Is Battery power taking over the lawn/garden business?

[StillShaving]

I think for homeowners, these cordless tools are going to overtake everything soon. I recently succumbed and got a battery powered blower/trimmer combo. Lawnmowers need so much power maybe they will be the last to be converted.

Briggs & Stratton recently filled for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, one could probably make a connection between all these electric tools being sold instead of small gas engines.

 

[Ivo4u2]

Since two stroke will be banned in holland for this usage I am pretty sure we will see more and more battery driven stuff commercial and private use. Not sure how strong and long lasting they will be but convenient for sure and they all ready made some big jumps in these respects.

 

[Esox]

Briggs & Stratton recently filled for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, one could probably make a connection between all these electric tools being sold instead of small gas engines.

Briggs & Stratton has been in trouble for a while. The virus and resulting plant shutdowns made it impossible for them to pay back, on time, the nearly $600 million owed, but they wont be going out of businesses. Restructuring plans are in the works.

 

[KUfan]

I think for homeowners, these cordless tools are going to overtake everything soon. I recently succumbed and got a battery powered blower/trimmer combo. Lawnmowers need so much power maybe they will be the last to be converted.

Briggs & Stratton recently filled for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, one could probably make a connection between all these electric tools being sold instead of small gas engines.

Briggs has been sliding backwards for more than a decade. They bought out Snapper and trashed that once-fine company. Then did the same to Simplicity. They slashed their distribution system and consolidated field offices, which hurt their dealer network, which in turn affected their presence at retail. Then came the wave of Chinese-sourced engines in consumer grade equipment where Briggs was bypassed. I don't recall in my 46-year hardware retail career a company that shot themselves in the foot again and again as Briggs. One mistake or challenge after another, mostly self-inflicted. There is a connection of the emergence of battery-powered equipment and Briggs' race to the bottom, but it is small. Briggs' prowess is small engines for wheeled goods, and that hasn't been affected by the cordless wave as much as you think. It's the hand-held market that cordless is taking over, and Briggs never has jumped all-in on that. Briggs has been affected by equipment makers sourcing their own engines from China, and their weakness of competing with Honda, Kawasaki, and Kohler, and those three are doing OK in the small-engine game. If Briggs is re-organizing, don't say a prayer, say alot of prayers. I have little confidence they emerge from their current plight, without more retraction, and less financial stability, which have been a steady theme coming from Briggs' "managerial" team. They have had financial issues for years, not just recently because of the collateral casualties of Covid.

 

[cleanshaved]

Since two stroke will be banned in holland for this usage I am pretty sure we will see more and more battery driven stuff commercial and private use. Not sure how strong and long lasting they will be but convenient for sure and they all ready made some big jumps in these respects.

I see battery power for light to medium use and small 4 stroke engine for the more demanding user. Honda make a good small 4 stroke that other manufacture also user to power their tools.

 

[Ivo4u2]

I know that when I wanted to grind/cut through that concrete and rebar floor of mine I was very happy with the gas plus water cooling power. Though I have done brick walls electric with aplomb. It is not the same. But it is surprising what they can power with batteries and for how long. Still prefer a corded for lots of usages. Also because I am used to having to swap MakitA cells every 2-3years.

 

[bberg100]

I have numerous hedges and shrubs that need frequent trimming. Started with a cheap Black & Decker 110v, light (think I paid around $30 for it several years ago) and powerful, never bogs down, but the blade is short and none of the shrubs has 110v wired to it. 100' cord I would notice some power loss, and it would not reach all of them anyway. I have a 2000w Honda jenny, so would drag it around the yard to power the trimmer where a decent cord length didn't reach.

A Ryobi cordless 18v was later obtained. Worked fair and fairly lightweight. Bogs down a lot, but the longer bar is nice. Had to have 3-4 batteries charged before starting. First trimming in the spring still found me dragging the B&D and jenny around due to the gutless performance.

This summer picked up a Stihl HSA 66 and AP300 battery. Charges in about two hours, one charge and I can trim ALL the shrubs/hedges twice. 20" blade is a big improvement over the B&D and Ryobi. Have yet to bog it down or stall. Downsides are the cost, about $500 out the door even with my employee discount, and weight. 10.6 lbs. Need frequent breaks to let the shoulders and arms recover.

Plan to replace my FS91R string trimmer with an AP300 compatible battery unit, if and when the it becomes a chore to start. Also a compatible chainsaw. Don't use one often, but seems the small Stihl and Poulan saws I have always give me fits starting and keeping running.

 

[olegunnar]

I do not have overview over the the total lawn gardening business but the first thing we bought after we got our first house was a Husqvarna automower. Boundary wires was laid out by previous owners and although they had another brand it worked perfectly. So I have never mowed my lawn With the house it followed a 2004 Stiga mower with Briggs and Stratton that still works strong. But when that dies I will probably buy an electric. Will try to take care of it because it takes care of the nasty stuff outside out property the robot mower can not take. Also bought a Ryobi 36 V hedge trimmer which for a newbie like me seems extremely strong and maybe overkill for our hedges. Not tried petrol ones before.

 

[RookieGuy]

I have a battery Black and Decker string trimmer/edger. It's nice and light and works good enough except for I can either get all the weeds or just in the front yard and edge the sidewalk. So I alternate.

My mower burns dinosaur. Never had any problems with the B&S engine. My neighbor has an electric. His works great as long as he stays up on it. He went away for 2 weeks last year and he had to borrow mine. His mower couldn't cut it so high.

In the end, for most projects a battery is just fine. But if I think for a second I'll need some oomph, it'll either burn gas or plug in.

 

[Canadian Mountain Man]

They'll have to pry my two stroke weed trimmer from my cold dead hands. I LOVE the smell of two stroke exhaust.

 

[Heron]

I'm impressed by how well my DeWalt 20V chainsaw did yesterday. So much less hassle and noise compared to my gas one.

 

[Tomo]

I hope so. I spent a good part of my childhood sucking down two-stroke fumes behind a push style lawn mower. Not much fun on a hot summer’s day.

 

[2Vu5_T]

Grew up mowing the lawn as a kid with a push mower. When we moved here (2004) that's what I got. Still going strong.

 

[Legacoid]

I hope so. I spent a good part of my childhood sucking down two-stroke fumes behind a push style lawn mower. Not much fun on a hot summer’s day.

..unless you're in Scotland, where those hot engine fumes do a great job of keeping the blasted midges away

 

[Esox]

I got a new line trimmer. If it does the trick, the mower will be next.

Hows that trimmer working out for you?

I cant get over how often I use my blower, almost daily. I even used it the other day for blowing out the eves troughs. My neighbor has a Stihl backpack blower, not sure which one. Its loud and heavy. It takes him twice the time to clean up after he mows his yards. He's been eyeing my 60v pretty closely. Far lighter and easier to use and its more powerful!

 

[Badgerstate36]

After having my Ryobi electric mower for about a month now, I can say that I don't think I would ever go back to gas. It works just like any other walkbehind mower, minus the hassles of gas. My yard takes about 20 minutes to mow and when I get done, the batteries still have 1/2 a charge in them, so they still have plenty of juice for me to put them in my trimmer to trim the edges and along the sidewalks and then I can take the same battery and put it in the leaf blower to clean up when Im done.
Im about 99% sure that Im done with gas. Today's electric equipment is so good that unless have a huge yard that takes hours to maintain or are a pro who runs your gear all day long, theres really no compelling reason to go with gas.

 

[pdillon]

First time home owner here with a small lawn (less than 2,000 sq ft). I went with an Ego mower to avoid maintenance. It has been great so far but that is only one season. Hopefully it will prove to be reliable. Home Depot recently stopped carrying Ego.

 

[garyg]

Anyone with experience with the electric stuff where the batteries & chargers can be stored only in unheated garage (or other outbuilding) space in a northern climate?

 

[CincyDawg]

First time home owner here with a small lawn (less than 2,000 sq ft). I went with an Ego mower to avoid maintenance. It has been great so far but that is only one season. Hopefully it will prove to be reliable. Home Depot recently stopped carrying Ego.

Lowe’s picked up the Ego.

 

[shavefan]

Anyone with experience with the electric stuff where the batteries & chargers can be stored only in unheated garage (or other outbuilding) space in a northern climate?

Batteries should be stored in a "cool, dry environment". Avoid extremes in temps (like an outbuilding in a northern climate). I don't know of any battery platform that would recommend against that rule. If super hot or super cold, the best place to store them would be in the house, fully charged.