How many times have you cut through the cable when trimming a bush or tidying up the lawn? If you’re anything like us then more than once! And what about getting to that part of the garden where the extension cable just won’t reach or when you’re down at the allotment where the fact that the only power cables are up in the sky doesn’t stop the need for everything to be cut back neat and tidy.
Battery garden tools should solve these problems but are they powerful and long lasting enough to be a practical solution?
We took to the garden to put them to the test!
GTECH HT20 HEDGE TRIMMER
The HT20 Hedge Trimmer makes light work of all sorts of hedges and conifers and its extendable reach means there’s no need to balance on a kitchen chair to get the last wisps off the top of your bush! Well balanced
and easy to manoeuvre thanks to its lightweight of 2.3kg, the dual blades will cut through branches up to 15mm in thickness whilst the rotating head lets you decide how and where you cut and the lack of cord means you’re not constantly checking where you’re cutting. The 18v battery seems to go on and on whilst charge time is 4 hours. At £149.99 it’s good value too.
BOSCH FONTUS PORTABLE PRESSURE CLEANER
With its own 15L water tank the Fontus Portable Pressure Cleaner from Bosch could be the answer to those of us that need to clean where access to water and power is compromised. Pop it in the car and take it anywhere, there’s a choice of 3 pressure modes to suit a wide range of
outdoor cleaning tasks from washing the dog’s paws after a run in the woods to cleaning the down a muddy mountain bike before the long drive home and whilst the most powerful setting won’t cut through the grime of an old paving slab, the 18v battery’s power is perfect for all of these jobs as well as clearing guttering, washing cars, caravans and bikes. We set about cleaning up some old garden chairs and it brought them up a treat; the battery lasting for four changes of water at its strongest setting. Tough and compact, tools are neatly stored within the unit’s main body and the integrated hose can be neatly stored beneath the adjustable handle. The Fontus is unusual in that it answers a bit of a niche problem but for those that do it’s sure to become indispensable! Priced at £209.99
GTECH LEAF BLOWER. *STAR BUY*
I didn’t have huge expectations when I read about this leaf blower to be honest thinking that there would be no way a battery powered motor would generate enough power to be effective – how wrong I was. The 36v battery combined with turbo fan makes short work of clearing leaves and debris blasting through every nook and cranny – we cleared some leaves which i’m convinced were primeval! We cleared a gravel path strewn with a winter’s worth of ivy clippings and still had charge left to blow away a few stray leaves of the deck. The G Tech Leaf Blower isn’t cheap at £285.99 but by golly it’s good and the battery can be used in G Tech’s Cordless Lawnmower too.
OZITO POWER X CHANGE CORDLESS LAWN MOWER
This cordless lawnmower is the perfect choice for smaller lawns due to its 30cm cutting diameter and its lightweight construction makes it easy to manoeuvre.
By using a brushless motor, less friction is created meaning a longer running time per charge from the 18v battery. Triple blade positioning and a 25L grass collector for clippings make it an efficient machine and leaves you with a neat and tidy finish. More suited to a regular trim than the first cut of the season, the Ozito Power X is good value at £115.
