BLACK+DECKER LSTE523 String Trimmer / Edger Review

BLACK+DECKER LSTE523 is battery powered cordless string trimmer with 20V engine. It uses 0.065” line and has cutting swath of 12 inches.

It has two speed settings: 5,500 RPM and 7,200 RPM, former uses less charge but latter is more powerful.

Being a budget priced electric weed wacker you might expect BLACK and DECKER LSTE523 to be really underpowered but that’s not quite the case. Yes, it’s not as powerful as more expensive electric and gas powered weed wackers but it’s powerful enough for simple yard maintenance works.

It cuts through thick’ish grass with ease (on 7,200 RPM mode) so for light duty jobs it performs well enough. Sometimes you do have to go through area twice or sweep slower than with more powerful and expensive string trimmers, also LSTE523 has rather small cutting area so trimming your yard might take a bit longer compared to those more expensive string trimmers but it does the job of completing simple tasks most consumers intend to do.

It’s not powerful though for some heavy duty jobs like trimming serious overgrowths. Whether it has enough power or not entirely depends on your intended use!

Build quality and reliability

When it comes to build quality you can certainly feel BLACK+DECKER LSTE523 is a budget priced appliance. It’s made of rather cheap plastic that’s not super durable.

Overall reliability of BLACK+DECKER LSTE523 can be described as okay’ish – according to consumer reports in most cases it lasts for years without issues but despite that it does seem to break more often than more expensive units. Out of issues reported by consumers the most common ones are it refusing to turn on out of nowhere or plastic parts breaking.

Features

It turns from trimmer to wheeled edger in about 1 second. It also has EASYFEED system that lets you to release string with a tap of a button which is convenient and works well.

Ergonomics

BLACK+DECKER LSTE523 weed wacker is adjustable in height as well has adjustable upper handle. It’s also pretty light – it weighs 6.3 lbs and overall is rather comfortable to use.

It measures 9.2 inches wide, 41 inches high and 5.7 inches deep.

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Battery life

BLACK+DECKER LSTE523 weed wacker comes with 3Ah 20V LB2X3020 Lithium battery that lasts generally between 15 to 40 minutes on full charge (usually ~30 minutes). You can also purchase more batteries separately as they are easy to replace if it doesn’t last long enough.

Conclusions

For the price BLACK+DECKER LSTE523 is a good string trimmer. It’s not as powerful or well built as more expensive units but for many consumers who want to save money it will be good enough. Is it good enough for you? – that’s up to you to decide by evaluating the information you learned reading this review!

BLACK+DECKER LSTE523 String Trimmer Specs:

• Type: Electric (battery powered)
• Battery type: 3Ah 20V Lithium-ion (Model: LB2X3020)
• Speed: 5,500 / 7,200 RPM
• Cutting Swath: 12”
• Line diameter: 0.065”
• Weight: 6.3 lbs
• Dimensions: 5.7″ x 9.2″ x 41″ (D x W x H)
• Package contents:
  • 1 x 1 LSTE523 20V MAX* Cordless Trimmer/Edger
  • 1 x LB2X3020 20V MAX* Extended Runtime Lithium Battery
  • 1 x Charger
  • 1 x AFS Spool
  • 1 x Guard