ATLAS 80V EDGER TESTING and INITIAL REVIEW

[@TexTom1981]

To address your battery life concern on the the edger...it's a tool that's designed to work in tandem with the mower and string trimmer. Both of those tools are designed to work on yards that don't get out of hand and are regularly maintained. I have the self-propelled mower, the string trimmer, the blower and the edger. All 80v. My yard is larger than yours and we have thick St. Augustine grass. And we live on a corner lot...more edges. I use two batteries for the whole front yard and the edger gets me through the edging in about 1/3 the time it took me to do with the string trimmer. Our soild is heavy clay and the grass thick SA grass. Your pace was really slow IMO. I can go down the walks and gutters basically as regular walking speed and the edger just cuts through it all really efficiently. The reason I brought up the equipment i use is that before the edger came out, I was down to the last two lights on the second battery or the last one. With the edger, I'm regularly left on the third light on the second battery pretty regularly. Does the edger get through heavy stuff? Yeah, it does, but you need to plan your battery use and not expect it to get through it after doing a regular job of your yard AND THEN that extra load. If you know a heavy drain job lies ahead, you take full batteries to the job. I don't think you thought that through properly. But thank for giving this really nice edger some air time on KZbin.

[@tractorstrailsandlivingfree]

Actually, I 100% agree with all of that. This edger does work fast on my yard which is edged, trimmed, and blown every time and is much easier than when I edged with the trimmer. But I did want to try it out on some edges that weren't maintained that way so I could see how it handles the kind of yard that a lawn care pro might run into with a new customer because that does happen. I'm all about managing the battery on mine because I have to. I only have one battery right now so I am very intentional about my order of operations. I am very happy with the edger though.

[@roylindsey7030]

Thanks for doing this review. I usually use a string trimmer when my curbs need a trim. I do not hit them every week or when I cut the grass. They were getting a little out of hand and my neighbor who has a Stihl came over yesterday and did all my curbs and driveway. As much as I appreciated that, I like to maintain my own yard and I do keep it trimmed and cut every week or so and treat for weeds and such. I say all that so you understand my yard isn't unkempt (usually), we've had lots of rain lately so it's growing faster than normal. So I really want to edge it myself and this looks like a good buy that doesn't break the bank.

[@tractorstrailsandlivingfree]

@@roylindsey7030 thanks, no judgment here. Sometime the weather and life gets in the way. I usually only use the edger to get things back in shape and then use the trimmer for keeping the edge.

[@sydneypenniesr.9474]

Great job on the review. I appreciate it. I will buy on tomorrow.

[@tractorstrailsandlivingfree]

@@sydneypenniesr.9474 thanks! Edging with a trimmer is great for maintenance but sometimes you really need to cut the edges out and this does a great job at it. Thank you for commenting!

[@davidweeks1997]

I think that's a solid option for a home owner.

[@tractorstrailsandlivingfree]

Thanks! I agree, just not sure whether 1 2.5 ah battery is enough to cover edging, trimming, and blowing on one charge. Maybe.

[@davidweeks1997]

@@tractorstrailsandlivingfree Nope. You want at least two batteries, no matter what. Three or more depending on charge times, and also pay attention to duty cycle.

[@tractorstrailsandlivingfree]

@@davidweeks1997 thanks for that. I would recommend that as well if you want to be SURE that the job will get done. I know some people have mentioned battery issues with these but I also don't know if those people follow proper first charge "condotioning" procedures as well as storage, charging, etc. I have had no perceivable battery life degradation with mine.

[@justinpipoli6022]

How’s the weight distribution on this? I have a ryobi 18v edger and it’s very front heavy, the wheel is too small for it, and bracket is thin/weak.

[@tractorstrailsandlivingfree]

I won't lie to you, this unit is also noticeably heavier on the cutting end than the other. Probably because it is assumed to be riding on the guide wheel so the manufacturers probably didn't prioritize weight distribution like they would on a trimmer.

[@justinpipoli6022]

@@tractorstrailsandlivingfreethanks. I’ll try to get hands in with it in a store before i pull the trigger

[@leol1682]

Enjoy your work man .

[@tractorstrailsandlivingfree]

Thanks for the support! Just trying to do what I do.

[@GPayne5089]

The Trimmer edgers Leaf Blower from Atlas is good in price but those batteries are insane i just check out the price on this. The edger is around 99 dollars, but depending on the size of the battery, it ranges from 145 to 249 dollars per battery and 99 dollars for the fast charger that is right up there with sthil ,husqvarna gas powered that is both trimmers and edgers so idk

[@tractorstrailsandlivingfree]

True. My rapid charger was 59.99 when I purchased 2 years ago. Since I already had that and the battery when I bought the trimmer, the blower and edger didn't hurt the wallet so much.

[@tractorstrailsandlivingfree]

I'm seeing 79.99 charger, 139.99 for the smaller battery and 249.99 for the bigger one.

[@GPayne5089]

Yea, my bad on the charger it is 79.00 dollars

[@tractorstrailsandlivingfree]

@@GPayne5089 too bad it went up even that much though. Everything of mine is still working well though and my son bought the big battery for me at Christmas so I intend to try that out this summer.

[@GPayne5089]

@tractorstrailsandlivingfree yea, my neighbor went and bought the trimmer and leaf blower , and I honestly like them that leaf blower it pushes air just as good and my gas leaf blower , but it is allot like any other battery platform your biggest hit will be the battery not so much the tools you could end up 1000 of dollars in just batteries before you know it

[@TheRealChrisShades]

I like this gear and I actually have these tools too but the truth is the batteries are too expensive and the smaller 2.5amp hour one isn’t worth a damn because it dies so quickly so I’m selling my atlas gear because it costs $250 for one battery.

[@tractorstrailsandlivingfree]

I understand completely about the price. There are definitely less expensive platforms out there. That being said, if you already have the tools, charger, and battery, can you replace what you have in another platform for the cost of that new battery?

[@TheRealChrisShades]

@@tractorstrailsandlivingfree I should mention I have a small business. If this were simply for my personal home or properties I’d probably get by okay. I prefer the performance of my gas powered gear for now but I live in CA and gas gear won’t be CA compliant in 2024 and beyond. 🤦🏽‍♂️

[@TheRealChrisShades]

@@tractorstrailsandlivingfree But to answer your question more directly the answer is no id have to spend a shit load of money to switch to another electric brand just to have $99 batteries instead

[@tractorstrailsandlivingfree]

@@TheRealChrisShades I totally understand you have a unique situation where you're located.