Battery outdoor power equipment

[BlkGS]

Update. I bought the Ego at Lowe's. Came with the 10 Ah battery (5 year warranty) and got a free 5 Ah battery with it. Gonna get the big leaf blower too, it comes with a 5 Ah in the kit, and a free 2.5 Ah. I figure reality is, 75% or more of the price of these things is battery, so getting free batteries is good (plus the total wattage of the 10 Ah 56V battery is more than the two 80V Greenworks batteries combined).

The only thing that I don't love about the eGo line is the weed wacker isn't an expandable design like my.old gas Ryobi (and the Ryobi gas ones, and just about every other electric one). They have a power head system, but it seems like it's more cost effective to buy their standalone Wacker. It also has a auto feed thing which sounds cool, the power head version doesn't. They're apparently going to release a power head combo kit with the edger and the weed wacker soon.

 

[jeffrt]

If you don't end up liking the feed head, you may be able to change it out. I swapped my Dewalt head to a Husqvarna, and it's great now.

 

[biffdotorg]

If you don't end up liking the feed head, you may be able to change it out. I swapped my Dewalt head to a Husqvarna, and it's great now.

I just about went that route on my 20v DeWalt trimmer. I guess that's a popular head. Instead, I went with the tri-blade head for cutting down heavier weeds. They say to only use these on gas, but my 20v handles it nice.

I clear the weeds/cattails on my landing, and pond. And this weekend trimmed up lilacs with it. I actually took my Dewalt chainsaw, and pole saw and took 16 Lilac bunches down to stumps. As I hear they will grow back better. (I won't cry my eyes out of they don't.

And 12 of those 16 were taken down with 1-10ah battery in the chainsaw. But it was obvious when I put a fresh one in. Loads of power again to finish off.

 

[buckbuck]

@biffdotorg Aren't you suppose to have snow on the ground?

 

[biffdotorg]

@biffdotorg Aren't you suppose to have snow on the ground?

Welcome to MN. If you don't like the weather, wait a day. It's been a seriously schizophrenic season for sure.

I had an exec come in a year ago and I said, if you want some street cred, come back in February. So he did a couple weeks ago. We had a record 60 degree sunny day. And the very next day 7" of snow and 50mph winds. They caught the last flight out of Fargo before the airport was shut down!

Our snow is all gone, and ice is going away on some lakes. By this time most seasons I have 2000 miles on snowmobiles. This year I have two miles on each sled testing fall upgrades and that's it.

But on the bright side, the ice on my bay may be out soon, and the crappies have moved in. I just cannot get to them before that ice is gone. Many years we were asking ourselves if the ice would be out by walleye opener in May, and here in March some lakes have boats on them!

Crazy weather for sure.

 

[BlkGS]

I went to Minneapolis once in Feb. It was -30F. We were installing fiber optics, they would set up these propane furnace things over the ground in places we needed to dig in a new vault. It was wild, it was basically a flamethrower pointed at the ground to thaw it. On the plus side, it was sunny the whole time I was there. Much less inhospitable than the NE that's gray all fall and winter.

I went back in like June and it was a totally different place. Sunny, green, really enjoyed the trip that time.

 

[Bluewater272]

Update. I bought the Ego at Lowe's. Came with the 10 Ah battery (5 year warranty) and got a free 5 Ah battery with it. Gonna get the big leaf blower too, it comes with a 5 Ah in the kit, and a free 2.5 Ah. I figure reality is, 75% or more of the price of these things is battery, so getting free batteries is good (plus the total wattage of the 10 Ah 56V battery is more than the two 80V Greenworks batteries combined).

The only thing that I don't love about the eGo line is the weed wacker isn't an expandable design like my.old gas Ryobi (and the Ryobi gas ones, and just about every other electric one). They have a power head system, but it seems like it's more cost effective to buy their standalone Wacker. It also has a auto feed thing which sounds cool, the power head version doesn't. They're apparently going to release a power head combo kit with the edger and the weed wacker soon.

The standalone trimmer is really pretty good, the automatic dispensing works well (just let off the throttle a touch and it extends), and the automatic feeding is a godsend. Not that its exactly difficult to smack a gas trimmer head on the ground or respool it, but not doing it is a nicer perk than you'd think.

 

[BlkGS]

So the deal at Lowe's is pretty great. Buy the kitted tool, get another battery free. Gonna buy the big Mac daddy blower, $300 for the kit with a 5 Ah and a free 2.5Ah. debating on buying the string trimmer too, another $300, but comes with a 4 and a free 2.5 battery. For $50 more than bare tool. The blower kit is $100 more than the bare tool, but that comes with the nicer 5Ah battery. If I buy that too, I end up with basically all the batteries I'm likely to ever need.

That deal runs until May, so maybe I'll see how much longer the old 2 stroke string trimmer lasts. Gotta believe it doesn't have a ton of life left in it, it's even older than my mower was. Or maybe Indo the opposite, since my real use for the blower is to dry the cars off...

 

[drewkaree]

So the deal at Lowe's is pretty great. Buy the kitted tool, get another battery free. Gonna buy the big Mac daddy blower, $300 for the kit with a 5 Ah and a free 2.5Ah. debating on buying the string trimmer too, another $300, but comes with a 4 and a free 2.5 battery. For $50 more than bare tool. The blower kit is $100 more than the bare tool, but that comes with the nicer 5Ah battery. If I buy that too, I end up with basically all the batteries I'm likely to ever need.

That deal runs until May, so maybe I'll see how much longer the old 2 stroke string trimmer lasts. Gotta believe it doesn't have a ton of life left in it, it's even older than my mower was. Or maybe Indo the opposite, since my real use for the blower is to dry the cars off...

Don't discount the benefit of additional chargers as well. I've been noticing that Home Depot, especially, has had "buy it now bare tool" deals for excellent prices (likely, to reduce on-hand inventory), but if you're willing to wait a week or two, the better deal is with the additional batteries or full kit setups, and you end up with additional chargers to allow seamless charging for when a battery finally needs replacing for a task

This may not help you, but the Worx blowers are dynamite, and they have 3D printed nozzles (or you can print it yourself) to swap for better performance blowing off the car.

 

[BlkGS]

Just finished first mow..my lot is just over 1/4 acre, flat, but our grass is genetically modified to be as insanely tough as all the other creatures here. With moderate use of the self propel, I finished with 3/5 bars still showing. I'll probably get closer to a full battery when it's rainy season and hot AF so I use the self.propel.more.

It cuts great. It's pretty light and well balanced. It mches like a freaking boss - I usually have to blow the sidewalk a ton, I barely had to blow them the grass clippings were so mulched up. I don't love the RWD self propel. Not a deal breaker, but FWD works better IMO because you can lift and pivot easier. The throttle trigger is a little hit or miss at times. The self propel part is kinda loud, the mower itself is pretty quiet. I can see all the snooty HOAs forcing the use of electric yard tools from a sound perspective alone.

Overall it cuts better than any mower I've used before. It did make starting up the 2 stroke weed eater seem a little silly. Their fancy string trimmer is definitely getting ordered. I'm really pleasantly surprised, for $750 with the big battery and a free one and charger, I'm very satisfied. It's FAR better than the Atlas one I tried from harbor freight a few years back, and realistically, it's cheaper than their mower and 2 of their big batteries (which is roughly equivalent to the single 10 Ah it normally comes.with).

 

[BlkGS]

Another update. I bought the 765cfm blower and the loneiq string trimmer. The trimmer is awesome, very powerful, a little weird that I don't have the same variable trigger like my gas trimmer had, but it's easy to get used to. It does have 2 speeds, I did a little trimming and edging and didn't need to use high speed.

The 765cfm blower is NUTS. It's like, a miniature hurricane. It's way more than you need to clean up grass clippings but it works WONDERS for drying cars. Literally it's magical, like having your own handheld version of the air dryer at an automated car wash. If you're gonna buy anything, buy that thing, it's a total revelation in car drying. I didn't even try it with a stubby nozzle yet, but I bought one for it! That alone made a big difference on my M18 Milwaukee blower (which is pathetic compared to this thing).

All in all, ego gets a thumbs up from me. The current deal with the extra battery free when you buy the kit is an awesome deal, basically gives you the tools free. The only complaint I could say is the ego line isn't as huge as the Ryobi, Milwaukee, etc lines. They don't have a tire inflator for instance. Not a huge deal for those of us with a second tool line, but a downside for new buyers I think.

 

[drewkaree]

All in all, ego gets a thumbs up from me. The current deal with the extra battery free when you buy the kit is an awesome deal, basically gives you the tools free. The only complaint I could say is the ego line isn't as huge as the Ryobi, Milwaukee, etc lines. They don't have a tire inflator for instance. Not a huge deal for those of us with a second tool line, but a downside for new buyers I think.

I don't think the product line is as big an issue as other power tools, since they really have focused on the outdoor power equipment segment, whereas all the others (DeWalt, Milwaukee, Ryobi, etc) aren't really doing much, just yet, with outdoor stuff. It's more of a way to placate their existing users who don't want another battery ecosystem.

I'm not the norm - I inherited a second battery ecosystem (Dewalt 20v) when my dad passed away. I'd been an M12 system guy, and I separated the different platforms to a separate house, until I started adding on to the Dewalt line. Their blower was the champ at the time, and is still very respectable. I'd needed a different battery platform for some backpack sprayers I bought, and my kid got me some M18 tools for a present, so I very quickly realized that as long as I had adequate chargers, having different batteries wasn't the huge ordeal it's made out to be. I got some Ryobi 20v stuff that only they offer, and I add stuff here and there. I suspect you're going to find the same thing applies for your situation, and you'll look to both battery lines to see what will fit your needs, but now you have the option to go with the better product, instead of being limited to only what is offered by a battery line.

The 2-speed limit for the trimmer is interesting. I think most folks are scared off from higher RPM's with a trimmer, but it's the best choice for 90% of everyone's use, it just requires slower pace and/or better technique, which is why most folks try to use less speed. Good to hear your experiences, it'll help others who might be on the fence.

 

[BlkGS]

The line of tools thing is more like a nitpick, because now I have another line of batteries and a lot of them. I get it though, they're focused on outdoor tools, whereas everyone but Ryobi that has a full line of tools their outdoor stuff is an afterthought. I'd just like to see a few more tools from ego like a tower light (the two lights they have are, uh, weirdly designed) and an inflator. I don't expect them to come out with a high torque impact driver (though I bet that'd be pretty mean with the 56v system lol).

They have some pretty interesting inverter and power source type things. It seems like they have hilariously bad runtimes though even with a huge amount of batteries in them. I dunno if they have some errors in their numbers or I just don't realize how much juice some things actually use lol.

 

[drewkaree]

The line of tools thing is more like a nitpick, because now I have another line of batteries and a lot of them. I get it though, they're focused on outdoor tools, whereas everyone but Ryobi that has a full line of tools their outdoor stuff is an afterthought. I'd just like to see a few more tools from ego like a tower light (the two lights they have are, uh, weirdly designed) and an inflator. I don't expect them to come out with a high torque impact driver (though I bet that'd be pretty mean with the 56v system lol).

They have some pretty interesting inverter and power source type things. It seems like they have hilariously bad runtimes though even with a huge amount of batteries in them. I dunno if they have some errors in their numbers or I just don't realize how much juice some things actually use lol.

I wonder if that's due to continuous use. I dunno how they have to test them to rate them, but you're right, they're going to stack the deck for themselves, so it's weird to have poor runtime.

The blower is a good example of this - I've gotten my wife out of the habit of holding the trigger 100% of the time, and taught her how to "sweep" stuff in order to be more effective with it, and we also never use it if it's something like wet leaves (or other heavy stuff)

 

[drewkaree]

Amazon Deal: Greenworks Battery Powered Outdoor Tools and More

Discover deals on Amazon

www.amazon.com

No idea how long these items are on sale for, or if they're a good deal. They came across my feed from a source that posts tool deals, and this seemed appropriate to throw in here.

 

[HangOutdoors]

@BlkGS

Can you link the specific ones you have? I was going to buy a new gas mower but decided to start switching over to electric. And the kit deal that was mentioned?

Looking at going all in with the Lawnmower, blower, weed whip and edger

 

[HangOutdoors]

Was eyeballing this one, for the lawn mower.

EGO POWER+ Select Cut XP 56-volt 21-in Cordless Self-propelled Lawn Mower 10 Ah (1 Batteries and Charger Included) in the Cordless Electric Push Lawn Mowers department at Lowes.com

 

[jpdaley1026]

Made the switch last yr to EGO blower and trimmer,56v. no problems yet, love both of them

 

[HangOutdoors]

Ok this is what I am thinking. Also each comes with an additional battery? Any thoughts?

Also what will be nice, is that the Admiral won't let me run the lawnmower early in the morning on the weekends because it resonates around the house and wakes her and the kids up. Now I won't have that problem. I like to cut the lawn very early before going out on the lake or in the evening when I get back.

EGO POWER+ Select Cut XP 56-volt 21-in Cordless Self-propelled Lawn Mower 10 Ah (1 Batteries and Charger Included) in the Cordless Electric Push Lawn Mowers department at Lowes.com

EGO POWER+ 56-volt 765-CFM 200-MPH Battery Handheld Leaf Blower 5 Ah (Battery and Charger Included) in the Leaf Blowers department at Lowes.com

EGO POWERLOAD with LINE IQ 56-volt 16-in Telescopic Shaft Battery String Trimmer 4 Ah (Battery and Charger Included) in the String Trimmers department at Lowes.com

EGO POWER+ Multi-Head System 8-in Handheld Battery Lawn Edger (Battery Included) in the Lawn Edgers department at Lowes.com

 

[BlkGS]

@BlkGS

Can you link the specific ones you have? I was going to buy a new gas mower but decided to start switching over to electric. And the kit deal that was mentioned?

Looking at going all in with the Lawnmower, blower, weed whip and edger

You bet.

I bought the below.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/EGO-EGO-765CFM-BLOWER-KIT/5005381953

https://www.lowes.com/pd/EGO-56-volt-16-in-Telescopic-Cordless-String-Trimmer-4-Ah-Battery-and-Charger-Included/5005424097

https://www.lowes.com/pd/EGO-56-Volt-Brushless-Lithium-Ion-Self-Propelled-21-in-Cordless-Electric-Lawn-Mower-Battery-Included/5000200363

Each of these comes with an extra battery free, the mower a 5 Ah, and the trimmer and blower a 2.5Ah. That's on top of the batteries that come with them normally in the kits, so if you buy them in store, make sure they ring those extra batteries up as well (my stores had them locked up at customer service).

You can get the 7.5Ah one for like $150 less and it's probably fine, but I went for the 10Ah model because the warranty on the 10Ah battery is longer and I was terrified of running out of juice after my Atlas experience. I think the mower is identical in the 10Ah and 7.5Ah kits though.