you for telling us the truth about these electric trimmers. It seems most lawn services dont want to divulge this info. And we haven't even talked about battery longevity snd a availability down the line. I know I cant find batteries for the battery powered tools I bought 10 years ago.
I'm a home user now, but had a mowing business. Used Shindawa gas trimmers and now have Ego trimmer. Works ok but head spins opposite from gas trimmers. A plus is zero maintenance!
Absolutely! No maintenance is a huge perk to owning electric. Then come winter.. stick it away someplace where it won't freeze. No worries it'll work problem free in the spring.
I love mine. I run it on one with Echo black diamond line and can get 8-10 lawns out of it on well manicured lawns. That echo line cuts like a razor blade even on level one. Try that and you will more than double your run time
Love that string
Good info ..I like your channel -thanks
Thank you 👍
In the UK, I use a Stihl FSA90. (The motors in the head, not where your batteries located.) I am looking to get a 135r the same as yours... As a light occasional user, I was fed up with petrol (gas) strimmers carborettor diaphrams breaking down etc. Also the new e5 and e10 (ethanol) didn't seem to make long term use a reliable bet. So, I bit the bullet and went all out electric with Stihl. Chainsaw, mower, blower, long and short hedge trimmers... I use both the AP and AK batteries, and they fit everything. It suits my purpose 100%.
That's excellent to hear! The 135r is by far the better option. Ours has been treating us excellent to this day. We have the hedge trimmer and battery backpack sprayer as well, and it seems to be the way to go. Can't wait to pick up another 135r this season. Thanks for the comment from the UK
@@bladezllcis the fsa 90 not better as the head is closer?
Came across your channel looking at Stihl battery products. While watching you mentioned having an inverter wired into your truck. Does the inverter charge the battery while you’re truck is running or while it’s not running? If while not running, does it lower the voltage on your truck battery?
Ok, I should have watched more, your wife answers that question when y’all went to the truck. :)
The setup is still going strong 💪 it's a little hard on the truck battery, but works just fine.
Well at first I didn't want to get in the battery route until we got a Pellenc hedge trimmer. After I left that job I got myself the stihl hsa94R with a ap115 battery. A year later I bought a second hand engine T version trimmer but after 3 hedges traded it in for a ocation hsa94T.
Second hand I bought 2 ap300's battery's and at my current job I had a shit load of overtime what I changed for the hla 135 pole trimmer with 3 ap500's battery's.
Currently waiting for my 135 combimotor with brush cutter attachment.
Money wise is it at first expensive (brand new at least) but here in the Netherlands I pay €26,- ($27) for 5 liter (1.3 gallon) Stihl motomix, which fills my Br700 leafblower maby 5 or 6 times.
Second benefit is that there ar no bad fumes to breath in, and the tool is way lighter and more quiet ( something the costumer enjoys also)
Wow! Thanks for the Comment from the Netherlands! I really enjoyed reading your comment. Definitely a money saver with the high fuel cost combined with the stihl oil. Our br800s drink it, so we definitely notice the savings running our battery hand tools.
Definitely the way of the future for our industry!
Greetings, I have invested into the Stihl 135 series trimmer,edger,blower, hedge (pole) and 12 inch hedge trimmer’s. I have 5 batteries AP300s. I also did a review on all the equipment. For me and my area (small Florida lawns) this setup works extremely well. I never get out the lowest setting as my yards are well maintained. I do 12 homes a day and the batteries last me up until 10 home so I use only 1/2 of the spare. Perhaps you guys up north with acres of property it may not work for you.
City scapes thanks for the comment! It definitely depends what type of work you are doing and the size of the lots you are trimming. The performance is excellent the down fall is investing in all the expensive batteries.
yes it is expenssiv I have don it. However i do not regret. For my experience and i have try i feel that using the AP300 i be short so i always go with AP500 and then if i have not finish i go with AP300S. The AP300 is great for the chainsaw 161T.
what do you guys use for mowing gas or battery machines?
@city scapes lawn care
@@steveuglesich3066 I use a gas mower. The commercial battery mowers are $30k. Not able to go batteries on the mowers yet
I'm a residential user only, not a pro, but I don't like it; the main reason is the lack of balance. I went to this from a Honda HHT25 string trimmer. It weighed about 14 1/2 lbs, but the balance was perfect. The 135R weighs about 15 1/2 lbs with a 300S, and of course the bulk of the weight is on the motor/battery end. You can adjust the loop handle all you want; doesn't help. I've started using it with a 200, which is only a pound less than the 300S, but it makes a big difference as far as the balance goes. To sum it up, the performance is fine; the ergonomics are not. I doubt I'm going to keep it much longer.
I agreed it is probably balanced a bit different than a Honda. They all feel a little bit different weight and balance wise. No shame in getting rid of it if it doesn't feel good to use. We like ours the more we use it. Takes quite a bit of getting used to. Thanks for the comment and best of wishes on finding the right trimmer.
I bought the FSA 130r with the backpack battery. My weed eater just has the power cable port. I like it so far! I have the Ar2000 back pack and it seems to have the power. I haven't ran the battery low yet, so I can't give you run time. I was told tho 9 hours of trigger time
That's a sweet battery to have! I bet it will last about 9 hours. Was told by my stihl dealer they do anyway.
@@bladezllc oh yeah! I Like it. I do think your trimmer has more power tho 😂. Also you and your wife do great work ! Keep it up😉
@@lacharlesfitts1137 Thank you! We appreciate it.
We live out in a rural area and sometimes the grass turns to weeds pretty fast. My echo brush cutter is about worn out after 6 years so I thought about replacing it with one of these but dang that's expensive. I had a lawn business at one time and I only ran maryiama trimmers, edgers and blowers but I can't find them anymore around my area. Looks like I'll be staying with echo.
Echos are fine machines also! Stihl stuff is pretty pricey!
I purchased this same trimmer for my own lot. Pricy but that’s my only “complaint”….if you can even call it that. I knew what I was getting into and feel like it’s been a fair ROI for my specific needs.
That's excellent man! For your own home I think it's a no-brainer. Hopefully yours treats you as good as mine treats me. It's been an excellent trimmer!
@@bladezllc Appreciate you taking the time to respond! Best of luck to you!
Nice !
Always as long as it is possible don't go in full power so the baterie last little longer. I myself i am happy with mine, i also have the chainsaw 220C, 161T, AMS300 and I the have batteries AP200, AP300,AP300S and AP500
Sure is not cheap but i am still happy.
Also my buddy Douglas Lawncare has some good videos using this trimmer, he runs his on level two for battery efficiency.
2 does really good on well maintained lawns. The power is there!
@@bladezllc ok but check Douglas lawn care videos, he uses the black diamond string in some very high grass on level two, thanks for the info on the price for the trimmer, I use ryobi 40v with the 6ah battery, greenworks 60v and the Toro 60v.
Feel like I’m insane but just dropped close to 3k to get into electric. I got the eco flow solar generator, 2 husqvarna trimmers and about 4 batteries. I just got tired of my gas trimmers shitting the bed. I got a pile of stihl trimmers in my shed. I have been using the electric hedge trimmers and chainsaws for a couple years now and love them. the batteries last a long time when trimming hedges. I do always have gas powered trimmers for back up though. Couple other things to think of is no running the machines dry at the end of the year. No replacing spark plugs, fuel filters, air filters or adjusting the heads for yearly maintenance. Only real problem I see with electric besides the price is when they stop working you can’t even think of the first place to look to fix it. With gas, most people can easily check for spark, check screen on muffler etc.
100% agree! I really enjoyed reading your comment. I'm definitely enjoying the ease of the electric so far, ready to invest in more already. Noticing a pretty decent fuel savings already as well!
@@bladezllc glad my two cents was helpful. Just a FYI if you haven’t tried them yet, I highly recommend the HSA 94 T hedge trimmers. You have to get the harness and you are connected to a wire which sucks a little but it’s doable. The batteries you already have plug in and hang on the belt that goes around your waist. If you do a lot of hedge trimming, they can’t be beat. They are a beast, cut quality is nice and they are super fast. Only con I see is if you are surrounded by a lot of bushes the wire tends to get caught on branches.
Definitely get a dual battery deep cycle setup for your truck.
Definitely!
PS I wanna add this.. you were trimming some spots that i know I could have gotten my mower up into a little better.. do t be afraid to get the mower as close as you can to trees and roots and stuff.. you will be surprised at how close you can get them bastards to roots and trees.. just keep an ever vigilant foot on that deck height pedal and I'm telling ya I have mower some shit successfully alit closer than I thought possible without damaging the tree/roots or my blades..
I did get 135 edger, 135 weedeater, hedge trimmer and a 135 pole saw and I did install a solar panels from harbor freight on my cover trailer and I don’t have any trouble charging my battery so
The solar charger is an excellent idea. If we had an enclosed trailer I would definitely install some.
Did you get a battery, inverter and solar to charge the batts?
@@show2ime I don't have a solar charger yet just an aftermarket inverter in my truck cab.
The battery is the biggest cost and lasts for a good size home. I can't see this as commercial. I had to go back to gas because the attachment I bought was too heavy for the motor. The fail safe kept shutting it down and the battery died quickly because of the heavy load. The battery was a 4 ah. I guess if you have a slew of batteries it would be OK. You could easily spend$1k for 5, 6, 7 batteries. And you're still using gas if you are charging with your truck turned on.
I mow in city medium sized lots. I charge batteries using outdoor plugins at the customers.
That works!
Keep it an just use it for small small sites, to assist your petrol strimmers .It is what I'm going to do when I get my battery 🔋 strimmer next. I'm probably going for 82 or 90r.
We love fossil fuels here. Lol. The electric equipment is progressing extremely fast. Electric ice augers, dominate the the market now. But, I think there is a long ways to go, before it's able to replace all gas equipment.
100% really easy, simple, and quiet.
I would have to totally agree with you Livin MN Outdoors! I think electric will be the thing, just not yet! I would guess we are still 3 to 5 years away from a good product that is good for all day commercial use, also the electric motor head is heavy
I kind think like you before, I have 3 chainsaws and 1 trimmer gas powerd for curiosity I buy one battery chainsaw the Stil MSA 220 now I end up having 3 battery power chainsaws and one trimer I just keep the old huskvarna chainsaw for memory the rest even cheap but I sold themes. I find battery is much convenient.
@@sirvozelo1 battery definitely is convenient
I have the other model of the 135 for I cut more havier stuff. But with AP300 you not go far I use the AP500S and then wile charging the AP500S I go with AP300S. Normaly I use the AP300 on the 161T chainsaw
Hey pps your wife is hot.. how many months do y'all trim up in Maine or wherever you said you are? I get about 8 months mowing down here in GA.. I imagine you have much less mowing time.. I know it's so cold there for so many months.. but so gorgeous weather you have.. I love spring and fall mowing down here.. it must be like that for you the whole mowing season.. which I would assume is no more than 4 to 6 months.. but just gorgeous Maine weather for mowing.. what a dream.. and with your wife no less.. what a dream job you have.. and me too but you got it made in the Maine shade
6 months of mowing where I'm at.
Use the shoulder strap seriously 😳 it helps lessen the load. I am retired so I didn’t buy the larger battery 🔋, 9 volt battery it’s was to damn heavy, the 3 volt battery is good enough for me and no I don’t do commercial cutting, I refuse to work for anybody else, I am to cool 😎 for that.
Remember to allow your battery 🔋 to cool about 2 hours before recharging seriously 😳 that way you want burn 🔥 your battery up.
I love my system it works doing my yard.
I spent $1300 dollars buying the battery, trimmer and edger. Yes I spent a butt load of money 💰 I am not married so I don’t have a wife complaining about not having enough to eat because of the money I spent. Plus I purchased a $4000 dollar electric ⚡️ lawnmower an a $4000 Ebike, I am on a roll buying crap 💩 before I die 😂🤣🤣😂🥹🤣🥲😂😅. So…. So since I’m not married all my money is spent on my house and me🤣😂🥹🥹😂😂 you should see how sexy old I am.😂😂😂😂😂😂
Ok haven't finished the vid yet.. but just curious as to why you would remove the guard?? I find shit hitting me in the face and other undesirable areas as it is WITH the guard.. and don't day it's to use it as an edger because I have no problem using it as an edger with the guard.. just seems dumb to me .. like I don't agree with removing safety features unless it makes sense .. I have my own lawn business as well and have never ice thought hey let me remove this weedwhacker guard.. to each their own I guess but it amazes me how some people think and operate 🤨
Well there are couple of reasons that I do it. Mainly to see better and to be able to let a little more line out than the guard allows for. We always wear safety glasses so the eyes are covered, but I agree.. it stinks getting hit in the face and everywhere else with debris.
If Stihl had a line of other tools like impacts drills and such that used the same battery like Milwaukee then it mite make more sense but $700-$1100 for tool- charger -and battery! Naw man ! they gonna have to do better on the runtime. Stihl will def get better at this!
They have too due to fuel prices and all battery competitors. To me the m18 Milwaukee is by far the leader of the pack right now in this area.
Yeah they can definitely do better. It's coming! The price point on most stihl equipment tends to be a little on the high side. To be competitive they are going to have to get that down a bit. Thanks for the comment 👍
Good equipment and we’re definitely headed in that direction. Unfortunately, not ready for prime time in a lot of ways, equip, cars, trucks, etc! To much politics involved at this point! 😮
Oh yes lots of that unfortunately 😕 They do work well though! We enjoyed running it this year
I bought one of these stihl FSA 135 yesterday at a cost of nearly £1000 for the Strimmer. Battery and charger.. is this a joke , takes 70 minutes to charge the AP300s battery (once it has cooled down as it won't charge whilst the battery is hot, so that could take another 20 or 30 minutes) then gets maybe 25 minutes of use .. at this rate , its gonna take me a year to do 3000 sq m.. should have got a goat..
Wow I haven't ran into that issue yet. Sorry to hear that. Maybe in your case the goat would have been the better option. It sounds like there might be something actually wrong with either the charger or the battery.
I went all electric a few years ago after one year I’m back to gas
I thought I saw you had some electric equipment in your trailer. I have the gas still to back it, but we will see how it works..
I would purchase a solar generator off amazon to charge the batteries, BLUETTI Portable Power Station EB3A should be good enough for that all day, I have one made by Tack life that will run a 50 inch tv for 5 hours if the power goes out.
That's impressive! I will be looking into that.
.80 line, slow speed always, faster speed only if needed... start the day with three fully charge batteries.
I suppose the lighter line does help.. that's some pretty decent battery life.
Great job 👏. You guys get a tater tot hot dish.
That sounds really good right now 😉
I think Stihl dropped the ball on this trimmer. The average stihl trimmer is around $375 to $500 (commercial). For your trimmer to be close to the $1,000 (with needed accessories) is ridiculous! Long story short battery equipment is still in it's infancy stages. p.s now is not just yet to purchase. maybe a few more years (commercial wise.)
You are right with that price point it's a killer. All stihl equipment is spending, but this is a bit over the top. Thanks for the comment 👍
Here in Portugal I pay 450 EUR for the trimmer alone the batteries are expensive yes the good thing is that I use the same batteries on the trimmer and on the chainsaws 161T, 220C and MSA300.
@@sirvozelo1 yeah its nice that they work in a lot of different tools! Thanks for the comment 👍
If Ur going all battery it's financaly viable..I run hedge cutters mower chainsaw strimmers and blower all on ap battery .. I wouldn't go back to petrol at all.
I was hoping its' power was electric corded - not battery! Thanks for the review.
Stihl uses 36v batteries for the equipment... I wonder is a 36v Ebike battery could be adapted for the purpose... they are so cheap in comparison to the Stihl backpacks
That's an excellent idea. There has to be a cheaper battery that would work for the trimmer. I'll have to do some research and see if I can find something that would work.
@@bladezllc I agree... and the good thing about ebike batteries is that they have to be high drain so I would think they would work fine. And it is DC voltage so nothing complicated.
This decade is going to be expensive for all of us because it's a transitional decade for tech, especially battery technology. There's just not enough lithium ion on the planet for batteries, so pure research continues to seek a replacement mix electrolyte. For now, I'm using the Hart Tools trimmer from Walmart for their cheap batteries and easy exchanges if anything goes wrong.
Yes and it seems like there is a Walmart just about every where. Not a bad idea!
Best to pair it with a ap200. Ap 300 and 300s are too heavy
Do you still get a decent run time?
@@bladezllcI get decent run time when I do light edging and shrub trimming. The houses I do are pretty small and lawns don't grow alot here in California due to drought. I don't get that sore foream after using the trimmer. Heavy duty trimming will suck the life out the ap200.
Faster charger, three of them, with a solar panel setup on top of the truck to charge the batteries, and a set of, at least 4 to 6 batteries, the bigger ones.....
an investment of 2 grands, $2000, besides the trimmers....
Yeah that's expensive 😕
Believe me I am not paid or know anybody in Still. If you thinking about chainsaw for kind small things go wit still MSA161T. My brother have a Makita in fact he have 2 makita comparable with mine 2 sthil 161T and 220 we have tested both side by side even him prefer the still. He brought the Makita because he is a contractor and at same time he use the batteries in other equipment.
All this electric technology has come a long ways. Almost all these major manufacturers have electric outdoor power tools that are very impressive. It's all about personal preference and having some local support. I would love to get the electric chain saw from stihl eventually! Thanks for the comment 👍
Oops 🙊 I didn’t read the instructions so….I didn’t know about the speed controls, I don’t read anything
That’s my wife part time seriously 😳
I like it. But hate how it looks and sounds 🤣
Haha it's is definitely different for sure!
You'll see the money down the road not ever buying gas
I'll stick with gas ty my shindaiwas are 10+ years old and still running strong
Why are you trimming so wide around that tree? When you swing out your outer swath misses a ton, you’re basically making a star… you should only be trimming where you can’t mow.
How heavy is that compared to gas, I saw a guy using the battery power with a backpack battery for commercial use and I started laughing.
Yeah I don't like the backpack idea. Then you are wearing more weight and your trimmer is connected to a cord. Pretty irritating I imagine... Compared to a gas it's a touch heavier feeling in the back where the battery is. However the trimmer end feels a little lighter, so it's really how it's balanced.
You should definitely handle it in the store before buying...I wish I had.
I dont think the weed eaters are there yet. Milwaukee Hedge trimmers are really good as far as battery life goes - weedeaters and blowers not so much. Couple more years and they will be fosho
We need more run time on the weed whips for sure!
135 stihl is the best, I do use it on all Cain the grass and it cuts like butter
To me the batteries run time is the same as refill a fuel tank so
@@JuanMeza-op2zm really ? i can fill weed eater up and run all day..
a battery dies after 25-30 min. its not even a comparison. I can buy a good gas weed eater for $350. The battery alone cost 250.
Please get back to me I am going to purchase a Stihl weed Wackers battery also the charger is it worth it,and all my friends call me Beto thank you God Bless you
Yes, we still run ours to this day, and it works great 👍 I've heard they are not for everyone, but for most smaller operations, it's a great way to go. It does take a few weeks to get used to though.
We are far from a good long efficient battery for lawn equipment
Once one can last longer than a tank of gas I'll be very happy..
You'd get more run time if you didn't blip the trigger when not trimming.😉😝
That's a habit that will never be broken.. ha
@@bladezllc 🤣
why don't you trim a bit slower, then maybe the result would be a lot better. i know time is money, bla bla bla, but it still gets a lot nicer if you slow down a bit..
Everything looks nice going slower I agree 👍 but yeah commercially that's the speed I like to trim at.
I have a 1/2 acre and no it’s not good enough to go commercial. Ask my part time wife 😊
It's fantastic for commercial use! 👍
Junk