Battery Powered Lawn Equipment

[Kent88]

I was also thinking I would be able to take it up on a ladder or maybe back a truck over somewhere close to where I wanted to make a cut. Then I remembered that one needs a quick, unobstructed path to safety when big branches are falling.

I'm keeping my feet firmly on the ground when I use that saw.

But I've found a few more branches that were safe to cut down. I'm still pretty impressed with this saw.

 

[applescrap]

My neighbor rented a lift. Still looked like it sucked, and it was scary. I think he uses carefully placed ladders too. Better safe than sorry for sure.

I finally got the dustbuster replacement yesterday. 28 dollars and so glad to have it back. Shares battery with weed wacker. They had saws and vacuums, nail guns and drills it's pretty cool.

 

[Zuljin]

So I went with a Stihl FSA 56 and AK10 lithium battery for the weed whacker. That was the package deal at the local power equipment shop. $199.99. Stihl has a solid reputation for strength and durability.

It's winter, but it's been mild and my trimming in the back is way behind. I've been using it to reestablish bed borders and trim some areas down low. It's doing great. This thing takes up to 0.080 line. That's gas whacker size. The head is bump feed. Run time, under heavy use, is only 14-16 minutes. I may go back for the AK20 or AK30 battery. We'll see how it does when it's just bi-weekly maintenance trimming. I've two small spools of 0.065 line to try. May run a little longer with smaller line when doing lighter work.

I have a Ryobi battery trimmer. It has a lot of power and I like that I can swap out attachments on it to replace other equipment as they die (e.g. hedge trimmer). I have a corded electric lawn mower that works great but dealing with the cord is a PITA especially because I do not have an outlet on the front side of the house. When it dies I am definitely replacing it with a battery powered unit.

Craftsman used to be a great brand but, like B&D, it has been outsourced as a name to far inferior manufacturers.

My hedge trimmer is an electric (corded) B&D bought used from Goodwill. There are only 4 small bushes I need that kind of trimmer for. Works fine for them.

Yeah, everything still gas here, chainsaws, trimmers, tiller, power washer, 46" triple-bin riding mower, etc.
An acre+ of lawn plus a crapton of planting beds and a veggie garden and a lot of big ass trees are just way out of electric's wheel house...

Cheers!

My chainsaw is an electric (corded) Craftsman. For what I do with, don't miss gas at all. Plenty power. I had a cheap Remington before that I bought when my gas Poulan (residential grade) died in the middle of processing a large dead tree. I smoked that poor little Remington. It was never intended for that.

 

[Kent88]

My questionable lawn equipment purchases continue.

I actually took down enough branches with my pole saw that when I had the tree removal guy over this spring he reduced his price by more than the value of the saw. But I now have no reason to have a saw. No trees!

A friend of mine was so impressed by what I said about my pole saw he bought a regular chainsaw in the 80v greenworks line (same line as what I have), and he is getting a lot of use out of it and is really happy with his purchase.

I even went ahead and and bought the tiller/cultivator from that line. I think it will work best as a cultivator, but it isn't like I'm going to be tilling new ground every spring. I tried it out in an overgrown / neglected raised bed and it worked fine.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

But gas haz moar powah!

I know. Ive used the four stroke type with handlebars. Anyway.

I've a Craftsman C3 weedwhacker. It's okay. 19.2 volt lithium ion. Handles routine trimming just fine. It'll do heavier work, but that wears down the battery pretty quick. I'm also on my second battery in 3 or 4 years and I think it's waning.

What do y'all use and how is it?

Kobalt battery weed eater and a Kobalt bush trimmer.
Love it. On it's 3rd year. Quiet, lighter and faster RPM than gas. I only have to charge it maybe 4 or 5 times per summer.

 

[Zuljin]

The Stihl is doing the job with the small battery pack, so long as I stay on the yard. If there's a lot of heavy work in the back, it won't make it to the front. Normally it does. The smaller .065 line gives me maybe a few minutes run time over the 0.08 and lasts just as long on the spool. .065 it is then. I'll buy another AK10 battery. If this thing lasts through the year, I'll be replacing all my gas and corded equipment with Stihl as the old stuff breaks.

 

[BruceH]

Kobalt battery weed eater and a Kobalt bush trimmer.
Love it. On it's 3rd year. Quiet, lighter and faster RPM than gas. I only have to charge it maybe 4 or 5 times per summer.

Had a Kobalt string trimmer. Worked great for the first season. Then it wouldn't work, Lowes wouldn't work with me.

Ended up tearing apart my 25 year old Homelite gas trimmer. Replaced the rings, gave it a scotchbrite hone on the cylinder walls, and it works again. A ring had broken and scarred the piston and wall. New rings seal it up enough to run.

I still want to get some cordless but have no idea where to spend my money.

 

[AzOr]

So... went to start my gas mower today and couldn’t get that thing to turn over. Took apart a bunch of stuff. I had previously replaced the carb.
Anyways, after an hour fidgeting with it and both hands reeking of gas, I said screw it. Went and bought an Ego cordless mower since I already own a trimmer and blower by them.

I got the basic one and couldn’t be happier. The thing isplenty powerful and super quiet. I don’t have to screw with carburetors any more. And nomore stinky gas. I have a smallish yard so the one charge was plenty.

 

[NGD]

So... went to start my gas mower today and couldn’t get that thing to turn over. Took apart a bunch of stuff. I had previously replaced the carb.
Anyways, after an hour fidgeting with it and both hands reeking of gas, I said screw it. Went and bought an Ego cordless mower since I already own a trimmer and blower by them.

I got the basic one and couldn’t be happier. The thing isplenty powerful and super quiet. I don’t have to screw with carburetors any more. And nomore stinky gas. I have a smallish yard so the one charge was plenty.

Been eyeballing one. Just a heads up. In searching around for a larger battery for my EGO blower I came across several complaints of dead batteries after a 8-12 months. Considering the 7.5ah batteries are $350 I’ve held off.

Something tells me its users running them flat, fast charging the same battery for multiple cycles til the job is done then leaving it discharged until next time.

Also EGO appears to be pulling back from several markets here on the west coast. Home Depot online and Grainger appear to have either discontinued or are running stock down. Hope thats not the case though. My blower works great and one less carb to fiddle with in the spring.

 

[Dland]

I'm all in with the Sthil AP-300 series battery equipment. Crew and customer satisfaction, as well as convenience make the investment worth it. While a ways from replacing all the gas powered 2 cycle stuff, and a very long way from replacing the big mowers, they fill a niche and we use them more and more. So far I have 2 chain saws, a rock saw, three blowers, two hedge trimmers, a pole saw and and a string trimmer, as well as a 21 inch mower for enclosed garden lawns. The chargers are fast, and with a few extra batteries, running out of power has yet to become a problem.

 

[Kharnynb]

my old mower died...again, and parts are getting harder to get by, so I got a new battery powered one, also to lower the chance of a hernia from lifting the mower across several stairs(living on a hill is fun....)
After some research, went for the bosch universal rotak 36-560, nice and quiet and with 2 4 ah batteries it does the whole lawn. It's a different range than I had before, but with a big lawn, the 18v series just doesn't work well enough.

 

[Kent88]

Greenworks came out with another snowblower that uses the 80v batteries that my string trimmer, pole saw, and tiller/cultivator use. The last snowblower they offered in that line had a 20" width and could handle 10" of snow, but this one is 22" wide and claims it can handle 13" of snow. It looks a little sturdier. So I found the tool only version, bought it, and I should see it early this week.

Greenworks is really pushing the 4ah batteries with those, but mine is only a 2ah. I figure that, for all but the 3-4 worst blizzards we seem to get every year, this should be able to tackle more than half my driveway in one full charge. If so, great, I don't have an urgent need to buy a second battery and can wait until they go on sale or just come down in price. If not, then I made a big mistake because the price for the tool, battery, and charger is significantly lower than buying them separately.

The tiller/cultivator I mentioned, I have had a couple occasions to use it this year and it is capable of busting sod if you start shallow, go slow, pay attention, and be careful. Yesterday I prepared a small spot for wildflowers next spring. I started shallow, stopped and cleared obstructions if I found them, cleared out the roots and debris from the tool after each pass, and went through 4-5 times until the battery drained. It was a lot better than ripping up the sod by hand.

 

[AzOr]

Been eyeballing one. Just a heads up. In searching around for a larger battery for my EGO blower I came across several complaints of dead batteries after a 8-12 months. Considering the 7.5ah batteries are $350 I’ve held off.

Something tells me its users running them flat, fast charging the same battery for multiple cycles til the job is done then leaving it discharged until next time.

Also EGO appears to be pulling back from several markets here on the west coast. Home Depot online and Grainger appear to have either discontinued or are running stock down. Hope thats not the case though. My blower works great and one less carb to fiddle with in the spring.

Yeah I noticed that Home Depot stopped carrying them. I found the base model at an Ace near my house so I picked it up.
Honestly, if I had a bigger yard, I woulda researched a lot more. I’ve had good luck w my other Ego stuff so I pulled the trigger.

I have friends who have had issues with a few other cordless companies so I figure it’s a crap shoot either way.

I do love it so far. It also sits upright when stored which is nice. The only weird thing is the grass bag.You have to do this weird maneuver taking it on and off.

 

[madscientist451]

I've been following the lithium battery developments, especially in the off grid camping solar setups people are using these days. Supposedly batteries can last 10 years and even beyond that they still work, but have decreased power.
I'd love to have a battery powered pole trimmer, a small hand trimmer, weed wacker and sprayer, but I think I'll wait a few more years so they can get the kinks worked out and prices may come down somewhat.

 

[applescrap]

Another year down with my ryobi weed wacker. Reminder need to get some spools, I get the bulk packs on amazon. I make my ugly lawn look so much better, I think. Used organic fertilizer this year and liked it.

 

[Kharnynb]

for small garden stuff, the best Is ryoby, cheap, big range and made by the same factories than milwaukee

 

[Kent88]

I think ryobi has an electric riding mower.

Someday I'll have a yard large enough to merit a riding mower...

Although I might just get a robotic lawn mower to do it instead. Something that looks like a roomba vacuum cleaner.

I hate mowing lawn.

 

[applescrap]

for small garden stuff, the best Is ryoby, cheap, big range and made by the same factories than milwaukee

That would explain a lot, good to know and thanks. I believe in stuff like that in some cases. My ryobi table saw is clumsy btw, and that is a kind of thing that I think buying less expensive isnt the best. I like Milwaukee tools and dewalt, but at the time didnt want to be committed to some of the more expensive tools made for my uses, as I felt committed once the batteries are purchased. As a pro I would use those brands for sure. I have the little ryobi 12v screwgun because it most matched the little yellow or red dewalt/Milwaukee. They tried to sale me the over powered torque gun, but holding that all day, you better be he man, I like my screw guns small and light with long lasting battery. Dustbuster still works sweet, camper, spiderwebs, air conditioning filters, kid messes, I like that. Little vacuum is next? Like the stereo and light but dont have need. It's time to also get the brad nailer. Better than firing up compressor, and quieter. I better stop before I end up in the garage trying to build something. Man I wished I lived by you all, we would hang out drinking hb and building stuff.

 

[applescrap]

I think ryobi has an electric riding mower.

Someday I'll have a yard large enough to merit a riding mower...

Although I might just get a robotic lawn mower to do it instead. Something that looks like a roomba vacuum cleaner.

I hate mowing lawn.

Haha, me too. Most people in our neighborhood seem to pay. I am almost there. I have seen those for a while, do you know if they work well? Great idea! I dont use my older model roomba becuase I dont like cleaning and fussing with it. Maybe new ones are better. I believe you will get that yard someday and hope you do. Me as well!

 

[Kent88]

I don't have a roomba, I just saw a video of a robotic lawn mower that looked like one on Ask This Old House. I think it was a Husqvarna brand.

Edit, here:

 

[Kharnynb]

I'm against robotic lawnmowers as they kill hedgehogs.

 

[Kent88]

1. Not a problem if you don't live in a place with indigenous hedgehogs
2. Not a problem if you don't have pet hedgehogs
3. Is there any data that shows that they kill hedgehogs
   1. Is there any data that shows that the models with collision detection kill hedgehogs

lolz.

 

[Kharnynb]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/science...Dead-hedgehogs-placed-robotic-lawnmowers.html
it's being researched at the moment...

 

[Kent88]

That website doesn't like my adblocker.

Looking at the unit in the video above, I have a hard time believing that they'd kill a hedgehog. That said, I have no idea how big the common varieties of wild hedgehog are compared to the foot of the guy in the video who stepped in front of it to demonstrate how the collision detection works. Those blades look like they could injure a small hedgehog, but I thought that the quills on adults were firm enough to withstand some abuse.

I'd be more than surprised if that study found that robotic lawn mowers are a danger to hedgehogs, but I suppose it's possible.

 

[day_trippr]

The only robotic mowers I've seen (in videos - in a 1.5 acre minimum lot size town, nobody around here is likely to buy anything currently available) travel so slow only an already-about-to-expire animal is at risk. Nbd...

Cheers!

 

[shetc]

https://www.fatbraintoys.com/toy_companies/thames_kosmos/my_robotic_pet_tumbling_hedgehog.cfm

 

[passedpawn]

I was looking for a small 10" one-handed gas chainsaw, and ended up getting a battery-operated one. I'm putting a fence through some jungle behind my house and needed it for slicing a path through the bamboo/vines/banana trees/philadendron/etc.

This Dewalt worked great for 1 day. Then it died. Gah. I suspect I burnt out the motor somehow - no smell of smoke, just stopped dead. Maybe a fuse. Anyway, just received a replacement. Back at it this weekend.

 

[Kent88]

Dewalt sent you a free replacement?

 

[bracconiere]

Although I might just get a robotic lawn mower to do it instead. Something that looks like a roomba vacuum cleaner.

but then it'd be easy and cheap for people to look at it! (but if it had a high speed mode, and taser. it'd be really cool if it zapped dogs and cats trying to use your lawn as a toilet!)

 

[Kent88]

(but if it had a high speed mode, and taser. it'd be really cool if it zapped dogs and cats trying to use your lawn as a toilet!)

No!

What's the matter with you?!

 

[bracconiere]

No!

one of you? i called the police dept, because my lawn was solid cat turds, they refered me to animal control, who told me to trap them and haul em' in. so i spent $80 on a 'humane' trap that closed quitely for their comfort...had to drive an hour round trip to the pound to drop them off. but it solved my problem, but now if i could make a youtube channel with millions of views tazzing them in the lawn, it'd be worth the extra money...lol

 

[Kent88]

one of you?

Not really sure what you mean by that. You mean someone who believes that we shouldn't abuse animals for our entertainment?

I'm not some hippie. I grew up on a farm. I loved working with livestock. We who work with livestock sometimes get labelled as animal abusers, just because our cattle eventually end up on your plate or in your happy meal, but 99.9% of people in animal agriculture who I've met can't stomach animal abuse. Yeah, we know where the steers and swine we raise are going, but we don't want them to suffer on our farms.

but now if i could make a youtube channel with millions of views tazzing them in the lawn, it'd be worth the extra money...lol

I repeat: what is the matter with you?!

 

[bracconiere]

I repeat: what is the matter with you?!

i just saw a youtube channel, the racoon whisperer. with 8M views on most videos, tell me there aren't enough people pissed at cats crapping in their yards!


just imagine they'd love a robot tazzer! lol and a promo video, or seqeul for thus said!


edit: nothing is wrong with me! i'm normal! i want a battery powered cat zapper for my lawn!

 

[Kent88]

please stop talking about tasering small animals

 

[passedpawn]

Dewalt sent you a free replacement?

Amazon.

 

[ehall]

actually I'd like a device that I could remote tazer the folks who toss their cig butts down in my yard as they walk by... that would be enough to scare the cats away.

On a side note I bought a solar powered pole saw. the biggest downside is I have to strap the panels on my back while I use it. keeps me from getting as high up on the ladder as I would like to be.

 

[bracconiere]

On a side note I bought a solar powered pole saw. the biggest downside is I have to strap the panels on my back while I use it. keeps me from getting as high up on the ladder as I would like to be.

man you HAVE to splice a pic together of that, and think up something to say, and post it in the 'meme generator thread'

 

[jseyfert3]

I see the OP has long picked a brand. That said, I've got some 40 V Ryobi tools. The push lawn mower, straight shaft string trimmer with attachment capability, pole saw attachment, and a 14" chainsaw. The trimmer works fine, but does chew through batteries fairly quick. It has a brushed motor still, and blows very hot air on my arm well trimming, the one downside. I suspect over the next year or two Ryobi will upgrade that to brushless which will help significantly with battery life.

The mower is good, I think it wouldn't satisfy a perfectionist, it doesn't mulch as good as a gas mower and tends to leave some grass on top of the lawn after mowing, but it doesn't bother me much. I'll take that anyday for the absolutely quite, vibration free operation. No more bad gas, pull starting, air filters, or oil changes too. And it's light, easy to lift if needed.

The chainsaw is my first, but I'd say it cuts as fast as other chainsaws I've seen used, it's light, and has all the above advantages except it's a bit noisier. Actually I wear hearing protection with the trimmer and the chainsaw, the motor is quiet but the string and chain, respectively, still make a surprising amount of noise.

Overall I'm quite happy, and I'll be buying more electric stuff in the future. Probably getting a leaf blower next. Not sure about a snow blower though, almost certainly will wait a few years for that one. Especially as I got a really nice Toro 1028 snowblower included with our house we bought this spring. It's a beast of a snowblower for residential use, way overkill but SO FUN to use! Especially when it's bigger than all the neighbors snowblowers.

 

[bleme]

i just saw a youtube channel, the racoon whisperer. with 8M views on most videos, tell me there aren't enough people pissed at cats crapping in their yards!


just imagine they'd love a robot tazzer! lol and a promo video, or seqeul for thus said!


edit: nothing is wrong with me! i'm normal! i want a battery powered cat zapper for my lawn!

They make scarecrow sprinklers for that.

 

[day_trippr]

That is awesome! Love the sound - like a "silenced" mini-gun at full rip!
Makes me wish we had such pests (aside from delivery peeps ) to set one of those up

Cheers!