Stihl battery OPE

[fisher83]

My lawn is around 5000 square feet and takes me about an hour to mow, trim, and blow off the sidewalks. I also use my chainsaw a couple of times per year to clean up storm debris. I've got a Honda HRX mower and all the other equipment is 2 Cycle Echo stuff ranging from 2-6 years old. I've considered replacing my equipment with battery powered for next year. It seems like a good fit for my relatively small lawn. As far as winter time I've got a Honda HS720 snowblower and my driveway is also a pretty small area. A small bit of walkways and about the size of 4 cars. If I went to all battery power the only piece of equipment Stihl doesn't sell is a snowblower. Do any of you have experience with Stihl battery power equipment or perhaps have another recommendation like Ego, Toro, etc.?

 

[skyactiv]

I would keep using what I have if I was you. I think we are Stihl in infancy regarding cordless mowers and there will be better battery equipment down the road.

 

[Dave9]

2-6 years old? Yeah I'd keep using what you have, get another 15 years out of those before replacing. I started building up cordless by buying things that I didn't have already in good working order.

Whatever outdoor equipment you get, make sure it's at least 40V if not higher, else you'll probably be disappointed in the performance decrease compared to 2 cycle.

 

[Astro_Guy]

Keep using what you have. There is no economic advantage to changing this now. If you are compelled by some other reason, Ego is the way to go in terms of state of the art battery power and a broad selection of tools.

 

[fisher83]

Thanks for the feedback! Everything I have now works great. It was just something I got to thinking about lately and especially today while I was getting my equipment put away for winter. The battery equipment is intriguing to me a bit but I don't know much about the longevity. Everything I have now I would consider to be quality equipment and for the most part stuff that I'm capable of repairing on my own if the need arises.

 

[dlundblad]

I would start replacing things as needed. No need for any changes yet IMO.

Either way, I would be unsure of an electric snow blower. I wouldn’t make any platform choices based on that either.

 

[Warlord]

Battery equipment isn’t cheap. Why replace equipment that isn’t broken?

 

[BigCahuna]

Here's my experience with battery power ope. I own a Black and Decker weed wacker that's least 10 years old. I bought 2 new 18 volt rechargeable batteries for it recently. It takes about 6 hours to recharge each battery. I get maybe 15-20 minutes of run time from each battery. You can't waste any time when using it. As the battery ages, those run times will go down. To me it doesn't seem like you get much bang for the buck, plus recharge time seems like they take forever. I never got why the batteries cost more then the machine part does. I'll stick with gas versions of wacker's, blowers, and mowers, and snowblowers until they get outlawed.,,

 

[Badgerstate]

My lawn is around 5000 square feet and takes me about an hour to mow, trim, and blow off the sidewalks. I also use my chainsaw a couple of times per year to clean up storm debris. I've got a Honda HRX mower and all the other equipment is 2 Cycle Echo stuff ranging from 2-6 years old. I've considered replacing my equipment with battery powered for next year. It seems like a good fit for my relatively small lawn. As far as winter time I've got a Honda HS720 snowblower and my driveway is also a pretty small area. A small bit of walkways and about the size of 4 cars. If I went to all battery power the only piece of equipment Stihl doesn't sell is a snowblower. Do any of you have experience with Stihl battery power equipment or perhaps have another recommendation like Ego, Toro, etc.?

Stihl makes good stuff. Its expensive but its good stuff. Their mowers are awesome and have batteries that are plenty big enough for what you need and you could buy a bigger battery for your mower and then have a slightly smaller battery for your string trimmer and leaf blower.
Lots of companies make great electric OPE now but Stihl is among the best. Ego and Toro are good too. Ryobi isnt bad either if you are looking to spend a bit less but Ryobi isnt quite in the same league as Stihl/Ego/Toro.
Ive got a 3000 square foot yard and I use a 13" Ryobi corded mower and then have Ryobi One+ 20v trimmer and blower. For what I need, they work great. Im probably going to make the switch over the a Masterforce 60v mower because the Ryobi doesnt mulch all that well and probably going to get Masterforce trimmer and blower. Both are 20v but they are brushless and are just way better than what I have now and it would open me up to some of the Masterforce cordless tools that use the same battery as my OPE.

 

[Badgerstate]

Here's my experience with battery power ope. I own a Black and Decker weed wacker that's least 10 years old. I bought 2 new 18 volt rechargeable batteries for it recently. It takes about 6 hours to recharge each battery. I get maybe 15-20 minutes of run time from each battery. You can't waste any time when using it. As the battery ages, those run times will go down. To me it doesn't seem like you get much bang for the buck, plus recharge time seems like they take forever. I never got why the batteries cost more then the machine part does. I'll stick with gas versions of wacker's, blowers, and mowers, and snowblowers until they get outlawed.,,

The batteries cost so much because of the lithium. The tools are just cheap plastic and wiring but the lithium in the batteries is where the money is. To me fair though, you cant compare your 10 year old B&D to anything that is made today, especially with a premium brand like Stihl. Its like comparing at Stradivarius violin to banging on a pot with a wooden spoon.

 

[skyactiv]

Blowing grass clippings is one thing, but blowing leaves is another. I can’t imagine a cordless leaf blower being worthily unless you do minor short work.

 

[vwmaniaman]

My son just bought a Ryobi 40V brushless leaf blower. This thing blows as hard as my corded one.

 

[vwmaniaman]

I bought a Ryobi 8" cordless chain saw. It uses their 20V battery. I'll probably never use my corded one again. I can't step on the cord and have it pull out halfway through a cut. It works great on bushes too since I don't have get stuck by all the small branches to cut the large stems. Runs a long time on a 3 A lithium battery.

 

[vwmaniaman]

Oh, I forgot to say that the 8" saw is a pole saw. Comes with an extension piece to make it longer.

 

[jeepman3071]

Battery powered equipment is great for homeowner use IMO. Much less hassle for most people over gas powered. I prefer the Toro stuff, as all their battery equipment I've used has been pretty good, and the batteries are all interchangeable. They seem to be the leader in my experience as far as electric usability. Most of their electric equipment works identical to its gas counterparts from a usability and performance perspective, the difference obviously being battery use time vs. just refueling. This is obviously from a homeowner use scenario, in commercial applications gas powered is still superior.

Stihl used to be a good brand, one of the best, but my experiences (and my customers') have been pretty poor across the board, and their quality and support has gone down the drain.

 

[jkasch]

Just a homeowner, but my 650 cfm Ego is a dream. Plenty of power and battery life. Love the convenience.