Is Battery power taking over the lawn/garden business?

[Chandu]

All cars sold here come with block heaters. A pickup I bought brand new in Saskatchewan also came with a battery blanket. The 2006 Grand Prix I have has a factory block heater in it too but I've never used it. It also came OEM with, I think, a 925CCA battery but at -30 it turns over pretty slow. If it called for 20w50 oil instead of the 5w30, the block heater would be needed at those temps.

Not sure where you are from, sounds like someplace it gets cold in the winter. I'm in MN so see cold too. Block heaters and the like are nice if you have some place to plug in. In a former life I drove charter bus. The temp was going to be about -5 Fahrenheiit in the morning. No block heater on that one back then and could not let it run all night. The hotel put up a fuss.

The engine oil in the bus was SAE 30 so you can imagine what that stuff is like in those temps. The solution involved pulling the air filter. Reaching my arm all the way up there with a can of ether. Give it about a 5 second blast. Then use the push button on the engine (in the engine compartment, not the front of the bus) to start it before all the ether goes away. You'd have thought it was going to come apart, but it started. Certainly not a recommended practice.

 

[oc_in_fw]

What? What random place in the world is this going to work outside of maybe California.. most of us have seasons :/

My house, in Texas, is a consistent temperature inside.

 

[Esox]

Well, there are certainly exception to every rule. By and large though, I would say that electric has already proven to be far more reliable than gas ever thought about being. Much of that is because it is laregely idiot-proof and because it really requires next to zero maintenance though. LOL

Yeah I'd agree. I might be okay with a batter powered mower, but I'm keeping my 2 stroke snow blower for as long as I can keep it running. I dont think the battery powered blowers could keep up, especially not with a frozen 3' deep plow in at the end of the driveway.

Right but even then youre talking the extreme. It may turn over slow but it still turns over and you don't need to bring your battery in the house to warm it up for it to work.

At -30 yeah, so far so good. When I lived in Saskatchewan though, at -40 and colder I needed to flip the switch in my apartment to turn on the block heater and let it warm up for 20 minutes or so before it would start. They even have electrical outlets in parking lots there for that very thing. In large part though yeah, very extreme and it doesnt get as cold now as it did 30 or 40 years ago.

Yeah, as much as people look back with love and admiration on the days on NiCad, people tend to forget some of the real downfalls of those days. I personally wouldn't trade any of my brushless lithium-ion DeWalt or Milwaukee drill drivers or hammer drills for anything from the NiCad days. When you see my little 12v Milwaukee Fuel hammer drill bore holes in brick and concrete just as fast as an 18v would, its an impressive thing to see.

NiCad is crap compared to lithium ion lol, the difference in power amazed me. Thats what my DeWalt 18v got used for, boring holes in concrete with hole saws. It worked, really well to for that time but it wouldnt be able to compete with todays lithium.

 

[Esox]

Not sure where you are from, sounds like someplace it gets cold in the winter. I'm in MN so see cold too. Block heaters and the like are nice if you have some place to plug in. In a former life I drove charter bus. The temp was going to be about -5 Fahrenheiit in the morning. No block heater on that one back then and could not let it run all night. The hotel put up a fuss.

The engine oil in the bus was SAE 30 so you can imagine what that stuff is like in those temps. The solution involved pulling the air filter. Reaching my arm all the way up there with a can of ether. Give it about a 5 second blast. Then use the push button on the engine (in the engine compartment, not the front of the bus) to start it before all the ether goes away. You'd have thought it was going to come apart, but it started. Certainly not a recommended practice.

I'm in London Ontario now. South of you but we still see -20 here regularly through the winter and a few years ago the entire month of Feb. was -30 or colder every night. I used to live in Regina, Saskatoon and Edmonton. I've never felt cold like I did out there. -52C in Edmonton but no wind. We use to deer hunt at -40C in Saskatchewan and theres always wind there. That was the norm so you learned to live with it. Block heater plugins were everywhere and everyone always used them.

Quick starting engines with heavy oil when its that cold is hard on engines lol. I had a friend that didnt have a block heater in his old, I think 1976, Dodge 3/4 ton pickup and more than once he was out there building a little fire under the pan to warm that 20w50 haha. Yeah, do not do that lol.

The battery in my 1984 GMC 4x4 came with a plug in battery blanket but I never used it, just the block heater.

 

[RayClem]

Well, there are certainly exception to every rule. By and large though, I would say that electric has already proven to be far more reliable than gas ever thought about being. Much of that is because it is laregely idiot-proof and because it really requires next to zero maintenance though. LOL





Right but even then youre talking the extreme. It may turn over slow but it still turns over and you don't need to bring your battery in the house to warm it up for it to work.


Yeah, as much as people look back with love and admiration on the days on NiCad, people tend to forget some of the real downfalls of those days. I personally wouldn't trade any of my brushless lithium-ion DeWalt or Milwaukee drill drivers or hammer drills for anything from the NiCad days. When you see my little 12v Milwaukee Fuel hammer drill bore holes in brick and concrete just as fast as an 18v would, its an impressive thing to see.

I hated the NiCad battery devices. I even had one battery that caught fire while being recharged.

The newer rechargeable Lithium batteries seem to be far more reliable.

 

[Avi]

My house, in Texas, is a consistent temperature inside.

I get that - with modern homes with garages that are effectively AC'd in particular such an approach is convenient. That said w/ a non- AC'd garage ( or people without garages) the idea of dragging batteries back and forth does not feel particularly convenient. Beyond that my guess is your lawn isn't outside, so even then the batteries clearly will bake during use. I think what surprises me here is given double digit kWh batteries are in cars exposed to external weather across much of the world at this point - it seems like a strange limitation that does not feel intuitive to me.

 

[oc_in_fw]

I get that - with modern homes with garages that are effectively AC'd in particular such an approach is convenient. That said w/ a non- AC'd garage ( or people without garages) the idea of dragging batteries back and forth does not feel particularly convenient. Beyond that my guess is your lawn isn't outside, so even then the batteries clearly will bake during use. I think what surprises me here is given double digit kWh batteries are in cars exposed to external weather across much of the world at this point - it seems like a strange limitation that does not feel intuitive to me.

I get an hour with the mower. The last time I mowed it was 95 (we don’t get autumn here). That is enough for me. I’d get more if I didn’t use self propel. I get over 2 yard days out of the line trimmer, and live on a corner lot (lots of edge to trim).

 

[Badgerstate36]

I get an hour with the mower. The last time I mowed it was 95 (we don’t get autumn here). That is enough for me. I’d get more if I didn’t use self propel. I get over 2 yard days out of the line trimmer, and live on a corner lot (lots of edge to trim).

Same here. I used a Ryobi 36v with 2 18v 4 amp hour batteries. It takes me about 30 minutes to mow my yard and both the batteries are at half charge when Im done mowing. If it took me 45 minutes or more to mow my yard, Id probably be looking at something better, like the Ryobi 40v with the 6 amp hour battery and self propelled.
When I first got my mower, I was torn between the 36v and the 40v but I went with the 36v because I wanted to be able to use the same batteries in my mower, trimmer, leaf blower and all of my other Ryobi tools. I didn't want the 40v and have a battery that only works in 1 tool. Id had concerns about the run time of the 36v but it hasn't been an issue.

I hated the NiCad battery devices. I even had one battery that caught fire while being recharged.

The newer rechargeable Lithium batteries seem to be far more reliable.

Same. I used to have an old Craftsman drill driver with the NiCad batteries and they didn't hold a charge between uses or have anywhere near the run time that any of my current DeWalt or Milwaukee drill drivers do. Especially when you get into brushless tools, its a whole new game.

 

[SilentTuba]

I have a Ryobi 40v lawnmower and I absolutely LOVE it! Has plenty of power and cuts easily, even when I let it go too long between mowings. My front and back yards are small, so I can get two mowings out of a single charge. It's perfect for my needs, and I see no reason to have to bother with engine maintenance on a gas mower. Next I want to replace my plug-in leaf blower with a 40v blower, I just can't decide between the handheld or backpack blower.

My string trimmer is battery powered, too, a cheap Worx trimmer a friend gave me. It works just fine, but I'd like to eventually replace it with a Ryobi, just so I can get everything in the same battery ecosystem (my power tools are all Ryobi 18v).

 

[StillShaving]

Most of the leaves have dropped on my property and I am of the opinion that a battery powered leaf blower was the most useful thing I purchased all year. I went from a two-stroke blower to an electric model a couple of years ago to a battery model this past summer. Given that there is almost no setup/startup time involved, I found myself using it for very small tasks and brief intervals. Like blowing off the back deck every day or the front steps or clearing a trail to the mailbox to remove the acorns from underfoot which had dropped that day.

This is more like a Jeff Foxworthy joke... but I even used it to blow dry my eyeglasses after washing them the other day.

 

[Esox]

Most of the leaves have dropped on my property and I am of the opinion that a battery powered leaf blower was the most useful thing I purchased all year.

You and me both. Money well spent! I even used mine for blowing 2"s of powder snow we had. Much better than using a shovel!

 

[Toothpick]

More battery power for the lawn.

Used the mower for the first time today. I’m impressed. The 60 minute run time was enough to do what I needed doing. Self propelled is really nice. My only gripe so far is it does not handle tall thick grass well. Plenty of torque to cut it, but not enough oomph to discharge it so it clogs. But seeing how it’s battery it doesn’t take much effort to flip it, yank out the grass and push a button to get it going again. I also don’t see the clogging as an issue going forward since this was the first cut of the season and the gras was taller than I let it get the rest of the season.

The charger makes a humming noise from the cooling fan. Only gripe with that . But I guess it’s needed. I read in the instruction book that you can leave the battery on the charger plugged in and it won’t harm it at all because it stops charging once it’s done. It will even discharge 30% and recharge if it’s left on there for long time. So that’s neat. I don’t plan on leaving it on though.

 

[Esox]

My only gripe so far is it does not handle tall thick grass well. Plenty of torque to cut it, but not enough oomph to discharge it so it clogs.

My 6.5HP gas mower will do the same thing with the mulcher attachment covering the side discharge port. You can imagine how thick my grass is for the first cut haha. When you hear it starting to load up, push the handle down lifting the front wheels and let it blow some out the front then carry on.

 

[Captain Pre-Capsize]

@Toothpick, my neighbor has that very mower and loves it. My other neighbor used a snowblower from that same company this past winter and does not see any difference from his gas powered snow blower. This fall I will be selling my gas powered snowblower and getting a battery powered one. I use a battery powered leaf blower and it is great.

 

[Toothpick]

@Toothpick, my neighbor has that very mower and loves it. My other neighbor used a snowblower from that same company this past winter and does not see any difference from his gas powered snow blower. This fall I will be selling my gas powered snowblower and getting a battery powered one. I use a battery powered leaf blower and it is great.

I would have got the blower that E-Go makes but it was a backpack blower I saw. To much for my needs, so the Craftsman did the trick. I just got a 4cycle weed eater last year (or was it 2019?). When that dies, or just when I get tired of, I’ll get a battery weed eater too.

 

[Heron]

My town is running an exchange program where you can get a $300 rebate if you switch from a gas to an electric mower. I'm going to stick with my Honda mower, though. I'll get electric if I ever have to replace it.

 

[cyberdog]

We started with the 40v Ryobi maybe 5-6 years ago, and while it got the job done, using FOUR(4!) of the standard 2.6a batteries, it really struggled in some areas of the yard, where the grass really grows, tends to hold moisture, and is thick. It would bog down enough at times to trip the motor off, requiring pulling the battery & dropping it back in.

Upgraded to a 56v Ego 2-3 years ago, and can finish the lawn most weekends one a single charge of the 7.5a battery, has plenty of power to push through those same areas, and if desired, is self-propelled. Mulching is a little hit or miss with some droppings, although I have a set of paired mulching blades to install this weekend, from the newer model, that should improve mulching.

I do still have the Ryobi trimmer/edger, blower, and hedge trimmer, and they work great, it was only the mower simply didn't have enough gusto for parts of my yard. The trimmer is the flex model, that can take a bladed edger, and I use that exclusively to edge along the sidewalk, and even trench/trim around the garden areas before setting the push/hammer down trim.

Our snow blower is however still gas, which was bought easily 10 years ago, and still in pristine condition. I'm not sure how a battery snow blower would stand up to a heavy snow, although our snow blower has been used twice in the last three years, not having a lot of snow here in NJ until this past winter's two droppings.

 

[P-51G t]

After many years of buying hard starting, finicky gas weed wackers, I broke down and bought a cheap battery powered wacker. This is now 4 years on this cheap WW that has out lasted all previous gas models. The best part is my better half will sometimes touch up the yard because it is so easy to start and use. So much winning

 

[Whilliam]

Could be. I have a friend in the lawn care business who, for zoning reasons, can no longer keep his gas zero-turn in his shed. Looks as if he'll sell it and go electric.

This is what happens when NYC folks move to rural upstate NY and start to "improve" things.

 

[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.

After a heavy wet snow with high winds I was needing to do a bunch of tree work. I have a couple gas saws, both are pains to start and keep running. Picked up the Stihl MSA-220 C-B with 16" bar (uses the AP300 batteries I already have). Fantastic saw for lighter work, green 8" logs will bog it out. Hold back on it and it walks through pretty well. Dry logs up to 14" it goes through like butter. Best features is lack of noise, and instant go when the button is pushed. Claim 35 minute run time. Took out two 10+ ft junipers cut into garbage bag sizes on one charge, still had one bar left on the graph. I have the AL 300 charger, claims 45/65 charging time, it had me up to a full charge right at 60 minutes.

I know a grass trimmer is next, I'm in love with the ease of electric.