Customer Reviews for RYOBI 40V Expand-It Cordless Battery Attachment Capable String Trimmer (Tool Only)

Had a big yard cleanup project and my gas trimmer just died. I went with the Ryobi since it shares a battery with my leaf blower. Awesome product, but make sure you buy extra trimmer line.

It was all easy to use. Charge the battery and pull the trigger and it works. No gas to mix or deal with. Some of them items are a little awkward to use (blower) without a strap. It’s very light and well balanced with any of the attachments. It does lack a little bit of power as it struggles on the edging and weed eating area but it pulls through it. All in all, it is a really good bundle, good price, and easy to use. I like it because it uses the same battery as the lawn mowers and other Ryobi equipment so I have plenty of battery power for all.

This knocks the socks off my Ryobi 2-cycle gas string trimmer. It's much faster getting through even thick tangled grass and weeds. We're not talking some sort of wispy grass here. Battery life for the 4ah battery was good as I was in the high setting the whole time and mashing the whole time.

Pros:Its powerful, Battery life is great, gets the job done Cons:Usual Ryobi quality control issues {First time for me} fit & finish, right in the grip Missing parts Its heavy, a strap would’ve been nice NOT VARIABLE SPEED It has 1 speed TURBO, all the time Anything else it just sputters Replacement batteries are out of reach $180 really? Cheaper just to buy another combo set

first time using it the string hits the plastic guard and then the string wrapped itself around and tangled itself up.

I will never use another gas powered tool again these things are great

This trimmer did really well for a good time, but ultimately it didn't hold up. Using it today it melted and started bending in half right at the motor vents.

Worth every penny, not sure if i will ever have to go back to gas string trimmers again. I was tired of mixing oil and gas or having to buy pre mixed fuel all the time. The battery that comes with it is pretty decent, but I do plan on purchasing a 6ah battery as well. By far the easiest string replacement i have ever done with any string trimmer, ever. I recommend this to anyone and everyone!

So I primarily use this for doing maintenance of the riding trails around the barn. I have an excellent Stihl gas trimmer but it's so loud that you can't really work around the horses with it. This is basically as loud as a loud fan, so no need for hearing protection (definitely eye protection). Since the stuff that grows on the trail is super tough, I swapped the string-head out with the bladed brush head. Now on my Stihl I have used every brush blade out there (the Y shaped one (meh), the chainsaw disk (ugh) and the circular saw one (best). I will say these little plastic blades did surprisingly well (although both snapped after several hundred yards of heavy stuff (but only about 1/2" snapped off so totally usable) So first off battery life? Well I constantly see reviews where people imply that they cleared all of Kansas' wheat fields on just 2-dots of battery... I mean I probably was able to clear 200 yards of heavy brush 6' wide before it stalled out. No complaints there (carry a second battery). The motor did not get hot. The biggest flaw was in taller grass the stalks wrap around the transfer case and get between the 2 halves. It is super tightly wound on there (see first photo) (a knife is good to get that out of there) The trimmer would stall out from the friction of that mass of grass. Not sure why they couldn't put a little shield on there (I may 3D print one in polycarbonate). Otherwise this thing was fantastic. In case someone is wondering why I don't just mow it, I've found that if I don't knock it down with the trimmer first the tractor mower can't chop it up effectively. Note in those photos the trail was chest high before hitting it with the trimmer.

Love the price and the quality. Easy to assemble and the most powerful battery next to what NASA has. 5 Thumbs Up for a battery operated weed killer that goes above and beyond. Balanced perfectly and met all my weed and grass trimming expectations. besides, I can use it for 90 days and if it does not function as indicated, I can return it to HD for a full refund. And so far, I have no complaints at all. With a full 15in cutting swatch, I'm finished doing my acre of ground in no time at all.

Been using mine for 3 years and out of no where the handle snapped off. Not due to abuse or anything of the sort.

I have let the trimming of the weeds around my house and brick pavers in my landscapping get out of control becuase all I have is a corded trimmer which is a pain in the butt to use with that cord dragging around everywhere. Also the power was not the best as well even though it was plugged in. Decided to finally upgrade to a cordless, non-gas trimmer and I am glad I did. The timmer charges pretty quickly and holds power well, and the adjustable handle is very handy so you can adjust according to height and how you want to hold it depending on if you are trimming or just killing weeds. The power was the best part as that was my biggest concern, but this things packs a good punch and cuts through thick weeds. This is a great cordless, non-gas trimmer with lots of power for any job.

This is just what the doctor ordered! I am getting older and a recent hand injury has made it a challenge to start the 2-stroke Ryobi Expand-it power head. It is not fair to compare the power and speed of the 2-stroke to the 40 Volt battery. The 40 Volt battery is quieter and much easier to "start". The battery still had power left after I trimmed and edged my yard. Other reviews complained about the string feeder/loader breaking. I was able to put the old string trimmer on the 40 Volt. I have a new backup trimmer if the old one breaks. The 40 Volt is easier on my hand and better for the environment!

I haven’t used the product yet but it looks awesome my 1 star is because my packaging did not include the front handle “black handle for second hand” am I crazy?!

The box shows 5 year warranty in multiple places. No No No. The Straight Shift Trimmer Attachment shows 3 YEARS WARRANTY in the manual. The battery and charger are 3 years. The only thing in the box that is 5 years is the 40V Power Head, per the included instructions and warranty statement. Also setting the cutting blade for 15", won't give you 15". At best you will get 14". My first Ryobi tool and thus far I intend to return it within the 90 days.

Easy to assemble and use almost as tall as I am 5' 10" comfortable to gold and manoeuvre works with the same battery as the mower

After attempting to use a gas powered trimmer I found the fumes, hassle of starting and noise were a little too much. After using the Ryobi trimmer the first time, I was sold on it!! Very easy to start, battery lasts a long time, the trigger is pressure sensitive, and it is way lighter than gas trimmers. Definitely recommend it!

So I am not very experienced at this. This is my second weed wacker in 30 years after a quiet period of 20 years. This is a very effective and powerful weed wacker in the class of cordless wackers. Especially quite effective on dry brush and light weeds. I zapped through about 1000 square ft of yard space within 50 dis-continuous minutes. And the battery did not even finished although I was "finished". So here is the reason for the last "finished". This is quite heavy to lift and too long for my height which is 5'9'. And my arms are still aching 2 days after doing the work. I picked a very hot part of the day, unfortunately to do all the work, and I was working on a gradient terrain. So this might have added to the inconvenience and exhaustion. However, there are some advantages of the sloping ground. I can stand at the top and wack downwards, thus using gravity to my advantage. Towards the end I could barely keep this monster wacker over the ground. I felt like I have cleared the first chamber of Shaolin, a martial art school in China. I also took a while to set this up. About 2 hours total. I took a while to figure out how to reload the twine as I accidentally removed the wheel and could not put i back on. I then realized after about 45minutes of trying that I had to apply more pressure. You have to fight the tension of the spring and then turn it downwards clockwise much like a rusted vitamin pill box. I almost gave up and felt like returning it back to Home Depot, but I am glad I did not! I took 1.5 hours to charge the battery and fitting the battery was not very hard. It took a while for me to figure out how to connect the power cable to the battery unit. There is a very tiny socket which is not clearly visible. I could snap the charged battery into the wacker fairly easily but the wacker would not start. I tried tightening the two pipes and thought it may not be locked in place. Finally realized that you need to pull the start trigger quite a bit before it starts. This added to a sore hand as you lift the heavy wacker over the slopes, you start losing energy to even press the button. I wish there was a power lock in place, so I do not have to keep adjusting it. The High setting was used more often than the Low. I felt the Low setting is useless. The device is too long. It could have had adjustable height. And the twines are expensive. I spent $24 for 3 additional bundles. Hopefully it lasts for a couple of years. I haven't tried using the other attachments. However I was able to zap through most of the dry brush and small weeds but not large plants and large weeds. I had to manually dig out the large plants. The mudguard works great, and I did not get a single pebble shoot to my feet. The twine however got stuck and refused to come out of the wheel. So I ultimately stopped wacking as I did not want to deal with the wheel again. I have not figured out the trick to make the twine come out on it's own while wacking. However, it does not consume much twine as I feared. The device is shiny and looks very state of the art. This is now the best tool in my gardening arsenal. This might be worth owning despite all adverse comments above. Perhaps most of you are hopefully stronger and taller than me.

So I bought the 40v because my 18v one was on its last leg. I've used Ryobi for about 3 years now and just recently started the 40v line of tools to and I definitely see a difference in power with the string trimmer and a better quality of cut with it also.

I absolutely love this string trimmer! I've had a Ryobi 2cc for 8 years, but I reay just wanted to get away from the gas and oil mixing and pull cranking. I have 3/4 acre yard and this easily handles all the weed eating on one charge. It's awesome! And I love the EZ Reel to reload the string. Best thing ever! I would definitely recommend this product!

Assembly was an ease and product performed as well as expected.

I really like it; I didn't know if I would or not. For a 60 year old female, it's a little heavy but I am able to use it for about an hour before I need a break. During my break, I recharge the battery which takes about an hour to an hour and a half. I only use the attachment with the two plastic blades. I am clearing out a ravine in my front yard where the weeds get overwhelming; and so occasionally underneath the weeds will be a stump and when I hit a stump, the tip of the blade breaks off but I am still able to use it. I have yet to have an entire blade break off! Changing a blade is easy; you just line the top up with the arrows which unlocks it. Remove the top, drop a blade in on the post; replace the top; takes maybe 30 seconds. So it's doing what I bought it for and that makes me happy! I'm attaching a photo of what I've cleared so far.

This Ryobi trimmer was just what I was looking for. It's powerful and the best part is you never have to mix gas and oil again. Adding more line is extremely easy and I highly recommend it. Thanks Home Depot

It's great and powerful, but the main reason I bought this brand is because I thought it came with universal mounting hardware. I spoke to an employee at Home Depot whom told me my universal attachments I had at home would attach to this unit. After receiving it via UPS and using it once to see how it performs, now trying to figure out how to get my attachments on it, I think she was wrong. Which really upsets me because I love this weed whacker but it doesn't help with the attachments I already had which was the number one reason for me making this purchase. I'm hoping I can either get a refund or they can help me get my other attachments on it. Lesson learned. Don't speak to anyone over the phone. Go in and talk to a professional and bring ur attachments with you.

This trimmer is a real workhorse! It has plenty of power and flexibility. I have also purchased the Expand It Brush Cutter as I have heavy brush and on my property and it is quite large. I worked the trimmer for 2 hours on one charge!

Easy to assemble and very easy to operate. Battery is powerful and last for a long time. Would by again. Would recommend.

I use this tool to clear mountain bike trails in the Santa Monica Mountains. I don't aim to cut the thick stalks of weeds and thistle. I use the 40v Ryobi Hedger Tool for that. What I use Ryobi 40 V String Trimmer for are the grasses, the smaller stalked thistles and burrs and the tangle of creeping vines - basically anything that has a stalk diameter less than or equal to my pinky finger. The tool itself is well built and balanced. It has a lot of power to cut. You will want to get a few batteries for it if you don't have more than one. And the battery should be greater than 4 Ah. Ryobi does make a 5Ah and a 6 Ah battery. Those would be best. The largest I have so far is 4.6 Ah battery and it gives me about 30 - 45 minutes of actual run time at 60 to 100% throttle speed. And I have two 2.4 Ah batteries that each will power this tool for about 15 - 20 minutes at 60% to 100% throttle speed. If you run it at 100% throttle speed, then your battery will deplete much sooner. So if I were to purchase this tool again, I would spend the extra money and buy the model that includes the battery as it's less expensive to do so than to buy the battery separately.

I just bought the Ryobi 40v string trimmer. It has exceptional power and is just right for what I need it for. I use it to trim the edges of the grass leading up the wall and trim and edge also. I was extremely skeptical about buying a battery power tool but I was not disappointed at all. It has the same power of my 26cc Craftman speed start but I don’t have to pull and pull to start it up. Out of the box it the battery 1.5 hours to fully charge. I did all my yard trimming and edging on a single charge. Still have 1/2 the juice in it. It did no struggle with hi grass one bit. I love it. One thing thou the battery does get extremely hot. I wish they would design a pad or something so you get burn. The battery normally sits on the inside of your arm and it does burn. Other than that it is a great tool.

Was looking for a new gas weed eater and took a chance on this one. I really didn’t have high expectations and thought I’ll just bring it back if I don’t like it. Needles to say I love it! I couldn’t believe the power. I had some tall grass on the edge of my property over a foot tall and this weed eater took it down no problem. I really couldn’t be any happier with it. Battery lasted for the whole job and still had plenty to finish the rest of the yard. The battery did get hot that probably the only complaint I would have but gas engines get hot too. Ryobi probably could have put a plastic shield over the battery but other than that great product.

The last battery-powered yard tool I had was from 20 years ago and despite living in a townhouse (Very small yard), the battery never lasted for the whole job, even when I was just doing my own yard. Last year, I purchased the Ryobi 2-stroke Expand-It curved-shaft edger and have really been pleased with its versatility and dependability, although it's VERY important to use a product like TrueFuel so it runs at it's best. I since purchased the brush cutter, the edger, the leaf-blower and the hedge trimmer attachments. I wanted a straight-shaft weed-eater attachment but also liked the concept of just popping in a battery rather than fueling, priming, chocking and pull-starting the 2-stroke, so I took a chance on this model. I used the hedge trimmer first and it did a great job on the knock-out rose bushes. Then after mowing, I edged all of my townhouse unit's walkways, curbs and even did the townhouse for the lady across the street. I like the design of the guard on this trimmer head as it does a better job stopping flying debris than does the curved-shaft guard. Next, I hooked up the leaf-blower and was a little disappointed that it wasn't as strong as it usually is on a 2-stroke power head, but it was sufficient to do the job I needed at that moment, but I dare say it wouldn't be a good match for heavy leaves. I would also be reluctant to recommend this particular power head for an attachment like the brush cutter or the edger. It just doesn't seem to have enough "umphf!" But on the other hand, Ryobi has really improved the locking ring used to secure the attachment into the power-head shaft and it is a vast improvement over the design of the 2-stroke version I currently have, which I've already had to replace the locking ring and Home Depot doesn't carry them in stock. I was certainly right about liking just popping in the battery and going, and I (as well as my neighbors) ESPECIALLY liked the QUIET operation of this unit. The noise level was a whisper compared to the rather obnoxious whine of the 2-stroke engine so it would be great to use if you're an early riser and want to get started before 8:00am. This has also piqued my interest in other products in the Ryobi 40v line. I wouldn't recommend this for a commercial application or a large property, but if you're just an "average" homeowner, 1/4 to 1/2 acre, this unit should be equal to the task. In the photo, please note all of the edge work I had to do along the sidewalks, curbs and walkways to my neighbors doors-that's a LOT of edging. Over all, I am very pleased with this unit thus far.