Makita DUH523 18v Cordless Hedge Trimmer Review
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- Опубликовано: 12 июл 2024
- This is a full review of the Makita DUH523Z 18v cordless hedge trimmer. I've used many hedge trimmers over the years, corded and petrol. The corded ones have all broke and the petrol ones are really heavy... I mean, some people find the petrol ones really heavy. I don't. Are petrol hedge trimmers a thing of the past? Especially interested to hear if you're using cordless hedge trimmers for commercial use now?
Here's some affiliate links to products I use or would consider using - read more about affiliate links at the bottom of this description:
Here's this hedge trimmer on Amazon UK, around £80 at time of video go-live:
bit.ly/ghm-makita-duh523z
This one on Amazon US is a bit bigger, can't find the above in the US, but this looks pretty good:
gosforthhandyman.com/us-links...
I can't find ANY Makita batteries on Amazon that I'm 100% certain aren't either fakes or grey imports. Do your own homework when it comes to batteries. Mine is a genuine one and cost about £20 more - you can see what it looks like on the video.
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#Gardening #Makita #DIY 
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You tube garden channel 😂🖐️
Fantastic stuff - pinned! 👍👊
Thank you 👍
"Z" is just what Makita sticks on the end if battery isn't included. Goes for their whole range of tools.
pro Russia Z
I’ve owned one of these (technically the previous model but they look identical) for five years and it’s one of the best things I’ve ever bought. Like you, I’ve done all kinds of hedges and shrubs and it’s never missed a beat.
Didn't know they'd been out for that long! Wow!
You may be a woodworking channel but your channel name has 'handyman' in it so anything related to that is also good with me and should be with all to my mind. You always strike me as striving for fairness and honesty in reviewing things whilst admitting the limitations of what you're doing. Keep it up.
Cheers Craig! 👍👊
I'm a professional lawn care guy, or should I rephrase it (since I don't know how much professional I am) - I mow lawns and trim hedges for a living. All I can tell you is - I've switched from petrol hedge trimmers to battery operated and never looked back. Maybe 5 years ago you couldn't do it, no way. At least for a professional (here I go again with that word, don't hold it against me). Battery powered trimmers were under powered and you had to change the battery every 15 minutes. But today, I can't be happier. I use a Dewalt hedge trimmer with a 5Ah battery and I have a spare one. Honestly there are maybe 2 customer's hedges that required me to put that second battery in, and that was near the end of the job.. The power is comparable, at least you get that with brand name trimmers and last but not the least...The reason why I hated gas trimmers isn't gas/oil mixing since I have other machines that use a gas/oil mix anyway (grass trimmers). The reason was weight. Gas trimmers were so heavy on my arms that I had to take a break every 5 minutes if the cutting involved extending my arms to far. It was painful. Battery trimmer are lighter and a joy to use.. Sure, I still have my trusty Stihl gas trimmer for the hardest jobs where I have to cut somebody's heavily overgrown hedges with saplings that are 3,5 cm in diameter but 95% of the time I use my Dewalt.. I hear that Milwaukee is even better but I wasn't prepared to pay double that I payed for the Dewalt...
Nice comment. Cheers 👍
I was hoping that a pro would comment.
I’m not one but have a large property with 100’s of metres of hedges. I am just about to wear out another trimmer and am debating whether to go battery. I also have LXT batteries so your comment is really helpful.
Thanks buddy. 👍👍
100% agree, I bought the dewalt (as I'm already committed to the dewalt battery platform) and it blew my mind when I started using it. It's on another level to the old mains corded trimmer I was using previously.
I broke my petrol trimmer last week so this looks like a good excuse to get into the Makita battery platform.
(Love the disclaimer at the end btw 😂 )
Just ordered one of these on Friday comes tomorrow 👍 glad to hear it’s a good un.
I have this unit which I would use on 1/2 acre garden with hawthorn hedges which cut 75% on a full charge. Brilliant bit of kit and would only resort to loppers for the thickest branches. Have two batteries, a strimmer, impact driver, drill and circular saw. As a diy person extremely happy with all of them.
Perfect! It's great especially if you already have the battery platform. 👍
Very good Just bought the Maktia Cordless hedger today for my small jobs for my mowing business and home and I’ve tested out and it does a good job and it does the same job like the petrol hedger because I’ve got a 18 volt 5 A.h battery and it works very good 🙂
Andy you've done it now, looks like I will have to get my plastic friend out. I have only just bought a recip saw, now I will have to get one of these to replace my petrol one. I did buy the makita lawn mower last year and its absolutely brilliant. Good review, if its light the wife says she will have a go with it. Another good reason to get one.
Ha - sorry Gary! It's a great little machine. 😂👍
Hi, I am 68 years old and if I still had all my hedges I would be pushing up daisies by now. Instead of cutting hedges I used my car to pull them all out, a few trips to the local tip later and I am now hedge free and loving it.
Ha ha - that's defo another approach. 😂👍
John Fithian-Franks this is a great idea!!! Love it
I was planning getting Makita cordless hedge trimmer but at the end of the day I chose Stihl HS 82RC-E (yes, it's a bit heavy but has super quality and handles very well), I bought it in mind to use commercially.
Agreed it is great to go cordless for these sort of jobs. I have cut cables a number of times fortunately the RCD provided the protection!. Have just got a weedeater that uses the batteries i already use for some of my power tools. Makes the job so much easier and quicker. Cordless chain saw the next target.
I just bought the same one and it's great ! Battery last for ages and it's pretty strong for what it is !
Yep had the model for 2 years now with serious allotment hedges as well as stuff of my own. Blade still cuts like new and batteries do last impressively. Bought mine when I sheared through a 2nd corded one though I s'pose it was one way of checking RCD on the distribution board.
Don't have much in the way of Hedges, but friends and family do. Got to help them as I have a fleet of Makita tools and batteries. Including the blower and brushless 18 volt string trimmer. Great tools!
I have one. Already got several LXT batteries so just needed the bare unit. ie Z in the model name
Was very surprised at how well it cut my hedge.
Battery life very good
Hi Andy, loving your videos and their theme variation too! Interested in this one especially, since I use the battery platform and will be taking a look at the hedge trimmer when the wife isn't looking. I have the 18 volt strimmer which I can highly recommend for light duty work. It needs a shed mate methinks! 👍
Cordless has come a long way since I used to cut hedges. With a 4ah battery this might have even been able to cope with the all day cutting I had to do too. Heavy petrol ones were the only ones able to cope, more powerful than that titan one you got, with the only advantages being more powerful and quicker to refill than charge when away from electric point. Good reviews and also whats wrong with a bit of divergence now and again.
After watching this video I went out and bought one, it cuts my day in half.....thanks for the video.
Fantastic stuff Tony! 👍
Nicely done once again Andy 👍. I didn't even know I "needed" one of these until just now 😆. Looks like I am going to try and introduce the phrase "A bit of a fanny on" to the south east 😁😁... awesome. And best if all the "Frank's little workshop" coaster stuck on your wall.... my life is complete 😁. Keep up the awesomeness 👍👍.
No worries Frank - great to have you on the wall! 👍👍
Thanks - very good to see. We've had a Gardena 40S corded trimmer for years. It still works well but the plastic guard is broken & held together with glue (& those little brackets you use in your stress tests). Parts aren't available for it now so I've been wondering what to go for if/when it dies: another corded, petrol or cordless. Petrol ones always looked heavy and are too noisy but I wasn't sure whether cordless would have the oomph (tech term) and stamina needed. This shows that they probably do. Nice!
I bought this bare brand new for £68, like you said, great piece of kit, very light to use and though it doesn’t sound to powerful I’ve had it cut some thick stuff no problem. I also have the 36v (2x18v batteries) blower, does well for clearing up after gardening or woodworking and again the batteries last well. Used the blower for around 20mins all in and the battery indicators stay on 4 lights, these are the 5ah batteries Iam using though.
Yup - I didn't think it would cope with the bigger branches but it was absolutely fine! 👍👊
Good review Andy. Seems more and more people are going down this route. I recently purchased a Makita chain saw with batteries( takes two of them) for the same reasons you pointed out here, it's brilliant!
Haven't tried a battery chain saw but sounds impressive! 👍
@@GosforthHandyman It is. Iv'e got the Makita DUC353, less noisy than it's petrol cousin and performs just as well. You're not going to be taking down any redwoods with it but perfect for light duty stuff. ;)
Bought this 4 days ago. It is a very special tool!!
I used it with a 3amp makita battery out of my drill and was worried it wouldnt be enuff ooompf. How wrong i was.
I use my trimmer down legal off roading lanes to clear thick brush so our 4x4's font get scratched. I completed a 500m hedge today, both sides on one 3amp battery!. Cut through thorn hedge up to 18mm thick, only stopping twice on thick 20mm plus branches. I dont know how it cuts such thick stems, as my hand held pruners require massive effort to cut the same. Its witchcraft how a battery opererated trimmer cuts through such thick branches.
A quality trimmer made in Germany, only tiny niggle, and it is tiny, is the safty catch. It has to be pressed in whilst holding the power switch and the hand lever, great for safety but can feel a bit fiddly having to press all 3, sometimes i get confused and forget to press it. I may glue the safety switch in place, so then all i have to do it press the main switch and the lever only.
I give the makita trimmer 98 out of 100. And thats very rare for me to give such incredibly high ratings cus im a stickler for detail.
Well done Makita 😋😍
Great tool. I've had this machine for nearly 2 years now.its been faultless. I use it over my stihl for light stuff. For 2 reasons. 1 it's so light which makes use a pleasure to any trimmer I've used. 2 the finish is second to none. It gives the best finish to any other brand I've owned.
I was involved with the development of the first Bosch pro cordless range. I actually think this machine is very under rated. Only due to it lightness. Great value for money.
My Bosch Advanced Hedgecut 36v something something just died today after only 3 years. Never in rain or anything. Taken good care of it. Working hours in total very very little. Same with a Bosch Drill i bought. I'm done with Bosch. At least their green consumer gear seems to be utter shit. Transfering to Makita now. LOVE my Makita drill. Powerfull and fits the hand perfectly. So now I'm going to buy this DUH523. Fingers crossed.
I went looking for a review of this, oh Gosforth has one!!! Result!!!
Can’t beat real world tool reviews! Keep ‘em coming.
I’ve got Ryobi’s equivalent, it has fab reviews online but very disappointed with it in real world. It’s Very underpowered even with the 5.0ah +18v batteries and has no safety lock.
Good for quick trims of thin growth, but can’t give a hedge a decent haircut.
👊👍
I just bought this one last week. Best part is that in the Netherlands, you get a free battery when you register this trimmer with Makita.. makes it even more worth the money! (It is also cheaper here btw, only 89 euro)
Nice Vid Andy - I'm Liking the variety - balanced and why shouldn't you be out in the garden when the sun is shining - you need your Vit D like everyone else. I was listening to your Pod with Peter the other day where you were talking battery systems. I'm split between Dewalt and Ryobi. This allowed me to buy a Ryobi cordless One + hedge trimmer. This replaced a Stihl petrol which is so noisy and heavy. Not as powerful but just as efficient, and the outcome is the same so I am well happy with it. Have the Ryobi chain saw which is pretty awesome too. I think thing battery power has arrived for garden tools. Next year I will be replacing the petrol mower -Suggestions welcome!
Thank you Wayne! I still love my petrol mower but if / when it packs in I'd seriously consider battery these days. 👍
I bought one of these last week! Love how quiet it is and not being tethered to a cable. A bargain IMO
Absolutely! Such a nice change not having the cable dangling in the road! 👍😊
Looks like a little beast as far as hedge trimmers go. 👌
Good score mate. 👍
That's got to make gardening somewhat more enjoyable.
Cheers Bill! 👊👍
Cheers for the review. Looking at these. Same price as a ryobi corded model. Hate cords on appliances.
Great review, thanks
Duh551z I got for around £95 bare and it's a twin 18v (36v) if you need something with a bit more oomph. Probably a tad heavier though, but no problem for me coz I'm very muscular, very!
Looking at my hedger options and found your review which confirmed my thoughts. I'll order it today. Good on ya mate. Thanks for that from Australia.
Super helpful video, thank you!
I got a McAlister from Screwfix - it was about £50 with the battery. I was very impressed with that - loads better than a corded one. I cut through my corded once at LEAST twice
bought the Makita SDS drill on your recommendation and loving it. Looking to go on one battery platform as upgrading cheaper tools and may go with Makita or Dewalt. Mixing up different type of videos is great for channel imo.
For anyone already on a battery platform for tools it’s a no brainer really to buy a hedge trimmer and or strummer from the same manufacturer. I have Stihl petrol tools for my garden because I have some huge Hawthorn and Beech hedge but I just bought the Makita for the lighter work and I’m chuffed to bits with it. More than good enough for most garden maintenance and the lack of noise along with the weight are a double bonus.
Good one Andy, still woodworking but different. Like most here on the net looking to buy one :)
Makita 4ah batteries go for around £45-50 online now. You can pick up 5ah for 50ish.
Thanks for the review. Last time I trimmed my hedge I did it with a bow saw through the thick bits. It never needed trimming again. Of makita build a battery operated tool to reliably clear up after hedge trimming I might consider replanting it.
Yeah - just be careful 'cause a lot of the cheaper batteries are grey imports or fakes. Some seem to be genuine but they're hard to find. 👍
@@GosforthHandyman you're right of course. It is something I do check when I receive them but you can never tell. The worry is whether you can even trust physical retailers now. I assume the risk is higher with online retailers but I wouldn't like to speculate by how much. Probably not as much as you'd think.
Z is Makita for Skin only, doesn't come with Battery or Charger so is a model modifier for the kit rather than the tool.
I’m heavily into the Makita system. Even run my wife on the batteries, She goes for ages!
So your wife's a real goer then ? I bet she does , hey hey wwhaahhhh 😂 ruclips.net/video/4Kwh3R0YjuQ/видео.html 3, 4 0r 5 amp 😂
is worth buying it if you have a lot off edging to trim and in to gardening no cable required quite and easy to use.
LWA is sound power level (also in dB). Sound pressure level is the amount of sound that your ears actually hear at a given distance, sound power level is the amount of sound energy the tool is emitting but without consideration for distance. I.e. quoting a sound pressure level can be difficult as if you hold the tool right next to your ear it will be much louder than holding it at arms length. LWA sound power level is a way to compare noise levels taking away the distance variable. That is why you might have the two different levels quote - one being sound power level of the tool and the other might be sound pressure level when using the tool at a set distance (normally 1m). Sound power level is written as dB LWA and sound pressure level is dB SPL. Both are expressed as decibels but sound power level is measured in watts and sound pressure level is measured in pascals so not directly comparable, however you can convert sound power level to sound pressure level by taking account of distance. The (A) part is A Weighting and takes account of the fact that human ears do not have a linear frequency response (not brill at very low and very high frequencies).
Yes garden tips
I have the parkside battery hedge trimmer from Lidl, that's good as well
Hedge trimming - a little something for the weekend?
Bought one at 60 years young after using a manual shears. $158.00 Aud and all my cordless tools are now Makita and I have oodles of the 6Ah 18v batteries..
Nice and informative as usual. Did somebody say "using it up a ladder"! I'm sorry but the safety police will be coming and making everyone put up a tower for their hedges. 🙄
Hi, I have just bought this and I am a little confused about the safety button. Is it supposed to work where you can take your finger off the trigger without it cutting out? If so, I cannot get this to work. Advice appreciated.
I have cut through a cord before.....fireworks🥳🤦♂️
Just bought this....👍
Very helpful thanks 👍
got the same one. Good machine
It's great! 👍👊
GrowVeg is my favourite gardening youtube channel
Not to forget the noise of petrol powered tools. I have a premises of over 8 hectare and have no petrol powered hand-tools. Most of my hand tools are Makita powered by LXT batteries. I love using my Makita tools! I am looking at this one as I have the 2x 18v (65cm) version of it, which is quite heavy after a while for someone who has a disability in his arms. The only thing about Makita I think the accessoires are ridiculously expensive, like the battery backpack, €600 now for just a backpack with 1 adapter. That is insane #Makita!
I'm no expert, just a middle aged man with a hedge and I heard somewhere once that the letter at the end is to indicate what channel the unit was distributed eg: a big box store. FWIW I have the 18v DIY level Ryobi - it's light weight as well but still gets heavy after a while and the older 4ah battery drops 1 or 2 lights on the indicator thing over about 20mins. Wondering how well that battery light works out in bright sunshine?
Battery / no battery apparently! 👍
It just works!
Wait for the comments on trimming bushes, and strokes per minute. I also got excited over my AEG cordless strimmer, I sometimes take it up to bed with me
Careful! 😂👍
I suppose this could be very loosely be considered as woodworking 😂😂😂😉👍
If you've ever out up/fixed a fence or gate. Shed, gazebo, deck, trellis and so on. There's a lot of woodwork goes on in a garden. One of these would be useful.
@@webchimp what, to fix sheds, gazebos etc? 😂😂
Well if you can do all that with a hedge trimmer then you really need to start a RUclips channel and show off your skills. 😂😂😂😂
Absolutely! 👍😂
Zed is the guy from "Pulp Fiction" who owned the chopper. This hedge trimmer is his signature model.........
Good job you didn’t get the erbauer. They’ve just changed batteries to their new EXT system so wouldn’t have been compatible :)
Ps. I love watching the restoration couple. They do diy and gardening :)
Wow - really? Close call! Cheers for the info! 👊👍
Thank you!
Z = without battery
Bare tool without battery or charger.
Thank you! 👍👊
Wish I had that battery system - I have a 6'x49' hedge + Laurel that I am currently maintaining it with a blunt powerbase! This video was hilarious. #hardasnails
A 2 amp battery will run them easily and make it that bit lighter too.I've picked them up for under 50 pounds new.
89bB LWA is the sound pressure level, 77dB (A) is the theoretical average sound pressure level perceived from a distance of around 2meters...or something like that anyway...its been a good many years since I studied this stuff
Its a while since I was measuring sound levels but I recall that LWA is the sound power level (W for Watts) - ie the sound power the unit emits ... you are right that the 77dBA is the sound pressure at a specified distance. THis is either at the users ears when operated normally or 1m - probably depends on the standard applied.
I was applying standards for 'off highway excavator equipment' of 150 ton machines and measured at 7 and 14m distances from a 'virtual enclosing box'.
Cheers! Same here! Although we didn't get taught very much. 😂👍
Jason gardener, UK lawn care , john Ryan, Greg's mowing, lhl garden services and my RUclips channel are UK gardening RUclips channels!
Fantastic - will check those! 👍
Yes. See LHL Garden Services UK videos.
Fantastic - will check it out. 👍
I used a DeWalt one last year on a hedge that hasn't been cut for a long time. Couldn't fault it at all even though I'm a Makita fan. Who wants to feck around with 240v or peterol.
HOW DO YOU SHARPEN THE BLADES
The Restoration Couple has a bunch of gardening stuff in their channel as well as other things home DIY related stuff.
Will check that out! 👍👊
Nice, you got droll ,off pat👍👍💪👌👍👍
Very perceptive "sounds like marketing bollix to me"😁😁😁
He, im 15 awsome revieuw.
Welcome to the middle aged wood workers channel 😂
Lol absolutely! 😂😂
Great comment
Awesome! 😊👍
Can you use 5ah batteries
Ever since your review prices have gone up 10% on Amazon.
Cordless is so much easier and better for various reasons; safety, no cable to cut or fuel to spill; noise/pollution Vs petrol. ok professionals might want to stick with petrol but even they are being catered for now, at a price.
I personally went for the Lidl 20v hedge trimmer, because it was £50 including a 4ah battery and it's compatible with all my other parkside tools
I have the 20 volt park side (Lidl) as well - have had it for 3 years -terrific tool, includes battery and 3 year warranty for £50 - I have a semi professional Katz petrol mower - goes great but heavy, noisy and hot so now I exclusively use the Parkside
That should read petrol hedge trimmer
@@johncooper8686 FYI You can edit your comment if you click on the three dots that appear at the right hand end of your comment
Anyone else have problems with this ace DUH523, think I've been too heavy with mine, burnt out motor? Flashing red going slow with great new batteries onboard
UK gardening channels on youtube ? only about 150. Allotment Diary is the best one. Try Deans Lost the Plot, Geordie Giant Veg or Charles Dowding amongst others.
Agree that these are good channels but they concentrate on growing veg. I've not seen much garden maintenance just some from UK Lawn Care. Its more how to do it than review equipment. Tony C Smith (another from the North East!), built some compost bins last year 🤣.
Will have a look! RUclips has failed in its algorithmic recommendations for me. 😂👍
I’ve bought a few makita tools off amazon and they generally work out about 20% cheaper but I think they are often returns or seconds as they do not work perfectly so I went back to ITS tools despite being more expensive
My Honda hedge trimmer is 4 stroke.
normally a four stroke would be too heavy to hold for any length of time and also
the engine would cut out if tilted but Honda developed a new lighter 4 stroke with a pump.
I have run makita battery tools for years, there are great aftermarket batteries, i have saved hundreds, but it needs to be well researched, i have bought duds, main problem being when they dont put the right charging board inside the battery, so they just burn out when put on charge, but i got refunded for the two bad batteries i bought, if you find a good seller its probably worth sticking with them, because with out the brand identity all you have is seller reputation.
So I buy the hedge trimmer & a battery, which is perfect for about 30 minutes but after that I need a buy a battery charger...which is how much?
This review makes more sense IMO if you already own Makita batteries & charger (which you sort of said at the beginning).
Charles Dowding - utube gardener. Good tool. £79 from Howes.
Andy. Please, please make something for a change. At least if you cut branches down with your Makita then please whittle the wood into spoons or something.
Sadly 'making' vids get the least views but I've got one coming up in a couple if vid's time 👍
I've got to replace my birdboxes soon, waiting for nestlings to fall through the non original holes🙄. Handy person and gardener.
Looks lke t could do most hedge but mine as my hedge is beech which grow a a hell of a rate even petrol cutters struggle, so this would be no good n my case
I think this would be fine with a beech hedge as long as the branches aren't too thick! 👍
@@GosforthHandymanThat's the problem it only gets cut once a year as its massive, hence the branches are at least 25mm thick my electric cutter is the only one that performs well and that's designed to cut up to 38mm
£95 now on Amazon.
The Makita is made in Germany, that's why it is so good.
I own a hedge, I like to drink beer and smoke a cigar when I trim it. Yep, I'm a real class act.
No, I don't own a hedge - I just live in one - bugger hedge trimmers I say!
bit pricey if you don't have a battery already......if you have a corded put the cord coming out of the machine into a few feet of pipe insulation then it can't fit between the teeth.
Titchmarsh is running scared!👍👍👍👍👍👍👍🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
He should be! 👍😂😂
Hi Andy,
Just a few comments I have in general.
I think the titan is a bad design and not a good comparison for petrol- 2 stroke versus battery hedge trimmer. Firstly a better quality 2 stroke machine wouldn't be starved of fuel no matter what angle you use it. The exhaust is really badly placed on it too and this again shouldn't be an issue on a better quality machine. however, Most would say that the days of 2 stroke machines are numbered and its gonna be battery all the way, Well at least for the EU. Stihl battery powered tools are what most contractors are changing to but theyre mad expensive and the technology is not quite there yet
On the subject of Hedging there's a fairly good rule that you shouldn't cut hedges before August ( I know we're nearly there) for the following reasons.... Some birds nest and hatch eggs twice, cutting earlier is just encouraging more growth hence more cutting needed, cutting earlier, the growth is soft and stresses the plant and in the case of some plants, increases the possibility of mildew, leaf burn/schrivel, dieback, shothole, fungal disease and pest attack. In the case of laurel specifically, its recommended that you prune the branches and not cut the leaves as it is a big leaved variety and doesnt like the leaves sliced in 2 ( having said that nobody does this) so a good practice is to cut before or after some wet weather when the plant and heal with a little less stress.
Think I may have burnt mine out, flashing red on couple new batteries