Battery Power for Lawn equipment -- is it time?

I have an Ego mower & two batteries. The batteries & the charger stay in the house year round.

 

I don't think John Deere is selling these yet, but battery electric riding lawn mowers are out there:

Ryobi R48110 Electric Riding Lawn Mower Review - Consumer Reports

You’ll notice the price, too. At $2,500, the Ryobi costs as much as some of the higher-end riding tractors in our lawn tractor ratings, and is $1,000 to $1,500 more than most rear-engine riders of a similar size. But before you write off the mower as a high-priced electric novelty, you should know that in Consumer Reports' tests, it performed on par with some impressive gas models.​

...

The Ryobi will give you about 2 hours of cutting time, enough to cover up to 2 acres.​

Guessing at least a couple years for price parity. But nice to see there are now options out there to do most routine yard work all battery electric.

 

I am tempted by the battery stuff, but my local Stihl guy shook his head and waved his index finger in a negative manner when I asked last month how the battery powered Stihl stuff was in terms of performance and quality.

 

Simple answer, buy good battery powered stuff from someone else ;P

 

Kind of like how all the Toyota dealerships back in the day steered Prius owners away and into something else. Or today all the Nissan dealerships steering Leaf people away into something else. When I bought my Leaf the salesguy had never even been in one, yet had so many negative things to say about it trying to steer me towards a different hatch. Same deal at the Porsche dealership, want a Panamera plug-in, but sales-people say no. You really want this other all gasser car over here. Ignore the fools, buy what you want.

The Toyota and Lexus dealerships have become much better with hybrid customers, but that's not saying much.

 

I sort of agree with your thought about how all the car dealers were doing the same thing a few years ago.

I mean at the saw shops, these are good old boys who can tear down a two-cycle saw or a four-cycle mower and rebuild a carb with the best of them.

But, carbs are little dinosaurs.....I suspect if Stihl is putting out battery equipment, it is probably as good as the rest, but maybe not.
kris

 

We have been pretty pleased with some of the Greenworks stuff.
You need to know the limits of battery operated devices though. I would not use the push mower to mow my large lawn, but it works OK for the smaller yard that has a gate too small for my rider. Likewise I would not try to fell a tree with the light 12 inch chain saw.

 

i looked at it in the spring, nice looking unit. but they always overhype run time, power and cur area.
i noticed they no longer had it a few months later, but my biggest issue is that it is not returnable if you are not satisfied.

 

A friend of mine just got one.
Can you recommend a good online forum ??
Preferably one where you can READ all of the posts without actually joining.

 

My property is small enough where all my tools, except for the snow blower and power washer, are corded and they are years old.

 

+1 but now even my snow blower is corded. Can't imagine doing it any other way.

Nexus 7 ?

 

i hired someone to clean my roof and gutter last fall, after falling off a ladder. best 200 bucks i ever spent.
talk about a wake up call.

 

If I had a an extra $200 for every orthopedic patient over 60 I co-managed who fell from a ladder, well...

 

yep, been going up and down ladders most of my life. and then one day...

 

or cut some trees down.
i don't blame you though, i was the same way, until 'it' happened.

 

Maybe getting gutter guards installed would be a better long term investment than a cheapo blower.

 

I use my power washer with an extension that reaches the 2nd floor gutters and a cleaner attachment.
Power Care 3,300-PSI Gutter-Cleaner Attachment for Gas Pressure Washers-AP31052 - The Home Depot
Power Care 18 ft. 4,200-PSI Telescoping Spray Wand for Pressure Washers-AP31026E - The Home Depot

 

Shortly after I first got this Ego blower (the one that blows live grass out of my lawn), I saw them run an ad showing a happy homeowner blowing out the gutter gook. So I thought "hey, that looks promising!" and I tried it that fall.

I think it took just about the same amount of time I had ever spent before, scooping the gook out with my hand and tossing it in a bucket.

The main difference was, it did leave me splattered head to foot all over with gook.

-Chap