Line Trimmers and Brush Cutters

Now that the weather is starting to dry up and the sunshine is appearing for longer periods of time, it is time to get in to the garden and start to cut and trim back the lawn and borders. It is all well and good getting down on your knees with the grass shears but there are better and quicker ways of accomplishing these tasks. Bring on the Line Trimmers and Brush Cutters.


What is the difference between a Line Trimmer and a Brush Cutter I hear you ask? Quite simply it is down to the head attachment, a Line Trimmer has a thin nylon line that is distributed to a set length and the high speed of the head allows the line to cut through the long grass or weeds. The Brush Cutter uses a metal two or three arm blade and are capable of cutting through thicker weeds and overgrown areas.


When it comes to Line Trimmers and Brush Cutters, you have three choices, corded electric powered, cordless battery powered and petrol engine powered, all three have there advantages and disadvantages.

Lets start with the corded variety as these are usually the easiest and quickest to get started with. When it comes to mains powered Line Trimmers, simplicity is king. All these types of garden tools are powered by a lightweight electric motor and have a power cord which plugs in to the mains outlet. The mains powered electric models advantages include being lightweight, easy to maneuver and simple to operate. The main disadvantage though with mains powered garden tools is the length of power cord which limits the operating area.

Following on from the corded models are the battery powered Line Trimmers. These are usually powered by similar electric motors on the corded models but instead of a power cord, it has an on-board battery system. The main advantage of these models over the corded variety is the working area is not restricted by the length of cord. The disadvantages the battery powered models have is the added weight of the battery system and the longevity of the battery power. Unless you have spare batteries, you will have to wait around for the battery to charge back up to full strength.

Due to the low power output with electric motors, they are usually not powerful enough to power Brush Cutters as the blade require much more power to turn.

Finally we get to the petrol engine powered models. Due to the design of petrol engines, these are capable of generating far more power and therefore used in most Brush Cutters and Line Trimmers. As there are no power cords, they are not restricted to working within a confined areas and providing sufficient fuel is on hand, can be used all day long. With this amount of flexibly comes a price, weight, due to the design of petrol engines and the added on-board fuel tank, these tools are generally heavier than their electric cousins.

Overall the petrol powered models give the best results but tend to be