Echo eForce vs original 58v battery powered line 

I was kinda in the same situation. I've been a huge echo fan for many years and decided to trust them for my conversion to battery powered equipment. I get technology changes but they had some many design errors on the original 58v series. I searched online and a few people mentioned if you submit a complaint with the Better Business Bureau that Echo would replace everything. I didn't think that would happen but I figured I'd give it a try. I complained that they had battery issues(I've gone through 2 batteries, one warrantied) and that I trusted echo and was disappointed they changed the system and the systems are not compatible. Echo replied saying more or less sorry about that and we'd like to replace everything you own. I never filed a complaint with the BBB before but the process was extremely smooth(done 100% online) and I had the new equipment within a week. You might want to give it a try...

Nice, my understanding is if the batteries completely drain then the battery management system errors out, I saw a few people "jump" them on ebay but when mine were bad they had cell failures. I really like this set, in all honestly I don't think it's much different than the original series. I think it's just some incremental improvements but I wouldn't purchase these to upgrade the originals. I don't think the performance different it worth it.

@@jamesbubnickyeah that’s probably true. I drain them when using as in run them until 1 bar and when the unit reaches like 20% capacity I believe it is, it’ll shut off, power button slow blinking. That’s the indication your battery is low. You can turn it back on and run it a little more but once it shuts off again that’s it, it’s probably 10-20% somewhere in there. I’ve never had one deplete all the way I always keep them charged up. I wouldn’t blame ya for sticking w the 58v stuff if that’s what ya got, I have never used one of those before, the 56v handheld blower was first one I ever used late last year and I liked it so much I gradually started using the small trimmer then the commercial Kombi power head and now they’ve been my main tools this season.

Correct the new and old batteries are not compatible. Echo still does manufacturer the original batteries and as far as I know they plan to for a while. In general I've seen adaptors for different power tools, ie dewalt 20v to makita 20 v maybe you can find something for Baumr-ag to something else? As for the voltage, as far as I remember the 56v and 58v actually use the same number of cells and are the same voltage. Different mfg's label tools differently.... For one of my bad packs I found someone locally who rebuilt battery packs. They took it apart to replace the cells w/ new ones. Maybe you can find someone who does that? Also did you try baumr-ag to see if they have replacement battery packs? If you order a NOS pack you have to be careful since it doesn't seem like the cycle count is what kills outdoor power equipment packs. My feeling is mfg's have done a poor job on the engineering/design/testing side. Also as far as I know TTI mfg's these units for Echo and TTI mfg's for tons of different OEM's...

Thanks for your reply James. Yes I’ve been in touch with the company and they don’t have any stock. With more searching, it turns out another brand here, aeg, is actually the rebranded echo. Maybe the Baumr-ag stuff was a cheap rip off. The batteries look very similar, the echo/aeg have an extra pin though. I’ve considered getting the repacked battery repacked but from what I’ve read it’s not very economical. I’ll definitely look into the adapter idea and maybe take the head into some local tool stores to see if it might be possible to get some other brand batteries on there with minimal alteration. Thanks again