Battery Power for Lawn equipment -- is it time?

Sounds like my 63 year old back using my stubby but stiff aluminum snow shovel to push underneath and chip sheet ice on my flat smooth drivceway like peanut brittle.

 

Just to offer another resource for anyone looking for info...
ElectricLawnInfo | Shift2Electric

There is tons of information available including data about options for mowers, commercial equipment and lots of other data.

 

Resurrecting this thread. I bought an Ego weedeater a while ago. It's a bump-feed vegetation eating monster. Re-loading couldn't be easier. Just stick a measured length of cord through the hole, press a button and it winds itself in. It runs for a good 45 minutes before it gets low on power. So much nicer than the heavy hard-to-start noisy gas one. I like it so much I...

Grabbed the 650 cfm Ego Blower just for fun. I never thought I really needed a blower, but in the words of Frank Barrone, HOLY CRAP! Not only does this thing blow leaves, it blows em if they're wet matted down and locked in place. Sticks? Mulch? No problem. Even blew my garbage cans around and the few odd stones that show up on the drive.

So I have 80v Kobalt mower, chain saw, pole saw and garden cultivator), 56v Ego weedeater and blower, and a little 10" 20v Craftsman chainsaw so the wifey can help out with trimming. (don't much like the cultivator, but after trying several I don't recommend any small cultivator -gas, corded or battery- unless you have really loose lightweight soil.)

 

Also be careful after wet weather. If the ground is damp, mine will blow the grass out of it.

 

Which model did you get? I'm looking at them; there's quite a range of models, and prices.

 

BTW - I have the ECHO battery operated stuff. Really nice stuff.

I have the mower, the chainsaw, and the Pro attachment string trimmer ( see brochure link below ).

Really, really impressed with all of them. And the batteries have a legit 5 year warranty...IF purchased new from an authorized dealer ( keep receipts! ). The mower was a refurb unit I scored a couple years ago and the battery went out. They didn't honor the battery warranty on the refurb...oh well. I ended up fixing it myself.

http://www.echo-usa.com/flipbook/38/

 

Electric mower I am interested but love my Lawn Boy mower it has round wheels, I cut circles etc.
Might have to invent my own electric model. Looked at the EGO not sure. Don't think you can get the classic Lawn Boy anymore, they sold out and it is different now only name is same. But it was great design.

 

I now have the non-self propelled 21" mower, the leaf blower, and the edger from EGO. They are amazing. Next is the string trimmer. Thanks for the good review, @Prius Maximus.

Also, a few months ago, the battery died on me. I called EGO and they walked me through some steps and determined that it was indeed a bad battery. They sent me a new one under warranty. Meanwhile, I bought a new battery because the grass was growing about a foot a week and I couldn't wait. Those batteries cost a fortune!!! But now I can alternate between batteries.

 

For those comfortable trying, it seems there are generic batteries for many lawn equipment ecosystems that sell at a large price reduction for similar specs compared to OEM.

We have both Ryobi power tool (18V) and yard tool (40V) ecosystems. Have not tried generic for the 40V system, but experience with 18V generics has been good in our case - made sure unit had good reviews before purchase.

 

You need to be aware of Home Depot's Ryobi days. This summer, I got two 18 volt 4 amp hour batteries and a charger for $49.50 plus tax. They had a promotion for the batteries and charger for $99 and a FREE Ryobi hedge trimmer for $99.

The receipt has the "return value" of each item itemized on it. I The return value for the hedge trimmer was $49.50. I returned it and got the two 4 amp hour batteries and charger for $49.50 plus tax. Totally within the store policy at Home Depot.

 

Same here. The generic referenced was something we got up a few years ago and still going strong.

Yes, the Ryobi days event was awesome. We got the two 18V 4Ah batteries and an angle grinder for $99 and have made good use of the angle grinder.

Haha, well played.

 

ST1521S

https://egopowerplus.com/15-inch-string-trimmer-powerload/

 

Have one too, A brute. Blower too. 3 Batteries plus charger. I blow the leaves into a pile and mulch them into a bag. Son and next door neighbor have Ego mowers.

 

https://egopowerplus.com/15-inch-string-trimmer-powerload/
One of the big-box stores has them "reconditioned" (returned by someone going back to gas) for $159

Me?
I have a corded weedwhacker that was given to me a few years back, matched by a corded push mower that was also a freebie.
I had to pay for my two corded chainsaws.

No lithium guilt.

Re-use > recycle.

I use gas for the old place out in the county, although I have used 'lectric to trim and cut up <16" branches.

 

Similar story here; I've got a corded-electric lawn mower, a Sears (out of business now) Craftsman, must have had 15 years, a corded-electric Black&Decker leaf blower and similar (GreenWorks?) string trimmer. The mower is all-steel housing, just plastic on the cowl over the motor.

Ditto for around the house and automotive, corded-electric impact, just recently acquired (vaguely thinking I better get one while they're still around...), corded-electric 3/8" drill, circular saw*, jig saw, router, and on and on.

Apart from losing the cord (and I appreciate this can be a big plus), is there any advantage to battery powered, say lighter, more compact, more powerful? More durable? Definitely not cheaper.

* Never feel "comfortable" with my circular saw; don't use it much. Then twigged a few years back, being a lefty, using a regular circular saw, it's designed for a right-hander?

 

Battery is definitely not lighter than a corded or gasser when it comes to weed whackers, chainsaws, etc....although in many cases such as roof-top work or when the number of acres you're working on is >1 not dealing with a cord is absolutely a big deal if you're trying to wean yourself off of petrol.

Much as I loathe 2-cycle appliances, I still have 2 Echo line trimmers in regular use, one that I bought and an identical model that was given to me by a family member.
I use them because they're the most convenient.
No cords or batteries, and if you know how to maintain stuff, they're a "first pull start" tool.

As @bisco pointed out, the clear advantage in 'lectric is that it's quiet.(unless you live where inversion layers are a thing.)
In our neighborhood, there have been more than one landscaping company that has been sent packing because of a 0700 engine start.

The only trouble with battery lawn stuff is that they're expensive, mostly less powerful, and they're like "carbon offsets" which is to say they're just another fad diet for now.
Many carbon offsets in the US come in the form of planting trees, which is cool and all until you have lots of wildfires.....

Until battery tech evolves a little more, you're either replacing the battery or the tool (or both) before any real-world carbon throughput savings are realized.
To be fair it should also be pointed out that since we still allow almost 20 million people to live in three coastal counties with temperature inversion weather patterns, AIR pollution reduction might trump carbon throughput and all of those suburbanites buying all of that lithium will probably propel innovation resulting in REAL change......not just blah, blah, blah.

 

We've got a few retirement homes and condo buildings nearby, that are always on-top of lawn/garden maintenance. A gas-powered army of lawn serfs arrive and soon the air is redolent with bouquet de petrol. I do think something needs to give, but I'm not sold on batteries. Seems like society is turning it's back on the ubiquitous AC outlets, for some sketchy reasons.

Our "lawn" is mostly moss now, punctuated by tree roots, from the "seedlings" we planted, 25~30 years back now...

 

Right tool for the ob.

Batteries have their place for sure...and in keeping with the theme of this nearly four year old thread...it "IS time" for some folks.

 

I might be more proactive with lawn care with battery as it negates unrolling and rolling back up a 100' cord.

Battery equipment can be more powerful. I got a simple single stage corded Snow Joe blower which gets the job done for my small lot, but it can take effort after a big storm, if I don't do some clearing during the storm. It is 13 amp. With outside outlets only being 15 amp ones, electric two stage blowers had to go battery.

In the case of contractors being employed; dealing with cords adds time spent per property, professional equipment might be too powerful for the outlets, and both parties might wary of having to use outlets over liability reasons.

Corded is fine for most private use, but the convenience factor of batteries is a big draw. The higher cost can be mitigated somewhat by sticking to a single brand battery ecology, and buying additional tools sans battery pack.

 

Yeah, this.

And the rest: good points.