50% off All Kobalt 80V Outdoor Power Kits:
Link to full range(masters.com.au) - starts 12th May
25 May: Offer extended (while stocks last)
Do these Kobal guys have a Motorised Pruning Saw?
The line trimmer is 'Attachment capable' so you should be able to use it with a square drive Pruning Saw attachment.
Will the chainsaw be avaialable to buy click & collect (online) as we live in the country and don't feel like taking an early morning drive if they have no stock in store…
I did click and collect on the mower this morning and looks like all items are available for click and collect.
Anyone know if the Greenworks battery works in this since it's a rebrand?
http://www.amazon.com/GreenWorks-GBA80400-4-0Ah-Lithium-Battery/dp/B00SSBL07U/ref=pd_sim_86_2?ie=UTF8&dpID=51mD-xKhesL&dpSrc=sims&preST=AC_UL160_SR160%2C160&refRID=02ZAD0PK93A0HNK2B4YC
I think the 80V Victa is the rebadge of the GreenWorks. The 80V Victa battery looks the same as the Kobalt battery but it does not fit the 80V Victa Trimmer. I tried! The reason is that the grooves on the sides of the battery are different. I think it's deliberate to prevent people from buying the equipment/battery from one and the skins from the other.
Are you saying you tried the Kobalt battery in the Victa line trimmer? I read elsewhere that the batteries were the same between Kobalt and Victa although that was in the mower context. Do you have a Victa mower and did you try to use a Kobalt battery in it? Assume that the same groove system would apply?
If this is the case it sux for me as I was going to use Kobalt battery in my already purchased Victa kit….
As said above, I tried to use the Kobalt battery with the 80V Victa Trimmer without success.
@Max2010: Did you try changing the battery skins? Eg. stick the kobalt battery pack in to the victa battery skin?
@xsacha: The Kobalt battery could not be inserted in the Victa's battery compartment due to the groove positions were different.
@Max2010: I mean unscrew the actual battery skin itself and replace the battery pack (20 cells) inside?
The batteries are the same as far as I can tell, same size and spec. I have both as well but like Max2010 said, the grooves stop the batteries from being used across brands. The grooves play no part apart in anything apart from stopping it fitting. The battery won't be any less secure in the console. I'm going to cut the grooves out of the Victa consoles as it's just plastic. But you'll have the same issue with the charger. I'm using Kobalt batteries with Victa skins so don't have this problem with different chargers. Will let you know how it goes tomorrow.
Can confirm all works! You only need to remove the larger groove from the console, the smaller groove should stay. I used a chisel and a rubber mallet and light taps. Took about 15mins. You can leave some of the groove there. Don't need to get flush with the sides. I had a Victa battery and Kobalt battery and noticed no difference in a Victa blower with both batteries. Now to return the Victa battery! 😀
Thank you. So you basically only need to take half of it off, sweet.
Got the Victa stuff on clearance and I might give it ago and if it works then I'll also return the victa battery and charger that I bought and it'll be a steal. If I still can't fit the Kobalt battery in, at least I'll still be able to use it. A little hesitant as I don't want to ruin the skins and then be stuffed.
What Victa skins did you have?
@butterbuts: Yeah, take that bit off on both sides and you're good to go. Just make sure you don't try to go flush with the skin so you have room for mistakes. Better off not taking too much off on the first go than knocking a hole in the console! I have the Kobalt mower and trimmer (returned the Victa trimmer so I had 3 batteries and a spare charger, cheaper to get the package from Masters than buying seperately from Bunnings, and Kobalt warranty WAY better tha Victa @ 5years compared to 2), and Victa blower and chainsaw. Gave the chainsaw a run yesterday on the Kobalt battery and worked great :)
@garethb: Thanks Gareth awesome work. Did you try your Victa battery in the Kobalt skin before you returned it? Also did you notice if you could take the groove out of the Victa charger to use the Kobalt battery? I've got some Victa stuff I can't take back and plan to interchange with new Kobalt batteries.
I did it slightly differently in that I used toe nail clippers and clipped the plastic off. Was really quick up until the back part where hand room was getting low.
I can also confirm that the battery works.not a smooth fit for me just yet, but it fits in and works. I only removed the top groove of the big groove in the blower.
I'm going to keep the Trimmer and Blower as they were $84 and $60 respectively for me. Spare charger might be handy, but warranty will cover me hopefully. 2 batteries are good for me as I can fully charge one before the other dies (unless I haave 6 inch grass throughout my lawn which would tax the batteries)
You've saved me some dosh as I'm returning the victa battery and Charger.
Trimmer was actually going to be problematic to amend like I did with the blower. Luckily my mother wanted the trimmer so she has that and I went and got the kobalt one. The Kobalt one has the two speed settings compared to the Victa's 1. Both of the speed settings on the Kobalt seem plenty powerful to me.
@Punkboy: Sorry, never tried the Victa on the Kobalt stuff. There is no reason why it won't work though. Both chargers and batteries rated the same and same terminals. Only difference is that groove being a few millimetres different.
@butterbuts: Must be some good nail clippers! I was having trouble with pliers initially! How did you get the Victa stuff so cheap?
They did the job manfully haha.
As I got 1 of everything, I asked if they could do a discount (the bunnings bloke told me to ask at the counter) and they gave me $15 off each item (Charger was $10 off though).
These items are on their system as 'deleted items' so they literally want them gone. I went to 3 bunnings (Oxley, Rocklea and Wynnhum) and each had quite a few Trimmers, Blowers, Chainsaws, Batteries and chargers still. Some were up high and out of reach, others on trolly's. Some of them have the prices still marked at $199 for the chainsaw, but they scan at $99.
So if you wanted to do a bit of a dodgy - Buy the items in bulk and get discount. Then return the items you don't want but do it without the receipt and you'll get store credit and potentially get extra money you never spent in the first place as for example they would give me $99 store credit for an item I only paid $84 (only works if you still wanted other stuff from bunnings of course). Or just return the items you don't want and you'll still have saved a little bit more than you otherwise would have. I didn't do this but I thought about it haha.
Looks like a great bargain….Can you buy it (original price) today with click & collect for pickup tomorrow and when you are there just ask for refund and buy it on SPECIAL price?? Any extra savings when you move into a new house helps :).
Don't know how that would work but their returns policy allows for change of mind so you could buy, then return and then buy again immediately.
From their website:
Change of mind exceptions
We will not give you a refund or exchange where you have changed your mind for:
Custom made products (for example kitchen cabinets or plantation shutters)
Any product/s specifically cut to size at your request (For example timber or carpet)
Tinted Paint
Any product that has been installed or assembled by Masters Installation Pty Ltd.
I also recently moved and am contemplating doing this to eliminate missing out as we need a mower.
So the EGO is still at clearance (half) price - mower, blower and trimmer (at Masters).
I'm interested in the trimmer, but can't find anything on line comparing the two brands - in terms of usage. Kobalt is a little longer and larger cutting circle.
Has anybody here used both?
Would appreciate your observations.
EGO only has $199 sale on the blower and trimmer. Not on mower (yet).
@ Frankly - You can refer to the review here (http://www.protoolreviews.com/tools/outdoor-equipment/lithiu…)
Thanks @ Keat
Did come across that one, but was looking for that type of review for the trimmer
I asked Masters about parts.
"All mowers are under the manufactures warranty, For parts or faults the manufacture will be able to assist you further. All information to this is available in the manual provided with the lawn mower."
You're on your own, sucker.
Ordered for click and collect. Hopefully it goes through alright and I will collect this arvo.
I'm having issues with the payment processing through their website
"Your payment is processing. Please don't press the back button or refresh your page during this process."
Been stuck on this page fora 10 minutes now
Unsure why it would get stuck. I did mine at 5:30am this morning and via my phone
Hmm maybe something up with my computer. I tried again on my phone and it went through fine.
Also there is a 5% off promo if you sign up on the masters website as a new customer.
I got the lawn mower and string trimmer for $568.10 (from $598)
Hope that helps!
@wongstar11: Good I waited. I almost forgot to do that!
Edit: Purchased for $336.60 with 5% woolworths egift card + 5% newsletter.
Expecting $7.10 from Cashrewards too.
All up, under $330 :D
Happy ozbargainer.
Anybody received click and collect confirmation yet? I ordered line trimmer at 6am and had to call them at midday. They then processed the money but nothing yet. Want to pickup tonight
I ordered at 5:44am and got the 'ready for pick up' email at 7:45am. I ordered the Mower though.
I'd imagine there'd be more demand for the trimmers over the mowers. You can always just go in and ask them about it, but could be a hassle if you don't liven ear a masters.
Got my mower today. Seem to have plenty of stock at Parkinson. Gave it a quick test, sounds like a powerful fan. No more messing around with pull starts, cleaning the carby and fuel, woo-hoo! Would be great buy the trimmer too.
Penrith, NSW: plenty of stock (mower, chainsaw, line trimmer, blower). Bought, will give it a try tomorrow, specs and Lowe's (US) reviews look really good.
Lots of stock at Richlands in Brisbane. Needn't worry about missing out at all
Out of stock at northmead nsw. Not much left at rousehill. Around ten left when I left this morning.
Bought the mower and line trimmer early March. Took my receipts in and got about 400 in refund. No hassles. Great service from Masters.
Happy with the performance of both since I got them.
Cut the back yard yesterday, the mower did a pretty good job, but the real test will be in summer. Really like how quiet it is compared to a petrol mower, I didn't even need to use ear plugs. I must admit, in some ways my 12 year old Honda mower is still superior, though I did pay over $800 for that. I bought the Trimmer today, seems a solid build but thought it was heavier than my other trimmer. I Don't think I would of bought the Kobalt 80V Range at full price, but for half price most definitely yes. So glad I waited. The only down side that I can see are spare parts like the cutting blades. Most likely will have to buy from the US.
Mowed the lawn at my house and impressed. It's like people say, not loud at all and is just like a loud fan. Live on a corner block so quite a bit of grass. Admittantaly the grass wasn't that long, but the mower was running for a while and only used 1 bar. Pretty impressive. As it comes with two battiers you can just mow till the first dies and then switch and chuck the first on charge and then when/if the second dies, the first is full again. If you are mowing that much though I reckon you'd be upgrading to a ride on anyway.
Yup, took advantage of the lovely weather today to mow the lawn. Got it all sorted with no fuss. Last time I did it was 4 weeks ago so there were parts which had long grass. Needed one change to finish mowing.
Then moved on to the line trimmer. Needed another change and now the garden's all clean and lines are trimmed.
As butterbuts said, no wait. Change a flat battery and pop it in to charge. It'll be full by the time I need to change battery again.
No maintenance apart from some wiping. Love it!
What are people's thoughts on the Trimmer? I currently have a 18v Ryobi One+ trimmer and it's okay, but the automatic feeder annoys the hell out of me at times and the line decided to completely come out of it on the weekend (wasn't much left, but not so little that it should fly out).
Got the mower and love it, so wondering if I should grab the trimmer.
Tempted for the blower too, but already have the Ryobi one and it seems to do the job.
It's also a shame that the Victa batteries won't work with these and the Kobalt batteries won't work with the Victa range as they look to be almost identical and the Victa stuff is on special at Bunnings atm.
I just finished using the trimmer for the first time on the back and front yard. Honestly, I haven't done any trimming for over a year, as my other trimmer is broken. Most of the thick over-growth comes from my neighbours yard as I have never seen them ever trim along the fence. Anyway, the Kobalt Trimmer went through it all with no problems and I didn't even need the higher speed. This trimmer could be the best I have used, I'm totally impressed. The only negative I've found is it feels a bit heavy but a Strap should help with that.
Hi Telby, I got an Ego strap at bunnings for 10 bucks and it helps distribute the weight much better. Highly recommended.
And yes, I'm very impressed by the trimmer too.
Thanks for the info Chinerama. I'll get one this week.
This trimmer rips all over the Ryobi! It's at least now 25% quicker for me to trim the same yard with this than with the Ryobi. Grass goes in first pass, no more back and forth on the tougher stuff.
The Victa 80v lawn mower uses the same Mower blades as the Kobalt, so it shouldn't be hard to get new blades in Australia. Also most parts looks interchangeable too, since it's the same mower with minor changes.
My only concern is the Victa is sold as 'Limited Addition', so probably will disappear too.
Maybe buying a blade or two soon then waiting a year or more might be a good idea, that's what I'm going to do. I've been researching this online, because it's a bit of pain buying parts from the states. Hopefully if enough people buy these mowers, they might still make parts for them for many years. My other mower is 12 years old and I can still buys parts for it. Also I'm going to try to sharpen the mower blades, never done that before but might be worth doing.
hey @telby can you link the blade you are referring to. Just bought one and wouldnt mind picking this up now.
cheers
Sorry I haven't has time today to search for blade parts until now. I have sent emails to Victa as well as a few mower shops.
This Site gives a complete breakdown and part numbers of the Victa 80V.
https://www.allmowerspares.com.au/part-finder.html#/s/VICTA/…
If you look at the this video of the victa at 1 minute 30, you'll see the mower on it's side showing the blades.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ_2CmDtOxg
Had the mower shops reply. They can get the blades, part no. BP80122A which are 21” Victa blades, priced at $30.00. I'm sure your local mower shop shouldn't have any problems, they just have to order them, which I was told can take up to a week. Hope that helps.
Thanks a lot for looking into it and providing the info!
Don't know what Victa's policy is, but Stihl have a 10 year guarantee that even if a product is discontinued you can still get parts/support for it.
@dbun1:
Pleasure to help a fellow Ozbargain member out. Would be great to have parts available for that long.
I think it's funny how the Kobalt Blower and Victa Blower are basically identical.
The chainsaw, trimmer and mower all have noticeable cosmetic differences, but the blowers look exactly the same.
It's annoying that they made slight differences to the products to not allow compatibility between batteries. I mean, I get they want to force users to buy their branded bits and pieces, but geez.
Went to Masters on Wednesday. They were all out of Mowers and had 10 of each with the Trimmer and Blower. Probably less than that now.
Used the mower and the trimmer. To say the trimmer is an upgrade from my 18v Ryobi One+ trimmer would be a massive understatement haha. The thing is a beast. I haven't had any experience with petrol trimmers, but I can't see why anyone in a residential property would need anything more powerful than the 80V stuff.
The trigger is pressure sensitive too. The first time I used it I had it at high most of the time. The second time I used it I used it mainly on a pretty low setting and still got the job done.
I didn't know that, thanks.
Thanks @dbun1
Newb question guys, can an extra blade be added to the kobalt lawn mower or it only takes one?
It can only take one 21" blade, which is sharpened at both ends. Unless the plastic assembly that holds the blade in place can some how be modified.
Thanks @telby.
Was at Masters yesterday and saw that they have heaps of mowers out again. If they are trying to clear them, then the price might drop sooner or later.
Just bought the mower and trimmer today with a friends trade account plus the discounted WISH cards.
So for $598, it only ended up costing me just under $552.
Can't complain with 3 batteries. With my tiny garden i should be able to do it all with 1 battery.
Now also includes spare batteries and chargers
There are still skins around various Bunning's in Melb, have seen chainsaws, blowers and trimmers, no mowers. Scored a couple of blowers this week for $50 each, battery for $50, and got chargers for 13 bucks each!
I modded my blower to use my Kobalt battery, and picked up a chainsaw for $50 for spare parts, the bar and chain is worth that alone. Mate got the blower with batt and loves it, huge amount of grunt and very smooth, hangs at the perfect height off your arm.
As for all the talk about battery life, like most power tools these use 18650 cells, some use 14mm some use 26mm but majority are 18650, they are not an expensive cell and there are a lot of very good cells from Samsung and LG out there, Samsung 25R are a high discharge 2500mah cell that would be a great replacement once these big packs die. 20 cells is a lot, but by the time we need them a couple bucks each online will get you what you need.
I would expect these packs to last around 5 years if they are looked after, and by that I mean stored at the correct charge level which for this type of cell is around 55-60% capacity. So when you recharge get it up to two lights and leave it, then top it up before you use it, run it down then recharge back to 2 lights and store it.
In seven years I better be able to upgrade to a robot mower:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/New-Wifi-lithium-R-C-Robot-auto-L…