Customer Reviews for RYOBI 40V HP Brushless Whisper Series 17 in. Cordless Battery Carbon Fiber Shaft String Trimmer w/ 6.0 Ah Battery & Charger

I was so excited to get my brand new 30in Ryobi ztr and it completely lived up to the hype! It blew me away the second I got it out of the box! The sleek design along with a stunning display that is visible even in direct sunlight and a fighter pilot like joystick to drive make me feel like I had stepped into the future! Having spent time in the past mowing lawns with a standard ztr I couldn’t recommend this product more. It’s truly revolutionary!

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Once assembled, it has the power to decimate any weeds, thick grass, and tree chutes. It is the essence of “Gas like Power.” I love not having to worry about the gas and oil upkeep. This trimmer is great to clean up the edges of an unkempt yard to make it look fresh once again! The power boost switch is no joke :)

This weedeater feels sturdy, very powerful and quiet, after pulling the trigger there is a slight delay but when the motor spins up, hang on, this RYOBI 40V HP Brushless 17" Carbon Fiber Shaft String Trimmer is claimed to be the most powerful model the company has ever made, plus the audible decibels are basically 50% more quieter than a gas string trimmer, and being apart of the WHISPER SERIES, this tool was engineered to be both powerful and quiet. Featuring a large cutting width and heavy duty .105" trimmer line, this device will trim grass anywhere, and includes multiple heads (bump feed head, fixed line head, or bladed head) which gives you increased versatility and backups incase you run out of trimmer line.  This kit comes with a 40V 6.0 Ah battery and a Rapid Charger, the only decision is if the price tag is adequate, but the 40V 6 amp-hour battery is adaptable to other 40V tools, so if you already own a couple, this may be just the new tool you need. As with most bump feed heads, the string line tends to stick and jam itself together, I am considering adding some gel type lubricant next time I string the head to test my theory or see if the sticking issue still persists. And the manual feed head is not bad either, you just need a pair of needle nose pliers to pull out the old lines.

Wow, this Ryobi 40V HP Brushless Whisper Series 17 inch Cordless Battery powered Trimmer with Carbon Fiber Shaft is what you need to tame any unruly yard growth. With the included heavy-duty string line included the SPEED WINDER that quickly reals in line onto the spool for dual length release. The included battery and charger can charge a drained battery to full in around an hour while regulating the battery temperature with onboard cooling fans. With a choice of fixed line or the bladed head attachment switching is quick and easy (easier with two hands but possible with one). When Ryobi says whisper quiet this trimmer wont wake the kids when used, but will deliver power directly to the head at the lead of the grip handle and easy squeeze trigger. Having a carbon fiber shaft keeps the overall weight of the trimmer reasonable even with the hefty battery installed adding the needed balance when in use. This trimmer can cut and dice with ease, and being a member of the 40V battery system this trimmer will quietly carve its way week after week of fresh growth.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Super lightweight and easy to use! Doesn't weigh you down like the gas weed eaters.

Ryobi - RYOBI 40V HP Brushless Whisper Series 17 in. Cordless Battery Carbon Fiber Shaft String Trimmer w/ 6.0 Ah Battery & Charger. The trimmer came packaged well. The assembly was easy and quick. The unit comes with charger, battery, the traditional auto feed string head and a fixed line/blade head. Run time on the battery is good I have done my in town lot 2 times now on the same charge and still jas 4 bars on the battery. The shaft is carbon fiber so it does not weigh very much. Good trimmer

I have had my gas grass trimmer for years but lately it's been a little finicky so I opted for the battery powered. Ryobi produced a solid chainsaw 40v I own so the string trimmer I hoped the same results. For the most part I am very happy. There is tons of power with a low and high setting. Even on high fill throttle it is signifantly quieter than my gas trimmer. The different head attachments are quickly changed out for different needs like trimmer and edging or ripping through tall weeds and brush. My favorite part is how easy it is to reload the string into the trimmer. There is a handle that connects to the head. Just pull the string through the head until its even on both sides, then just crank the handle like a jack in the box.BOOM DONE. Seriously so easy and no string getting tied upside the head. Despite being a carbon fiber shaft , it is a little on the heavy side and by the time I am done by arm is relatively fatigued. The one thing I really do not like about the unit is the trimmer head screen. It us abnoxiously large. Over 2x the size of my gas model. Yes it provides more protection but it makes the head heavier PLUS it is very very hard to flip it over and edge my beds like I do with my gas model. You have to guess where the string is and where you are placing the trimmer. It cuts through anything and I can use it for 20 lins and barely use 1 cell on the battery. If it wasn't for being on the heavy side the trimmer guard being so large, it would he a perfect 5.

40 volt Ryobi cordless trimmer- My item was shipped to the house using FedEx and it arrived safely and undamaged. A quick note, if you live in a rea with porch pirates the bright green box will be very easy to spot so plan accordingly. I added several pictures to show what comes in the box and when its fully assembled. All you need is an allen wrench and it’s included with the parts. Assembly took 10 minutes, but I had a heck of a time tightening the bolt that secures the handle to the shaft. It basically seats as you tighten it, so until you tighten it the first time it is a bit short, you will understand once you install it. Second, the trimmer line guard, look at the instruction pictures, you have to slide it in straight, and it’s a bit of a pain to line up the holes for the two bolts. The only other parts are attaching the two parts of the shaft. I attached a picture. They align easy and use two Allen screws that have locktite installed. After that you are done. The shafts are carbon fiber which is designed to save weight, It also comes with a separate head and two brush blades to tackle serious weeds It comes with a 6ah 40volt battery and a very nice charger, the charger has a cooling fan installed that runs while it is charging. You will hear the fan so do not worry that anything is wrong. It automatically turn off once done. My battery arrived with 1 bar, it took just about 60 minutes to charge fully, so plan accordingly. Let me tell you a few things you may want to know when considering this purchase. First, this is not part of the Ryobi add-on line, this is a dedicated trimmer, the two shafts have electrical running between them to power the motor in the head. I thought the add-on option was kind of Ryobi’s thing, but not a show stopper. The unit itself when fully assembled is just over 5 feet long and cannot be taken apart easily for storage Much bigger than a corded trimmer, the battery is heavy and all together this thing weighs almost 13 pounds. I have a small yard, so no issue, but it may get tiring if using on a large piece of land. The battery has great run time, I didn’t even lose a bar doing a 50 x100 yard and trimming patio, etc. Using the Trimmer takes a bit of practice, for me at least, it is large and powerful and can easily take out your flowers or scar a tree if you’re not careful, the extra length takes a bit of getting used to. This is the whisper series, but an electric trimmer isn’t really noisy , I didn’t notice much difference in noise level. This unit is definitely capable of handling most yard work. I would have liked it to be a little smaller and also to accept other accessories. The battery and charger would cost almost the price of the whole unit so the value is there, overall this is a nice purchase.

With Spring here I am excited to be out in the yard and not worry about a gummed-up carburetor of mixing oil with gas. I've been wanting to get a nice battery powered string trimmer and this 40V High Performance Whisper Series string trimmer does not disappoint. The assembly was a bit more difficult than I anticipated following the operator's manual it took about 30 minutes, and was missing a locking nut for the shaft coupler but fortunate to have an M5 locking nut around. The front handle should have been simple to assemble but took a bit of finessing and trimming of the rubber strips inside the band. The grass deflector went on easily. There is an included allen key used to tighten the bolts. Before starting assembly I put the 40V battery on the included rapid charger and it was fully charged by the time the string trimmer was assembled. The string trimmer features the standard rapid deployment string head that Ryobi calls Reel Easy that claims can be reloaded with .105" line in under 60 seconds. On the grass deflector is a cutting blade that automatically trims the string to the proper length and can be adjust between 15" and 17" by removing two screws and flipping the blade around. The string trimmer also comes with a seperate head to switch over to a flat bladed grass trimmer. With the battery attached the first thing I notice is how quiet and smooth the trimmer is with most all the sound coming from the twirling of the cutting line. The infinite adjustment of speed really helps control the cuts and accuracy desired. Located near the trigger lock on the rear handle is a speed switch that allows changing between a high and low, and found on the low setting had more control. One thing I really like about this string trimmer is it comes with the sleeker and lighter 40V - 6ah battery compared to the ones in my Ryobi self-propelled lawnmower, helping create a sleeker and lighter trimmer. Ryobi advertises the overall weight at 12.95 pounds but on my luggage scale found it about 2 pounds lighter. Even with the lightweight it would be nice if the string trimmer came with a shoulder sling to allow using for longer periods of time. During the weeding of the yard I barely used much battery, with four bars still remaining when done. Overall this is a nice, quiet trimmer with lots of power and long lasting battery, just wish assembly was a bit more simplified.

The trimmer was fairly easy to put together.  It came with easy to follow instructions. This trimmer does have some weight to it. Wish it had a strap to help even out the weight. This trimmer is a beast though. Make sure you fully charge your battery and read the instructions on it. It has some nice safety features on it. We had alot of trimming to do and about 1.5 hour in it only used 1/2 of a full battery. I like that it comes with the option of using blades or string. Switching them out was easy. I wasn't  a fan of using it as an edger maybe I just need to get used to edging with it. But definitely a great trimmer! My yard looks better now!

I have a competitor's string trimmer, but restringing is to hard on my hands. This comes with a speed winder which will make it easier to reload string. I really like that it came with plastic blades to make taking out tall stalky weeds out. Instructions are real through and easy to follow. The assembly tool is the only one you will need. Came with battery and charger, so it is ready to use. I have a RYOBI leaf blower and it works great, so I have added this string trimmer; and will definitely think about adding other garden tools.

I generally have no issues assembling items. This weed wacker required very little assembly but it didn’t go together easy for me. I needed to get help. Once together it didn’t seem it should have been any issues, so it may have been more user error. At first I couldn’t locate screws, eventually i was told they were taped to the side of the guard. I couldn’t get the handle on without another set of hands. Again, it may have been my issues. Once together, this works like a dream. It is solid and hopefully maintains a good charge. The string is very sturdy (seems like a plastic coded wire) and will last. Looking forward to using it this all spring and summer!

I received this string trimmer in exchange for my honest opinion of it. First I will talk about assembly of it. The handle went together very easily with the bolts and nuts supplied in the handle. I had my son-in -law help me with assembly as I am a novice. We had difficulty putting on the grass deflector as the plastic did not want to sit properly in the metal casing on the head. We could not use the supplied Allen wrench but had to use a 1/4 drive ratchet and extension to apply pressure at an angle to align the threads. The battery charged quickly and attached easily. After it was fully assembled and using it, it seems to be very heavy at the trimmer head, although the battery weight does equal both ends out and balances it. I, personally could not operate this for a long period of time due to the weight of it, but possibly the addition of a shoulder harness would help. The trimmer has two speeds and is very quiet in operation. It also does a great job trimming and is a powerful tool. That 40 volt battery really does a job!

The RYOBI 40V Brushless Whisper Series 17 inch Cordless String Trimmer delivers a level of power beyond anything I ever expected from a cordless machine. It felt a little “nose heavy” at first, so I had to reposition the center handle to better balance the extra weight of the motor being directly mounted to the string head. Assembly was pretty uneventful (less than 1 hour) and now I almost look forward to the quiet, exhaust-free trimming.

The initial assembly is not for the faint of heart. I had a feeling this assembly would be challenging when I found loose nuts and bolts right out of the box; also the initial assembly instructions are sorely lacking. Note that the model I received (Model # RY402011) is not “attachment capable”—it is a weed whacker only and cannot be used with other attachments (e.g., edger, pole-chainsaw). That said, I did manage to assemble it, though it took longer than it should. Once assembled, and battery charged, the weed whacker worked just fine. Replenishing the cutting string is made significantly easier than previous weed whackers I’ve owned, thanks to a rewinding tool that’s included. You can move the string cutter to adjust the string length, up to 17”. Also included are 2 cutting blades and a separate housing for the blades or a fixed string configuration. The different housing replaces the wrapped string housing. Of course, the big positive is the battery power. So, you can use 3 configurations for trimming: bump feed head, fixed line head, or bladed head. It’s Lithium, 40 volt, and 6 Ah. It charged quickly and should last a long time per charge. Big question is how long it will take a charge—hopefully many years. I have to say Ryobi made this rather complex weed whacker as simple to use as possible.

The 40V HP Brush less Whisper Series 17 in Cordless Battery String Trimmer w/6.0 Ah Battery & Charger from Ryobi, is just awesome. The battery is a little heavy. But when it is attached to the trimmer, the weight is balanced well. I tried it out on a very large Turnip plant. And it went thru it like butter. And the 17" swath it cuts will knock the trimming time way down. The most awesome thing was the cutting string installation. All you do is cut about ten feet of trimmer line. Insert the line thru the trimmer head till equal amounts of line extend thru both sides. Then, using the included tool. Just wind the trimmer string in. WOW, so easy! So far I love this string trimmer. The reason I gave it four stars was that I had to do a little trimming on the guard attachment in order to get the screws aligned with the holes. Not a big deal.

The Ryobi 40V HP Brushless Whisper Series 17-inch String Trimmer is an awesome battery powered string trimmer that feels and functions like a gasoline powered model. The trimmer comes with a 6.0 Ah 40-Volt Battery & Charger, a bump-feed trimmer head, and a fixed line/blade head. The 6.0 Ah 40-Volt battery really gives this strimmer a lot of speed and power. I have a large yard with lots of trimming, but the 40-Volt battery gives me plenty enough run time to get the job done. This string trimmer is not a toy; it is approximately 77-inches long from the bump-head to the top of the battery. But even though it is long, the trimmer motor and the battery give it a nice balance that makes it easy and comfortable to use.

This is a heavy duty weed trimmer. It is as powerful as some commercial gas units I have used. The wide (17 inch) cut makes short work of weeds. The tool is long but balanced by adjusting the position of the handle grip. The handle is slanted slightly on the shaft which makes it much more comfortable to use the trimmer. The carbon fiber shaft, plastic guard, and aluminum head cut down the weight without losing strength. The large 6Ah battery supplies enough power to run for a long time. I actually got tired and stopped before I could run the battery down. The .105 dia cord, combined with the high speed, makes this a beast when cutting weeds. There is another cutting head included that allows use of rigid plastic cutting blades or individual strings. This a a nice heavy machine that I expect to last for many years.

Carton is labeled “Gas Power Cordless Convenience.” Believe it. This hefty trimmer is an appropriate choice for lawn maintenance of an acre or more. Kit includes: 40v trimmer with brushless motor and carbon fiber shaft, 6 Ah 40v battery pack, fan-cooled 40v rapid charger, REEL EASY 3-in-1 bump feed line dispenser, separate housing for pre-cut fixed length lines or plastic blades. Compatible with 0.105 in., 0.095 in., and 0.080 in. lines. Adjustable 15 to 17 inch cutting width and heavy lines or blades make short work of thick grass. Two-speed switch and variable speed trigger enable choice of fast coverage or longer run times between battery charges. An attachable crank makes winding 10 feet of line onto the bump feed spool quick and efficient. The front handle is angled back; its position on the shaft is adjustable. Assembling the tool is somewhat complicated, but only a one-time task. For more details, download the user manual via the link on the HD product web page. EXPAND-IT attachment capability enables motor to drive other attachable tools available for separate purchase. Light carbon fiber shaft improves balance, but tool weight is still significant—especially with the 6 Ah battery. Consider alternatives if ease of carrying is a priority. Recommended because this trimmer has sufficient power to clear a substantial area of tough thick grass on a single battery charge. Warranty: 5 years tool, 3 years battery and charger. Tool and charger made in Vietnam; battery made in China.

The RYOBI 40V HP Brushless 17 in. Cordless Battery is a powerful trimmer and whisper quiet. It is very well made with carbon fiber rod and it was easy to put together. It took me about 15 min and has very good instructions both for assembly and operations. It comes with a Mac daddy rapid charger that completed full charge while I was putting it together. It is 6 foot end to end and heavier than I anticipated, I’ll have to get a sling to complete the kit.

This is a very powerful string trimmer but it comes at at cost of weight even with the carbon fiber shaft. The string trimmer weighs in at almost 13 pounds and about 10 of that is in the head of the trimmer. So though it is super powerful the weight in the front makes string trimmer not as comfortable to use over a longer period of time. Going over the specifications of the trimmer. It is carbon fiber shaft and the head is plastic and metal. The head takes a .105” line and the line length for cutting is 15”-17”. The winding of the string does require a tool but not a major deal breaker as long as you don’t lose that tool. The string trimmer comes with a 6Ah battery and charger capable of charging that up in 60 minutes. Battery life is good on the string trimmer and high speed and great with low speed. In addition to the string you can use a blade head that the string trimmer comes with. The string trimmer is a bump feed and though it recommends the .105” line it can take lines sized .080” and .095”. The string trimmer does come with variable speed trigger and an ability to run in high or low mode. The start up is a slow start to allow for more control heading into your trimming. Things I love about the trimmer is the power and variable speed trigger. I enjoy the slow start up but know that some like the instant power. The things I don’t like is the weight being distributed only to the front of the trimmer. Not something I used to and feels like it will tax you sooner. Also the front handle for mine broke in two. Looking at it and how it broke I would say it was an anomaly of a defect in the pressing of the plastic and most likely not a problem all handles will experience. The unit also notes it is a whisper series and though it is quieter than a gas unit I have had several battery powered units and would not say it is noticeably quieter than the other battery power units. Overall I think this is a good unit. I would have given it a 5 star if the weight wasn’t so unevenly distributed.

Delivery refused. Delivery driver was even in disbelief Home Depot would try to sell any mower in this condition. He anticipated I'd refuse it. Flat tires. Rusted bolts. Rusted blades. Screen scratched badly. Missing parts. All plastic sun faded. Water in the battery compartment. Both batteries look like they've been left exposed too. Driver said "they told me you bought it as is." ... no, I caught it on sale, but I still expect a new mower. This was absolute junk. Driver was super cool though.

The mower is excellent, very good for smaller yards, less than. 1 acre. Easily removed from pallet and changed fully in about 3 hours. I have used this 4-5 times now and love the ease of use. Assembly of the bagger was a different story, this took about 2 hours as the instructions were not clear and orientation pictures were not very useful. Once finally assembled and blades changed this works well!

The joystick was very hard to use to keep the mower straight and it had a hard time on the slightest inclined to maneuver .

This was a great value, especially with the extra battery that I received. I have not had a chance to use it yet, however, it feels very solid.

So far, it has been a great mower. It is really powerful and cuts through tall grass like a hot knife through butter. The joystick takes a little bit to get used to but no complaints.

Paid $330 for this and it doesn't come with a decent manual or a parts lists. I can't figure out what most of the included parts are for or how to assemble/add the trimmer head. I will probably return this and get and EGO. At least they have reasonable manuals.

It came scratch and filty dirty

Does not cut any better and joy stick is stiff and more difficult that traditional ZTR riding mowers. I am disappointed as not user friendly. Have had it 2 months.