Battery Power for Lawn equipment -- is it time?

Thanks for the idea.

So, I checked into this and looks like the type of NiCad cells I need run about $5 each in the US ($2 on alibaba) and I'd need 15 to make 18v so anywhere from $30-45 per pack. Add in the costs of a better iron (mine's really old and weak) and the need to make a butt-load of perfect soldering joints and it's really a no-brainer to just buy a new pack at Lowes for $39 each (and less chance of burning the house down while charging my possiblly poor work!) to get me by short term.

My rechargeable drill that I frequently use is an even weaker 14.4v NiCad model so I'm definitely upgrading that one to a new LiOn unit next. Now I need to decide what family product line to get that has matching packs so I can phase in a new leaf blower and weed wacker a little bit later down the line and finally say goodbye to NiCads.

Thanks Steve, this thread is going to cost me some money!

 

yeah, that's what my guy did for $200. black guck everywhere, and debris. using a contractor is always less satisfactory, but safer.

 

Nickel battery chemistries have the same voltage and amperage per cell. I need to double check, but that should mean you can replace the NiCad with NiMH without issue with the same charger.

 

It's Fall and leaves are coming down - I couldn't resist any longer. The EGO brand was tempting with excellent reviews here and elsewhere and best in class power, but went with a value option and just picked a:

Ryobi 40-Volt Leaf Blower
-110 MPH 480 CFM Variable-Speed
-40-Volt Lithium-Ion Cordless
-3.0 Ah Battery and Charger Included
-price to me: $135

Charging the battery now, so will take if for a spin later this afternoon. Will give the old electric corded blower to my parents.

 

I missed this thread... good stuff in here!

We became 1st time homeowners in 2016. Said home came with yard, lawn, flowerbeds, veg garden, chicken run & coop... As such, I had the opportunity to pick which tools I wanted for taking care of it all. Previous owner had roughly 20 small-engine powered things. I was able to go almost entirely electric by the time I was done outfitting.

The kit:

Robomow RS630 automatic mower (part of the yard)
Greenworks 40v walk-behind mower (for the parts the robot isn't good at)
DeWalt 40v string trimmer
Black & Decker hedge trimmer (cord)
Worx jaw saw (cord)
Craftsman 16" chainsaw (cord)
B&D leaf & brush chipper (cord)
Worx leaf blower/vac/shredder (cord)
Greenworks 40v soil cultivator
Greenworks 40v snow shovel
Greenworks 40v leaf blower/vac/shredder (has largely replaced the Worx model listed above)

I was able to get most of the above secondhand, and saved a lot that way. The Greenworks tools all share the same 3 batteries, and while I wish they were a bit tougher I'm pretty happy with the performance of all 4.

I also needed something bigger for snow removal. I wound up with a gas-powered 2 stage thrower. There simply weren't any electric choices with enough power at that time. There are a few new ones on the market since 2016. I'm hoping to sell off the one I have and replace it with an electric once I've seen the right machine.

Smells a lot nicer when there aren't any gas fumes, and my stuff is quieter from four feet away than my neighbors' machines at a hundred paces.

 

We have been using some battery operated tools for years. The Greenworks 40v system appears to be really good. We have the 2 battery mower and small s=chainsaw we have used for a couple of years. We just bought the leaf blower & string trimmer to replace the crap Black & Decker 36V / 40V units. The B&D chargers tend to die. We do use gas tools where appropriate. We have a riding mower, chainsaws for major tree felling, and an old tractor for our large garden, etc.
Snow throwers do not work well for Virginia snow. We have a push blade for our tractor, though.

 

This was a timely thread for me. My little Homelite 2-cycle has worked beautifully for many years until it started leaking gas from the carburetor after shut-down (stuck float?). Tried and tried to find a carburetor rebuild kit for it but no luck. Besides, I am tired to smelling like gas fumes every time it's used so I bought an Ego 5803 at HD last night for ~$180. Hope this will do the trick and my wife may even be willing to use it from time to time.

 

Re: CARB rebuild.

My local chainsaw repair guru told me the last time I went in that sure, he could sell me a rebuild kit for $20. He said a GOOD NEW CARB was $24.

My choice. I was almost tempted to go with the rebuild kit.

 

Picked up one of these power inverters (120V AC) a couple weeks ago at Home Depot. $100 without the battery. Already have a couple 40V Ryobi batteries and a number of the compatible tools for this ecosystem.

It’s a pretty cool device. 300 W continuous and pure sine wave.

Great to have as a back up to run some small appliances during a power outage, inflate rafts on camping trips, and run other small devices away from home like decently powered fans at a kids summer soccer game.

 

Real <men> don't use battery equipment!

O.K. I have bought a battery weed eater and a battery blower. Both work "O.K." Nothing like the gas equipment from Germany, but, I can't handle the gas stuff -- yet!

Having said that, I am willing to admit there is a place for battery equipment.

 

I agree. Extension cords last vastly longer than batteries.

Grandpa's corded electric drill is older than I am, and still works great. But the cordless electric screwdriver I bought (after inheriting his drill), aged out two generations of batteries, then I couldn't get any more.

I use a corded electric lawn mower.

 

I was thinking of buying a battery-operated chainsaw but ended up purchasing a corded chainsaw. Already own very powerful trusted gas-operated Husqvarna with a 24-inch bar which I just used to fell 6 large over 30 feet tall hard wood trees around our house. I needed a smaller and lighter chainsaw to cut the branches and smaller logs. The cost, power, and durability made me to pick up a corded instead of battery operated one.

 

Just buy an electric pole saw and you’ll have the small chain saw you want with more functionality .

Perfect chainsaw for me in suburbia .

 

Thanks for the tip. Yeah, if I live in a suburb, maybe. But I live in a forest. lol A pole saw is good for limbing branches up to maybe 3 inches and light-duty pruning. What I need is light enough but powerful enough chainsaw to cut through up to a foot of trees for a long time. I already have trees down, I don't need an extra reach. I haven't tried using the new corded chainsaw yet, but I will let you know how well it works for my jobs.

 

While I'm quite partial to electric devices in general, even here in suburbia I'd prefer a gas powered chainsaw over an electric, because I'll most need it during storm cleanup while the electric grid is still down.

That is, for the first chainsaw, and you already have that. Electric is fine for the second chainsaw. Though I still have none, just various hand saws.

Dad has at least five chainsaws now. Not that he is in condition to use them anymore, but we kids and the farm help get good use from them. Chainsaw carpentry is perfectly good enough on the barns and rough outbuildings, and the farm has several hundred acres of timber.

 

It is very true, that for the storm caused tree removal, gas-powered one is the best suited. The gas-powered chainsaw I have now is actually the second one. The first gas-powered chainsaw was a small one with 16-inch bar for a homeowner made by now-defunct McCulloch. I soon discovered it was too small for the most jobs I needed to accomplish at our then new property in rural northern woods, so I got the new professional-grade Husky a few years later. When we were living in a suburb, I had to pay $3000 to have arborists to cut down 6 large pine trees in our small lot. I did not own a chainsaw then.

 

In California suburbia, we don’t get much weather (just some wind) which hasn’t compromised any of the neighborhood trees.

The electric chain saw for the pole saw works well for things up to and over 12 inches. If it’s bigger, I take a break in between to allow for things to cool off. The oilers on it isn’t good so I have to manually oil the chain, but that ain’t a big deal.

Where I grew up, my old man has an ~20 inch bar Husqvarna that he’s had for 35 years now. I think he’s changed the plug once and that’s his go to saw for the 4 cords of wood they need to heat the house in the winter annually (it has been used well).

The back up is an ~20 inch McCulloch but that thing is:

1. Heavy
2. Loud (we have to double hearing protect for that)
3. A pig on gas.

It was my grandfathers old one my father took in when he passed, and about the same vintage (maybe about 40 years old). Just talked to my old man yesterday and he was giving it a tune up as he’s cutting the last bit to fill up the wood shed .

 

Really??? With the diminutive 8-10 inch bar? I recall, I had tough time cutting 1 foot diameter oak tree log with my first small 16-inch bar gas chainsaw by McCulloch. What Amp is it? Typical electric pole saw are only 8 Amp or less. The electric chainsaw I got was the one of the largest with 18 inch bar and most powerful (15 Amp). I was expecting that would be still not powerful enough for a big jobs, but I am now excited to try it out on the uncut trees.