Black and Decker 20v Lithium Battery Combo LCC420 Review

There’s no doubt about it, but when the grassed areas of the yard have been freshly mowed and the edges trimmed the difference is immense. The only thing that spoils the view perhaps is the loose grass clippings left by the line trimmer. The Black and Decker 20v lithium battery line trimmer and blower, model LCC420 is a combination that can take care of just such a situation.

Both the string trimmer and the sweeper share the same Black and Decker 20v lithium battery, which is a first class feature and helps in keeping costs down. If in fact you have any other tools in the B&D 20 volt Max range this gives you an extra battery which can come in handy by giving you twice the amount of work time.

Do you have any hedges or shrubs or are you planning on growing some? Black & Decker also have a hedge trimmer that would complement this combo set by sharing this same battery.

The Black and Decker LCC420 might well turn out to be one of their most popular trimmer blower combo ever because of some of the features that I delve into in the review below.

The fact that there are two individual items making up the combo, calls for 2 reviews to be compiled on this one page.  This might make it a bit long, so you can use the “Table of Page Contents” which will help you navigate from the trimmer review to the sweeper review.

What’s Included In the Black and Decker LCC420 Combo Kit

The items included in the LCC420 combo pack are as follows.

Black and Decker LST400 String Trimmer

Black and Decker Blower Model LSW20 Sweeper

One 4.0ah 20v Max Battery Pack

Battery Charger

Front Trimmer Handle

Guard

[azdf]

Both main products of this package have an in depth review below.

Black and Decker LST400 String Trimmer Review

In this section we review the main features of the LST400 string trimmer which is powered by a Black and Decker 20v Lithium Battery.

Just in case you’re not aware, the Lithium Ion battery used in this trimmer and blower combo set is the most up to date battery type available to those of us who use power tools.

This particular one, although not the highest power rating is a 20 volt version which should be big enough for the small to medium sized garden requirements. That is probably quite a broad statement and it would be better put by using, the amount of grass lawn and other areas of growth needing to be kept in order.

If you have large areas of overgrown brambles and nettles then it would be better to look at some of the gas trimmers to tackle this type of work. Other than that, this Black and Decker cordless broom and trimmer should work fine for you.

Lithium Ion (Lit Ion) batteries are starting to take over from the Nickel-Cadmium batteries (NiCd) due to them being longer lasting and holding a charge for anything up to 5 times longer. For more information and read more reviews about cordless string trimmers go the link.

The Black and Decker 20v lithium trimmer is ideal for nipping round the edgings without having to hook up extension cables. It also eliminates the possibilities of tripping over them.

Grass trimmers are ideal for getting into corners where the lawnmower can’t reach. This can avoid having to bring out the electric grass shears to finish tidying up these corners.

Fitting the battery is as easy as it gets. The battery slips into the end of the line trimmer handle and into the underside of the Black & Decker blower handle.

Visit this link if you want to know more about battery technology

Black and Decker 20v Lithium Battery Gobbledygook Explained

I don’t know about you, but to me there is nothing more off-putting than trying to decipher something I don’t fully understand straight away.

Bullet point statements like this one for example “Up to 1 hour of runtime when using dual mode switch in run-time mode”

And “Runtime Extension Technology with dual mode accelerator switch” Well maybe this one’s not quite as bad providing you have a little knowledge about the subject.

But I know plenty of people who would just shake their head and move on to something else. Personally I often think something is being hidden and that this gobbledygook is just meant to confuse and cover up a weakness. It makes me wonder what the motivation was to use it in sales talk, or as in this case explaining a feature of this particular Black and Decker 20v Lithium battery.

The surprising thing is, as I was compiling this cordless grass trimmer review the product has many great features and at this moment of writing is complete with a fantastic price tag. I will provide more about this in my summery below.

But the point is why do companies resort to using terms that I’m certain very few people will understand. So let me explain what my take is on the power specifications gobbledygook above.

LCC420 String Trimmer and Sweeper Specs Explained

The Dual Mode Accelerator Switch – This switch provides a choice to use the trimmer at the best speed that will give a longer cutting time. This mode will allow the larger jobs to be completed before the Black and Decker 20v lithium trimmer battery will need to be recharged.

When the accelerated trimmer speed mode is selected this turns up the revolutions per minute of the trimming line, enabling it to hack away at the heavier and tougher growth. Obviously the battery life will be shortened before requiring a recharge due to this higher power demand.

So in a nutshell, this particular battery is designed to provide an hour of runtime if the extended runtime mode is selected. And accelerated speed mode when a higher performance is required.

Not a bad feature I would say, as choices can be a great advantage. So why on earth not explain in clearer layman terms what a great feature this model has. It allays the fears I mentioned earlier about something being hidden and it being, just meant to confuse and cover up a weakness.

Hope that helps to make that point a bit clearer and I apologize to those that already understood it for themselves.

Advantages of a Cordless Lawn Trimmer with Height Adjustment

Very often one of the confusing factors when buying anything that you will be manually using is will it be too big, or too long or indeed will it be too short. After all we come in every shape and size.

B & D have taken this into account by making the LCC420 cordless lawn trimmer combo complete with a height adjustable trimmer handle as well as a telescopic length adjustment.

First you would slide the front handle lightly up and down till you find something that suits your arm length and tighten the bolt up at that position.

To adjust the length you unlock the locking clamp and slide the telescopic tube up or down till you find your ideal working height and lock up the clamp again. The ideal working distance to aim for would be around 2 feet from the back of the trimmer guard to your feet.

The handle can be shortened by around 15 inches which should be sufficient to suit the majority of users. This can mean the difference of suffering a sore back or not when you have to either stoop down or attempt to stretch upwards in an effort to keep the trimmer head in contact with the lawn surface. For short periods it may not be too bad, but for 10 minutes to half an hour it might not be too much fun.

Turning the Black & Decker LCC420 String Trimmer into an Edging Tool

If you have edgings that need to be trimmed along the driveway, walkways and areas of bedding etc. you would appreciate the swivel head feature of this cordless string trimmer. Simply and quickly convert the cutting head to become an edging tool which gives that neat finish to your work.

The rotating head feature prevents you from having to turn the string trimmer at some funny angles in an attempt to tidy up an edging. Not nearly as easy and certainly nowhere near as much control can be achieved compared with the rotating head method.

Another feature to make the edging process a lot easier is a roller mechanism that will maintain a regular height from the driveway, walkway or lawn surface.

A couple of points to remember when using as an edging tool is that the automatic line feed WILL NOT operate properly if the wheeled edging guide mechanism is not being used.

Furthermore the trimming line will wear much more quickly if the wheeled guide is set at the wrong distance due to contact with the abrasive hard surfaces of the driveway etc.

Trimming Line Feed Type

As trimmer line gets worn away it needs to be replaced by new cutting line. That doesn’t mean you have to stop working and replace it manually.

There are a few options available to replace worn line which are, the bumping method or a system that feeds the line automatically.

This particular Black and Decker 20v lithium trimmer uses the latter method via an automatic feed spool which allows continuous trimming to be carried out.

LST400 String Trimmer Video

See the Black and Decker sweeper going through its paces in the video below and yes I can see where it gets the name Cordless Broom from.

Take a look at the video of the Black and Decker LST400 string trimmer being used around the yard. Also see it being used as an edging tool with the roller feature clearly displayed.

Black and Decker LSW20 Cordless Broom Review

Obviously the Black and Decker cordless broom LSW20 shares the 20 volt Lithium Ion battery that we have already covered above in quite a bit of detail, so we don’t need to do that again. So let’s just move on to the other features of the blower unit.

After trimming grass edges it can leave driveways and walkways looking untidy with the grass clippings. Using the blower which is often referred to as a cordless broom can very quickly have things looking smart again.

Not only meant for blowing away grass clippings as the blower comes in handy during fall to keep driveways etc clear.

The blower is meant to be used on hard surfaces only, meaning that it won’t really work well when using it on grass and flower beds. Another point to bear in mind is that there isn’t really enough power to try and blow away wet leaves when they stick to the walkways, although it does have a scrapper to help lift them of first.

Blower Ease of Operation

Apart from feeling well balanced the weight of the blower is only around 3.5 pounds or so which means that fatigue won’t be much of a problem when cleaning up the yard.

Another feature again designed to keep the fatigue factor low is the lock on switch which saves having to continually hold down the on switch for long periods.

Although gas powered blowers are undoubtedly more powerful they are a more noisier. So if that’s something that you would rather do without including the fumes given off by them, then the quiet option would be the cordless broom.

A nice feature is that the Black and Decker 20v lithium battery can be left in the charger when you’re finished using it without doing any harm to the battery. This ensures that you will have a fully charged blower unit ready to use every time simply by removing the charger.

Black and Decker Blower Sweeper Video

See the Black and Decker sweeper going through its paces in the video below and yes I can see where it gets the name Cordless Broom from.

 

 Trimmer Blower Combo Reviews and Ratings

Reading other reviews for this trimmer blower combo I hear very much the same sound of satisfaction from the users. Although to date there are only 6 user reports they are all singing from the same hymn sheet. They are giving the Black and Decker 20v LCC420 Combo Kit ratings of 5 stars from the 5 stars maximum.

As mentioned earlier I would imagine that B&D are on to a winner with this product which may well become one of their best sellers in the gardening line, especially at the prices set at today. Read more about the Black and Decker LCC420 Combo here.

Pros

Some of the most likeable features of the Black & Decker LCC420 string trimmer and sweeper combo kit are listed below as bulleted points.

 

Height Adjustment of the Shaft

 

Lithium Ion Battery

 

Adjustable Handle

 

Trimming and Edging Use

 

Roller Mechanism easier than Wire Guide

 

Automatic Line Feed

 

2 Items for the Price of One

 

Light and Easy to Use

 

Choice of 2 Speed Feature

 

Interchangeable Battery for Other Products

 

No fuel/oil to Mix

 

Quieter Operation

 

Blower Unit is Well Balanced when in Use

 

Blower Lock on Switch

 

No Electrical Cord to get Tangled

 

Easy Assembly

Cons

Sweeper power not strong enough for wet leaves

 

Unclear specifications

Price of the Black & Decker LCC420 20-volt Lithium Ion Combo Kit

The Black & Decker LCC420 Combo Kit at the time of writing has got to be at its most affordable price right now. What they offer here is basically 2 items for less than the price of one.

Not that they are inferior, in fact the very opposite is true. The string trimmer for example uses the very latest technology. Both the gearing, that offers two different speeds and the shared Black and Decker 20v lithium battery.

I find it very difficult to mention anything negative to report about the combo and just wonder how long the offer will be around. Could be an introductory price, not too sure, but certainly gets my recommendation.

See more details of the Black & Decker LCC420 here.