DeWalt 18V XR String Trimmer DCMST561N-XE
MPN: DCMST561N-XE14 reviews
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Utter garbage. Do not waste your money. I purchased one of these and the line kept sucking back inside the head. After a year of being annoyed with it, dewalt refused to warranty it saying it was past the 1 year warranty. A bit later I purchased another under the lie they had changed the design. They have not. Brand new, off the shelf using… Read more
genuine dewalt string supplied with the trimmer and the same thing keeps happening. These trimmers are utter trash and dewalt refuses to stand behind their product
Do not waste your money!
Strong machine, but heavy to handle due to poor balance – Bought it as a replacement for my deceased old model DCMS561. This one seems a little more powerful and the motor housing is Alu, not plastic. Unfortunately this also makes the head heavy. The whole machine is 1.2kg heavier than the old, but all that weight is added on the far end of the handle, making it front heavy. This thing is poorly balanced and should come with a shoulder strap. Show details
A positive experience in the end – Despite a less-than-pleasant experience trying to access customer support for warranty purposes, Dewalt fixed the issue in a manner which was not only pleasing but demonstrated that I was a valuable customer. Thanks for solving my problem. Show details
I can not recommend this product – Has enough power for domestic use but the line feed is a constant nightmare and, in my opinion, renders the machine useless. I am giving serious thought to switching brands as my current skins require replacement. Show details
Worked well for limited use but not built to last – Like many other Reviewer I had the unit for bang on 4 years and the unit stopped working. Opened up the case and the wire connectors were melted. Tried rejoining the connectors with a wire nut but still has does not start. I believe it would be control module fault. It was light and powerful but I thought it would last longer as I only used it twice a month for about 20min each time. Was hoping it would last 5 years. Paid $249 back in 2020. Show details
Worked well for about 3 years then died – This has been a great cordless strimmer around my garden, probably the best cordless I have used. However it has now died about 3 years after purchasing - motor started running slow and then refused to run at all despite good batteries. Repair costs look probitive so will like purchase replacement and avoid dewalt next time, as other reviews seem to show short product life. What a shame. Show details
Improved model – The first generation of 18v line trimmer were very average but the new 54v is a beauty they really stepped up and it's almost equal to a petrol but without the fumes and noise or having to pull a cord 50 times to start it. The battery is a little hard to remove that's why it gets 4 star instead of 5. Show details
Flawed wouldn’t buy again – In theory it’s a nice machine, very light and quite powerful. But the first one failed within a few weeks and sent back for repair and was only replaced after more than a month of me waiting and then threatening with fair trading complaint. The design of the head also means it’s very hard to use around concrete and hard surfaces without the… Read more
plastic of the head touching the ground and grinding away and replacement heads are moderately hard to find and relatively expensive. Good when it’s working, but wouldn’t buy again.
Is this inbuilt redundancy? – Bought late 2019 our DC561 whipper snipper worked fine until mid-2023 then it stopped, emitting just a single low ‘click’ after pulling the trigger, even with a fully charges battery. I tried to find a repair manual or circuit diagram without success. There was I YouTube video of a unit showing the same symptoms but the clip ended by asking if… Read more
anyone knew how to fix the problem. I then contacted the local Dewalt folk only to be advised to take it into a repair shop. As there are generic whipper snippers on Ebay for far less than a likely repair down payment for any repair service I thought I would try to find the problem first hand. To be brief, after using a cable tie to close the switch I found there was no voltage indicated on the outlet terminals of what appears to be called the DeWalt module so tried to find an online supplier. The only one I located online was from the UK which includes the above switch battery terminal and an enclosed unit on www.partsshopdirect.co.uk for a princely sum of £149.99 excl VAT and, if available, shipping to OZ. At current UK/AUS Forex the replacement part would have more expensive than what I originally paid back in 2019. Parts anyone?
Good product but very bad after sales service – Dewalt is a good brand but after sales service is horribly poor. I brought this in 2020. Motor is powerful but linefeed is horrible. Frequent breaks, my line spool assembly broke after 2.5 yrs of use and despite buying a replacement spool kit (from dewalt), I was not successful in changing it. The locking cage underneath broke and the whole… Read more
"Plastic" assembly was jammed. I called up Dewalt, they mentioned it would be covered under warranty and I had the option of either taking it to the repairs directly or approaching bunnings to see if they can replace or repair. Called up sydneytools (nearest authorised repair centre) but they were hopeless and were steering me towards buying a new one. Bunnings on the other hand said it is repair only and would take a few weeks. I wonder what is the point of few weeks repair when I need it now. It is a general concern with all dewalt products. I need the product to use it now and not in a few weeks. Do I have to keep multiple copies of each product to ensure I have one that I can use? I surely expect it to work for more than a few years considering how much you pay upfront. That was the reason I moved away from cheaper brands!
warranty takes months to get it repaired – My trimmer died within 14 months; the motor was dead. DeWalt did not want to replace the trimmer - and promised to send a new motor to repair it. It's been over 2 months (rainy season in Qld) and I still don't have my trimmer. The authorized service people have raised hell and all sorts of promises have been made to them by DeWalt - but it's all… Read more
lies.
Unfortunately I have about 10 different DeWalt tools. I am considering selling the lot and buying Markita.
NOT Happy to recommend after 3 years of light use – Got my DeWalt DCM 561 PB-XE line trimmer 3 years ago, so out of warranty. Its stopped working , looks to be switch 3 phase Brushless motor Controller has fail. I do have a lot of Dewalt cordless tools that’s why I got it. As for line release, it can and does shoot out to mush line , yes the line does jam on occasions. From day one its more like a… Read more
toy ..now it is junk. Ps a DeWalt drill which it on the way out ..yes just over 3 years out. The best line trimmer is the Stihl petrol that’I got in 1992.
Worked well for 4 years, then $250 quote to repair! – I purchase my DeWalt DCM 561 PB-XE line trimmer from Trade Tools for $275 in 2019 (it came with a 3 year warranty). I maintain several small gardens/lawns using the line trimmer weekly. It runs well. I get about 25mins use out of a 2hr DeWalt battery, so I always have spare battery charged ready to go. It's light-weight, quiet and easy to use.… Read more
Only complaint, replacing line is a pain the neck. I recommend you YouTube search DeWalt line trimmer change video for demo. Note: This type of line trimmer is not designed for, or suitable for heavy duty grass / weed cutting. Update: My DeWalt DCM 561 PB-XE line trimmer stopped working last week. My local DeWalt recommended repairer (Trade Tools) quoted me $250 to repair (replace motor). Unfortunately it's 1 year out of warranty. I'm disappointed this device did not last longer. So after researching line trimmers on online review websites including Choice and Product Review, yesterday I purchased a new Makita 18V DUR189 battery operated line trimmer for $331. Price includes battery and charger. I'll post review soon.
3rd time lucky - Works great but has broken twice – I’m a bit sad about this product. I have a pretty extensive range of Dewalt cordless tools now and the corresponding 18v and 54v flexvolt batteries. So when we bought our new house I invested in Dewalt landscaping tools (Lawn mower, blower, line trimmer). We’re a bit limited for space so when I saw the split-shaft model available in the store I… Read more
thought it made a lot of sense. I was able to pick the unit up in store and have a bit of a play with it and being able to fold it in half made it great for also being able to put it in the back of the Ute easily.
Unboxing and initial impressions were great. The unit feels solidly built including the hinge point and there was no wobble or weakness appreciable when the hinge was locked straight.
The unit has plenty of power and I found that I was able to do our whole property on one 6AH Flexvolt battery. I didn’t feel short on power or left wishing that I had purchased the 54v line trimmer this model had plenty of grunt.
The unit is weighted fairly heavily towards the front (I think in anticipation of people using a 9 or 12 AH battery to balance it). Using lighter batteries left me wishing that I had some sort of shoulder strap to avoid having to hold it up all of the time and I think that this is something Dewalt should really consider including with this model. It seemed to go through line fairly quickly but I’m always aware that line use can be very user dependent and in fact I have had good days and bad days for line use.
Reloading line is very easy not his model once you figure out how to do it and doesn’t require you to take the spool out, you just line up the arrows, feed the line through and turn the spool, it’s great!
After about 2 months of use (every 1-2 weeks doing regular yard works on grass, no brush, wire fence or sticks/small trees) the unit died. It seemed to start a little but then quit. This happened on a fresh start, in that I used it just fine one day, put it away and when I went to use it the next time it wasn’t working properly. Disappointed but accepting I took it to my local Dewalt Servicer who accepted it and gave me a call about a month later (COVID Delay) to let me know that Dewalt had fully replaced it, he didn’t know what had gone wrong. This seemed great to me, I was less worried and hoped that it had just been faulty (these things happen).
I got the new unit home and after 3 uses it has died again (same story as before). I have really tried to think about what could be causing these failures. I line on an urban block, have not taken it through any puddles or even long wet grass (which I would expect any trimmer to handle). When I finish with the trimmer I have always just brushed excess grass off the fender and put it away (I don’t hose it down) and I have stored it indoors (as I haven’t built a shed yet).
I’m now waiting (again) on the outcome from the Dewalt Servicer. Depending on how that goes I may take it back to the retailer that I purchased it from to look at trading it for a different model. I haven’t lost my faith in Dewalt, their stuff is great, but my experience suggests that this model had a defect.
This is just my experience and opinions, other people may have had less trouble.
Follow-up: 3rd Time lucky I have updated my review title and rating based on what I think is the most accurate impression of the tool. I am now on my 3rd line trimmer (same model) thanks to warranty replacements and accepting for COVID turnaround time and living Tasmania I was only without a trimmer for about a month or two.
This 3rd unit is working flawlessly and the rest of my review above stands per my original impressions.
Best I can recommend, don’t let it get wet at all.
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Update : Bunnings cannon hill confirmed its repair only. When handing this in, assured it will be… Read more (+1 reply)