Out With The Old

One of the very first garden tools I purchased some 30 years ago was a simple little electric string trimmer made by Toro. At the time I recall it was actually a pretty expensive little tool, and a big step up from the hand trimming with an old pair of shears that I was used to.

The Toro was an electric model, one that required a 100ft extension cord to reach the extremes of the property, and though it served me many years it really was a pain in the butt to operate. The cord would tangle on plants behind me, I wouldn’t notice it, I’d give it a tug and my wife’s prized rose bush would be ripped out of the flower bed. Then I’d be in the doghouse, again.

I don’t like the doghouse!

Probably 10 years ago, after another session with the dog, I took a long, hard critical at my trimmer and cord setup. Look the trimmer was worn out really, and the cord certainly had seen it’s best, with the rubber coating weathered and torn, and the electrical cords peeking out every few feet. This was a an accident just waiting to happen it seemed.

Going Cordless

My hints to my wife must have worked as I was presented with a new Cordless Electric Trimmer for a birthday present. Made by Ryobi, she’d picked well, as it was a great machine. I absolutely loved the fact that I never had to bother with a frayed & worn cord, and both my old trimmer & cord got to be retired. The cordless concept is brilliant, and the Ryobi trimmed both my place and often a neighbors yard as well for years. It has stood the test of time until just this last summer when the battery suddenly and abruptly failed. Simply refused to take a charge. Do you think I could find a replacement battery – heck no!

I had also been presented with a Cordless Hedge Trimmer from Gramma about the same time, but sadly she’d not understood the saying “you get what you paid for”, and had purchased a low end, low voltage department store brand, that worked fine until it went through a winter, and then the batteries would not take a charge. Indeed, to trim our hedge ( a not very big hedge) it took a couple of battery charges to complete it, so a 20 minute job ended up taking a whole Saturday. Not cool!

I was actually pricing out replacing both of these units and was in a local big box store when I saw a neat concept. Not only a hedge trimmer, but also a string trimmer, or whipper snipper, as well as some other yard item I’d been eyeing up, but never seriously, – a high speed blower that doesn’t wake up the whole neighborhood. This Electric Lawn Care center looked like a really smart alternative to purchasing multiple cordless machines, each with their own battery packs and chargers, as each of the units shared a common battery and charging station.

I’d often mused why manufacturers weren’t forced into supplying a common battery and charging station, as they’re all different. Heck, my workbench had more charging stations than tools on it it seemed.

Something seemed a bit “off”

Contrary to what I’d usually do, – just buy it and head for home – something about this particular model looked a little “off”. Though the concept was great, for some reason I decided to wait a little and do some additional research. Trust me, this a new experience for me, but was I ever glad I did.

You see, I simply consulted our friend Amazon.com, and quickly went to the review section for this model, and they SUCKED. Really, better than 50% said they’d never buy another of that brand, customer service stunk, the trimmer quit working, you name it, there was an angry blast about it.

In with the new

A quick look at Amazon for “Cordless Trimmer Bundles” bought up a listing for the Black & Decker CCC3000 Cordless Electric Lawncare Centre.

Now this seemed more like it. Attractive, well priced, the Black & Decker name, this package seemed to have a lot going for it.

• 3 Powerful yet lightweight, easy to handle bodies. All powered with a solid 18v motor
• A 12′ cut Cordless String Trimmer that doubles as an Edger. Features auto advancing line , making it a breeze to use
• A hedge trimmer that’s features a 22″ cut, that works on a dual action motion, meaning smooth even cutting
• A quiet sweeper/blower, that’s wonderful on hard surfaces such as driveways, patio decks and more
• Everything is included, 2 Ni Cad batteries, a 3 port charger, and a convenient wall mounted charger. Hello uncluttered workbench!
• A full 3 year warranty backed by the brand name Black & Decker.

This package made so much sense to me – one motor yet 3 tools

Look at the advantages….

1. No more dragging worn out, dangerous electrical cables, and no more uprooted shrubs
2. No more workbench disappearing under all those battery chargers
3. Everything in one place, all on a convenient wall mounted caddy
4. I can junk my old “wake up the neighborhood” blower.
5. An interchangeable motor, powerful enough for all three components

How about the reviews?

The best thing about Amazon is the user reviews that get posted, as they’re all there, the good, the bad and the ugly. Unlike the other brand, this time however it was a different story….

A whopping 343 reviews as I write this, over 290 of which rated the CCC3000 Cordless Electric Lawncare Centre at 4/5 & 5/5 stars

You bet I’ll be buying one, and yes it’ll be from Amazon. I’m just waiting for Spring to appear!

Check all the reviews and details of the Black & Decker CCC3000 Cordless Electric Lawncare Centre

Click Here*

*Please note the link above directs to amazon as I have found they offer great deals on the Black & Decker CCC3000.

.