BLACK+DECKER LE750 12 Amp 2-in-1 Landscape Edger and Trencher – Review
My old gas edger finally bit the dust and I got this to replace it. I considered a another gas powered one, but decided against it because:
- It was a pain in the ass. I was constantly fiddling with it trying to get it started and to run smoothly. I routinely had to use a starting fluid, just to get it to start. I spent more time trying to get it to run, than actually using it.
- Required yearly maintenance (clean or replace spark plug and air filter).
- Given the infrequency of use, gas would tend to go stale in it, despite the use of Sta-Bil
- It was noisy
- A gas powered replacement would have cost 3 times as much as the corded electric Black+Decker LE750
I also considered the option of a battery powered model, and almost went that route. Considering the good reviews of this model, that I already had a long extension cord and portable generators if I needed them, and the projected infrequency of use, I flipped a coin and decided to go with a corded electric model. I have a corded electric hedge trimmer and that works fine and I never kick myself for not having gotten a battery or gas powered hedge trimmer.
Unboxing the Black+Decker LE750:
Assembling the edger:
I had the handle rotated incorrectly at first with the trigger down.
So I corrected it, rotating 180 degrees upward.
The instructions are incorrect where it refers you to “Figure 4” to assemble the “Auxiliary handle”. There is no “Figure 4” in the instructions and the auxiliary handle is already built into the handle assembly requiring no additional assembly.
I played around with it a bit, familiarizing myself with the blade height adjustment and the blade guide adjustment. My old gas edger did not have a blade guide. It consists of a metal plate which I assume you drag along the edge of a curb or sidewalk, so as to keep the spinning blade from striking concrete. On my gas edger I had to skim the edge of the concrete, generating sparks, so as to accurately follow the edge. That’s not great for the blade or the concrete.
Effectiveness:
Below are some before and after pictures of my lawn. It had been over 3 months since I had last edged it and not just grass, but sod (grass, roots, soil) had grown over overlapping the edges. This is much more difficult to edge than if you just need to cut through grass blades.
No before picture for this view:
When I bought the edger, I thought I had the right extension cords. I have a 100 foot extension cord, but it is only 16 gauge wire. At 100 feet, the 12 amp motor needs at least a 14 gauge extension cord. Even my 50 foot 12 gauge + 25 foot 14 gauge cords (75 feet total) were not long enough to reach the areas needing edging. For this cutting, I used my Westinghouse 2000 watt Inverter Generator + the 50 foot 12 gauge cord to power the edger. I just ordered a 100 foot 12 gauge extension cord ($50). Depending on what cords you already have, figure that in your decision as to whether this is a good deal for you or not and whether perhaps you would be better off with a battery or gas powered model.
Using the edger to cut the sod required a back and forth motion to make a complete cut and clean edge. Even so, cleaning up the mess afterwords, grass clippings and hunks of sod, takes much more time than the edging itself. Its the same regardless what type of edger you use. The blade on this edger is a couple of inches shorter than the one on my gas edger so I suspect the blades will have to be replaced more frequently. You can use the blade depth adjustment to lower the blade as it wears out. Blade replacements cost $8.20 .
I did not find the edge guide very helpful, but that might be because when you are trimming back overlapping sod, you can’t see the border of the grass and concrete until after you have edged it.
There was one episode half way through the edging during which the motor would not turn on with pressing the trigger. Its possible the motor overheated, because after about 5 minutes it ran fine, as if nothing had happened. After that event, I tried again to see if I could get the cord to reach the remaining areas, but it still couldn’t reach. So back to the generator.
I expect when I do this again next week to “finish off” any remaining rough edges, the job should be much simpler given the sod is now cut back and I’ll have the 100 foot extension cord.
With both 100 foot 12 gauge + 50 foot 12 gauge extension cords, I should not need to use the generator to power the edger.
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