Archived from the Tools In Action forum (Outdoor Power Equipment). This thread is read-only.
Here is a picture showing a side by side look of the 1st and 2nd generation Ego commercial string trimmers. The most notable differences visually are the guards and the motors. If you have any questions let me know.
Here is a close up of the new speed controls of the 2nd gen string trimmer (other tools part of the recent wave of commercial tools have these controls too) The 3 bars on the top indicate the speed the tool is in. They can also flash and change colors to indicate information regarding the tool like overheating and overloading. The bottom left light indicates battery status. It also is able to flash and change colors. The bottom right light indicates bluetooth connection. Supposedly you can connect the tool to your mobile device. I don’t know specifics on what the bluetooth features are used for. I heard you might be able to check charge cycles of batteries and get notified when a battery needs replaced.
The button selects the speed. the 3 bars lit up on top indicate speed 3 or max speed (trigger is also variable speed too). The lit up battery light indicates the battery is if I remember right 20%-100% charge left and not defective.
Is the power or run time a lot different between gen 1 and 2?
Runtime for sure lower since it is intended to be used with the regular batteries. I haven’t used it with the backpack battery. On paper the power is less but I haven’t exactly any tough jobs yet. Also the power rating for the gen one isn’t listed in official product listings from ego. I basically had to get numbers elsewhere which may not be accurate. I haven’t seen any noticeable power difference with the small amount I have used it. I should have a better idea next spring on the performance. If you got the batteries and are willing to spend the money on one, I think the 17.5 inch commercial string trimmer is the best ego makes. It also doesn’t have power load to go wrong or line iq to waste line.
Awesome, thanks for the update. If you remember, once you use it, if you can let me know your thoughts. I am a huge fan of Ego but I don’t have much experience with the commercial side so just curious as to how it performs.