If you’re looking for good-quality battery-powered lawn and landscaping equipment to use around your home, Stihl is one of your best options. Sure it’s a bit more expensive than some other homeowner tools, but in this case you definitely get what you pay for.
You don’t have to be a professional landscaper to appreciate good-quality tools. If you’re going to spend a lot of time working around your house, then you want your equipment to deliver top-notch performance every time you use it. You also want it to last a long time, and that’s the sort of quality you’ll find with Stihl.
For homeowners who want long-lasting, reliable, and easy to use battery-powered equipment, Stihl offers a complete range of high-quality products. And just to make these tools even better, the batteries are conveniently interchangeable. Keep reading to learn more about Stihl’s battery quality, which tools work with each battery, and how to pick the right combination of tools and batteries for your needs.
Higher-Quality Battery
Stihl’s 36-volt Lithium-Ion batteries are the cornerstone of their battery-powered tool line. These batteries let you eliminate fuel costs and engine maintenance. They’re a fast, efficient way to power your tools. Plus, they don’t experience a gradual drop in power like so many other batteries, so you can work at peak efficiency for the entire charge.
The AK and AP series batteries are easy to snap in and out of the tools and they charge quickly. These are the batteries that most homeowners would use. You probably won’t need the longer run times offered by backpack battery packs, but they are available. Stihl designed these batteries to let landscape crews use certain trimmers, pole pruners, hedge trimmers, blowers, and chainsaws for several hours longer than with other batteries.
Interchangeable Batteries and Tools
The different batteries are interchangeable between different tools, making it convenient for you to mix-and-match. However, not all tools take the same batteries and different batteries supply different run times.
If you want to get tools that all work with the same battery, then you’ll need to decide which tools you need. For example, if you want to run a trimmer and a blower then you can use the AK 10, AK 20, AP 100, or AP 300 battery. But if you also want to run a chainsaw in addition to that, then the AK 10 battery won’t work. Here is a complete list of which tools you can run off each battery:
AK 10
AK 20
AK 30
- Chainsaw: MSA 140 C-BQ
- Lawn Mower: RMA 460
AP 100
- Chainsaws: MSA 160 C-BQ and MSA 200 C-BQ
- Trimmers: FSA 65, FSA 85, and FSA 90 R
- Blowers: BGA 85 and BGA 100
- Hedge Trimmer: HSA 66, HSA 94 R, and HSA 94 T
- Extended Reach Trimmers: HLA 65 and HLA 85
- Pole Pruners: HTA 65, and HTA 85
- Lawn Mower: RMA 370 and RMA 410 C
AP 300
- Chainsaws: MSA 160 C-BQ and MSA 200 C-BQ
- Trimmers: FSA 65, FSA 85, and FSA 90 R
- Blowers: BGA 85 and BGA 100
- Hedge Trimmer: HSA 66, HSA 94 R, and HSA 94 T
- Extended Reach Trimmers: HLA 65 and HLA 85
- Pole Pruners: HTA 65, and HTA 85
- Lawn Mower: RMA 370, RMA 410 C, and RMA 510
Battery Run Times
The run times available with different tools varies depending on which battery you’re using. For example, the MSA 160 C-BQ chainsaw can run on both the AP 100 or the AP 300 battery. The AP 100 can only power this chainsaw for about 17 minutes, though, while the AP 300 will power it for 50 minutes.
Run times also depend on how powerful the tool is that you’re using. The AP 300 battery, for example, can run an FSA 65 trimmer for 90 minutes. If you use this battery to run the more powerful FSA 85 trimmer, though, it’ll only run for 45 minutes. With this battery, the FSA 90 R trimmer will run for 30 minutes.
Depending on which charger you use, drained batteries can be back at full power in as little as 25 to 60 minutes. If you keep more than one battery on hand, a drained battery can charge while you’re working with the other battery. As long as you have 2 or 3 batteries on-hand, you won’t lose time because you need to stop work and sit around waiting for a battery to charge. You can compare charge times and run times for all the battery and tool combinations by visiting this link: STIHL Battery Charge and Run Times.
Get The Right Tool For You
When you’re trying to decide which batteries and tools are right for you, it helps to make a list of which tools you’re going to want. If you want a chainsaw, trimmer, blower, and hedge trimmer then there are three batteries that will work (AK 20, AP 100, or AP 300).
Next, you need to decide how powerful you need your tools to be. If you’re going to be using the chainsaw to cut firewood you’ll need a more powerful model than if you were only planning to use it for light trim work. Similarly, if you use your trimmer to clean up grass at the edges of your lawn you won’t need as powerful a model as you’d need to clear tall grass and weeds off a hillside.
With so many tools and batteries to choose from, there’s a good chance that narrowing-down your selection might not be easy. We’ll be happy to help with that. Richardson Saw & Lawnmower is a Stihl Platinum Certified Dealer and we can answer any questions you might have. Just stop by and let us know what you’re looking for and we’ll help you find exactly the right tools and batteries to fit your unique needs.Configuration Wizard
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Stihl AP 300 Lithium-Ion Battery
Stihl AK20 Lithium-Ion Battery
