Moving Lawn Tools to Battery Power.

Eric Smith said:
Made a typo on my post our Kobalt is a 80v. Love ours and no complaints. The blade is pretty soft metal so I'd recommend blade sharpening every couple months.
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Is it some kind of special lightweight blade, or is this just a side-effect of cost cutting? I'm sure there are better blades to be had, if they're compatible.
 
Badgerstate said:
Yeah, if you want gas, Id look at Stihl and only Stihl.
When you speak of Makita and it lasting 20 years and all that, one thing you need to remember with cordless is that you are probably only going to get 3-5 years out of the battery before it will need to be replaced. The tool may well last 20 years but its very possible that they will discontinue that battery line and come out with something new. They all do it.
Thats actually one area where Ryobi is really great because theyve used the exact same battery design for the past 20 years. Ryobi tools as a whole are just not great though.
With Craftman, one thing to remember is that Craftsman of today has nothing in common with Craftsman of the past. They now are pretty much DeWalt tools with red and black plastic instead of black and yellow. Ive got several newer Craftsman tools and theyre awesome.
Another brand to consider is Greenworks. They arent quite in the professional realm that some of the others are but for a homeowner, they are great tools.
If you have a Menards nearby, Yardworks is another one. They are very similar to Greenworks, in that they are geared more towards homeowners and are very affordable.
Stihl also has a really great line of electric power equipment. They are a bit more expensive but they are, for the most part, pro tools that are geared towards lawn care professionals and priced accordingly.
Toro is another good one. They have some great cordless offerings.
Just yesterday, I picked up an Earthwise 10" corded trimmer. I bought it because I like that it has a dual string head and is bump feed. Im not a fan of single string heads or auto feed. I also picked up a Worx blower. I use a blower strictly for blowing off sidewalks and driveways and dont need something stupid powerful. Id had a Craftsman corded blower but it was so stupid powerful that if often just blew debris up into the air. The Worx is only like 160 cfm, so its perfect for hard surfaces but isnt too powerful. Worx overall is also a greally good brand to consider.
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Love my STIHL products for sure.

I have absolutely zero worries about Makita batteries and discontinuation.

I can still get batteries for 30 years old products and with something 270 tools in the 18 volt line they'll be around a long time.

They already have a 40V platform and have committed to continuing the 18V one.

My issue with STIHL isnt the tools, its having to invest in a secondary to me battery ecosystem that has a comparatively limited range of products it covers vs the 270 18/36V tools in the makita line.

I have a WORX leaf mulched (it showed up out of the blue one day) and its a satisfactorily built unit, but I am not familiar with their product line in general.

Ill check out these other lines of products as well.
 
Garage is a mess, still moving in...My raft of makita stuff

Subcompact drill
Subcompact hammer drill
multi tool
grinder
Brad nailer
Pole Saw
String trimmer
blower
36V powerhead,
36V headgetrimmer not in yet.
Missing from photo 2 old school drills still working perfectly

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WylieCoyote said:
Is it some kind of special lightweight blade, or is this just a side-effect of cost cutting? I'm sure there are better blades to be had, if they're compatible.
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It's a normal blade.. I guessed they made it lighter for battery longevity. It does have special notches on it, Can't answer if a regular blade would work.
 
UncleDave said:
Love my STIHL products for sure.

I have absolutely zero worries about Makita batteries and discontinuation.

I can still get batteries for 30 years old products and with something 270 tools in the 18 volt line they'll be around a long time.

They already have a 40V platform and have committed to continuing the 18V one.

My issue with STIHL isnt the tools, its having to invest in a secondary to me battery ecosystem that has a comparatively limited range of products it covers vs the 270 18/36V tools in the makita line.

I have a WORX leaf mulched (it showed up out of the blue one day) and its a satisfactorily built unit, but I am not familiar with their product line in general.

Ill check out these other lines of products as well.
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Right but there is no saying that they will keep THAT 18v battery line around in 30 years. Odds are they wont. Look, theres nothing wrong with Makita. I use a Makita 12v impact driver at work every day but I wouldnt go to Makita for my OPE because the cost doesnt justify it.
I seriously looked at the Makita mower but $700 for an electric mower? I dont think so. I could get a Stihl for $300 less.
 
Badgerstate said:
Right but there is no saying that they will keep THAT 18v battery line around in 30 years. Odds are they wont. Look, theres nothing wrong with Makita. I use a Makita 12v impact driver at work every day but I wouldnt go to Makita for my OPE because the cost doesnt justify it.
I seriously looked at the Makita mower but $700 for an electric mower? I dont think so. I could get a Stihl for $300 less.
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When we have no track record for a specific products lifespan, the best indicator of future life is past product lifespan, and that has been stellar.

Perhaps they will discontinue it at some point, but I see that risk as no more and likely much less than the other brands.

There are always cheaper alternatives for anything they sell.
 
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I have this model of Kobalt mower. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-80-...21-in-Cordless-Electric-Lawn-Mower/1000737436

I love it. I was a diehard Lawnboy 2ycle DuraForce guy before the Kobalt. The Kobalt is light like the Lawnboy and runs so quiet. I dont think I will ever go back to gas. Also the Kobalt uses Briggs new electric platform. https://www.briggsandstratton.com/na/en_us/innovations/push-mowers/82li-series.html

You will also find it on equivalent Stihl, Snapper, and some other OEM brands.
 
I have a Ryobi 49v string trimmer.
It works great!
I have a very small lawn, so I need to charge the battery once a year.
It is just finishing its 2nd year and still going string.
 
...and the last piece arrived.


As well as a gift for Uncle Dave - in the form if the 1000lb/ft inpact driver.

Zipped off my boat lug nuts in seconds.

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My Worx 20v weed trimmer gave up over the weekend. This has been the second one in 3 years so I decided to go and upgrade.

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Bought an Ego 56v on Ebay, gets here on Monday.
 
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RazorsEdge said:
The first one lasted 1-summer and this second lasted 2- years so I can say it doesn't hold up for very long imo.

WORX WG154 20V PowerShare 10" - 12" Cordless String Trimmer & Edger https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KXBT51Q/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_AVM0HC4367P6MX46HDCH
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Cutting width 1000 inches. They must mean it can cut max depth for 83ft? Yeah... I got like 2500 feet to trim.

so at 200 plus 140 your 350 bones into trimmer in 3 years.

I hope this one lasts and you like it.





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UncleDave said:
Cutting width 1000 inches. They must mean it can cut max depth for 83ft? Yeah... I got like 2500 feet to trim.

so at 200 plus 140 your 350 bones into trimmer in 3 years.

I hope this one lasts and you like it.
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Yeah I take care of everything so I'm just to the point of upgrading,tired of spending money on stuff that doesn't hold up.

In a way,this is good also as I'll be purchasing the Ego 56v dual stage snow blower this winter.
 
Good choice on the 36 volt Makita. I have been using that string trimmer and blower for three years now. I mow and trim two acres across several properties about once a week during the summer, It usually takes me about six hours to get it manicured and I go through 3-4 sets of 5Ah batteries. The trimmer has lots of torque and unless it is really thick, the first or second speed works fine for me and doesn't burn up batteries as fast. I can get about 20 to 30 minutes out of a set. The blower really sucks the juice. I find setting the speed at 4 or 5 is a good balance of power and battery life. I probably get 10 to 15 minutes of air time out of a set.

I am noticing a slight decrease in battery life now that the batteries are three years old. I give these things a workout and the batteries get pretty warm. Battery life has probably dropped by 15% which I expected and am not unhappy about. I will probably need to buy another pair of 5Ah batteries next year to compensate.

Overall, I am very happy with the tools and would buy them again. It is nice to be free of the smell, noise, maintenance and starting problems of gas powered tools. Of course, the downside is the cost of the batteries. I have lots more $$ in the batteries than the tools. If I can get another couple of years out of them, I will consider it money well spent.

I used a Stihl trimmer and blower before I got the Makita. The Makita cordless will do everything the Stihl tools will do (except run all day long).
 
twoheeldrive said:
Good choice on the 36 volt Makita. I have been using that string trimmer and blower for three years now. I mow and trim two acres across several properties about once a week during the summer, It usually takes me about six hours to get it manicured and I go through 3-4 sets of 5Ah batteries. The trimmer has lots of torque and unless it is really thick, the first or second speed works fine for me and doesn't burn up batteries as fast. I can get about 20 to 30 minutes out of a set. The blower really sucks the juice. I find setting the speed at 4 or 5 is a good balance of power and battery life. I probably get 10 to 15 minutes of air time out of a set.

I am noticing a slight decrease in battery life now that the batteries are three years old. I give these things a workout and the batteries get pretty warm. Battery life has probably dropped by 15% which I expected and am not unhappy about. I will probably need to buy another pair of 5Ah batteries next year to compensate.

Overall, I am very happy with the tools and would buy them again. It is nice to be free of the smell, noise, maintenance and starting problems of gas powered tools. Of course, the downside is the cost of the batteries. I have lots more $$ in the batteries than the tools. If I can get another couple of years out of them, I will consider it money well spent.

I used a Stihl trimmer and blower before I got the Makita. The Makita cordless will do everything the Stihl tools will do (except run all day long).
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Thanks, I'm going to try for a set of 6AH's and see where I get with those.

I typically burn about a gallon of premix between trimming edging and blowing through all the gas powered devices about 35 weeks a year.

Lets say with the 2 stroke oil its 5.0 a shot thats 175 a year in fuel and 525 in three years - not saying charging is free, but thats the cost of the fuel for me.

Then the 7 trips a year to fill up a 5-er if you do it for that alone. I typically combine it with a sunday fuel run.
Then eliminate air filters, spark plugs....
 
you will be able to buy chinese batteries forever especially if you use a well known brand. many can be adapted up, i had my crappy snap on 18v nicd tools running on new dewalt batteries
 
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twoheeldrive said:
Good choice on the 36 volt Makita. I have been using that string trimmer and blower for three years now. I mow and trim two acres across several properties about once a week during the summer, It usually takes me about six hours to get it manicured and I go through 3-4 sets of 5Ah batteries. The trimmer has lots of torque and unless it is really thick, the first or second speed works fine for me and doesn't burn up batteries as fast. I can get about 20 to 30 minutes out of a set. The blower really sucks the juice. I find setting the speed at 4 or 5 is a good balance of power and battery life. I probably get 10 to 15 minutes of air time out of a set.

I am noticing a slight decrease in battery life now that the batteries are three years old. I give these things a workout and the batteries get pretty warm. Battery life has probably dropped by 15% which I expected and am not unhappy about. I will probably need to buy another pair of 5Ah batteries next year to compensate.

Overall, I am very happy with the tools and would buy them again. It is nice to be free of the smell, noise, maintenance and starting problems of gas powered tools. Of course, the downside is the cost of the batteries. I have lots more $$ in the batteries than the tools. If I can get another couple of years out of them, I will consider it money well spent.

I used a Stihl trimmer and blower before I got the Makita. The Makita cordless will do everything the Stihl tools will do (except run all day long).
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This trimmer works well. Impressed.

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You’ve made two great choices:

1. Makita 18V. Excellent tools, battery and system. I’m hard on mine and they perform very well.

2. Mrs. Uncle Dave. Seeing her with both a Makita and a hammer in hand, she’s awesome.

Cheers!
 
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