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I bought the Greenworks 60V twin blade mower, mostly so I can mow early in the morning and not upset the neighbors, but can't comment on that item, haven't used it yet. After a few fails with "expand-it" capable gas-powered strimmer trimmer power heads, I am consider the greenworks 60v accessory capable trimmer unit to go with my mower (use the same batteries). I would mostly use it with an edger, brush cutter, and hedge trimmer attachments, possible never even use the string trimmer head. Any feedback or thoughts on this?
 
posted this in another thread and someone linked this one so for info purposes....I've been using a Black and Decker GrassHog from Home Depot for 10 years. Still working great. both batteries have since crapped out but i got a new one on Amazon pretty cheap.
using a Ryobi lawn mower all summer. loving it. plenty of power, two batteries, self propel goes pretty fast. quiet enough to listen to music. Favorite feature, it folds up in the garage.
 
I'm probably going to sell my Stihl gas string trimmer after a season with my Dewalt Battery one.

The leaf blower is really convenient, but doesn't have enough CFM to replace my gas one.
 
Applying the paddles to this thread...

I've been avoiding buying a leaf blower forever because of the noise vs benefit ratio wasn't working for me. Really had no idea how long it would even take for a gas blower to clear my acre+ in the first place. Well, the trees we planted in 1988 are friggin' enormous now and we had a bumper leaf crop that inspired me to get educated on that bit: I borrowed Youngest Son's Stihl BR 700 backpack and it took me 4 hours to scour the whole property and shepard the enormous amount of chaff (at least 10 yards) to the back of the yard for composting. Being as this was the first use of a blower for me and I had no idea wth I was doing with it I could likely knock at least a half hour off that now - it helps to have a plan from the jump and it was a good 20 minutes before I figured that out :)

Anyway...there simply isn't a cordless electric product that can do that job in the same time frame, and the closest e-blower I see out there (Stihl BGA200) would cost three times what that BR 700 costs plus would need multiple battery packs to do the job at a much slower pace.

I'm picking up a Stihl BR 800 CE tomorrow...

Cheers!
 
305bb12e-b363-4682-9d5a-8bb0be608e3c
 
day_trippr said:
Applying the paddles to this thread...

I've been avoiding buying a leaf blower forever because of the noise vs benefit ratio wasn't working for me. Really had no idea how long it would even take for a gas blower to clear my acre+ in the first place. Well, the trees we planted in 1988 are friggin' enormous now and we had a bumper leaf crop that inspired me to get educated on that bit: I borrowed Youngest Son's Stihl BR 700 backpack and it took me 4 hours to scour the whole property and shepard the enormous amount of chaff (at least 10 yards) to the back of the yard for composting. Being as this was the first use of a blower for me and I had no idea wth I was doing with it I could likely knock at least a half hour off that now - it helps to have a plan from the jump and it was a good 20 minutes before I figured that out :)

Anyway...there simply isn't a cordless electric product that can do that job in the same time frame, and the closest e-blower I see out there (Stihl BGA200) would cost three times what that BR 700 costs plus would need multiple battery packs to do the job at a much slower pace.

I'm picking up a Stihl BR 800 CE tomorrow...

Cheers!
Click to expand...
Just don't run it while the neighbors are trying to sleep LOL
 
I would never do that, and being retired I can keep to civilized hours. And that paradigm was one of the reasons I had avoided buying a blower until now. We were literally buried in leaves this year and the trusty rake and bagging lawn tractor combo just wasn't going to work any more. And it isn't going to get any easier - those trees have another few decades before they're mature :)

Cheers!
 
day_trippr said:
Applying the paddles to this thread...

I've been avoiding buying a leaf blower forever because of the noise vs benefit ratio wasn't working for me. Really had no idea how long it would even take for a gas blower to clear my acre+ in the first place. Well, the trees we planted in 1988 are friggin' enormous now and we had a bumper leaf crop that inspired me to get educated on that bit: I borrowed Youngest Son's Stihl BR 700 backpack and it took me 4 hours to scour the whole property and shepard the enormous amount of chaff (at least 10 yards) to the back of the yard for composting. Being as this was the first use of a blower for me and I had no idea wth I was doing with it I could likely knock at least a half hour off that now - it helps to have a plan from the jump and it was a good 20 minutes before I figured that out :)

Anyway...there simply isn't a cordless electric product that can do that job in the same time frame, and the closest e-blower I see out there (Stihl BGA200) would cost three times what that BR 700 costs plus would need multiple battery packs to do the job at a much slower pace.

I'm picking up a Stihl BR 800 CE tomorrow...

Cheers!
Click to expand...

I've got a Echo backpack gas blower. I've got this glorious grove of live oaks around and behind my house, but this time of year, till spring, they drop a ton of leaves.

I did try an EGO blower years ago. One battery didn't even cover my front lawn / driveway. It was pathetic for me. Gave it to a friend.
 
The leaf blower has to be the most wasteful lawn appliance ever.

I have never operated one. I am not aware of anyone in my immediate family owning one. We used rakes.
 
passedpawn said:
What - how is it wasteful?
Click to expand...

Because a rake doesn't take batteries or gas. All it takes is a little time, or a child (or grandchild, I suppose) with time, or a friendly neighbor kid with time, or a local church group, 4-H club, scout troop, etc., looking for easy community service projects.

Also, how much does a new leaf blower cost vs a new rake?
 
Kent88 said:
or a friendly neighbor kid with time, or a local church group, 4-H club, scout troop, etc., looking for easy community service projects.

Also, how much does a new leaf blower cost vs a new rake?
Click to expand...


leaf blower would be cheaper then slave labor?
 
Kent88 said:
Because a rake doesn't take batteries or gas. All it takes is a little time, or a child (or grandchild, I suppose) with time, or a friendly neighbor kid with time, or a local church group, 4-H club, scout troop, etc., looking for easy community service projects.

Also, how much does a new leaf blower cost vs a new rake?
Click to expand...
Little time? What if a rake took a LOT of time, like several hours. What if you had to do it ever other friday, from October until March. How does a rake help with the grass on your driveway and sidewalks every time you mow. Or the pollen that collects in spring all over your patios. Regarding the cost, there is a value to your time. Think about it. Ask yourself what your time is worth. Only you can do that math.

Community service project? Haha. You obviously don't understand the need here.
 
passedpawn said:
Little time? What if a rake took a LOT of time, like several hours. What if you had to do it ever other friday, from October until March.
Click to expand...

What if you have a large yard, it's harvest, all your siblings graduated and moved away, and your dad expects you to get it done before joining him in the field and still finding time to do homework?

You just do it.

passedpawn said:
How does a rake help with the grass on your driveway and sidewalks every time you mow.
Click to expand...

I think a broom might help with that more.

passedpawn said:
Or the pollen that collects in spring all over your patios.
Click to expand...

That's fair, but I think you'd also be disturbing a lot of pollen with a leaf blower anyway.

passedpawn said:
Regarding the cost, there is a value to your time. Think about it. Ask yourself what your time is worth. Only you can do that math.
Click to expand...

Also worth considering.

passedpawn said:
Community service project? Haha. You obviously don't understand the need here.
Click to expand...

I've been a part of such groups. We'd have about 4-8 teenagers / young adults, we'd bring rakes with us, and we'd knock out a few yards on a Saturday.
 
I don't think you can understand unless you have a property that gets an enormous amount of leaves. I always raked but the house we have now its not even a consideration. I was blown away at the volume of leaves. Our first fall, my wife and I spent 4-5 hours raking one day. We got halfway done with our back yard.

And if you don't know better, you'd say, okay, spend the whole weekend raking and be done with it. Except that next weekend they're all back. Rinse and repeat from Early October through mid December.

I generally hire someone to clean up our leaves around early november and then again when the trees are bare. In between I use a 40v Ryobi backback blower to push the leaves off the grass and into the flower beds. I do that every saturday morning.

I'm deep into the Ryobi 40v system and generally like it. But I would not recommend the battery leaf blower.
 
murphyslaw said:
I don't think you can understand unless you have a property that gets an enormous amount of leaves.
Click to expand...

I have lived on a property, my parent's property, which does have a lot of trees and plenty of leaves. It's actually a bit surprising because my dad and uncle, who farmed together until they retired, are the kind of guys who want to till every acre they possibly can. I once heard my uncle say that he wished he could make the ditches tillable and plant right up to the road.

But my dad left a bunch of maples all over the backyard as part of a windbreak and some in the front yard for privacy, and also some to shade the house. When some of my siblings still lived at home we did spend an entire weekend most autumns just raking and burning leaves. Yeah, it was probably happening during harvest, but I was the only one expected to make a career out of farming, so until I was old enough to drive something I was supposed to help rake leaves.

I'm not going to look up how many acres our building site was, or count how many trees we had, and I don't expect you to, either, but suffice to say we had plenty of leaf debris in the fall. We never got a blower. I maintain that buying a leaf blower would have been wasteful.
 
I believe you. But I'm not sure your experience with farmers collecting leaves is comparable to a bunch of desk jockeys in the suburbs trying to tidy up their lawn on the weekend.
 
Kent88 said:
I have lived on a property, my parent's property, which does have a lot of trees and plenty of leaves. It's actually a bit surprising because my dad and uncle, who farmed together until they retired, are the kind of guys who want to till every acre they possibly can. I once heard my uncle say that he wished he could make the ditches tillable and plant right up to the road.

But my dad left a bunch of maples all over the backyard as part of a windbreak and some in the front yard for privacy, and also some to shade the house. When some of my siblings still lived at home we did spend an entire weekend most autumns just raking and burning leaves. Yeah, it was probably happening during harvest, but I was the only one expected to make a career out of farming, so until I was old enough to drive something I was supposed to help rake leaves.

I'm not going to look up how many acres our building site was, or count how many trees we had, and I don't expect you to, either, but suffice to say we had plenty of leaf debris in the fall. We never got a blower. I maintain that buying a leaf blower would have been wasteful.
Click to expand...
As a farmer you should understand that jobs are made more efficient and manageable using technology. Your father who wished to till every acre of his property did not walk behind a manual tiller, but likely used a tractor making his difficult job much easier. In the same vein, most home owners use gas, electric, or battery powered tools to make our jobs manageable. Without my gas leaf blower, I would need to spend days raking leaves and I just don't have the time or physical ability to do it with a rake.
 
wsmith1625 said:
As a farmer
Click to expand...

While living on a farm was a big part of my identity growing up and had a huge part in me becoming who I am today, and I still have strong ties to agriculture, I feel it's a disservice to people who make their living through production agriculture to call me a farmer.

wsmith1625 said:
you should understand that jobs are made more efficient and manageable using technology. Your father who wished to till every acre of his property did not walk behind a manual tiller, but likely used a tractor making his difficult job much easier. In the same vein, most home owners use gas, electric, or battery powered tools to make our jobs manageable. Without my gas leaf blower, I would need to spend days raking leaves and I just don't have the time or physical ability to do it with a rake.
Click to expand...

One thing that has stuck with me since living and working on farms is payoff for labor invested.

I can appreciate wanting to keep parts of one's yard looking very nice, but to obsess over the entire yard every weekend, that's something I will never understand. I think my parents made us rake so much just to give us outdoor busy-work. And my dad hated when I would go inside because I got bored waiting for him to come back from one of our other building sites or a field.

Ok, you have a large yard. What's the payoff for the labor you invest in cleaning up the leaves from the parts that nobody sees? How much satisfaction do you get from a neighbor telling you that your lawn looks really nice? Perhaps you would get more satisfaction by focusing your effort on a different project entirely?

Maybe this circles around to:

murphyslaw said:
I'm not sure your experience with farmers collecting leaves is comparable to a bunch of desk jockeys in the suburbs trying to tidy up their lawn on the weekend.
Click to expand...

Despite not living on a farm for years, when I think of outdoor chores I'm thinking about mixing feed, feeding livestock, sorting cattle, and milking cows. When it comes to my lawn I definitely don't want it looking terrible, but I also feel like there are more important outdoor chores than raking leaves.

Whatever. I'm not going to change anyone's minds here. I still feel like a leaf blower is a waste. I'm not saying people who own a leaf blower are terrible, it's just something that I don't, and apparently won't, understand.
 
I was working from home this week with a sick kid. And it was 70 and sunny for at least 3 of those days. A lot of us suburban dads outside (not me) and lawn services in the area.

I don't generally don't approve of Big Government coming in and stomping on individuals rights. But I see why California is banning them. It was like working in a bee hive all day. And I couldn't even see any of them, that's how far the sound travels.

I'll probably fire mine up this weekend, so I obviously didn't learn anything from this experience. :mug:
 
I've got an automower, which i love. But I also bought an electric 40v mower for the two or three times I year I need one and don't want to deal with trying to start up a gas mower that hasn't been used in 6 months.
 
I'm glad I didn't know about this when I looked at electric snowblowers



While we occasionally get some big blizzards comparable to what he describes, it's not frequent enough that me, someone who can still operate a shovel and/or operate a snowblower in the middle of a big snowfall and again at the end, would need to put down that kind of money on a snowblower.

My Greenworks single-stage snowblower has handled everything I have asked it to since I bought it. I'm pretty sure it was less than half the price of this EGO unit.

Still, when I get to a point where I don't like shoveling, can't handle the cold very well anymore, and the kids move out, it's nice to know that this sort of thing will be available.
 
Kent88 said:
I'm glad I didn't know about this when I looked at electric snowblowers



While we occasionally get some big blizzards comparable to what he describes, it's not frequent enough that me, someone who can still operate a shovel and/or operate a snowblower in the middle of a big snowfall and again at the end, would need to put down that kind of money on a snowblower.

My Greenworks single-stage snowblower has handled everything I have asked it to since I bought it. I'm pretty sure it was less than half the price of this EGO unit.

Still, when I get to a point where I don't like shoveling, can't handle the cold very well anymore, and the kids move out, it's nice to know that this sort of thing will be available.
Click to expand...

I recently bought an Ariens snow blower thanks to a significant amount of driveway and walks that need clearing. Took me 1-1/2 hours to clear +4" of heavy snow (aka locally as concrete) from 650' of driveway and another 100' of walks ahead of an equipment delivery on Monday.

I really wanted to go electric battery, but there was nothing on the market and available within reasonable driving distance that could reliably handle such a scenario on a single charge.

I'm also married to an ICE for my mowing needs in that I have 2 acres up top that I use a zero-turn rider on, and another 1-1/2 acres down below that I BushHog using the rear PTO from my diesel tractor. With plans to go solar next year I'd love to have a batter vehicle option for such large areas, but it'll be years before there's somebody targeting my outlier needs at an affordable price that is also not so heavy that it'll get stuck in the bottom area and have difficulty getting back up the steep include of the narrow access road
 
Williams Brewing 300

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