Battery Power for Lawn equipment -- is it time?

I have cut 14-16 inch diameter full grown trees out here with it and never had a need to look for something else. You may need to rotate the log, but I’m ok with that.

I won’t go for large diameter trees with this (say over 16 inches), but in the burbs where I live, they don’t exist as the neighborhood is only 25 years old .

I got the pole saw off of Amazon about 5 years back (not sure on the Amps but it was probably the cheapest pole saw there as I’m a thrifty lad) and every year it comes in handy for the trimming activities.

 

For many people electric yard tools work great. For some, not so much.

EGO brand tools are the ones that work great for me.
Here is their larger chainsaw, 16" Cordless Chain Saw by EGO POWER+

We have their snowblower, mower, string trimmer leaf blower and hedge trimmer.
All devices use the same interchangeable batteries.

The snow blower amazes me, I never thought it could do as good a job as a gas blower. Low and behold, it does, is lighter, quieter and requires less hassle and maintenance.

Absolutely love them! I don’t see me ever needing a chain saw, but if I do I’ll get one of theirs.

 

I have many Ryobi One+ system 18V battery power tools. Those hand-tools work fine for me for I don't use them for longer than a few minute for most of the projects. Having batteries and chargers already, I purchased weed trimmer and blower for the system, but was very disappointed with their performance. Lack of power and very short run-time forced me to go back to a gas powered stihl weed wacker very quickly. I also have very old corded weed trimmer and blower by Black and Decker which I used for a much smaller yard at my old house in suburb. They work far better (power and run-time) than battery operated one, but the problem is extension cord. Our current property is just too large for the corded yard equipment. I am hoping the corded electric chainsaw will do the jobs required as long as I bring the trees and branches close to the house.

 

Yeah, I can see how a 18V system could be underpowered.
Since you already had some Ryobi equipment it made sense though and was worth giving it a shot.

The Ego equipment is a 56V system with batteries ranging from 2.5A to 7.5A.
It may still not be enough runtime for you as it sounds like you have a big place. For me in suburbia, I can mow our yard twice without recharging. We have 2 batteries since the snow blower takes 2, so if I needed to charge for some reason, I can simply swap batteries while the used battery gets charged.

 

Yeah, I would love to try those big power battery equipment someday. For now, they are just too expensive compared to comparable gas or corded electric equipment. Very similar situation as BEV vs hybrid or ICE cars.

 

They also don't kill coyotes.

 

Can't speak to whether or not "real" people kill coyotes....but I've found that if you pop rivet one or two of them to....say, a pasture then the rest of them stay away for a while.

Wish they made a battery powered tool for that job, but until then I'll use either chemical or pneumatic powered lawn equipment.

 

Our local tool store flyers advertise page after page after page of battery powered tools, impact drivers, drills, ratchets. I appreciate for tradesmen on the road they're good, but if you've got easy access to household AC, why are they so prevalent? With impact wrenches for example: is it easier to make a battery powered impact than a corded one? They are definitely not cheap, especially factoring the batteries and charger.

I also get the sense, the way they dominate the sales flyers, that maybe they're crapping out faster, needing replacement??

 

My oldest cordless power drill is over 15 years old. It still works, but battery that came with it was NiCd and it's long been dead. Fortunately, it is from Ryobi and it can be used with newer Li battery of the same form factor. I have a new Ryobi drill less than 10 years old, I think. They all work fine. I have yet to encounter a single Ryobi power tool that failed on me, despite those are probably considered "cheap" compared to some professional grade ones. However, there are a few power tools that came in the kit that is simply useless due to either low power or short run time. I also still have corded drill, but have not used it for years. I am sure it still works, but attached cord is making it less convenient.

 

Batteries are definitely expensive.
My string trimmer cost less than a third of that, however, I didn’t need any batteries and bought an “open box” item.
The added convenience, and health aspects made it well worth it to me.

 

Not in my experience. My first battery operated black and decker used lead acid batteries and ran for almost a decade before I sold it. Other than sharpening the blades, I never needed to do one bit of maintenance. It was working as well the day I sold it as when I bought it.

I suspect it is more likely that they are the new thing on the block, few people own them, but they are starting to gain a lot of traction.

 

I get tired of dealing with the cord. It's in the way, or it limits my reach. It can also put pressure on the tool, twisting it or making holding the tool steady more difficult. Corded may be more powerful tools, but cordless allows more freedom. I like freedom. I will never lose my corded drill, just in case, but I haven't used it in over 15 years.

 

All my power tools are corded. Even had a corded electric mower that was now almost 50 years old... But I use the EGO Lawn Mower now.

I'd much rather unwind a cord than wait for a charge. Especially with the extra power.

 

The repeated dead and now unreplaceable batteries on my cordless screwdriver are a lot more inconvenient than the cord on grandpa's power drill. That is why his drill has since driven many screws.

 

Just because a site has power doesn't mean the outlets are available. Batteries and charger are easier to haul around than hundreds of feet of extension cords, which raise tripping concerns.

When those concerns aren't an issues, professionals likely opt for compressors and air driven tools, which can best corded ones for a job.

 

Yeah, I might have had a few of those very early cordless power tools that had no way to replace dead battery. That's why I still own tons of different size hand screwdriver sets. There are certain situations that manual hand tools are easier and quicker than using power tools.

Wait a sec, that's not only for the power tools. My cordless shavers, some cordless phones, cordless hand vacs, and yes several models of smartphones including current pixel for me and iPhone for my family. In a way, our cars are in very similar situation. Yes, you can replace it at cost, but not easily.

 

Mine had easily swappable and replaceable batteries. But longevity was limited, replacements weren't cheap, and that style is no longer available.

First cordless shaver recharged from a plug-in cord, not a stand. The internal battery is long since dead, but at least the shaver works on cord alone, so is still in service as my travel unit. And I'm traveling a lot.

First cordless phone set, long gone. Second set uses AAA battery configuration, so the now-dead originals have been replaced by Sanyo Eneloop rechargeables (predating buyout by Panasonic).

Several generations of cordless hand vacs have come and gone, while the spouse's original corded floor vac is long into its fourth decade of service. Our current hand vac is corded.

 

These are much more convenient wherever you are working. In the attic, fixing a fence, toss in your tool bucket, in the garage, everywhere. I have a number of corded tools: drills, angle grinder, several saws & oscillating tools, routers, etc.. But for everyday use I go for the Makita impact driver and drill. I don't think I've used my corded drills in quite a while. Cordless impacts are great for racetrack use and in the driveway. The new brushless equipment with LiIon batteries are great, and very reliable as far as my experience.

 

My wife recently received a gift from our daughter, iRobot Roomba. I don't know if the battery in it is replaceable and if it is then how costly. Our cats are having fun, but I just can't see it saves any time. Our equally old as your corded floor vac works fine and I can finish sweeping the entire room in less than five minutes. Roomba on the other hand takes 30 mini to do the half of the room and have to go back home station to recharge!

I wanted a powerful hand-vac to clean inside of our cars. Walmart had a sale on Dyson Animal model cordless hand-vac, IIRC at around $130. I was tempted, but I ended up purchasing auto detailing attachment kit for my good old RIDGID Wet/Dry Vac for ~$30. I couldn't be happier with the purchase. Yeah, some jobs are better accomplished with a cord attached.

 

I see the point of the Roomba as being that it takes the job out of your hands, and it doesn't matter much how long it takes. Does it return to its recharging station automatically? The cats could use the entertainment while we are out.

We saw many robo-lawnmowers while in Norway a couple months ago. They appeared to be in set-and-forget mode. They intrigued me, but configuring / maintaining / revising the buried boundary marker wire looks like more work than I'd be saving.