The Barnsdale Gardens Reviews
The Barnsdale Gardens Reviews: The Barnsdale Gardens team have been trimming the fat (or rather hedges and grass) this summer with products which are at it high end of battery garden tool innovation. These reviews show how great battery products can be not only in the professional but also in the home garden arenas.
Jonathan Brocklebank, head gardener at Barnsdale Gardens offers his hedge trimmer review below…
The Barnsdale Gardens Reviews
Stiga SHT 900 AE Cordless Hedge Trimmer
I’ve used many different petrol (noisy and smelly) and cabled electric hedge trimmers (cable is a nuisance) over the years and now I think I’ve found the perfect solution…
Until now I hadn’t used a large professional battery-powered hedge trimmer but now I have to say that I’m really impressed!
Like all STIGA products, it’s well made with a quality, robust, well-designed feel. The hedge trimmer weighs 4.6kg and has a cutting length of 61cm, so lighter and slightly longer than the largest STIGA petrol equivalent. The bulk of the weight is in the batteries which fit into a backpack battery harness – SBH 900AE – which is also compatible with other STIGA tools in the 500 and 700 series.
As battery-powered products are very quiet, compared to petrol engine machines, I can use this in the day without upsetting the tranquillity of the gardens, also there’s no exhaust fumes or engine heat to deal with – so a win-win.
I really liked that there are three different cutting speeds which can be quickly selected with a keypad on the handle. I found that smaller or more intricate sections of hedges can be cut precisely, with less chance of error, at lower speeds rather than full speed. An LED panel indicates the current battery level which is a bonus. The comfortable soft-grip handle can be rotated 180 degrees (three set positions) allowing for vertical and horizontal trimming without awkward wrist twisting.
The cutter blades are double-sided allowing for cutting in either direction and they’re extremely sharp giving a pleasingly clean cut. I have trimmed the summer growth on Beech hedges and it gave a first-rate finish so I look forward to using it on our Yew hedges later on.
Although this is called a hedge trimmer it’s suitable for cutting hedges with thicker branches (STIGA claim it’ll cut through branches up to 3.3cm in diameter) which is impressive.
Battery life: The battery harness holds two E475 Li-ion batteries and I found that each one gives a minimum run time of 90 minutes at full speed (lower speeds mean longer run time).
Conclusion: I’d certainly recommend this hedge trimmer to anybody wanting to invest in a quality battery-powered tool; it’s perfect for all types of medium and large hedges.
You can read all of the team’s Tools On Test here: https://shop.barnsdalegardens.co.uk/blogs/tools-on-test
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