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> But these machines persist in American landscaping because they are cheap. I rarely see pros use cheap stuff. They're paying for Stihl eq and mowers I can't

by arh68 3y ago

> But these machines persist in American landscaping because they are cheap. I rarely see pros use cheap stuff. They're paying for Stihl eq and mowers I can't even afford. 2-stroke gas eq is incredibly powerful for the weight. More power, more done, more money. Battery is catching up quick, and honestly will soon deliver even more power, and that's when I think most will switch. I bet many will pay more for a (more-powerful) battery trimmer. But it's not about "cheap" (imo).

donw 3y ago
It’s also about lifetime. Internal combustion engines, with a bit of inexpensive maintenance, can be used for many decades. When batteries catch up on both fronts, the game definitely changes.
- jonstewart 3y ago
  I have a battery-powered chainsaw and IT. IS. AWESOME. I pull the trigger and it runs, saws through any tree easily, and probably 20-30 dB quieter. When I let go of the trigger... it -stops- and it's -silent-. It's easy to think "battery => wimpy, gas => hefty", but it's just not necessarily the case these days, depending on the tool. The only way a gas-powered chainsaw is better than a battery-powered one is that it's fast to refill the gas tank when it's empty, while recharging takes a bit. But if you have two batteries, then the recharge time is about the same as the charge-life, so you can just keep swapping.
  - zdragnar 3y ago
    I've owned both gas and battery chainsaws, and I can't agree. The 80v battery chainsaw WAS really nice in terms of volume and ease of use. There's simply no comparison in terms of cutting power with a decently powerful gas chainsaw, however (FWIW these were greenworks 80v and a Makita 64cc). I would say I paid more for the gas chainsaw, but the battery died on the electric one after only a year or two. Buying extra batteries to get a reasonable runtime and dealing with failing electronics more than makes up the difference in price.
    - jutrewag 3y ago
      [dead]
  - toomuchtodo 3y ago
    Link please!
    - jonstewart 3y ago
      https://egopowerplus.com/18-inch-chain-saw/ https://egopowerplus.com/18-inch-chain-saw/ Consumer Reports has a review of it, too, and has done a test pitting it against a gas chainsaw (I'm not a member so can't see the conclusion, maybe they like the gas better?). My personal experience, though, is that for casual/amateur usage, of cutting down a tree or sawing up a big branch that's down, it's fantastic. It's a completely different user experience not having to start the darn thing with a crank and have it turn off the moment you take your finger off the trigger.
      - deleted 3y ago
        [deleted]
- SoftTalker 3y ago
  And it’s about being able to use it all day. Battery life will be a concern, though most of these tools have swappable batteries so they can just carry as many as they need on the truck. More fundamentally… why did we stop using rakes? Once the leaves are more than a few inches deep, blowers become ineffective. Rakes keep working.
  - RoyGBivCap 3y ago
    Where I live they use them to blow leaves, debris, and trash off of a parking lot. Maybe not a rake, but a broom would be a welcome change. And honestly not much slower.
    - kcplate 3y ago
      > a broom would be a welcome change. And honestly not much slower Having used both brooms and a blower to sweep out my garage, a blower is exponentially faster.
      - SoftTalker 3y ago
        A blower blasts all the crap on your garage floor into the air, and you're now breathing it. A broom does that a little bit also, but not nearly as much. If you get a wide shop broom, it makes pretty quick work of a garage floor, and gives your arms a little bit of a workout as well.
        jwozn 3y ago
        Broom > Blower for garage. Blower > Broom for uneven concrete sidewalks and surfaces.
  - jutrewag 3y ago
    [dead]

by arh68 3y ago

donw 3y ago

It’s also about lifetime. Internal combustion engines, with a bit of inexpensive maintenance, can be used for many decades. When batteries catch up on both fronts, the game definitely changes.

jonstewart 3y ago
I have a battery-powered chainsaw and IT. IS. AWESOME. I pull the trigger and it runs, saws through any tree easily, and probably 20-30 dB quieter. When I let go of the trigger... it -stops- and it's -silent-. It's easy to think "battery => wimpy, gas => hefty", but it's just not necessarily the case these days, depending on the tool. The only way a gas-powered chainsaw is better than a battery-powered one is that it's fast to refill the gas tank when it's empty, while recharging takes a bit. But if you have two batteries, then the recharge time is about the same as the charge-life, so you can just keep swapping.
- zdragnar 3y ago
  I've owned both gas and battery chainsaws, and I can't agree. The 80v battery chainsaw WAS really nice in terms of volume and ease of use. There's simply no comparison in terms of cutting power with a decently powerful gas chainsaw, however (FWIW these were greenworks 80v and a Makita 64cc). I would say I paid more for the gas chainsaw, but the battery died on the electric one after only a year or two. Buying extra batteries to get a reasonable runtime and dealing with failing electronics more than makes up the difference in price.
  - jutrewag 3y ago
    [dead]
- toomuchtodo 3y ago
  Link please!
  - jonstewart 3y ago
    https://egopowerplus.com/18-inch-chain-saw/ https://egopowerplus.com/18-inch-chain-saw/ Consumer Reports has a review of it, too, and has done a test pitting it against a gas chainsaw (I'm not a member so can't see the conclusion, maybe they like the gas better?). My personal experience, though, is that for casual/amateur usage, of cutting down a tree or sawing up a big branch that's down, it's fantastic. It's a completely different user experience not having to start the darn thing with a crank and have it turn off the moment you take your finger off the trigger.
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
SoftTalker 3y ago
And it’s about being able to use it all day. Battery life will be a concern, though most of these tools have swappable batteries so they can just carry as many as they need on the truck. More fundamentally… why did we stop using rakes? Once the leaves are more than a few inches deep, blowers become ineffective. Rakes keep working.
- RoyGBivCap 3y ago
  Where I live they use them to blow leaves, debris, and trash off of a parking lot. Maybe not a rake, but a broom would be a welcome change. And honestly not much slower.
  - kcplate 3y ago
    > a broom would be a welcome change. And honestly not much slower Having used both brooms and a blower to sweep out my garage, a blower is exponentially faster.
    - SoftTalker 3y ago
      A blower blasts all the crap on your garage floor into the air, and you're now breathing it. A broom does that a little bit also, but not nearly as much. If you get a wide shop broom, it makes pretty quick work of a garage floor, and gives your arms a little bit of a workout as well.
      - jwozn 3y ago
        Broom > Blower for garage. Blower > Broom for uneven concrete sidewalks and surfaces.
- jutrewag 3y ago
  [dead]