quote:

Originally posted by skywag:
I bought a Stihl battery trimmer. The battery lasts exactly as long as I (at 76) do. Takes three charges to do the whole lawn............but that was the 1st time and will be easier next.

You must have a big house! I can trim my yard front and back on a corner lot three times on a single charge, with my Stihl FSA 57 and the AK20 battery.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
Bought an Ego self-propelled, two or three years ago, 10% Veteran discount at Home Depot, paid about $450 plus tax for the mower, with 56V 7.5AH battery, and fast charger.

Single charge easily mows the moderately small front yard.

Battery will take me more than half way through the larger back yard; by then my 85 year-old body is ready for a re-charge. A twenty minute break in the air conditioned house, sipping a Gatorade while the battery is on the charger, and we're ready to finish the back yard.

Compared to the gas mower that we used to have, Ego wins by any means of comparison. Easily as powerful, user friendly, almost zero maintenance, no gas to buy and store, lighter, more maneuverable, quieter. I see absolutely no reason for me to ever own another gas-powered mower, or any other yard maintenance equipment.

The model of mower I am looking at says 42 minute runtime on the battery so hopefully I can do both the front and backyard in that time. I have never timed myself…lol. I guess if I had to I could mow front yard first and put battery back on charger and then edge the front and back and blow the front and then mow backyard when battery is charged back if I have to.

I will probably keep my gas blower and fix the gas leak even though I will be buying an electric one because my gas one also converts to being a vacuum that mulches leaves into a bag and is much easier than just raking leaves into a bag.

quote:

Originally posted by Warhorse:

quote:

Originally posted by skywag:
I bought a Stihl battery trimmer. The battery lasts exactly as long as I (at 76) do. Takes three charges to do the whole lawn............but that was the 1st time and will be easier next.

You must have a big house! I can trim my yard front and back on a corner lot three times on a single charge, with my Stihl FSA 57 and the AK20 battery.

I must have a smaller battery.........an AK10. But like I said, the first time I did it was a MUCH bigger job.

slowly converting all my gas powered yard tools to Makita electric. so far gas trimmer, blower, chain saw and also a drill. I'm about to add a hedge trimmer. much more convenient and trouble free than all the small gas engines and they work well for my purposes. all use the same 5.0 ah 18 v batterries. Have 4 batteries and two double chargers and they keep me going.

I have a battery Kobalt leaf blower and weed wacker that are just great but after doing a lot of research and comparison, I decided to stick with gas for the mower (Honda HRX-217) as I need something that can have the power to mulch and bag the 500 metric shit tons of leaves I deal with each fall.

My wife and I have been using Black&Decker 18 and 20 volt tools for years. Weed eaters, hedge trimmer, blowers, drills and reciprocating saws. They all work great. Also have a radio, skill saw and hand held lights. They work very well.

My uncle gave me a electric weed wacker and it works great but the battery doesn't last anywhere near the length of time my gas powered weed wacker operates.

EGO self propelled mower and line trimmer. The mower is quiet, light, and cuts well. The battery is plenty for our 1/4 acre yard. The line trimmer is way more trimmer than we need. I'd have been happier with something smaller.

The self propelled drive in the mower quit last week. Calling EGO customer support for assistance tomorrow. The mower is light enough that it's not a problem for me but my wife misses it.

quote:

Originally posted by 1gkek:

The self propelled drive in the mower quit last week. Calling EGO customer support for assistance tomorrow. The mower is light enough that it's not a problem for me but my wife misses it.

That was one of the things I noticed about all the battery mowers I looked at; they all seemed very light and mostly plastic and just flimsy to be honest. My gas powered Honda may have a polymer deck but it’s substantial and the mower still feels solid and heavy.

I have the Greenworks Pro 80V 21"push mower, blower, string trimmer, 18" chainsaw, and hedge trimmer. Very happy with all of them, the batteries are quite pricy though.

Have EGO trimmer, blower, chainsaw, edger, etc, there are good brands, the EGO seems to be the winner at this point.

Whatever brand you chose stick with it for all your accessories so you can use the batteries and chargers across all pieces of the platform.

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:
Have EGO trimmer, blower, chainsaw, edger, etc, there are good brands, the EGO seems to be the winner at this point.

Whatever brand you chose stick with it for all your accessories so you can use the batteries and chargers across all pieces of the platform.

I didn’t see Ego at Home Depot. I wonder if that is a Lowe’s thing. I will have to check that out.

Well I got the Ryobi self-propelled mower, blower, and weed eater. Last weekend was my first time to use them and I loved it! I am glad I got the mower that came with a second battery. The mower died with just two strips of grass left to mow and switched to the other battery.

It is crazy how expensive the batteries are. They are $200. We just had a major storm and I have some large broken tree limbs I need to cut up and my gas chainsaws are not working. I looked at the cordless Ryobi chainsaw and thought of getting one with no battery since I have two large batteries. The chainsaw with no battery is $179 and the chainsaw with a large $200 battery is $199. So $20 for an extra battery I don’t need but it would be silly not to get it if I decide to buy a chainsaw.

Hell the mower was $500 and came with two batteries. So that is $400 in batteries and $100 for mower.

I love my Stihl setup. Started building may years ago. Weed eaters, blowers, mower and chainsaw
As far as I know the Stihl equipment is made in America. The rest are made in China mostly. Big factor for me.
P.S. German engineering like my SIGs.

quote:

Originally posted by Udo:
I love my Stihl setup. Started building may years ago. Weed eaters, blowers, mower and chainsaw
As far as I know the Stihl equipment is made in America. The rest are made in China mostly. Big factor for me.
P.S. German engineering like my SIGs.

The Ryobi also says Made in America so that is a big factor for me too.

This is a useful thread, now that I think of it.
Our son-in-law and daughter have bought a new house with what for them is a big lot (0.3 acres).
I'm wondering about buying him either an Ego or Still mower, trimmer, and blower.
A few years ago when Stihl had just introduced their cordless tools they were very expensive.
Can anyone give me a rough idea of what the comparative prices would be for an Ego vs. Stihl setup like that? Doubt chainsaw would be needed.

^^^ Stan, Cannot offer a comparison, although I do own ego Weedwhacker, trimmer, blower and 18 inch bar chainsaw. It’s OK for consumer stuff. Seems to work fine, and I have over an acre.

The Ryobi kits look good, but the three year warranty on the batteries seems like it should be better for the price. Hopefully things will get better before my current mower fails.

quote:

Originally posted by bryan11:
The Ryobi kits look good, but the three year warranty on the batteries seems like it should be better for the price. Hopefully things will get better before my current mower fails.

I agree, but depends on how the owner cares for them. When I bought my stuff there was a Ryobi representative there at Home Depot and I got to ask him a ton of questions and then thoroughly read the owner’s manuals as my main concern is how to best maintain the batteries to get the longest life out of them and will do everything recommended. Seems if you do things right, you will get over ten years.

Remove batteries from charger after charged. Store batteries in the house instead of outside when not in use to avoid high heat or cold. If winter storage, then store at half charge and charge up before they deplete.

I bought the Greenworks Pro 21" 80-volt from Costco while it was on sale - replaced a roughly 12-year-old one at Dad's place. The batteries on the old mover were wearing down, and the charging port broke recently - the cost to fix all that would be enough that I decided it was time (the old one had lead-acid batteries - this one has lithium).

The lawn was a bit thick the first time - but the new mower went right through it! Chopped the pieces down small enough that it would have been OK to leave as mulch. I used the rear catcher and disposed of the clippings. I found that I could mow a larger area compared to the older mower before needing to empty the catcher.

The unit came with an extra blade, the catcher, mulcher block, fast charger, and two batteries. Both batteries go into the mower - it automatically switches to the 2nd batter when the 1st is down. It has self-propulsion and a turbo mode for thicker areas.

So far, I'm quite happy with it.