In the world of the cordless hedge trimmer, the sacrifice you make is almost always related to the battery. Perhaps it doesn’t deliver enough power. Or, if that’s not the issue, perhaps it runs down before you’ve finished the job. Finally there’s the issue of weight which can turn the effort of trimming larger hedges into a bicep-pumping pain in the rear.

It’s with the battery in mind that we’re doing today’s review on our next cordless hedge trimmer. This time the product is by WORX. And, spoiler alert, it’s the battery that will have you singing this thing’s praises.

The WORX WG251.5 20-Inch, 18 Volt Lithium-Ion Cordless Hedge Trimmer Review

In our previous Black & Decker Hedge Hog review, we covered what we still feel is a fantastic product. But, having tried the WORX cordless hedge trimmer, we’ve discovered some new features to fall in love with in another product. Sometimes you don’t realize what you’re missing until you’ve sampled something else.

Where the WORX does not beat the Grass Hog is in its blade length. The WG251.5 sports a 20 inch blade compared with the Hedge Hog’s 22 inch blade. But does size really matter? Don’t answer that one, ladies. Yes, size does matter when it comes to trimming difficult to reach branches on your hedges. But one could reasonably argue that 22 inches isn’t going to give you that much more bang for your buck over 20 inches. Until you quantify the buck, that is.

The WORX cordless hedge trimmer costs substantially more of those bucks than the Grass Hog. Depending on which version of the NHT518 Hedgehog you buy you can expect to spend around $80-$90USD. The WORX, by comparison, offers the same 18 volt power but will run you a significantly higher $150USD. Wow, right? That’s a pretty substantial difference. Is it worth it?

Well to determine that it is time for us to get to the battery. As already mentioned at the beginning of this article, it’s this cordless hedge trimmer’s real claim to fame. The WORX WG251.5 comes with an 18 volt lithium-ion battery compared with the Hedgehog’s NiCad battery. What’s the difference?

The major difference between these two battery types is how they charge. The lithium-ion batteries in the WORX power tools are simply superior to NiCad batteries because they take a functional charge faster. That means, even if you can’t finish a job with your hedge trimmer, a short rest in the charger will give you a fully functioning battery. In contrast, the NiCad’s will need noticeably longer to absorb a charge you can actually work with.

Better still, your WORX battery won’t develop a memory. For those of you not in the know, NiCad batteries have the potential to develop a diminishing charge capacity. This tends to happen when you short-charge your battery because you need just a little juice to finish a job. But with the lithium-ion battery, you can charge your battery for just a few minutes to finish a job and then set it back in the charger to get back to full without that concern. The battery advertises about 30 minutes of life for moderate use.

Of course, that convenience is what you’re paying for when you shell out more for a WORX cordless hedge trimmer, but you might be wondering if there’s anything else going for it? Ultimately, you’ll save a bit on weight with the WORX – 6.8 pounds compared to the hedgehog’s 8.6 pounds – and I really do love the look of the WORX. You pick this thing up and feel like you’re getting ready to engage in an elegant sword fight with your hedges thanks to beautiful design and great weight balance..

At the end of they day you’ll have to decide if the benefits clearly evident in the WORX battery is worth the extra you’ll pay for it. If you do settle on this cordless hedge trimmer, we think you’ll be very happy with what you get.

For serious edging and trenching you need dedicated lawn edgers. This site being what it is, what we really mean is that you need dedicated electric edgers. While there are plenty brands out there that can bring you the tool of your dreams, we’re still focusing on Black & Decker products so it should come as no surprise that this article is about-

The Black & Decker LE750 Edge Hog 2-1/4 HP Electric Landscape Edger

Now if you’ve learned anything from reading here you know that our favorite tools are those that offer both the quiet of electricity combined with the convenience of cordless freedom. The Edge Hog falls short on the cordless equation. Yes, you’ll have to contend with dragging around extension cords.

There is an upside to sacrificing the freedom of battery power in favor of an electrical cord and that’s the benefit of consistent power that will last you for the whole job. The Edge Hog electric edger definitely delivers in that regard thanks to its 11 Amp, 2-1/4 HP motor supplying 150 in./lbs. of torque . It is a heavy duty tool for heavy duty work on even overgrown turf.

For all of that, you’ll have to decide for yourself if your needs will be met by it as larger landscaping projects just might not lend themselves to being chained to an electrical umbilical. It really is a coin toss whether managing a couple extension cords to keep them out of flowerbeds is a greater inconvenience than having to contend with oil, gas, trips to get both and the risks of storing them.

Assuming you’ve concluded that the juice is worth the squeeze, the Edge Hog will definitely do everything you’d expect out of a gas powered lawn edger. It offers variable depth adjustment which means you can custom your cut to accommodate your preferences or needs. Changing the depth is as easy as falling out of a boat or, more accurately, raising or lowering the front wheel.

One feature that can be a boon or bane is how light weight this electric edger is. At just over 12 pounds, the Edge Hog weighs as much as half that of a comparable gas-powered lawn edger fully fueled. While that may fill you with images of dancing around your landscape in record time, there’s one downside to the reduced weight and that’s control during trenching.

Controlling the Edge Hog on even surfaces to address sidewalk and driveway edges is a piece of cake. Its light weight really shines here and you’ll be thrilled. But when time comes for trenching around flowerbeds, this electric lawn edger is more prone to bouncing off course than its heavier counterparts.   We aren’t saying its a deal breaker but it’s something you’ll have to adjust to if you’re used to doing work with heavy gas edgers.

A couple final points on this electric grass edger (and most other electric tools) is that this is a safer choice over gas-powered options. Edge Hog electric edgers start at the push of a button, sure. More importantly, they also STOP at the release of a button making them a far safer choice. And, folks, it’s affordable safety. The price on the Edge Hog matches its weight with a featherweight cost of just around $90. Compare that to some gas powered models running in the $120-$140 range and you’re sure to agree these electric edgers open up the opportunity for beautifully manicured lawns for the rest of us.

Choosing electric edgers over gas edgers is a no-brainer for us. Light, efficient, convenient, they simply make the job of keeping your lawn beautiful easier and more affordable. If you agree that hauling around an electrical umbilical is a tolerable alternative to gas, oil and trips to the gas station, you won’t go wrong with the Black & Deck Edge Hog Electric Landscape Edger.

Let’s get to the good, first. And, folks, it’s mostly all good.

The Black & Decker NHT518 Hedgehog Cordless Hedge Trimmer

The Hedgehog electric hedge trimmer sports a 22 inch blade giving you incredible reach. The problem with some hedge trimmers offering similar length blades is that their weight practically voids the benefits you get from the longer blade. Not so with the Hedgehog which weighs in at a very manageable 6.4 pounds. That light weight combined with the long blade means great, straight, level cuts on even your most challenging shrubs.

Black & Decker claims its Hedge Hog will cut through ¾ inch branches. In our experience, that proved true and we even managed a 1 inch branch with a little wrangling. We don’t recommend pushing things, though, as the blade may lock up and leave you tugging and pulling to unjam it.

The handle on the Hedgehog is well designed and comfortably ergonomic. In addition, the placement of the battery in the back of the handle does an excellent job of balancing this trimmer’s weight to reduce arm fatigue. We’re also fans of the guard just behind the blade which did it’s job of keeping away backlash and debris from the user.

But there is one area where we felt the Hedgehog could use a bit of love and that’s in battery life. This cordless hedge trimmer claims to be able to cut 1200 square feet of hedge on a single charge. To most of us who haven’t bothered to measure our hedges, that sounds pretty impressive. What it translated into for us as we actually tried it out on our unmeasured shrubs and hedges was about 20-30 minutes of productive use on a single charge.

Our use of the Hedgehog would probably be described as moderate to heavy so if you have a light job load to address, 30 minutes of charge should probably do you fine. If you have more work than that we’d recommend picking up a spare battery. Better yet, purchase the whole Black & Decker CCC3000 18-Volt Cordless Electric Lawncare Center which gives you 3 useful tools (including the Hedgehog) complete with 3 interchangeable batteries!

To sum up, we do recommend this cordless hedge trimmer for small to medium jobs if you purchase it with a single battery. If you’re willing to fork out some extra money to keep a spare on hand or if you buy the 3 piece set, it’s a hands-down winner.

The lawncare center set includes an 18-Volt, cordless “blower.” We felt that product itself was wholly inadequate for real leaf work but, in its defense, it isn’t advertised for that purpose. It is actually an “electric broom” designed for light blowing to clean up lose debris and dirt. Great for getting the sawdust out of your garage or blowing lose dirt and leaves off your patio, for example, but definitely not the right tool for real autumn cleanup.

Still, our testing of that product had us wondering what Black & Decker could produce in the legitimate electric leaf blower realm so we decided to check out the LH4500. Here’s what we concluded.

Black & Decker LH4500 Leaf Hog Electric Leaf Blower

Now, you already know that we’re big fans of cordless equipment and the Leaf Hog doesn’t fit that billing. It is an electric leaf blower, yes, but it isn’t a cordless leaf blower and, from our experience, that’s actually a good thing.

Finding a cordless leaf blower that does more than an anemic job of disturbing damp or packed leaf debris is a real challenge. There may be one out there and, if we find it, we’ll review it. For now, though, accept that generating enough air to really get those leaves off your lawn and into a pile for bagging is something that requires substantial power and that means either gas or a cord.

The good news is that the Leaf Hog really delivers in the power department. Its 12 Amp, 2-speed motor churns out enough juice to really round up the debris you want gone. Sporting 240 MPH blow speed and 385 CFM (cubic feet/minute) air volume, it’ll take a darned determined leaf to avoid getting swept away.

Fair warning, though, just because this thing is electric doesn’t mean it is quiet. It isn’t quite as loud as a gas-powered leaf blower, but it still puts out more than enough volume to merit the use of ear protection and warrants consideration of your neighbor’s sleeping schedule.

It’s a Leaf Vacuum Mulcher Too!

What’s great about this lawn care tool is that it converts from an electric leaf blower to a leaf vacuum in no time flat. And the great news about that is that this little gem is also a mulcher! That’s right, it offers internal metal blades (an improvement over the plastic impeller in past models) that ravenously chew through leaves, small twigs and grass clippings and deposits all of the above neatly in a shoulder mounted bag.

Black & Decker boasts that their Leaf Hog will grind 16 bags worth of loose material into one! Full disclosure – we didn’t have 16 bags worth of debris to test and support that claim but what we did grind up certainly implied they aren’t kidding. And what to do with all that ground up material? You can use it all as mulch in your flower beds or compost piles saving you money in your gardening efforts!

Finally, we really love the price on this item. You can purchase it through our links for around $69 from Amazon. The LH4500 Leaf Hog comes with the Electric Leaf Blower Vacuum, tube with Black & Decker’s LeafBlaster nozzle, vacuum attachment with tube, leaf bag with zipper, adjustable shoulder strap and air concentrator. The bag is a tad on the flimsy side so if you plan on heavy use, you might want to consider ordering a spare replacement collection bag (will run you around $20USD).

The best endorsement we can give this electric leaf blower is this… our reviewer is keeping his and if you want it, you’ll have to pry it from his cold, dead fingers. Now that’s love!

Leaf Hog Configured to Vacuum

The Leaf Hog Eats Leaves and Twigs!

I’ve got a problem. It’s the white stuff. I’m a glutton for it. Call it what you will, snow, powder, etc, I’m addicted to it. That is, of course, until my cravings for grass start to crop up. No, gang, I’m not your neighborhood drug addict, I’m an outdoors enthusiast with bi-polar passions. I love to play in the snow, but I really begin to miss those warm summer days round about now. It’s the same thing every year.

If you’re like me, suffering through the second record breaking Mid-Atlantic snow storm, you’re probably giddy with delight while also painful aware of just how much cold weather we still have ahead of us before the smell of flowers and fresh-cut grass comes around again. It’s a bitter-sweet thought. I can live with the sound of melting snow dripping off my snowshoes for now, but in a week or three, I’m going to start going a little bonkers.

The good news is that now is the time to start preparing for warmer weather. Instead of half-assing it in your yard this year, why not take this downtime to plan ahead? Why not make 2010 the year your lawncare year. The year your house wins that coveted neighborhood “best garden” award? And, gang, it WILL take planning because there’s always that guy down the street a little ways who has an eternal green thumb and a natural talent for landscaping.

You know who he is. He’s got the greenest lawn on the block. Hedges dutifully take precisely the shape he wants. Small woodland critters dance around his feet and birds land on his shoulders and inspire him with song as he works. Say it with me…, I hate that guy.

For the rest of us, a beautiful landscape takes serious work. More often than not, we throw money at our problems and still only get meager results. At worst, we’re left paying the professionals thousands of dollars and that means giving up the pride of having done it ourselves. If you want to make a splash this year as the neighborhood powerbrokers stroll through and review your property, you’ll be well served taking some time to plan using one of the tools below to get just the edge you need on the jerk down the road. Note that all 3 are by Idea Spectrum.

Idea Spectrum – Realtime Landscaping Architect

In the landscaping software world there are a few winners and a whole bevy of losers. The problem is that the packaging on some of the worst software certainly looks great. Screenshots are fantastic and, if you’re like me, you’ve probably picked up a few of these things over the years only to find yourself very disappointed.

It got so bad for me that I simply stopped buying them even when friends told me ones they’d tried were pretty good. If it weren’t for a free trial of Realtime Landscaping Architect, I wouldn’t be writing this review, but I’m always happy to try something that costs me nothing. Good news… I was pleasantly surprised.

While Realtime Landscaping Architect is offered as a professional product, it is pretty darn approachable for amateurs and its tools are robust. Best of all, the results are fantastic allowing 3d walkthroughs, picture realistic landscapes (that include your home) and time-lapse growth to see what all your hard work will look like a few years down the road. You can even create 2D renderings and a project material list to come up with price estimates!

In fact, about the only complaint I can offer up about this landscaping software is its price. Expect to pay close to $250 for it but shop around and you can bring that down significantly. Or, better yet…

Idea Spectrum – Realtime Landscaping Pro

One step down the line from Idea Spectrum’s Architect series is their Realtime Landscaping Pro software. Packed with most of the features you’ll find in Architect, the Pro version shaves down the library a bit (8600 objects and 4000 plants rather than 12,800 objects and 5700 plants) to save you serious coin.

Running about $100 USD, Realtime Landscaping Pro is still a phenomenal offering in a more approachable package for the novice. It won’t give you everything you might like in the Architect set but, if you aren’t planning to design for clients, you’ll be getting more than enough bang for your buck here.

With the pro series you can still design landscapes with slopes and hills, import digital photographs of your house to aid in designing a super realistic landscape and even import custom models and materials. And, yes, you still get the joy of creating a 3D environment you can “walk” through. All in all, a general contractor could still easily use this version to demonstrate concepts to clients. You really don’t lose much at all for the tremendous savings.

Whether you’re designing for clients or just looking to show up Johnny Appleseed and his over-the-top garden of Eden, Realtime Landscaping Architect or Pro will help you get the job done and will even help stave off the cabin fever you’re probably suffering from round about now. Hang in there… spring is right around the corner and you’ll be out there with your cordless hedge trimmers soon enough!

There are two holy grails in the electric lawn care world conveniently summed up in two words; Power and Cordless. Give me those two options and, time and again, you’ve created a match made in heaven. Now, power is pretty self-explanatory; nobody wants a wimpy tool when the job demands it be done with authority, but why can’t I responsibly manage a cord?

If you’ve ever worked construction, you probably know a guy who, in the effort to cut a board, inadvertently cut through the cord to the very circular saw he was using. I’m that guy. Did it once, didn’t like it, never heard the end of it. I’m also the guy who tripped over a cord while carrying lumber and nearly impaled himself on a sharp stake. Meet my pal, Murphy. He goes where I go and his laws always apply. Reason enough to have a deep-seated loathing for cords.

I’m also lazy. Lawn care isn’t something I chew on before bed, dream about whilst asleep and wake up aching to get to the next morning. It is a necessary evil. I want a beautiful garden, I just want it as quickly and efficiently as I can get it so I can get back to my recliner, a cold beer and baseball. Summer is meant to be spent in front of the TV in an air conditioned room. That’s my philosophy and I’m stickin’ to it!

And while we’re focusing on all my many faults (if you choose to see them as faults) I’m also frugal. I don’t mean to say I’m a cheap person, just that I appreciate value in products I have to have out of necessity rather than choice. For example, if it’s a new snowboard or a great imported beer, the sky is the limit. But if it’s a tool I need to do work I’d rather not be doing, I want the best value for a reasonably good product.

All of this to get to the point that my ideals in any garden tools are – value, convenience, power and no strings…er… cords attached! Those of you who think I’d be better served by the power and cordless convenience of gas-powered lawn care tools need only go back and read the part where I point out that I’m lazy. I have no interest in running to the gas station when it’s time blast leaves off my deck or edge my driveway. I want to do the work when I’m in the mood and get it over with without having to make any additional trips.

Enter the Black & Decker CCC3000 18-Volt Cordless Electric Lawncare Center, the answer to my prayers. The first thing of beauty with this set is that you get three tools and I’ll talk about each one at a time. First on the list:

NST2018 Grass Hog Cordless String Trimmer

Of the three electric lawn care tools in the set, this is probably my favorite. The grass hog is light but, best of all, eliminates everything I hate about gas trimmers. No problems with weight, no string to tug on and false starts to worry about, no noise and no smelly fumes. It’s everything you want in a trimmer and none of the frustration to worry about. Best of all, you won’t annoy the neighbors as this thing is astonishingly quiet.

Battery life on the trimmer is reasonable. I’d explain more but there’s a reason I’m not going deep on that just yet. There’s actually some wonderful convenience here I want to elaborate on further into this article when I review the Black & Decker Cordless Electric Lawncare Center as a set. For now, understand that most average yards will do just fine with battery life on this string trimmer. You’ll get about 20-30 minutes of life out of a single charge with moderate use.

Another feature I love about the Grass Hog Cordless String Trimmer is the automatic string feeder and the rotating head. Automatic string feeding doesn’t require explanation. Suffice to say, you don’t have to do anything to keep the string at its optimal length. No more bumping! But it’s the rotating head that turns the Grass Hog from a trimmer into an electric edger that makes it a must have. Simply twist the head and you can put the finishing touches around driveways and pavers that give your grass a neat, professional look.

Of course, cordless means no worrying about dragging an extension cord along behind you and accidentally unplugging it when you’ve gone to far. Or, if you have my kind of luck, no worrying about dragging it through puddles and praying there isn’t a break in the housing. ZZzap! You can read more about this product individually at our post on Black & Decker Electric Edgers.

NHT518 Hedgehog Hedge Trimmer

I owned an electric hedge trimmer for years. It worked well but required a cord. Knowing my love for cords you can already guess how much I enjoyed using it. I assumed, though, that going cordless would cost me the power I needed to handle the abundance of hedges in front of my house. I was pleasantly surprised to find I was mistaken.

The 18-volt Hedgehog cordless hedge trimmer powers through the unruly shrubs in my yard like an angry grunt on a mission. It gets the job done in record time and gives me one less thing to worry about when the job is done (no coiling up cords).

I particularly enjoy using the cordless trimmer on the monster-of-all-plants, a mutant Forsythia growing in my front yard my wife and I have lovingly nicknamed “The Beast.” I love the look of Forsythia when in bloom and left to grow in a natural shape but this one was planted too close to our walkway so it has to be trimmed and maintained. It seems that no sooner have I trimmed the darn thing than it has sprouted back out, reaching ominously for anyone foolish enough to pay a visit.

The horror-movie-inspiring growth rate of this one plant means I’m out in our yard more often than I expected trying to keep it in check. I can’t tell you how much easier my life is thanks to Black & Decker’s Hedgehog. It gets the job done and has enough juice to power through branches up to ¾ inch thickness.

Battery life on the 22 inch blade Hedgehog is good, lasting a good 25 minutes. Again, I don’t want to linger on battery life and you’ll understand why when I review the whole Lawncare Center set. So let’s just conclude with the fact that the 6.5 pound weight is more than manageable.

NS118 Cordless Broom/Hard Surface Sweeper

The final item you get in the set is the Black and Decker Cordless Broom. Now, if you read a lot of reviews before buying this set, you’ll probably see some negative feedback related specifically to this one product. It’s like a bad quarterback bringing the entire team down. I want to clear something up though – there’s nothing wrong with the cordless broom. The problem is in user perception.

See, a lot of folks see this thing pictured on the box and get all excited. It looks like an electric leaf blower. A cordless leaf blower? How awesome is that! And, as the thinking goes, if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck. But this isn’t a duck, folks. More specifically, it isn’t a leaf blower nor does Black & Decker advertise it as a leaf blower. It is, in fact, a cordless broom/hard surface sweeper.

If you get this kit with visions of blasting leaves and debris off your grass, you WILL be disappointed. If you by this set with visions of blowing sawdust out of your garage, loose dirt and dry lawn trimmings off your driveway and patio then you’ll be perfectly satisfied because it does exactly that.

The low-power complaints this thing gets from some reviewers is simply the disappointment resulting from too high expectations.

Black & Decker 18-Volt Cordless Electric Lawncare Center Set Review

Now that we’ve discussed the individual products in the set, I want to discuss the lawncare center as a whole and there are some great features to cover.

First and foremost, each item in the set comes with its own 18-volt battery and they’re all interchangeable. It’s for that reason alone that I’ve held back discussing battery life in the individual item reviews. There are plenty times I’ve found myself needing just a little more battery life when I’ve finished trimming around my fence but haven’t yet done the edging on the driveway, for example. But because there are 3 batteries in the set, I never worry about it. I simply swap in another battery from one of the other items.

And, no, I never worry about having all three batteries charged because the geniuses at Black & Decker designed a fantastic charger that charges all three batteries at the same time! Yeah, but changing out batteries? What if you have to trim your lawn, hedges and blow away debris in a full day’s project. Now you’re just picking nits. It isn’t like you’ll be doing all three at the same time, right? At any time I’m working I can have two batteries charging while I’m using one of the tools. If juice runs low, I simply place the drained battery in the charger and grab one of the charged batteries. I’ve never found myself out of juice as there’s always a spare battery waiting in the wings.

The price for the Black & Decker CCC3000 18-Volt Cordless Electric Lawncare Center is also right. Like I said, I want value. You can buy the set for around $200.00 from Amazon. That’s $179 off the $379 list price, folks, and that’s a damn fine value on a product that delivers on its advertisement.

The bottom line is this – If you gas powered lawn care tools, don’t like cords, want a lot of bang for your buck and want tools that are powerful enough to get the job done, the Black & Decker CCC3000 18-Volt Cordless Electric Lawncare Center is definitely the kit for you. We like it so much, in fact, that we’re running this review in our Featured Products section. Just know what you’re getting for your money so the leaf blower… er… cordless broom doesn’t leave you feeling disappointed (it actually does ok blowing dried leaves off my deck).

Now you could go out and buy an electric lawn edger specifically for that single purpose but, if you know our preferences, you know we love efficient convenience. Why buy a tool with only one purpose when you can buy a tool that does two things for the price of one? That’s where the Black & Decker comes to the rescue. Introducing -

Black & Decker NST2018 18-Volt Cordless Electric 12-Inch Grass Hog String Trimmer

Now before you get annoyed that we’re writing about a cordless trimmer instead of lawn edgers, stick with us. You’ll understand soon enough why this product warrants your attention. If you consider your average day of yard work, you might expect to mow the lawn, use a string trimmer around your fences and structures and then attack those edges. Now we can’t help you with the mowing and trimming part, but why do with three tools what you can with two?

The Black & Decker Grass Hog string trimmer can save you the hassle and expense of adding yet another tool to hang in your garage. Not only does it do a great job at grass trimming, slicing a generous 12 inch swath of unruly lawn away beneath its automatic-string-dispensing spool (no bumping!), but that same swiveling head quickly converts this cordless trimmer into a perfect electric edger in just seconds.

The head of the Black and Decker Grass Hog includes a metal edge guide so there’s no fumbling around for that perfect edge. As already mentioned, the string feeds automatically. You don’t need to bump it on the ground as with some models. It maintains an optimal string length leaving you free to worry about the perfect trim.

As much as we love all the features we’ve mentioned so far, it’s the telescoping shaft on this trimmer that we love the most. Our tester, a taller than average fella’ swears that he’d buy the Grass Hog for this one feature alone. No back pain! And he’s right. The option to size the Grass Hog to fit you makes lawn work that much easier.

Whether you’re in the market for a cordless trimmer or electric lawn edgers, Black & Decker has you covered with one easy purchase…, the NST2018 Cordless Electric Grass Hog String Trimmer & Edger in one. But if you really have your heart set on buying a lot of cordless lawn care tools, read our upcoming post and pick up the whole Black and Decker lawncare center set.

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