DCST970B FLEXVOLT 60V MAX Cordless String Trimmer, Tool Only

I am happy that I went for the heavier duty. I have put this through the paces and haven't been disappointed. I have owned it long enough now that I have refilled the line spool three times. And while it doesn't look like new anymore, I don't think I have even put a dent in its useful life. I have taken out 1" diameter blackberries, yet turned the trimmer on edge and done some quality edging. I mostly have done 'bushwhacking' type clearing with it. The lesson has been to top the tall stuff and then repeat to get the area down to height otherwise the falling long material is caught and you bind up too often. The spool on this unit does clear pretty easily. Another trick with clearing tall material is to pay attention to the direction that you sweep the cutting. There is enough horsepower here that even heavy material can get thrown clear if you get your geometry right. Rarely do I use it on the high speed switch setting. I get just fine results on the lower setting. Ergonomically I have the handle placed so that it has a nice balance during use and also for carrying (with or without the battery in place). The trigger is easy to control so that you can regulate the rpm's, hence the ability to do both deep weeds and also edge or work around delicates. But, of course, this is a battery powered tool. I have 2 of the 6.0AH batteries and get 30-45 minutes of continuous work from each one (but I do take care to only run at the rpm's necessary to do the job at hand). So I can't recharge fast enough with just the two to work continuously--even with the DCB118 Fast Charger. But factoring in the elimination of all the hassle of alternatives--power cords or fuel mixtures-- I still am ahead. First time I used this I immediately adjusted the contents of my tool shed so that this trimmer hangs where it is the easiest grab in the shed. While it is limited in how much run time you have, it is an absolute beast when it comes to how much work you can do with a single battery. Only hassle I keep encountering is when I need to spool up new line. I always forget the process for opening to get to the spool. The parts have labels to show locked vs. unlocked, but I get to the point where it won't open and I don't know if I have missed a step or if it is just that debris has gotten into the housing and is fighting back. I jump online and review the owner's manual and everything works out, but I wish it would just happen without having the extra minutes of downtime. Oh, decibels. I habitually use foam ear plugs when using powered yard tools, but this unit is on the borderline of requiring protection. Neighbors certainly have nothing to complain about as it is well below the dB's of a gas unit and has the added benefit of when it is "idling" as you move from spot to spot, it is off.

This thing is a beast! I love the 2-speed selectability. Low will be good when doing long runs of reasonably manicured lawn to extend battery life. The high speed is near violent and chews through thicker grasses like it's nothing. The trimmer only bogged for a second when I caught a root ball of some weedy grass, but it powered through and kept right on cutting. The string that comes on it is thin and seems flimsy, especially for a commercial operation, but worked fine for my grass. I haven't tried putting in the big boy trimmer line yet, so I can't comment on spool capacity. 1 design issue to watch for: debris shield is too small. You will need to wear appropriate gear (no shorts and flip flops) or else your shins will get sandblasted by passing debris. Handling left handed helped some, but didn't eliminate the issue. I bought the bare tool as I have 2 9Ah 60v batteries already. I can't see running out of juice with this setup but may update with extended use later in the season. Even with those monster batteries, it is light and easy to weild. Does NOT work with the 20v Max batteries I have (just checking for users who may be thinking of trying to do so). I think the tool is "keyed" to only accept these 60v batteries. Overall, after my first spring use, I love it already and will retire my Husqvarna gas trimmer.

I have been using this trimmer quite a bit lately. I have very pleased with the power and effectiveness of it. Mostly, I wanted to share some notes on a popular string trimmer convertion- namely changing the string head out for a saw blade. If you want to do this convertion, you will want a metric 10mm x 1.25 pitch LEFT threaded. As you can imagine, this is quite an odd ball nut. I ended up ordering mine from Amazon here- 4pcs M10 x 1.25mm Pitch Stainless Steel Left Hand Fine Thread Hex Nut Metric ABBOTT https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06Y1KBQWM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_RSTZCbRSV4JA0 Be advised this does take a good 3-4 weeks to ship. You will also want a lockwasher (7/16” works fine) and a bushing to adapt the trimmer's spindle to fit the arbor size of the saw blade you want to use (usually 5/8"). My local Menards sold a variety pack of bushings next to the saw blades. I ended up drilling out the center of the 5/8” x 3/8" to fit the spindle exactly using a stepped bit. The bushing prevents the saw blade from wobbling. These types of saw bushing kits are fairly common, you may even be able find one that requires no modifications. With the saw blade attached, this thing cuts through 2" diameter trees, just as quickly as cutting through some tall grass. With a 7 ¹/⁴” blade, 3" is about the max depth of cut. (I haven't tried a larger blade.). If you get into stuff that big, you want to ease into the cut because the teeth tend to suck the blade into the tree, and can pinch the blade. A few safety notes too. I recommend using chain saw type chaps if you use a blade in a trimmer. Often times a limb can snap when you cut it and that can result in launching some decent size branches at your shins at a surprisingly fast rate. A forestry hard hat with face shield is a good idea too, because you know, it's your face and all. Overall, I really like this mod and it's easy to swap the string head back on for cleaning up around the yard. If a saw blade sounds scary to you, don't try it, but I hope this helps if someone else wanted to do this mod. (I mainly did this review to save anyone else the annoyance I had in trying to size that dang spindle nut. 😁) I hope this helped.

Great and takes out the need for a gas weed eater. Feels very similar to a normal one and works just as well. Only issue is that it only takes certain batteries and they are the biggest most expensive ones and usually that battery dies 3/4 of the way through my lawn. I do have a 1/3 of an acre and spend a good amount of time edging my sidewalks. If I had two batteries I could switch no problem and do my yard and then some

This works as good as a gas powered trimmer without the hassle of mixing gas, replacing filters, constant tuning. I have a Stihl trimmer I used for 15 years and every year I would take it apart clean it replace the fuel filter etc. The con on this particular model is it will only use the 60 flexvolt battery not the 20v batteries. The battery lasted almost 90 minutes of constant use. I would like to get the attachment for brush cutting but it's not available on Amazon.

I have wanted to stop wrestling with 2-stoke carburetors, leaky, cracked fuel lines, exhaust fumes, trouble cranking, etc. for a long time, but just didn't think the cordless trimmers were good enough. I finally bit the bullet when this one came out - I already have a 60V circular saw, and love it. I was not the least bit disappointed! What an awesome machine. Battery life is terrific and the tool is very powerful: two of my biggest worries. It is not too heavy, is well balanced, and heavy-duty as well. If you are waffling over whether an electric trimmer will disappoint you, let me assure you, it will not. This is just a homeowner that uses it weekly at best, so maybe not for the pro using it all day long and dealing with charging batteries, but for me, perfect!

Friends, please do not purchase this trimmer. It has a critical design flaw in that because the motor is down low, it draws in cooling air where all the grass cutting is occurring. The cooling air inlet is protected by very small screens and they plug immediately thus starving the motor for cooling air. Overheating occurs and it's done. To make matters worse, to clean all the clippings out of the screen, you must remove the motor top cover by removing 4 screws. This must be done every few minutes as the screens are very tiny. There is no way this design should have been sold. Many, if not all, of these units are burning their motor up. I never suspected this from Dewalt as normally I love their tools and have a lot of them, so I did not do my due diligence on this trimmer. Big mistake. Mine failed on day 1 on the second battery. It is a fairly powerful trimmer, though no match for a Stihl gas unit, so I think I will give the DCST972 a try as it is also a 60V unit but with the motor located up high in clean air. I am suspicious of the interchangeable heads causing issues, so I will definitely do my due diligence this time. But please do not purchase the SCST970 as it is 100% going to fail on you, too. If purchasing the SCST972, be sure to purchase the longest warranty available as apparently Dewalt is not conducting proper testing on these trimmers. They go through 9ah batteries pretty quickly so you might have to break up your jobs between charging sessions or grab a couple extra batteries. Very disappointed Dewalt customer.

My lawn is roughly 100ft wide by 250ft long. I bought two 15 AH flexvolt batteries with this tool, plus the 60v max handheld blower, which came with its own 12 AH flexvolt battery. I had to modify the battery shroud a bit by filing away about 1/4 inch of material from the inner rear part of it to make those 15 AH batteries fit, but once I did, they popped right in and worked just fine. On just one of the 15 AH batteries, I was able to not just trim, but actually mow 80% of my lawn, just using the low power setting on the trimmer, and was able to switch to the 60v mode a few times to deal with some more durable weeds and I used a little bit of the second 15 AH battery to finish mowing the lawn. I don't have a reliable lawnmower yet, but this trimmer makes me wonder if I even need one at all. On top of that, unlike a gas powered trimmer, this one isn't loud, it's very quiet, And it imposes significantly less vibrations on your forearms and hands, which keeps it feeling comfortable even after prolonged use. Even with the big 15AH battery in it, it still felt lighter than a gas trimmer. With a gas trimmer you always have to be mindful of the orientation of your gas tank, If you flip the trimmer upside-down it'll stall, but not with this trimmer, it doesn't skip a beat no matter what orientation or angle you hold it in, which meant a lot to me in a few areas where I wanted to remove one plant but not another. plus you don't need to mix fuel for it and it doesn't give off that noxious smell either. After that, I whipped out the 60v max blower to clean off the driveway, sidewalk & fluff the grass on the entire lawn, neither tool failed me or ran out of power. I'm very impressed with both tools.

Its a real good weed trimmer high speed is great for real dense trimming but for the most part you dont need it, its light and well balanced, easy to control, arms dont hurt after use for a few hours, no numb hands from vibrations, no its not compatible with a pole trimmer or saw attachment despit being able to fold in half, 1 battery lasts about 3- 4hours or so before you need to swap them out, flex volt batteries take just over a hour to rechaged without a fast charger, worth the money i love it

No es compatible con las pilas de las herramientas de delaw necesita otro tipo de pila y no se como pedirla o encargarla porque no tiene la descripción de como pedirla. Por tanto no he podido usarla

Very quite. Eats batteries though. great for small jobs but don't run a landscape business on it! nice to just pick up and use, starts every time if batteries are charged!

I took this out to our family property and it smashed through large brush like Khabib did to McGregor. Bought the 60v because I already had 60v batteries and was worried about the power of the 20v. This 60v has far more power than I ever need. I've never taken it off of low power setting and I can do my medium-sized suburban yard about 5 or 6 times before I need to charge the battery. My Neighbour is in the Milwaukee camp because he's in a tradesman paradigm, but he's jealous of this baby all day long.

a little heavier than what i am used to however once the battery was installed it balanced inself out just fine, love the instant "on off" of battery power. I am hoping the unit will accept and use the heavier 095 string as I have a large roll to use up, so far so good after a good hours worth of weed eating!