LEHR Propane-Powered String Trimmer
By Kevin Pace
These days, a lot of manufacturers and retailers are trying to appeal to the eco-conscious consumer by selling products that make a minimal impact on the environment — it also doesn’t hurt if they save you some money. The new propane-powered string trimmer from LEHR promises to do both.
This trimmer runs on a 25cc 4-stroke engine powered entirely by propane. A small 16.2oz propane canister, just like the one you use on your portable camping stove or grill, will fuel the engine for about two hours. Because it’s a 4-stroke engine, it requires no mixing or oil injection, just a small reservoir of 30-weight oil for lubrication and cooling.
While burning propane is slightly more expensive by volume than burning gas, the manufacturer points out that this trimmer requires no oil mixing and no regular maintenance outside of changing the oil reservoir once a year — and due to the engine design, it’s far less likely to need repairing, so it saves you money in the long run.
You can find the trimmer under the LEHR brand name at Home Depot and Ace Hardware, and Craftsman has licensed the same models to be sold under their brand name at Sears. Before the Craftsman model appeared on shelves a few months ago, we were lucky enough to get our hands on one to play around with, and a few things stood out to me:
1. It’s extremely easy to start — it requires considerably less compression to start it than a standard 4-stroke or 2-stroke engine, and because of the propane injection system there’s no prime and no choke. Just pull and go.
2. The power transfer from engine to drive shaft is very consistent. There’s none of that odd jerking of the cutting head if the idle screw isn’t placed at exactly the right level. This also cuts back on vibration considerably.
3. As a direct result of the consistent power transference, it also idles very quietly. We were able to have a regular conversation without raising our voices while standing over the idling machine. You almost don’t know it’s running.
If you’re interested in seeing this item in action, check out the videos on LEHR’s site or stop by your local Sears. Most stores will demo the trimmer for customers upon request.
Expect to pay $200 for the curved-shaft and $220 for the straight-shaft models. For $20 extra you can get a model that takes the optional universal attachment. And if you like this tool, the website says to look for a propane-powered blower by fall of 2009.
Propane-Powered String Trimmers [LEHR]
Propane-Powered String Trimmers [Sears]
Street Pricing [Google]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]
May 28th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Interesting concept, but the eco-friendly claim seems totally bogus given that those little propane canisters are non-refillable and difficult to recycle because you never know how much propane is left over inside (until you cut into the can!).
I think that if you factor in those canisters, my gasoline-powered 4-stroke Craftsman trimmer is a lot more eco-conscious.
May 28th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
Bent shaft = home owner marketed
—-
Re:
bogus given that those little propane canisters are non-refillable
Refill adapter
http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1437938&CAWELAID=109382000
May 28th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Straight shaft:
http://www.craftsman.com/shc/s/p_10155_12602_07179212000P
May 28th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
Interesting concept. I have a cordless rechargable trimmer for my 1/4 acre lot that works well for its intended purpose. However, for larger lots the LEHR/Crafstman Propane might be a better option.
May 28th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Screw weed wacking, I wanna hook that up to my bicycle and zip to work. Weeee
June 3rd, 2009 at 4:43 am
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June 22nd, 2009 at 9:28 pm
I was by Home Depot today and it turns out they’re clearancing out the LEHR branded propane trimmers. The salesman there said sales have been terrible.
Ironically, sales of the Craftsman branded model at Sears have been great and I’m told we’ll be expanding out the line to include more propane powered items by next year. Guess there is something to say for the power of brand name marketing.
July 3rd, 2009 at 7:54 pm
I found the straight shaft model at home depot reduced to 99.99 from 219.00.
The guy says “oh, you’re getting the new propane weed trimmer!”
It’s funny, but I couldn’t find them at any other Home Depot store.
He swore they draw circles around the others.
August 6th, 2009 at 5:36 am
The non-detachable curved- and straight-shaft models are still at Home Depots nationwide. The straight-shaft version has a solid shaft (curved has a cable) and the engine is rated at .6kw or .8hp. While I was shopping at HD, 3 people came up and looked at the box. I told them some of the benefits of the propane (no carb gumming, no winterizing, no mixing of gas and oil, quieter) and 2 of the 3 folks went back and put one in their carts! Where’s my commission? LOL. BTW, the straight-shaft non-detach and both detachable versions (HD doesn’t sell the detachables) are brush blade ready, with larger head guard, barrier bar and shoulder strap (and the straight-shaft unit can accept a blade in place of the line head, Lehr sells the blades for about $25.00).
August 6th, 2009 at 5:38 am
^^ And they are still on clearance for $99.00
September 19th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
Today marks the third time I have tried to use this product.
I bent the tank strap (my fault) on the first installation, because I did not check their website for the proper procedure, assuming it would be with the included literature, which there was none.
I had the entire spool head fly off while in use. I am unsure but I would suspect there is supposed to be some sort of pin in the shaft where I see an empty hole.
The buckle broke on the strap the first time I put it on.
Today I have finally given up on this product. I finally got it started (yes, it starts hard every time), and was edging my driveway. The bottle ran out of fuel so I grabbed another and put it in. Before even starting I could smell propane, and the was a buzzing, yes, it was buzzing. At this point I removed the bottle, and it (the trimmer) was still buzzing…. ?!? I re-attached the bottle and the buzzing noise stopped. As soon as I tried to start it it started back. The trimmer will not start and the mixed completely Ices over, while buzzing.
Pics
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