On Saturday, July 4, 2020 at 9:48:04 AM UTC+1, Chris Green wrote:
wrote:

The electric power heads are, again, not perfect but they're OK given
the amount of quite heavy work they get here.Â* Looking back I see that
I bought my first bits of Expand-It back in 2008 so they're 12 years
old now, not too bad for fairly inexpensive hardware.

I think mine lasted about 7 years all in (the 2 stroke died at about 18
months IIRC). The pruning saw attachment is still working well, the auto
feed line trimmer went on for a far bit until one day it flew apart in
use - one bit went flying through the open patio doors, and just missed
hitting my son on the head! So I decided it was time to retire that. The
hedge trimmer is ok, but then that was a Husqvarna attachment anyway.



I wish I'd known that Ryobi attachments work with a Stihl head. I have
the Stihl Combi system (brush cutter, hedge trimmer, pole saw, blower
and a 1m extension) - an excellent device but the cost made me wince. I
look forward to the day when I can justify replacing the Dakota chainsaw
with a Stihl and end the "start ya *******" sessions before giving-up
and getting the electric saw out.

Yes, manufacturers don't tend to publicise "works with other makes" do
they. It would be very handy to know both from the point of view of
being able to buy cheaper accessories (for less heavily used ones
maybe) and to be sure of some sort of long-term availability
(especially if buying less well known brands).

I think I sort of knew that Stihl and Ryobi Expand-it will inter-work,
does anyone know of other makes that are similar enough?

--
Chris Green
·

Stihl do a small hand held battery operated trimmer. The battery looks identical to the Bosch 10.8v to 12n one ( https://www.axminstertools.com/ie/bo...glCurrency=GBP )but of course it isn't.( https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stihl-GTA-H.../dp/B083QLK92H ) The terminals are different. Fooled me as I have a few of the Bosch batteries and was hoping I could use them, But in fact the Stihl battery lasts long enough for me to do odds and ends of trimming with it.