Customer Reviews

Yard-Man YM137 15-Inch 5-1/5-Amp Electric Straight Shaft String Trimmer with EZ-Link Detachable Shaft

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the best electric string trimmer, ever. I absolutely love it and I'll tell you why.

1. I have owned about half a dozen gas trimmers in my time as a homeowner and each one without fail ended up dying within a year or two of purchase. These were not cheap off brands either. And, before their premature death starting these gas trimmers became harder and harder. With this trimmer all I do is plug it in and pull a trigger.

2. This trimmer is also a great edger. With the split boom design, MTD took this trimmer one step further and designed it so the attachment can rotate 90 degrees. This is so much more comfortable to use than having to turn the trimmer on its side. I have a 15,000 sq. ft. lot with well over 600 feet of edging to do, in the front yard alone! To make matters worse, I had not done the edging for almost 2 years so it was bad. Living in Honolulu with St. Augustine grass you can imagine what a task this was. The YM137 performed better than I had hoped. I had serious grass and dirt to go though, but the YM137 had the power to plough through this tough job. I didn't even go through one spool of line.

3. Speaking of line use, this machine is a line miser. Seriously. I had well over 700 feet of edging to do, along with trimming along fences, around trees, along the house et cetera. I still have line on the spool. And the bump feature worked flawlessly. Best I've ever experienced.

4. The two speed feature is great. You use high speed when you want to power though tough stuff and low speed when you want more finesse. The low speed setting was very helpful while edging because this motor has torque.

I searched high and low for an electric, split boom, straight shaft trimmer and this is the one. Unfortunately, YOU CAN"T BUY THEM ANYMORE!

I think it is a crime that we in the U.S. are given a choice of gas powered tools and all the pain associated with them or electric junk. I have used electric trimmers with the motor at the bottom. What a joke. These are bottom heavy, hard to use, uncomfortable and under powered. Forget about doing any real edging. Now, Ryobi made a tool similar to the YM137, but it too was discontinued only in the United States. A more POWERFUL version of the Ryobi electric trimmer is available in the United Kingdom and Australia. Too bad they're 220 volt. Stihl makes an electric trimmer (if it hasn't been discontinued), but without the split boom and it's a curved shaft design. Close, but no cigar. The cordless trimmers being pushed on us now are not even a consideration. You know the replacement batteries (just like all cordless tools) will cost as much as the tool itself plus you're going to have to wait for batteries to recharge. This is expensive and inconvenient.

The YM137 is balanced like a string trimmer should be with the motor at the top and the business end at the bottom. The split boom design allows for the use of different attachments and rotating the shaft for edging. The straight shaft allows better reach over a curved shaft. And, this tool is light. I used it for well over 2 hours with no fatigue or numbness.

In other parts of the world (where gas is ALWAYS expensive) they have tons of electric yard tool options including trimmers like the YM137. The only difference is that they are even more powerful overseas. I get the feeling that in the US electric yard tools are designed to fail. It's like "they" want us to buy more gas, more 2 stroke oil, more air cleaners, more carb rebuild kits and more spark plugs. All this just to trim the yard.

I know, some people complain about the need to use an extension cord. Big deal! You learn to work with the cord. My extension cord is a heavy gauge and 100 feet long. I don't have any problems. I'd rather pull a cord around the yard than pull on a gas trimmer for 15 minutes trying to get it to start.

And, others complain that electric trimmers don't have the power of a gas engine. Now, I'll admit that gas trimmers have their place if you're clearing an overgrown lot. But, if you have a typical yard in suburbia that doesn't have weeds 3 feet high this tool is all you need to get the job done. Yard Man/MTD, you had a WINNER with the YM137. I'm really sad to see it go. Do you have any lying around? I'll buy them!

I've had two of these and now I'm looking for another. My 1st one was the same thing with another name on it. My son has it and it's still working. My 2nd was the YardMan YM137 and after about 4 years of almost weekly service (my lot requires a 100' cord) the Hi/Low switch is getting hard to switch. I'm looking for another as a backup. I like the straight shaft for getting under bushes and yard furniture. The two speed switch lets you slow the string down around delicate plants and HI has the speed and power to cut large weeds. Yes, the spool is a bother to replace the string, but I have a spare shaft/spool end from another trimmer (it's a standard detachable type) and wind them both at the same time so I don't have to stop work. I don't let the string run too short and buy quality string so I've only had the spool apart once and it wasn't a problem.

I have had a Ryobi for over 5 years and never had any issue with it.Light weight handy and Works well all the time.Not noisy and heavy as the gas machines.
Great product

It's durable & powerful w/5.2 amp motor, yet light. Has worked fine for 2 years. My property is big -- I use a 100 ft power cable.Reloading string is easier than my hard start Ryobi gas unit. I use bulk .095 string. Bump feed is reliable.

This is a better product than wimpier, low amp electrics.

Surprisingly, Yard-man no longer makes or sells electric string trimmers. That's a bummer, as I'd like a source of wear-out parts in the future. They act like they never heard of the -137 & same for the -132

I ordered this through Amazon - well - an affiliate of theirs, I guess, and what I got was a Ryobi brand trimmer with a curved shaft. I was desperate at the time, so tried it out and am actually very happy with it. I don't know if Ryobi makes trimmers anymore, but given the bad review of this one, you might want to look for a Ryobi.

my roommate bought this when the ol' reliable black and decker electric trimmer gave up the ghost after years of abuse.

this trimmer is heavy, poorly balanced, and way too long if you are under 6' tall. it does not hold much string, runs out easily, and is a pain to reload (you cut two 10' lengths of line, thread them in, and turn the head until it loaded). it also is very difficult to disassemble the cutting assembly to unjam jammed line or if you twist too far while loading the the ends disappear. I can barely finish edging my front drive and sidewalk with one load, let alone the other edging tasks; and I am on an average suburban lot.

i only gave it two stars instead of one because it is quite powerful and the two lines sticking out make short order of weeds (before they quickly run out, of course).