Customer Reviews

Black & Decker 13-Inch 4.2 Amp Electric Automatic Feed Trimmer and Edger ST7000

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Let me share a small story that should tell you how good this trimmer is:

A friend of mine just bought a house, where the yard had been so undermaintained, that the grass was almost waist high. Last night, we went over to remedy the situation. We brought a powerful lawn mower, a Toro trimmer, and this B&D Trimmer. The lawnmower proved useless in grass that high, so we set out to cut it with the trimmers. I used the this B&D while my friend used the Toro. Thanks to the power of this trimmer, and the Automatic Line Feed, I managed to cut 80% of the lawn while my friend could only cut the remaining 20. While he was working to get more line out (or, often taking apart the spool because the line had broken off inside of it) I was chopping down 13" paths in the grass.

The Toro also seemed to get bogged down by the heavy grass, while this B&D just kept on going! I've seen some people say that the automatic line feed uses too much line... Well, I cut down at least an acre of waist high grass, weeds, small bush like things, etc. last night - and didn't go through a whole spool. I'd really like to know how these people are using so much line.

If you're looking for a high power, easy to use trimmer at a great price - this is it! I'm ordering one today after seeing it in action last night!

My experience is that this Auto Feed trimmer IS indeed a string hungry monster. I would have given it 5 stars otherwise. Fortunately, hand winding a reload is a fairly fast & simple proposition. I cannot recommend highly enough to buy the largest roll (for economy) of bulk string refill you can find. The reason I probably gobble more string than some other reviewers is because I do use it as designed, to edge along concrete as well as clear flora from along the foundation of my house. This brute actually breaks up loose cement with a loud "Ka-chunk!" (there goes a bunch of line) and keeps on whacking, so for heavy-duty operations it does garner the 5th star. Maybe with more experience I'll edge precisely and never hit the concrete at all - but in the mean time it's winding and whacking (and relaxing and admiring). I now have the best looking driveway, sidewalks & curb on my street.

I thought I would come back after two years and write a follow-up review. I don't understand the other reviews because I use my trimmer on a quarter acre of tall grass and weeds and it works great. I have cleared it four times now and I am still on my first spool. It still looks like Mattel toy but this does the job.

This trimmer works beautifully and is lightweight....easy to use...the automatic feed feature is excellent and works well with little effort. I have found very little problems with excess use of line. I like the idea of the line coming in a pop-in reel that is not a threading problem.

I had a gas trimmer/edger before this (I still have it). This is an excellent equipment for the following reasons - Low price, saves gas (Electric), Light weight (No battery), powerful trimmer & edger, autofeed.
Downside - Uses lot of line. This uses one spool for about 3 cuts (depending on the size of lawn). You will need a long power cord (100 ft).
But it is still worth more then its price.

I bought this trimmer/edger as well as a B&D blower and hedge trimmer all in one day. I couldn't ask for more for a mere $40.00 ($30.00 after rebate). It is lightweight and easy to change from trimmer to edger. I have never mowed, trimmed or edged a lawn before so having a tool this easy to use is great! It does appear to use alot of string but I was also doing some heavy edging to an unkept lawn. I don't anticipate this to be the case with normal use. Highly recommended!

I bought this trimmer/edger thinking how great it would be to just trim with the auto-feed feature. I have had the most difficult time with this trimmer. I used over 75 feet of line in an area smaller than 250 sq. ft. of mainly grass and some weeds. After using the spool that came with it which lasted 10 minutes, I constantly had to stop to re-wind the spool (yes, I read the directions and did it properly - 5 times). It continuously cut off pieces of line and threw them close to 100 ft. through the air. This is not safe in a California neighborhood. I would not recommend this trimmer unless you like fiddling with your trimmer.

The trimmer/edger works perfectly. My only problem is that the manual that was enclosed describes a different style trimmer/edger. Instructions include the use of an edging guide that is supposed to flip down for usage when edging, and up to be out of the way when trimming. This unit does not have a guide that does that. I must take apart the trimmer to convert it, which is quite a problem.

I purchased this trimmer after reading other reviews and I agree that this is a wonderful trimmer. It is fairly lightweight, so it's easy to manuever and allowed me complete my trimming jobs in no time! My husband and son criticized the purchase, saying it wouldn't be heavy duty enough to take care of the trimming I wanted to do, but they were very surprised when it arrived. In fact, my husband took it out to try it and ended up completing a whole piece of property that I had intended on doing! The only downfall is having to work around an electrical cord, but I knew that at the time I decided to buy it, so I am not disappointed. (Just make sure you also purchase a heavy duty extention cord that is long enough to get you where you need to work!)

At first I used this trimmer for the trimming (and edging) around the lawn only. I hesitated to take it into the weeds because of some of the reviews... But I did and I was very happy with how it cut them down!

Trimming the grass area I have- I do not run into alot of things like concrete that cause the trimmer to "eat" a lot of string.

I even cut some Pampas Grass, those of you who know Pampas Grass might be impressed!

--UPDATE: Still like the Trimmer very much. It has been almost a year.
I do use more string when I cut the thick weeds, it does so well cutting weeds I am not timid about using the Trimmer on any of the yard. Just cut Blackberry vines this week,
was pretty heavy growth, I had to string the spool a few times. It is very easy to wind the string on the spool and put back together. Got pretty fast at the procedure.
Fairly big area, and I was taking the weeds down to the dirt. Weeding along the landscaping rocks and gravel area ate alot of the string.

The string is not as Heavy duty as some trimmers, only .065"