Battery Power for Lawn equipment -- is it time?

I agree that battery packs for higher end electric brands can be expensive. In fact, that's how I ended up with my ECHO chainsaw...the saw/battery combo made the saw itself super cheap vs. the cost of another battery pack. The ECHO packs do have a 5 year warranty though...which is excellent.

As for power, etc...the ECHO chainsaw is super impressive. I have absolutely no need for my gasser anymore. And if I ever do have a job where I need more power, I also have a corded Oregon CS1500 which is an absolute beast.

The ECHO mower, weighs almost nothing compared to my Honda powered walk behind. In fact, the ECHO it is so light that I don't miss powered rear wheels *at all*. It also stores vertically, which is a very nice feature. And of course, virtually no maintenance. I see why the BEV owners enjoy their vehicles so much...no oil, etc..to dink around with.

 

Concur!!
I almost bought one this year but my 16" corded (B+D) just will not die.

$100 for a top of the line corded saw is simply too cost effective to want to mess around with batteries, and I don't dice up large trees enough to cost-justify a battery say anyway WITH THE EXCEPTION of a 20V 10" pruning say that I bought second hand that takes the same batteries as my cordless drill.

 

Absolutely. The only reason I got the ECHO chainsaw is because I wanted a second battery for the mower.

But now I like the ECHO chainsaw a lot more for typical around the yard stuff. And our yard does have some large trees and 'woods' in the back. The ECHO cuts through most things like butter.

 

Well, my EGO 56V mower cost WAY more than the used corded mower I had. But aside from the cord dictating my mowing pattern and taking longer to arrange and to stow than the mowing itself, the EGO is WAY WAY more powerful and it cuts better. It better, for the price!! It's a little heavier than the corded one was, due to the battery, but not a whole lot since it uses less rust bait ... err steel.

 

I have the Kobalt 80 volt mower for 3 years now no issues. Love it. My 80 volt chainsaw is a bad nice person saw too. And bought there 80 volt edger too.

I have a kobalt 40 volt weed whacker that’s a Manual string load which I hate
I can never remember how to string it. Somehow after a lot of cursing I get it threaded. Going to look at that auto load eGo that would really help.

I have the 40 volt 12 inch chainsaw too. It’s handy. Lots of complaints about that 40 volt battery but I have not had any issues. The trick in Florida is don’t store your battery’s inthe garage the heat kills them. I store mine inside have not lost a Kobalt battery yet in the last 3 years.

Live in Florida you need chainsaws with the hurricanes. Irma killed me left
Huge mess in my big back yard many broken tree limbs. Neighbors too. Took me 4 months to get rid of all the debris. Then I got a Nifty 50 lift and went to town on my oaks. Twice. That was another 4 months of debris. Cut a lot of wood for neighbors after Irma,

speaking of chainsaws anybody watch Buckin Billy Ray on YouTube. Lives in Canada and cuts down huge trees for a living when he’s not offering life
Advice lol. It’s a really cool channel if you like chain sawing great tutorials.
Guys amazing.

For some reason I love chain sawing.

I always had a couple of Stihls until my right shoulder surgery and can no longer do the fast and hard start up pull so forced to go battery and my 80 volt saw cuts as hard as any stihl I have ever owned. Little heavier saw but once it’s cutting in the tree it works for you. That and Oregon chains.

 

I can spend hours watching 628DirtRooster's bee videos, though I don't think you could get me within a hundred yards of one of his jobs.

 

Bingo on both bolds. My future retirement home is on 18 acres, 13 of which are wooded. No way I'm stretching out a 1/4 mile or more of electric cord to do anything!

Gas? Carrying a gas can around is a pain, and those newfangled "safety" nozzles are more than a pain. I could carry a generator and a reasonable length of cord, but again, it's a hassle. Batteries are just so much easier and cleaner (at the user end). And no need to run 20 miles to town for gas, just swap the battery. not to mention having to treat the gas to preserve it, or lugging around 5 gallon cans to fill a little chain saw tank, and needing space to store the gas cans. Not to mention cleanup when you spill. Until recently, batteries weren't as powerful as gas, but now, they can be better than gas.

 

I'm hoping that something like Honda's swappable pack system for scooters and such becomes available. They already have demo units that let you use the batteries as portable power supplies. Figure I can just make a 3ft cord, and put it in a back pack.

 

Something for yard equipment, like this?
https://www.acehardware.com/departments/tools/power-tool-accessories/cordless-tool-battery-packs/7002815

 

I'm thinking more like this...

https://egopowerplus.com/nexus-portable-power-station/

https://www.acehardware.com/departments/automotive-rv-and-marine/automotive-lighting-and-electrical/electric-inverters/3001052?cstrackid=a8998803-b680-45a3-926d-006089d70543&irclickid=Sb-W2q27%3AxyIRePXoLXsl10nUkGxSBz2uXoh0A0&irgwc=1&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_source=Impact&utm_campaign=141568&utm_keyword=611504

 

This is what I was referring to, https://electrek.co/2018/01/10/honda-battery-pack-ecosystem-electric-products-atv-utv/
The battery pack slips inside so it is a cleaner design than the EGO power station. When I first saw this, I thought a back pack version would be great. Then I could use my corded electric tools like a cordless. They had a less mobile power station that might fit into a back pack. Maybe can do the same with the EGO system.

I don't they've actually released any power stations, but a scooter might be available elsewhere. Recent news is about Honda partnering up with other motorcycle companies to develop a standard swappable battery for all.
https://www.cycleworld.com/story/motorcycle-news/swappable-electric-battery-consortium/

 

Aha, I misunderstood, thank you for the clarification!
I wonder if Honda’s option would work even better than a backpack for medium sized yards?
Wheel it to a quadrant of the yard, mow, and repeat.

The cord could be kept relatively short, and would allow placement to avoid many obstacles.

 

@Trollbait @Zythryn ^ I use a 24" electric hedge trimmer on a 15' outdoor extension cord plugged into a battery/inverter "luggable" appliance. I've owned the thing for 15+ years, have replaced the actual battery 3x by now.

I could see scaling up. I have occasionally needed to haul my emergency generator out towards a corner of the property to provide tool power for projects.

Difficulty: yesterday I replaced the generator. The old one is going away. The new model is substantially heavier. No trouble wheeling it out of storage and into operating or maintenance positions, but across the yard in spring mud would be its own chore.

Side note: I'm impressed with the new whizbang genny. It's got a proper evap emissions system with charcoal canister and an interlocked CO detector, among other features.

 

What genny did you get?

 

I remain disappointed at the lack of battery standards across hand tools. The excuses reasons are mixed yet if you crack a battery pack open, very similar cells are found. It is the electronic glue circuits that lead to the battery Babel. But I still don't want the noise, smell, and maintenance of gasoline powered yard tools. So this is what I did and why.

I've standardized on Greenworks Pro, 80 V systems. Higher voltage provides equivalent power at lower current and the (I**2)*R resistance losses. So our inventory:

• 21" mower
  • 72 V, 4.0 AH (288 Wh) battery
  • 4 A charger
• leaf blower
  • 72 V, 2.0 AH (144 Wh) battery
  • 2 A charger
• string trimmer
  • 72 V, 2.0 AH (144 Wh) battery

All batteries and chargers are interchangeable and house safe. Our remaining small gas powered unit is a pressure washer. Happily, Greenworks also has a battery operated pressure washer and small tiller.

Bob Wilson

 

nicely done!
we went with ryobi years ago and haven't looked back. i am currently considering an electric riding mower to replace my toro zero turn, but ryobi only offers lead acid batteries for some odd reason.

the cub cadet looks good at $3,000.

 

Yes, 80V FTW. Been using the Lowe's brand for about 3 years now (mower, blower, trimmer, and chainsaw) and have been extremely satisfied. Have 6 of the smallest batteries and never run out of "range" especially with their 30 minute recharge intervals. I got real lucky and found an extra battery for only $25 on a demo clearance shelf.

Sometime this year, I'll be upgrading the mower to self-propelled (not available originally) as I recently lost my lawn care service (son got married and moved out)!

 

Why pay extra for something that will need to be replaced? All my yard tools have a cord. If I even want to go battery, I'll get a power station, make a 3 to 4 foot extension cord, and through it all into an old backpack.

The lead-acids in a riding mower are probably for cost and availability reasons. They have downsides, but we've been using them in golf carts and wheel chairs for far longer than we've had EVs. How to get the best life from them is well known. The wheelchair battery in the Ryobi has a LFP replacement on Walmart's site, when it comes time to replace it.

 

Cords are great for many uses .... but if you wake up & it's snowing the heavy wet stuff - the cord can disappear quick. If snow removal is over ½ ft deep - long distance to the sheds / sidewalks & driveway aprons? It seems we're stuck using the 25 HP Craftsman ICE power. For now, today's tech just doesn't seem to cut it with the littler BATTERY snow blower versions. They ARE just fine for the smaller jobs.
.

 

We have been using the EGO brand for over five years now.
They are a lower voltage (56) but I haven’t had any issues with lack of power.

Self propelled mower came first.
Leaf Blower & string trimmer next.
2 stage snow blower was the most recent addition.

I highly encourage anyone looking into cordless lawn equipment to borrow one from someone, try it out.
You want to get one brand and stick with it as the batteries are interchangeable between devices of the same brand.