Mizanne: An electric unit (battery) Is most likely your best bet . All the Gas Units are noisy ! I have owned numerous gas units Weed Eaters , Stihl , Echo and currently Toro ! If you run them gentle their not too obtrusive but once you rev them up during thicker grass and weeds then the Decibels climb. As for line breakage this normally occurs if you run the unit to aggressively or against rocks , fence or cemented areas . If you buy quality and proper guage of line then this issue will be greatly reduced . Check out the major manufacturers which offer elect units Stihl , Husky , Echo ..Etc !