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I have been looking into the battery-powered lawncare ecosystem for a while but I have found the prospects a little daunting. As far as I can tell, there's one

I have been looking into the battery-powered lawncare ecosystem for a while but I have found the prospects a little daunting. As far as I can tell, there's one new entrant to the field, Ego. The others are either from companies that have dealt with batteries for a while (Dewalt, Ryobi) or are "house brands" found exclusively at the big box stores like Lowes, Home Depot, Menards, and so on. I am not afraid of spending money on items but I find it frustrating when the extra expenditure ends up being a dud, like my Toro (gas-powered) lawnmower which, despite the money spent and the numerous trips to the repair place, and the care lavished on it, has worked less than it has failed completely. My previous mower ran wonderfully without hardly any maintenance; this thing I have been changing oil, messing about with spark plugs, using special and such, all to no avail. Battery-powered sounds good but I don't know if the market shakeout has happened yet.

Blackthorn 6y ago
The battery powered options from the good tool brands like Makita and Ryobi are very good. I have a Makita and would definitely recommend. Best part? No small engine maintenance needed.
- ummonk 6y ago
  And brands usually use one battery model across their tool lineup so you can swap batteries.
- asdff 6y ago
  Decent lawncare equipment rarely needs much maintenance in my experience. My dad has had his ryobi mower for at least 20 years now and all that's ever been put into it is gas. Instead, you have different maintenance needs, they aren't gone entirely. Rather than occasionally having to do engine work (which you might never have to do), you now have a wear item to replace: the battery. Eventually, Ryobi or Makita or whoever will stop selling that particularly proprietary shaped battery for that model you bought, eventually forcing your hand to pay for a newer machine where you can still buy new batteries, and leaving you with a lawnmower sized hunk of junk in the form of your old, perhaps functional but unable to charge mower. I don't see this as the end of lawncare equipment maintenance, I see this as the end of being able to keep your equipment going for decades. These companies executive boards must be patting themselves on the back for figuring out how to break consumers out of being able to get by on $50 used mowers forever, and forcing them to pay retail for new models at regular intervals. It's like the printer ink racket.
  - Blackthorn 6y ago
    Ryobi has used the same 18v battery for literally as long as they've sold 18v batteries. Before they even used lithium-ion. You're really not in danger of the batteries becoming obsolete. The battery obsolescence concern is demonstrably overblown for some brands.
    - asdff 6y ago
      You are still at the mercy of Ryobi making that battery for the indefinite future. They have done so as of now, but there is no law or regulation stopping them from one day getting some new CEO who wants to make a few more bucks for the shareholders, and roll out a new battery tech all their customers have to buy. Profit is king, not your continued convenience. Even if they keep the same battery format, you are now locked in to Ryobi and can't take your proprietary batteries and use them with a competitor's equipment, like you can with a standardized fuel like gasoline, or a standardized battery like a car battery.
      - Blackthorn 6y ago
        There are third party batteries, and conversion kits between batteries. Not many people use them because, honestly, the first party batteries are actually pretty good (aside from outliers like Dewalt which has shitty batteries) and nobody has abandoned their battery lines yet. It's no different than small engines requiring repair, and the companies that make them not supporting them anymore. Yet we've dealt with that for decades.
matwood 6y ago
I use electric/battery where feasible. This means I have a 4 cycle lawn mower and 2 cycle trimmer/weed eater. Sidewalk edger and blower are both plug in, and work fine since they are only used in the front yard. I have many other tools that are battery and just prefer plugin in less I need to be very mobile. The problem with battery is that even within a brand, it keeps changing format (though seems to be settling a bit) and they are not as strong. They also don't sit well, so if you have stored them you have plan way ahead to do the work you want to do.
542354234235 6y ago
It sounds like you just don’t like how hard it is to find quality items that last. That isn’t really battery related.

Blackthorn 6y ago

The battery powered options from the good tool brands like Makita and Ryobi are very good. I have a Makita and would definitely recommend. Best part? No small engine maintenance needed.

ummonk 6y ago
And brands usually use one battery model across their tool lineup so you can swap batteries.
asdff 6y ago
Decent lawncare equipment rarely needs much maintenance in my experience. My dad has had his ryobi mower for at least 20 years now and all that's ever been put into it is gas. Instead, you have different maintenance needs, they aren't gone entirely. Rather than occasionally having to do engine work (which you might never have to do), you now have a wear item to replace: the battery. Eventually, Ryobi or Makita or whoever will stop selling that particularly proprietary shaped battery for that model you bought, eventually forcing your hand to pay for a newer machine where you can still buy new batteries, and leaving you with a lawnmower sized hunk of junk in the form of your old, perhaps functional but unable to charge mower. I don't see this as the end of lawncare equipment maintenance, I see this as the end of being able to keep your equipment going for decades. These companies executive boards must be patting themselves on the back for figuring out how to break consumers out of being able to get by on $50 used mowers forever, and forcing them to pay retail for new models at regular intervals. It's like the printer ink racket.
- Blackthorn 6y ago
  Ryobi has used the same 18v battery for literally as long as they've sold 18v batteries. Before they even used lithium-ion. You're really not in danger of the batteries becoming obsolete. The battery obsolescence concern is demonstrably overblown for some brands.
  - asdff 6y ago
    You are still at the mercy of Ryobi making that battery for the indefinite future. They have done so as of now, but there is no law or regulation stopping them from one day getting some new CEO who wants to make a few more bucks for the shareholders, and roll out a new battery tech all their customers have to buy. Profit is king, not your continued convenience. Even if they keep the same battery format, you are now locked in to Ryobi and can't take your proprietary batteries and use them with a competitor's equipment, like you can with a standardized fuel like gasoline, or a standardized battery like a car battery.
    - Blackthorn 6y ago
      There are third party batteries, and conversion kits between batteries. Not many people use them because, honestly, the first party batteries are actually pretty good (aside from outliers like Dewalt which has shitty batteries) and nobody has abandoned their battery lines yet. It's no different than small engines requiring repair, and the companies that make them not supporting them anymore. Yet we've dealt with that for decades.

matwood 6y ago

I use electric/battery where feasible. This means I have a 4 cycle lawn mower and 2 cycle trimmer/weed eater. Sidewalk edger and blower are both plug in, and work fine since they are only used in the front yard. I have many other tools that are battery and just prefer plugin in less I need to be very mobile. The problem with battery is that even within a brand, it keeps changing format (though seems to be settling a bit) and they are not as strong. They also don't sit well, so if you have stored them you have plan way ahead to do the work you want to do.

542354234235 6y ago

It sounds like you just don’t like how hard it is to find quality items that last. That isn’t really battery related.