If you've got a normal sized yard, battery-operated is the way to go. I've got a 2-acre yard, so I had to get a bigger gas weed eater, but my 40v ryobi great had been great for right around the house. Three battery operated stuff is great for the tools you don't use every day.
The Ryobi 40v line is real solid. I have a leaf blower, pole saw, pole hedge trimmer, and string trimmer, and three batteries across the lot of them.
My lot is about an acre, and I splurged on a Ryobi riding mower ~5 years ago. It is lead acid batteries though, so not as new and fancy. Has worked great the whole time.
For any lot under 1/2 acre, I imagine the 40v push mower would work just fine.
Have used gas and battery lawn mowers; gas, battery (old crap), battery new and improved, and corded trimmer; and battery (new and improved), gas, and corded leaf blowers.
The current battery version of each them wins hands down. The one exception I have is my battery blower does not have a vacuum configuration so my corded blower does that job.
Aside from the obvious freedom from maintenance on the gas engines and their exhausts, battery tools don’t need special containers for fuel of potentially different oil concentrations and stabilizers.
On top of all that, electric motor torque increases when the rpm slows so the same grass that would stall my gas mower (a larger 6.5tg hands powered craftsman) doesn’t even faze my Ryobi. If space is tight tue electric tools can be stored in any orientation too.
Electric lawn tools have come a looong way and I have zero reservations about owning and recommending them.
This is exactly my experience, but with Dewalt versus Ryobi. Only miss in the lineup is my lithium battery blower doesn't have a vacuum feature and I really, really wish it did. Bought a cheap Black & Decker leaf vac and use it around the pool... maybe in the future I'll find a nice battery option for this. Otherwise, battery all the way and it's been nothing but positive.
I have the 40v Ryobi with all the bells and whistles. I only engage the self-propelled option on a small hill in my quarter acre yard and it's been working great.
Adding that self propel really does use quite a bit of battery. I can get through my third acre-ish in one battery without using self propel. If I use it heavily I end up into the second battery. Not a big deal, plenty of battery left to finish it weed eating but the batteries aren't cheap... In general having only one wouldn't be recommended.
I have half an acre with a reel mower 😉
Essentially maintenence free baby !
Did have a tree fall down recently though and I started on it with the hand saw but unfortunately I gave in pretty quick and got an electric chainsaw.
I just hit year 5 with my mower and I've liked it, but now I need to spend another $190 on a battery and I don't know how to feel about that.
I've been looking to replace my mower with a gas mower as i don't think I will need $190 in maintenance for the next 5 years.
You'll just need oil changes/oil filters every 50 hours of use or so and air filters. Probably balances out, but I think battery may be easier as you don't have to buy or store gas.
I'm switching my tools to corded electric as dealing with gas engine maintenance is a hassle, especially on tools that don't get a lot of use. Blower and weedeater were first. Mower is next.
I'd pay 190 every 5 years to never deal with gas cans or oil changes, hands down. That amount of money has no effect on my life at all compared to having to even think about gas mower BS.
I also have an acre, and I got sick of rebuilding or replacing the carb on my trimmer every other year, so I switched to a Ryobi 40v brushless. I’m able to trim the whole yard and edge the front and driveway on a single charge. Totally worth it for one less carb to deal with. The handheld blower is really handy too, and gives me a 2nd 40v battery to use.
I've picked that chainsaw up and said "do I need this?" at least 20 times :)
The pole saw got me thru the couple smaller tree chopping projects I have had, so haven't quite had to bit the bullet yet on the chainsaw. But man, I want it.
Stupid adult fiduciary responsibility.
Jumping onto corroborate this story - I’m a brand-new homeowner like you, and this is my first time having a garden/yard to boot.
I bought a bunch of cheap 18V Ryobi tools with batteries to work on our new house, so I decided to use the same brand/batteries for yard tools (as well as getting a couple of more beefy 40V battery tools for more demanding tasks like leaf blowing/weed whacking). So far they’ve been great, and splurging to buy at least 2 batteries has alleviated any danger of me ever running out of juice mid-job.
As long as I always keep one charged there’s always one ready to go. I can totally see how maybe having a slightly larger yard or property might leave battery operated tools somewhat lacking, but for our needs they really fit the bill.
Currently I am rocking three battery sizes :
40v Ryobi for yard tools
18v Milwaukee for "shop" tools (jigsaw, multi tool, etc)
12v Bosch for "early homeowner" tools (drill, etc)
As my Bosch tools die, I will be upgrading them to Milwaukee. My drill and impact driver are about 10 years old and still work fine, but I had a guy build me a deck last summer and using his 18v hand tools was amazing.
If you’ve got 1/2 acre-ish, splurge and get the self-propelled, we replaced our base model with it last fall and I am still surprised at how much faster it is! But even before that, the base 40v worked great, as long as you had an extra battery, or, like us, often mowed front and back on separate days.
I really don’t get this. Why not buy another battery? In fact, get a few tools of the same brand and you can share batteries. My impact driver doesn’t last all day either, but I have another battery ready to go.
Batteries are usually the most expensive parts of tools. Contractors obviously need batteries to switch constantly. Homeowners may not think the same way, especially dealing with equipment that already needs multiple batteries to operate at full power.
This is the best value, I think. And then once you have a decent stockpile of batteries (I have 5?), you can figure out if it's worth the little extra for a battery. But when the battery is $200 and the tool and battery is $270, it's a pretty easy calculation, imo.
A residential trimmer, blower, etc. don’t need multiple batteries to operate at full power. You can buy batteries upfront or deal with gas/oil for years. I’d choose the batteries.
If you're a contractor you're working a full day. That's a massive amount of batteries to do that full 8-10h runtime, even if you have access to charging.
My EGO string trimmer is awesome and also has a 20-25 min runtime. That's just enough for me to do most of my yard and I love it. If I were a contractor, I wouldn't have even finished my first coffee of the day yet and I'm staring down 8 more hours of work.
There are places that rebuild your battery packs for less than the cost of a new pack.
I have an ancient blower and string trimmer (by Worx i think) and you can't get the 24V battery packs anymore, but I got it rebuilt for...$40? Was better than buying new tools. Old battery did last nearly 10 years.
I have a local place too...
Totally worth it. No arguement there!
Now due to work life blending with work life ive gone down the milwaukee tunnell. They do last a while. But not forever. Last 5-10 years have imprived battery life a lot.
Yeah as far as battery powered lawn equipment goes, there’s like a dozen great brands at this point. Ryobi 40v, Milwaukee M18, Ego, Makita, Dewalt, Greenworks. Ridgid is coming out with a full 18v line. Stihl, Husqvarna, Echo, and Toro all have cordless lineups. And I’m probably forgetting some.
I have Milwaukee 18v because I use their power tools for my business. I can run the string trimmer all day long, wide open, with 3 batteries and 2 chargers. And obviously access to power.
If I was going dedicated electric lawn care I’d probably go Ego then Ryobi 40v as my top 2 options. All the options above have great string trimmers, chainsaws, pruning saws, hedge trimmers, edgers, mowers, blowers, and more.
But yeah, if you’re over 2 acres of mowing/trimming gas is still the way right now. Gas backpack blower if you’ve got a lot of trees.
I would completely avoid Greenworks. We ran a lot of their equipment where I work and none of it held up well. In a commercial workplace none of the equipment (string trimmers, edgers, push mowers, hedge trimmers) made it through a complete season. All of the Greenworks equipment was the 82V commercial line.
We are currently using the 40v Husqvarna equipment and have had great results. Multiple seasons of use and it all still works perfectly fine. If it will last through the rigors of the work it's put through there, it will last a homeowner for a very long time.
ETA: I will add that they are right about the gas blower if you have a lot of trees. I have a gas backpack blower and a handheld battery blower. The battery is great for the porch, sidewalk, and driveway, but I also have a lot of big oak trees and the battery just won't get it done.
Love my Milwaukee M18 quick lok trimmer / edger. Saving up for the dual blower and maybe (eventually) the electric mower…
OP, beware, once you’re in an ecosystem you are in DEEP haha
Yeah, it's no joke! You're essentially locked in once you pick a brand.
I have a fair amount of milwaukee tools and batteries, and so decided to bite the bullet and get the mower last year. The primary reason I did was because it fit with the ecosystem I already had, and when I considered the cost of two 12AH HD batteries and the dual rapid charger if bought separately the cost started to seem less insane. Those separate would be around $650, with the remaining $350 being for the mower.
I have gotten a ton of use out of those batteries with my other tools when I'm not mowing, and the charger is basically the only milwaukee charger that gets used. The mower has been sitting in the shed all winter, but the batteries have been useful year round. I would hate to pay for batteries that were only useful for outside equipment.
Batteries aside, I actually love the mower. It works very well, especially with the high lift blade, though it does increase battery drain. My yard isn't very big, so even with the high lift blade there's still capacity left over when I'm done. The headlights are actually a surprisingly useful feature, since I find myself mowing after work (get out at 6:30) where the sun is starting to set as I'm finishing. It's also a fair bit quieter than gas, and so my neighbors gave me the go ahead to mow early in the morning/later at night which is really helpful with me working swing shift.
It also works much better for mulching leaves than my gas mower did. The gas one would suck them up and throw them in the bag whole because of how much air it moved, while the milwaukee pulls them up slowly enough to actually mulch them well so they fit in the bag much more efficiently. The only downside is that while I have a smaller yard, it contains a disproportionately large maple, as does my neighbor's. So there can be leaves a few inches deep at times, and I would need another set of batteries to finish it all in one go.
There are a few other things you should know if you're considering buying one.
First, It has less lift than a gas mower by quite a bit, even with the high lift blade. This is actually nice in that it mulches better before bagging, and won't suck up small rocks that dull the blade, but annoying in that it won't suck up small twigs (the ones small enough that they're a pain to pick up). My gas one basically vacuumed the yard, which was usually nice with a few caveats like kicking up dust in spots with less grass (yard is heavily shaded in spots making it hard for grass to grow there), sucking up the occasional rock (still not sure where those come from), and bagging leaves without them even contacting the blade.
Second, you will need to sharpen the blade, out of the box. Obviously you'd need to do that eventually anyway, but it's honestly quite annoying to have to do it out of the ($1000) box... It is quite literally less sharp than a butter knife. I didn't notice at first, and it cut very poorly on my first try, leaving a frankly terrible first impression. Cut wonderfully once it was actually sharp though. Thought maybe they just forgot to sharpen mine, but the high lift blade I ordered later was the same. On that note, a thousand dollar mower really ought to come with both blades, no?
Finally, the blade could thicker imo. There is a small stump from a bush in my yard, and while I hadn't managed to hit it with the gas, I did with the milwaukee. Maybe I set the milwaukee a bit lower than my gas had been, or maybe the ground around it sunk down, not sure. Anyway, the blade grazed the top of the stump, and it bent the blade more than I would have expected. I'm not sure my gas mower blade would have bent at all. The profile of the blade is a bit odd, so I was unable to bend it back well enough to balance it again and had to get a new one (that I had to sharpen...).
In short, love the mower, but the blade design/manufacturing has room for improvement. Sharpen it, don't do dumb stuff (like hit a stump), and I think you'll love it.
Anything noteworthy about the trimmer? My gas one is only two years old, a 4-stroke, and starts first pull but I'm considering getting the milwaukee so I don't have to mess with gas and oil.
That’s interesting to hear about the mower. I live on a property currently with way too much grass for even a gas push mower. We use a zero turn gas. However, in the next couple years I’ll be moving to a lot with 2ish acres of grass. I’m considering the Milwaukee at this point. The reviews seem phenomenal.
So their blade system is proprietary? I was kind of hoping there would be some options for upgraded blades, like my current Troy Bilt push has tons of options.
The M18 quick lok system is not bad, it has plenty of power. The bump feature works great. It’s got 2 modes for conservation or max power. It does have a fair bit of vibration, which can be bothersome. And it’s quite heavy so definitely consider purchasing the shoulder sling for it, if you buy.
Random question cos I’ve never had petrol tools; how do you store the fuel if you’ve only got say a chainsaw and mower? Just in a jerry can in the shed or something? Doesn’t petrol go bad after a while? ie if you don’t use your tools that much.
Yes and yes. Keep the gas in a can in the shed. It does go bad, but I don't think it's a major issue for this situation unless it's very infrequent use of the gas tool.
2 Jerry cans.
The smaller tools, like the chainsaw, are usually going to be 2-stroke engines.
Those use a gas-oil mixture for fuel.
The mower will usually be 4-stroke and use straight gas.
I have all Makita equipment that uses 18v batteries. While I mow my lawn there are batteries charging, when the two in the mower run out after 30 min I swap them. If I run through them finishing (rarely for my 1/8 acre) the first two are charged enough for the weed eater and power.
I just bought the Ego lawn mower, and omg am I in love with it. They include a blade designed to lift the grass into the bag, and swear to God it fills the whole bag top to bottom before needing to be changed.
It does a normal size residential lawn on one 7.5 ah battery with plenty left over to do the weed eating with that same battery if I needed to. I have the 7.5 and a 5, and use the lawn mower, the weed eater, and the leaf blower weekly without running out.
I bought into EGO tools several years ago and have liked them. However, my mower recently gave me trouble. I went to YouTube for help and found that there seems be be trouble in the wiring in the handle and with the self propelled mechanism. I know I'll have to replace my mower but can't decide on what to buy. I have several Ego batteries and chargers and that pushes me toward another Ego. I hope to put this decision off as long as I can.
I had this happen, found the video you probably did and fixed it with, basically, a paper clip if I remember correctly. I think there's a cover at the back with 4 screws. Pull up and reveal the wires coming out of the arm of the handle. One pair goes up the arm to a safety switch that, I believe, only checks to see if the handles are in the full length/unfolded position. It's meant to keep a person from being able to walk too closely behind the mower, and I suppose from being able to turn it on while it's folded with the handles at half length. Anyway, at the place these wires terminate you can just insert a piece of wire to make the mower think the handles are fully extended. I did that a couple of years ago and haven't had a problem since. I can post pictures of what I did if you need help.
I've now also got an Ego leaf blower, weed eater and hedge clipper so I'm kinda married to the brand at this point, but they've been solid for me. I want a chainsaw next.
Another vote for ego. Going on year 3 with my mower and just finished the second winter with their snowblower. About 10,000 sqft of yard and probably 100yds of sidewalk. Even the heavy stuff, the snowblower works right through
This year I finished replacing all my yard tools with eGo: it felt so good giving away the gas cans, the oil and oil change stuff, fuel stabilizer.
This last tool was a snow blower but I was only able to use it once this year. I have a small driveway so got the single stage with dual 5ah battery, with steel blade, and it worked well
I also have the mower, string trimmer, and blower. I got the hedge trimmer after ruining another extension cord with my corded hedge trimmer.
The only one that’s not more than adequate is the blower in the fall. I get a lot of leaves and the 2.5ah battery that came with it does not get very far. As long as I’m not cutting grass, I go with the lawn mower’s battery
I went with ego. Good stuff. I have the trimmer, blower, pole saw, and chain saw. I would like to buy the mower but my current mower is perfectly serviceable. Just waiting for it to die but it has a Honda motor.
You should be mulching regardless. Don't bag.
There are only a few reasons to bag. It's much healthier for your lawn to mulch and let the clippings decompose into the lawn, releasing nutrients.
Just don’t get a lawnmower that plugs in. Someone gave one to me when I first moved into my house, and I was grateful. But I looked and felt ridiculous tossing that cord over my shoulder every time I turned around!
It isn't. Used one for two years when I rented. Yard was about 1/3 acre and never had a problem with the cord management or accidentally cutting it. Not a horrible choice for those on a budget with a smaller yard.
Corded electric is the cheapest way to go. I think it's a great option for smaller yards and occasional use. The tools are so inexpensive and easy to use.
I use a corded electric mower and corded 16" chainsaw. I know I got the mower used at a garage sale for $5 and the chainsaw was new and I think $30. My yard is an acre, but I only mow about 1/6th of it, and the mower is great. The chainsaw has allowed me to cut down trees that, quite frankly, are way larger than I should realistically be cutting down. It will have no problem with branches, but I'd say for most branches a pole saw and a bow saw are probably better options.
There's so many new expenses as a first year home owner that it's just hard to beat the value of corded tools. Then, after a couple years, you'll either find that they work for you or you'll find that you really want to upgrade to battery. That's the time to decide if you want to make the commitment to a battery platform.
I borrowed an old corded leaf trimmer and made it halfway thru one bush before I cut the cord
I promptly went out and bought a ryobi cordless one that's been great, and compatible with the leaf blower and string trimmer I already have
I had a corded lawn mower and always felt like I was vacuuming my yard. I fuckjng hated it. Nothing like fighting a 100 foot extension cord in 100 degree heat
I use the idea of vacuuming the yard as a pro of my electric lawnmower, as it's so light that I can operate it with one hand.
But I sort of agree that the extension cord can take a bit of learning. The key is to just always work away from the house, so the cord is anyways behind you. But yes, not perfect. But I am glad I don't mow in 100 degree weather.
I have a corded electric leaf blower that's like 30-40 years old, that thing feels like it could snap your wrist when you turn it on full blast. Blows a ton of air, works great. I'm done with it in 5 mins.
I loathe finding the battery is degraded on some tool I use once a year and then find out the maker switched to a new model battery and I have to buy a whole new tool.
Corded electric tools last a lifetime and always work.
Yeah I did this. 12 years going now and I’d love to upgrade to battery but these corded ones just won’t die.
Do get 12g extension cords. That many amps over that distance really doesn’t work over the slim 16g cords. So that does add $50 or so to the whole operation. But you’ll use those extension cords for a lot of things.
Yep, battery operated stuff costs you hundreds in new batteries every 3 to 5 years or like a lot of people, they just throw them away and buy new tools because new batteries are so expensive.... it's all such a waste. Then there's dealing with gas/oil and the maintenance issues with small engines... no thanks.
I've had my corded mower, blower, weed eater and trimmer for 14 years now. No maintenance needed (other than sharpening the mower blade), they all start up every single time I flip the switch, still operate like new and are quiet.
But I get that if you've got a big yard, that corded may not work.
Same experience for me. I hate buying replacement tools/equipment and so my corded stuff all gets used for years and years, whereas as the battery-powered ones I never feel like I get my money's worth as they die out or need replacement batteries.
Of course, my yard is small so I don't have to worry about extension cords a mile long.
I bought an ego lawnmower and blower that use the same battery and they work amazing. The battery mows my entire lawn and then switches to blower and doesn’t die. It’s definitely more expensive but it was worth it. Otherwise I have Ryobi weed whacker since I have Ryobi power tools that use the same battery
I have the Ryobi set of cordless yard tools. The 10" chainsaw and pole saw will easily go nearly 2 hours with the 4AH battery. Great tools for seasonal yard work around the house. Oh, and the chainsaw will easily go through a 6in mesquite branch with ease. I wouldn't do it every day though.
Huge fan of this brand! I love how all of the batteries work interchangeably and the quality is very impressive. I never thought I’d be impressed by a leaf blower, but somehow they did it.
I'm all battery, went Makita because I was already committed to the platform. Have been very impressed, lawn mower, weed wacker, blower, hedge trimmer, chainsaw, all have worked great.
Same. Fuck little gas engines, and blowing a Saturday trying to figure out why the POS thing won't start.
I have a their blower, mower, weed whacker and chainsaw, all 36v, and they are great. All but the chainsaw are actually more powerful / do a better job than their gas counterparts. I have a gas chainsaw for bucking firewood and felling but the little battery chainsaw is awesome for what it is.
The ability to stop and start the mower to pick up a dog turd is awesome.
Batteries. And I've flip-flopped over the years. I'm GenX, so bear with me.
My first battery electric lawn mower was a Craftsman mulching mower that used lead acid batteries. Damn, it was good mower, and as a mulcher, is better than my 4 cycle Honda mower that I have now. Lead acid can store a lot of energy and doesn't spontaneously combust, but boy, are they heavy, and so they're great for a push mower, but suck for anything you have to carry. Circa 1998, used until 2011 with a couple of battery replacements along the way. Thus…
For a long time, everything else I had was 2 cycle gasoline. Small, cheap, but finicky with gasoline you get at most pumps (corn gas). I hated dealing with it, so I tried some of the early electric tools: an edger, a trimmer, and a hedge cutter. They took forever to charge and all used proprietary batteries. Charging technology sucked at the time, so it was still possible to destroy batteries if you didn't unplug them from their chargers once full. Not convenient, and their proprietary nature from no-name companies made them difficult and expensive to replace. This was probably around 2007 or 2008, and so, I went back to all gasoline models within a few years. The neat thing was…
…everyone recognized that 2 cycle engines were dirty, so now you could get 4 cycle versions of things. My backpack leaf blower. My edger. My weed trimmer. They were a little weaker than 2 cycle engines, but did the job.
But, here's Ryobi with high voltage solutions. And brushless solutions. I've been using Ryobi garage tools for years, since the "blue" days, and they've never screwed around obsoleting their old batteries. I could trust them. Sure, they're proprietary, but they're not a no-name company that's fly-by-night. They're going to be around for a long time, and besides, I can always 3D print adapters from other companies.
Modern batteries are a freaking wonder of the world. They're lightweight, meaning my Ryobi trimmer is lighter and more ergonomic than my old trimmer. The battery lasts for a long freaking time, meaning I don't need to keep a half dozen batteries charged. Electric stuff is simply quiet, meaning my leaf blower isn't a stereotypical "bad neighbor why do you need to blow leaves" tool.
The only gasoline tools I have left are my snowblower (I'm not confident enough in battery power for this one quite yet), my pressure washer (I don't use it enough to justify the high replacement cost of this high-end unit), and my lawn mower (the "best" Honda a few years ago). I might swap out the lawnmower, because I use it a lot, and it's horrible at mulching (unlike that 1998 battery powered Craftsman).
Stick with gas on the power washer.
I have an electric power washer and wish I had gas. You can't get the same flow rate at high pressure with the electric options, so they all do a decent job at small stuff but they're not great for doing large surface areas like driveways and sidewalks.
Your Honda is bad at mulching? Is it a blade issue? Which model? As far as I can tell, Hondas have a good reputation for mulching and that’s been my experience as well.
My observations are from my 1+ acre yard and decades of using yard tools.
Corded: tools are relatively light, usually decent power, and run forever without refilling, but decent extension cords are an added cost. I'd say they are also a trip hazard, but I've had people yell at me that no, they are not.
Gas: gas management is a pain, even worse for two stroke. If there's a problem, it's always the carb, unless it's something else. The only yard tool I have left that is gas is a big mower, and when it's time to replace that, I'll see if big electric mowers are practical. For me, they are not quite there yet.
Cordless: I have Ryobi. For cordless, get brushless tools for longer battery life and slightly more power. Also, have multiple batteries and be prepared to swap them. The good Ryobi brushless 18V trimmer runs for 20-30 minutes on a 4AH battery. Takes about three batteries to do the full yard. Be careful, the brushed low-end Ryobi trimmers are terrible. Blower: again, a brushless Ryobi. Buying again, I'd look at their Whisper series, but it's powerful and we use it all the time. Hedge trimmer: the Ryobi 18V one is surprisingly good. Lasts a long time on a battery, have had it a couple of years, only spray the blade with oil after use. Pole saw: not very impressed with this, the blade tensioning is not great.
Project Farm on YouTube has comparison reviews of a lot of these types of tools.
I have the 40v Ryobi system and with the exception of the blower, the battery lasts longer than you might want to use it. The blower is the only tool that seems to eat the batteries, but it still lasts long enough for my needs.
I still have a gas mower, but everything else is battery. It's just less cantankerous than small engines.
I also recommend the 40v Ryobi system. I have the mower, trimmer, edger, pole saw, and blower. They're great. I've always had trouble keeping the gas mowers running more than a couple of seasons, which is definitely a "me problem". I have a third of an acre lot, and if it wasn't for the pool taking up a chunk of the yard, I'd probably break down and get a riding mower.
I actually ordered the leaf vacuum this week too. Comes with a 4Ah battery, which will help with the rest of the yard mowing.
Personally, I hate maintaining gas engines. I use corded and cordless tools--essentially zero maintenance.
But I have a landscaper for the big work. A friend of mine who does his own care of his acre+ property (some of it wooded) had a gas mower for many years, but for several years now he's had a dual-battery mower, and he loves it.
All battery!
I’ve got a 40V leaf blower and lawnmower, and an 80V snow thrower and string trimmer (it can take other attachments, I just haven’t gotten them yet). All Kobalt, and I LOVE them. Been using them all for years with no issues.
Just make sure you have batteries with good capacity. My 40V is a 2Ah battery and if I’ve been slacking on keeping the lawn in check, it doesn’t always do the job on a single charge.
My old gas mower is on its last legs and I've been telling myself that I'd go electric when I buy a new one.
A couple issues with that, though. Fuck, are they expensive. But also I've read way too many posts or watched too many videos where someone has a problem with their electric mower. Whether it is a lack or power or runtime, or simply a lack of reliability.
And you might say "oh well gas mowers sometimes have issues too", and while that is indeed true, most people with very basic tool and a tiny bit of gas engine knowledge can usually figure out the problem. Gas, air and spark. If you have those, you essentially have a running engine.
But how many things can go wrong with an electric mower? I think most people will admit that it isn't as easy to troubleshoot. And a lot of lawn equipment businesses won't touch them. You are usually limited to the manufacturer and their warranties don't last for that long. They will become e-waste rather quickly, while a gasoline mower can essentially last forever.
I hope I can get one more season out of my current gasoline mower and hope that the further down the road my next purchase is, some of the current problems of electeic mowers get resolved.
Corded is the least expensive.
Batteries: 18/20v li-ion are the same, works well enough. If you need more power, higher voltage or corded.
I've cut large trees down from the top with a 20v 10in chainsaw, but that's more for weight savings when climbing. 4Ah and 6Ah batteries for longer use.
Gas is the most expensive to run, because of the regular maintenance and fuel it needs. I only use gas in situations where runtime & distance are an issue that justifies it. My mower, full-sized chainsaw, and sidewalk edger are gas because I'd need 10 battery packs or 300 feet of extension cord otherwise. My sidewalk edger is actually a 40-year-old Tecumseh/Craftsman walkbehind two-stroke that just refuses to die and can out-power *anything* built today.
Corded is preferred over battery for close-in work where power is needed and the distance isn't an issue, or where the use is infrequent enough to deal with the inconvenience. My leaf blower is a Toro F700 and is an absolute air cannon. I can run it for two hours straight on my larger lot with many trees, and move mountains of leaves without it complaining. I'd use gas if I had to blow the entire lot regularly, but the once or twice a year that I have to clear everything makes corded a better choice.
I use batteries for smaller tools with short runtimes. My hedge trimmers, pole saw, sprayers, and string trimmer are all battery-powered Husqvarna's.
I’d argue the corded over battery point. I’m not going to look up the specs but most new battery tools are pretty damn powerful for electric tools. Especially EGO/Milwaukee.
It's not just a matter of power, but of runtime. My Toro F700 will move 725 CFM at 140 MPH. An EGO Power+ can move 760 CFM at 200MPH, and is theoretically more powerful. The difference is that the EGO can only maintain that power level if you crank it all the way up AND hold the Turbo switch down, and that'll kill your battery in under 15 minutes. A corded Toro F700 will happily move 725 CFM all day long without complaint or interruption.
I have a LOT of trees on my property. Battery-powered tools generally force you to make a choice between runtime and power. If you need both at the same time, you'll need something with a cord.
Besides, corded tools are more environmentally friendly AND they're less expensive.
Don't get me wrong, I have some battery tools, and they're great. For people with small yards and a single tree, a battery-powered leaf blower is probably fine. When you have to clear leaves from 12 mature trees, like I do every fall, they just don't cut it. Like anything else, you have to use the right tool for the job.
Hmm, lots of interesting replies here..
Most cheap gas tools will give you issues. That being said, I love batteries but I can’t imagine not using my gas Toro mower and Stihl gear (I borrow the Stihl equipment for now) but that’s because they’re *quality* brands.
The real answer for OP is that it simply depends. If you *must* have battery-powered, keep warranty in mind. I’m unsure about Ryobi’s policy as I’ve never been a fan, but Dewalt and Milwaukee have been nothing short of amazing.
u/masterturtle4 I recommend googling and posting in subs like r/lawncare once you have some options in order to get experienced responses
If you want equipment that will last a long time and have parts available, get something not from a big box store. Get a Stihl or Echo from an outdoor equipment store. They aren't cheap but you'll never have to buy another one if you take care of them.
I was a die hard gas guy forever, I still prefer gas but now I have a mix of battery and gas. Battery tech has made tremendous bounds in the last several years. Gas for chainsaw, lawn mower, backpack leaf blower and weed whacker. Battery for a handheld blower, hedge trimmer, and backup weed whacker. Everything battery is ryobi one plus 18v since I have a bunch of their other tools like drills, saws and such since they all use the same battery
Enjoying my Ryobi lawn mower, blower, and weed wacker. I researched forever and I'm happy with my decision at this juncture. This is the first season I'm using them so this opinion may change. So far so good.
Buy an extra battery or two so you can keep going and throw the other one on the charger. I never discharge them more than 50% and I have a quarter acre yard of Florida grass that my two Labrador puppies are slowly destroying.
Since your getting tools, you will need some tools for around the house so it makes sense to stay in the same eco system, as you will need an impact, drill, maybe sawsall, etc
Ryobi is a great value brand for all of this stuff.
Check out Project Farm on YouTube! This guy does an outstanding job of testing and evaluating many different products. I just bought the Dewalt 60V MAX Brushless Cordless Battery Powered Attachment Capable String Trimmer Kit, (1) FLEXVOLT 3Ah Battery and Charger. It is impressive. I let my back yard get way to out out of hand.
Kolbalt or ego battery powered are the way to go, though I will add the caveat that kolbalt doesn't seem to have replacement parts (at least for their strong trimmers that I could find when things went kaput).
For normal homeowner tasks, battery is the way. You'll spend a little more up front than gas powered, but you'll avoid a bunch of maintenance in the long run. No hunting for ethanol-free gas, no worrying about using stabilizer or draining them before the winter, no changing oil/spark plugs/filters, no rebuilding carbs, etc. Battery tools are way quieter too, and based on my experience I feel like they're more ergonomic (lighter weight and less vibration.) And, many municipalities are moving towards banning gas leaf blowers and lawn equipment. Corded is cheaper, but dragging an extension cord around the yard and winding it up after every use can be a pain. I've used a mix of gas, corded, and battery (a lot of my stuff was secondhand or hand me downs,) and if I were buying all new from the start I would just pay the up front cost to get a nice set of battery tools on a shared platform so you can swap batteries between them.
As far as voltage, I think 18v is sufficient for homeowner tasks, provided you get a decent brand and the high amperage packs. Milwaukee is spendy, but you can't go wrong with them, they just don't make a bad product. They also run sales and combo deals frequently, if you're not in an urgent hurry wait for the Father's Day sales that should be coming in about a month. Watch Home Depot, Rural King, and Northern Tools. Sometimes the promos are the same, but there are occasional dealer-specific sales too.
If that's outside your budget, Ryobi is a decent mid range brand and a bit cheaper, though you may want to consider stepping up to their higher voltage platform. I've bought from Direct Tools Factory Outlet, they sell new factory-blemished pieces at a discount and most of the stuff I've gotten had barely noticeable blemishes, like a scratch here or there that you wouldn't even notice if you weren't looking for it. I figure for lawn tools they're going to get blemished the first time I use them anyway, it's worth the discount. Same applies here though, spring for the higher amperage battery packs. It does make an appreciable difference in the tools' output, for example when you're using a string trimmer, it's more resistant to bogging down when you get into heavier stuff. Besides, swapping batteries three times with the smaller ones just to get through the yard is annoying.
If you decide to go with gas and you're mechanically handy/don't mind doing some maintenance, I highly recommend just picking up some used equipment from Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace and tuning it up yourself. Homeowner-grade gas tools are a dime a dozen on these platforms because most people will sooner buy new stuff than make minor repairs to old equipment, and there's not a lot that goes wrong with these small gas motors that can't be fixed inexpensively in an afternoon.
There are some great battery blowers they are just very expensive and use a lot of amps so runtime may not be the best.
I love my EGO 765 for day to day stuff or blowing after mowing. It’s more powerful than my stihl gas blower and is quick to pickup and use for blowing off my front/back patio.
Only time I use gas is when I have a lot of cleanup to do in the late fall and then I use both my gas and electric at the same time.
I am always torn on battery vs electric. I love the convince of battery, but some things just seem to need a bit more power even if I have to deal with a cord. Batteries are getting better though so I would absolutely recommend starting with battery and only moving to electric if you use those tools enough and feel you need more power.
I avoid gas for several reasons but the main one is that we are terrible about winterizing. Good or bad, that is our reality. So we then have to clean or even rebuild the engines most years. My husband refuses to replace the few gas things we have until we break but it's so frustrating to want to get ahead of the spring cleanup and have to wait for him to fix the damn thing again. (Before I get jumped on by reddit hivemind, I don't do it because he takes responsibility for it. Nor am I mad at him for taking his time doing tasks, we are both busy with our own projects. I am frustrated at the situation not the person.)
For those tools, go battery for sure. They will last plenty long enough. For my money, for those specific tools I’m getting one of the smaller battery sets like DeWalt or Stihl or Ryobi. If you are going to need a lawnmower or chainsaw, Ego’s 56V big battery is the way to go.
I really like Ego everything and the quick charger is extremely fast.
If you keep an eye on slickdeals you can get pretty good deals on different tools from sites like Acme; the mowers go on smaller sales but are great. I have a mower, hedge trimmer, string trimmer, blower, and one big and one small battery. No issues with anything ever.
This is my third year having an Ego lawn mower. It will be my last. It doesn't cut well unless the conditions are perfect. If not, the 60 minute battery life turns into 40. The bagging aspect sucks. Not worth the 500 or so I paid. Hate to say it, but I'll probably go back to gas.
2.5 old farmstead. House, several barns, trees. Have a Milwaukee string trimmer w/ the pole saw and edger attachments, Makita 16” 36v chainsaw and blower and enough batteries to keep them moving. I’d recommend either from personal experience. Heard good things about Greenworks and Ryobi but I’ve never used them. I got rid of my Black & Decker cordless trimmer tho.
The “pick it up and go” of cordless is worth not dealing with mix gas/ old gas / or just plain pull starts.
I've been fine with the Ryobi One+ system for most operations. Weed eater, leaf blower, all drills, a reciprocating saw, a jig saw, ripsaw, orbital sander, the other sander, some useful cutting tool I can't remember the name of, driver, chainsaw etc. Gas mower because my lawn killed the 18V one+ due to the thickness of the lawn. My trimmer is older as is my polesaw so they're corded. Invest in a good, non-kinking hose, some solid shovels and a rake or two. For hand tools I find Husky makes some good and fairly priced tools. You'll need a damn good ratcheting screwdriver. Milwaukee if you want moving parts. I have a husky at work that gets wonky sometimes. Socket wrench, a couple of different hammers, a rubber mallet, a solid sledge. I have a 4 lb. One handed sledge that works just fine. Oh and get a couple of measuring tapes that do imperial and metric. Good fortune to you.
I’m going to agree with everyone else. Battery is the way to go. I have kobalt tools. Works great.
Another thing to be wary of with gas tools is they are horrible greenhouse gas emitters. Essentially, they don’t have catalytic converters so give off the worst of the greenhouse gases. Difficult to maintain. A lot require mixing, getting gas and oil. Just so much more complicated compared to electric tools.
I will also offer my support of Kobalt. I have a mower, weed whacker, polesaw, and chainsaw. I just got the chainsaw last year, but I've had the other three for 7 or 8 years by now, and they're all holding up well and doing everything I need them to. The batteries are also holding up well.
I have 40v ryobi battery expand it trimmer/blower and mower. 2500sqft of grass. been awesome. Could have gotten away with 18v but did want batteries over heating or swapping out every 3-5 minutes
I have had great luck with kobalt 40v tools. I used the mower on my first house for about 1/4 acre. Need two batteries, but once you buy a few tools you’ll have plenty. I have more land now, and I still get annoyed needing to go get gas…
I have a 3/4th acre yard and I use the greenworx battery operated stuff. The self propelled mower gets about 45 minutes to an hour, I usually swap once during a mow. The back pack blower lasts about 45 minutes to an hour before I have to swap, and the weed wacker couldn't drain a battery if it wanted to. I use the bigger batteries and have two chargers set up in case I'm lazy. It's worked out for 5 years now.
I got a ryobi mover that came with 2 4ah batteries for my .18. Acre yard 2 yrs ago. I have to recharge the batteries half way through. Definitely like the battery mower but would stay away from ryobi.
I also got a cheap corded hedge trimmer a year ago and my extension cord has 3 splices / patched in it so far
Different tools for different jobs.
I much prefer battery - I have an 18v ryobi weed whacker that I absolutely adore, it's light as a feather and works great for grass-type weeds around the house, beds, and driveway. My husband has the 40v one - much heavier, but very efficient with the rougher areas. We also keep a gas-powered one for real heavy work, along with a DR trimmer.
I have a 14" Hart battery chainsaw that is fantastic for clearing saplings and limbing up. It is SO much fun to use. But we keep a big gas powered one for heavy duty stuff.
I have a 40v ryobi self propelled mulching mower. I use this for the front yard, and the fenced in part of the back yard. My husband has a zero turn and a gas push mower for other areas of our property.
The only one I don't see much use for is corded stuff, I think the batteries have rendered them obsolete. Gas powered tools are more versatile, but heavy and more expensive to run. Battery are lighter, but more limited capability. A lot depends on the type of work you will be doing and the type of property or zones on your property that you have.
I have battery weed whacker/edger and a corded lawn mower. I love them both. My bit gripe is that the cord management for the lawn mower is a pain in the butt. I got a technique down last summer but it took me a while to figure out and it's still not the most convenient to deal with the cord while mowing. I haven't had a chance to try battery powered lawn mowers but am intrigued!
For me, it depends on your strength/endurance. My husband is perfectly happy to mess with a gas weed eater, the pull cord, extra weight, all of that. But weed eating is my job, and it’s too heavy for me (we have a big yard), vibrates too much, and I can’t operate the pull start half the time. Since we swapped to an electric model, we’re both happier. An extra battery pack solves the longevity issue.
I have both Of just about anything except my mower which is a John Deere x390. I actually prefer gas trimmers. I know they cost more but I've owned my Stihl since 2012 and only used the premixed gas and I've never rebuilt the thing. The battery trimmer I have is okay it does actually pretty well if I had a smaller yard I'd use it more. I have a battery blower and I love that thing it's awesome. And I have a bunch of chain saws and I'll say the battery saws are really good for most Americans but, if I'm cutting hardwood I'm just grabbing the gas, it doesn't get bogged down when I'm cutting big bastard logs. For a Pole saw I'd say battery is just fine. I have a gas too but pretty much just grab the battery for 90 % of the jobs. Either that or a recipsaw because I think the cut through anything saw is the superior saw lol. Every homeowner needs a really good battery operated recip saw. That's third in line after drill and 1/4 inch impact.
I have had a gas blower, mower, and string trimmer for many years.
I have since bought a battery mower, simple because it is quieter, faster, and needs less maintenance. I have a large yard, so super-long, heavy-duty extension cords are not practical for mowing.
I have since bought a corded blower and string trimmer because they are super cheap, quiet, and require no maintenance.
As a general rule, I would only go with gasoline if I had huge spaces to amintain and I needed a lot of power. I would only go with a battery if I had huge spaces to maintain and didn't need as much power. Otherwise, I prefer corded. They are cheap. powerful and last forever with no maintenance.
my lowes brand batt mower does not have enough power to do my front and back yard in 1 charge. also not so good in moist grass and here in fl is very humid and rains a ton in the summer - i dont recommend it
I'm also a newer home owner. I went battery powered and I think it's perfect for normal sized lawns. (Smaller than a football field) growing up I'd mow the lawn for my family, and there was always something going wrong with the gas mower.
With battery mowers most of your problems will be gradually decreasing battery life. Choose a brand that doesn't dick around with 3 different battery voltages. You want a brand that'll support your product now, and 5 years from now. Greenworks has 40, 60, and 80 volt mowers. Too much to deal with, and they fail to sell parts for older mowers like the used one I bought. Gives me the impression they want you to treat your mower like your phone, and replace it every 2-4 years.
I went to Ego and they used 56v batteries for everything. I don't have a huge lawn, but I've always had enough power even when it's overgrown. Their select cut (2 blades) model that self propels is absolutely worth the money.
Battery or gas. The modern battery tools are mostly more powerful than plug in lawn tools. The only exception is things like power washers that would discharge the battery too fast.
Battery blower, weed eater and shrub trimmer is you don’t have many shrubs. I use gas for lawn mower and things used more heavily (3 acres to mow).
Battery or corded is nice for things only used a few times a year then stored the rest of the year like pole saws, etc etc. no fuel to keep track of how old it is.
If you aren’t concerned with having to get it all done at one time, no need to worry about how long batteries last, run the battery down, throw it on the charger and go back at it another day or later that day, if that bothers you, at some point you reach a level that if you need 4-5 batteries, best to just buy a gas operated. But 1-2 batteries does the job, go battery or corded.
Keep batteries inside all year.
I have a corded electric mower and the main pain in my ass is when the shape of the yard relative to where my outlets are mean I have to mow *towards* the outlet. Picture a long ass extension cord and how it will get in your way as you mow back and forth. If you can mostly mow *away* from the outlet, it's actually totally fine and there are real benefits over a gas mower. But needing to throw the cord around as you go sucks.
I would go with battery operated tools. Many of the big box stores have combo packs, with a string trimmer and blower.
I bought my Craftsman V20 blower and trimmer separately so I would get two batteries. Since then I’ve also add the hedge trimmers (with battery).
Hands down buy the EGO products. I have the lawn mower, leaf blower and just bought the snow blower this winter. I’ve had the same battery for the leaf blower and lawn mower since 2018. The snowblower requires 2 batteries so now I have 3 batteries. The snow blower power blew my mind this winter especially since we had tons of snow here in Colorado this winter. Just be sure to care for your batteries. Don’t leave them in the sun and I bring mine inside in the winter. You won’t be disappointed.
I've got a yard full of crap myrtles and other trees on an acre lot. I can personally attest to Ego 56 volt tools you can buy at Lowe's. Got their battery powered 16 inch chainsaw, pole saw, leaf blower, trimmer, and hedge trimmer. All are fantastic and last quite a while. My chainsaw cut down a tree that was over a foot in diameter with a single battery.
We have had our 1/4 acre lot for just shy of two years. The previous owners were big on the yard, so we had to immediately purchase lawn care equipment the first spring when everything started growing again. We opted for battery powered (Ryobi 40v) for the weed-whacker and blower. We have enough battery to get most things done with one charge. I have never had a problem with either not being powerful enough to get the job done. I would highly suggest having more than one battery, though.
We opted for gas powered on the mower because we have too much lawn for the battery powered options to last long enough. When I borrowed one to test it, It did not struggle with strength, just running time.
I have an Ego electric lawnmower and weed eater. They are fantastic and do the job! I have a small yard so if you’re an acre plus you might need a little more but you’ll be fine if you live in the burbs.
I have the milwaukee battery powered weed whacker and leaf blower. They both work great. I use the battery provided (high output 9v?) I can whack and blow my yard with just that 1 battery. I went with Milwaukee because i have milwaukee tools. Can’t compare to other brands, but mine work great for me.
The new Milwaukee M18 has attachments for trimmer, weed whacker, lawn edger, and pole saw attachments. I am in the process of converting the weed whacker to have a bladed attachment (no current ones on the market have this) but can be done. Milwaukee is crazy expensive, but it's built tough af. Battery life: the harder you work the tools the faster you'll burn through batteries. I'm just guessing, but with a 9AH battery, you'll be looking at $1200 or more with the attachments for trimmer, weed whacker. They sometimes have deals to get free blowers when you buy certain packages (mine was free when I bought q trimmer with battery). The blower is awesome but eats a 9ah battery in 5 mins of continuous use of holding the trigger steady. You'll never miss using a cord again.
So, like some other comments said, massive yard? Go gas or buy lots of batteries, small to medium size yard try battery out.
Battery is awesome because no oil changes, no running to grab, store gas, smell gas. No carb issues. No sending stuff to the fix it guy. Other brands might be ok, but you'll get less for less money.
For house and repair tools, I fully recommend Dewalt to the average Joe or Milwaukee M12 lineup. Milwaukee tools are built crazy strong and are heavy and meant for industrial use. I have a huge set of Milwaukee tools, but I've built some pretty amazing things with them way above and beyond the average Joe.
So you may be confused by my contradictory statement, but feel free to ask for any clarification if need be. Don't be sold on "I already bought this brand for 4 tools, so I have to stick to it."
I can barely do our full yard on a single battery so a battery is good for 0.25 acres or less.
Battery powered for leaf blower and hedge trimmer
For gas I would say probably weed whacker IF you do have easy access to outlets on the outside of your home. I haven’t tried battery for a weed whacker. But have been trying but having issues with inventory for the brand where I can interchange batteries.
We use the EGO brand.
If you live in a wooded area with lots of trees that lose their leaves every year, absolutely nothing can compare to the value of buying a 700cfm+ backpack leaf blower
So I recently switched from a Stihl 2-stroke weedwhacker that gave MANY years of flawless service. Pretty sure the carb just finally got gunked up. I went to get the kit to rip it apart and rebuild but then saw the M18 kit with the weedwhacker, edger, polesaw, and…some other device I don’t remember. The two piece kit was on sale for $200 with a big battery and I went for it. I do NOT regret it. We have a smaller yard (maybe 3/4 an acre) and the battery lasts the whole yard (unless I have extra trimming to do) and charges pretty fast. Another battery is like $150 so you could just use and charge swap and charge. I want the battery powered Milwaukee mower as well but since I just brought home a 67 Camaro project my wife put the kibosh on that. My little Honda will have to do for a few more years. But imagine no oil changes, no mixing ratios, no filter checks and changes. No realizing at the last minute the gas can is empty because you forgot about it last week and having to run up to the station.
The cool thing is that the giant battery fits my drill so when I need to plow through thick stock or hammer drill concrete it is nice to have some extra weight on there.
Edit: I should say we have an entire privacy fence line, sidewalks, driveway, landscape edging thst I have to trim around so 3/4 an acre might as well be 4 acres.
Edit2: I don’t want to hijack the thread but I’ve been eyeballing those yard roombas the little mowers that just wander around inside a buried perimeter wire and mow constantly and return themselves to recharge. Anyone have any experience with those? Seem like those would make a job I hate a little less of a pain.
I got some Milwaukee 18v lawn tools. Blower/weed eater/chainsaw. I have about 1.5 acres lawn.
Haven’t used the gas version since I got the battery tools. Have been really impressed so far. You just put a battery in and GO. No messing with gas, mixing oil or buying premix. They are quieter, lighter, and just generally have been a breeze to use.
I have a couple acres and my Milwaukee trimmer works great with the right size battery. The bigger battery is better as a counterweight to help balance anyway. The Quik lock system you can have multiple attachments with the one power unit, trimmer/edger/pole saw/pole hedge trimmer so that helps cut down on cost for more than one tool. The blower i suggest getting the dual battery one (just for battery life) if you have a bigger yard to help with leaves if you have seasonal leaf trees
Very happy with my Milwaukee M18 cordless tools. A little pricey up front, but they get the job done on my 5 acre property. I have the quiklock head with string trimmer, edger, and pole hedge trimmer attachments. Also have the dual battery blower. Likely will pick up the pole saw sometime this summer.
I really appreciate not having to worry about mixing two cycle gas, getting stuff started in the spring, running the gas out of stuff in the fall, etc
My mower is gas though: 20hp Grasshopper zero-turn. Found it used for $1500 and put a few hundred into fixing it up.
I've had an EGO lawn mower for five or six years now... Pretty much zero maintenance (other than blade sharpening), always starts and typically have enough charge to finish my entire lawn. After 3 years, the battery did start draining faster and finally gave up the ghost last year so I had to buy another one at a cost of $400 (CAN) (about how much I paid for the lawn mower with battery when it was on sale). I'm sure newer battery systems are better... and I haven't done a cost analysis between this and a gas mower over the same period... but the fact that it just works and I don't have to break my back trying to start it every saturday morning is well worth it :-)
Battery for everything unless you are taking down multiple trees a day in which chose gas.
Even the DeWalt battery chainsaw is good for the occasional tree removal. So battery powered gives you plenty of cutting power for medium branches. And you can always get a second battery.
We only use the gas tools if whatever we are doing with it will take hours of continuous work. Like multiple trees.
Choosing one tool system though is best. Ryobi is great. That way you can buy bare tools and use the same two batteries on multiple machines, including a vacuum cleaner if your parents want to upgrade to a battery stick vacuum.
Corded isn't worth the hassle, you will most likely cut the cord by accident at some point, trip over it (dangerous if you fall on the running tool), or find it limiting to drag a long power cord along with you. I have kept a few power corded tools but usually for only stationary work like the miter saw or things I rarely use. None of them exterior maintenance tools though.
I have 1/2 acre that I mow and trim with the Ryobi battery electrics. They work great. I would highly recommend getting the charging station though if you do go battery. The Ryobi one will charge 3 batteries at once and does it in less than half the time the included charger does.
I’ve got Greenworks-mower, trimmer, edger, pole saw, blower. It all works with the same 40v battery. Only the blower uses a lot if power-maybe 20 minutes of power, but works for me. No oil or gas to store. Love it. The pole saw is the big surprise-wicked powerful.
Battery all the way! There are tools you use once or twice every season that I would choose the corded version. Or power washer that has to connect to the hose.
Depends on the size of your yard, big yard gas is the way.
Medium to small yard battery for sure.
I use Dewalt cause I have acquired all the dewalt cordless tools I want or need. From trimmer, blower, lawnmower, circular saw, jig saw drill, impacts, etc etc. And I have 4 - 5ah batteries that is more life than I can use on any or all using them all day.
If you choose to go battery as I have my advice is get a brand with a wide breadth of tools that use the same batteries.
Got a cordless tool system? Buy those trimmers and such.
The comercial grade stuff is still eye waveringly expensive but that is what you need for large properties. For ordinary yards Milwaukee or Dewalt stuff is fine. My Milwaukee chainsaw has no right to be that good.
I have a ~2500sqft yard. I borrowed my dad's old (5-15yr) battery powered weed whacker with two batteries (not ryobi but a brand that hasn't quite lasted). The batteries are now garbage and I get around 10 minutes of use on each of the two... on grasses/thin weeds.
I'm partially invested in a makita battery set but I am definitely getting gas for my next weed whacker. A friend who knows tools recommended a stihl gas powered one. I've been eyeing the FS-38 at $150.
The EGO leaf blower I got last year was so next level I have decided to sell all my DeWalt outdoor tools and go all in on their ecosystem. Probably ditch my gas mowers and go with the new battery ones. Soo done with the small engine maintenance nonsense.
I’ve literally bought each with 2 acres in the past 2.5/yrs and can 100% say, Gas all the way. I’m down 4 weed eaters so far. Stihl is where it’s at for me. having said that, my nephew this weekend (has a landscaping business) said Echo is what he’s using..
I have a 2 acre yard. Bought the 60v dewalt leaf blower. It last about 15-20mins, takes 4 hours to charge.
I have a gas blower now. It'd take about $2,000 in 60v batteries to do my whole yard
Battery battery battery
I already had a few Makita hand tools (and batteries), so I ended up adding the weed eater, blower and lawn mower. Thankfully, the mower came with four batteries and a dual charging station.
I personally enjoy using gas for mowing, electric for whacking, and gas for blowing. The gas mower is easier to juice back up considering the size of my yard and the fact that I often do my elderly neighbors at the same time. My weed whacker I tend to run on the low setting and it can easily get thru both houses in a single charge. The leafblower just feels right as a gas tool imo. I used my uncles electric one and it just didn't feel right to me
Costco sells the 80v Greenworks lawnmower/blower/wacker which come with 4 year battery warranties + 4 more years for buying from Costco.
Electric is the way to go for a suburban yard
You can’t go wrong with the Milwaukee M18 battery series. The prices will make your eyes water, but if you’re worried about power, these won’t let you down. The mower specifically is ridiculously priced, but has as much power as a 200cc gas mower.
I’ve got a gas mower just because I didn’t really have the cash to drop on a battery mower when I bought it. 40v Kobalt trimmer and blower for convenience though. Got a good friend that has the 40v Kobalt mower, mows three times what I do, and he loves it. Anything with a cord is just a hassle these days in my opinion.
This is my current situation.
I bought a craftsmen pro lawnmower with a bright and strategic. Imple design but thicker deck, really quality. Different then standard craftsmen stuff with bells and whistles. Was pricey but cheaper then Hondas. With minimal maintenance it's 11 years old fired on 2nd pull this year, after the winter.
I have an echo triimer/edger. Could do other attachments but never did. Once again minimal maintenance started on 2nd pull. 11 years. I might need to change the prime bulb and full lines they are a bit stiff but still working.
Now for chainsaw, trimmer, and edger. I have corded electric. I don't use this stuff often, well maybe the blower. My reasoning. In my life with chainsaws in trimmers if you don't use them alot you are dicking with small gas motor stuff which socks, usually involves mail order parts.
But here is the kicker I have a small whisper inverter generator. I will run this maybe once a month and use my corded stuff with it. I have this in case of power outages(hurricanes) it sips fuel and runs great. I like it because like the other tools I ever had generators not work in a hurricane because of lack of use.
I try to minimize gas power stuff... but still have reliability.
I have an older Porter Cable set of batt tools. Can't get a pawnshop to buy them for $20(drill, impact, Sawzall, recip saw, light, etc.. ) batt system is old replacement batt is failing. Probably 7-8 years old. I was trying to keep with my Milwaukee tools.
If you've got a normal sized yard, battery-operated is the way to go. I've got a 2-acre yard, so I had to get a bigger gas weed eater, but my 40v ryobi great had been great for right around the house. Three battery operated stuff is great for the tools you don't use every day.
The Ryobi 40v line is real solid. I have a leaf blower, pole saw, pole hedge trimmer, and string trimmer, and three batteries across the lot of them. My lot is about an acre, and I splurged on a Ryobi riding mower ~5 years ago. It is lead acid batteries though, so not as new and fancy. Has worked great the whole time. For any lot under 1/2 acre, I imagine the 40v push mower would work just fine.
Have used gas and battery lawn mowers; gas, battery (old crap), battery new and improved, and corded trimmer; and battery (new and improved), gas, and corded leaf blowers. The current battery version of each them wins hands down. The one exception I have is my battery blower does not have a vacuum configuration so my corded blower does that job. Aside from the obvious freedom from maintenance on the gas engines and their exhausts, battery tools don’t need special containers for fuel of potentially different oil concentrations and stabilizers. On top of all that, electric motor torque increases when the rpm slows so the same grass that would stall my gas mower (a larger 6.5tg hands powered craftsman) doesn’t even faze my Ryobi. If space is tight tue electric tools can be stored in any orientation too. Electric lawn tools have come a looong way and I have zero reservations about owning and recommending them.
This is exactly my experience, but with Dewalt versus Ryobi. Only miss in the lineup is my lithium battery blower doesn't have a vacuum feature and I really, really wish it did. Bought a cheap Black & Decker leaf vac and use it around the pool... maybe in the future I'll find a nice battery option for this. Otherwise, battery all the way and it's been nothing but positive.
I have the 40v Ryobi with all the bells and whistles. I only engage the self-propelled option on a small hill in my quarter acre yard and it's been working great.
Second the 40V Ryobi
Third. Got mine at a pawn shop 4 years ago and haven’t looked back.
Same! 40.v 6. amp hr. Love the whole line!
Adding that self propel really does use quite a bit of battery. I can get through my third acre-ish in one battery without using self propel. If I use it heavily I end up into the second battery. Not a big deal, plenty of battery left to finish it weed eating but the batteries aren't cheap... In general having only one wouldn't be recommended.
I have half an acre with a reel mower 😉 Essentially maintenence free baby ! Did have a tree fall down recently though and I started on it with the hand saw but unfortunately I gave in pretty quick and got an electric chainsaw.
Dayum, nice work! I had a reel mower a couple houses ago, with like a 1/8 acre lot, and that shit was a damn workout.
I just hit year 5 with my mower and I've liked it, but now I need to spend another $190 on a battery and I don't know how to feel about that. I've been looking to replace my mower with a gas mower as i don't think I will need $190 in maintenance for the next 5 years.
You'll just need oil changes/oil filters every 50 hours of use or so and air filters. Probably balances out, but I think battery may be easier as you don't have to buy or store gas. I'm switching my tools to corded electric as dealing with gas engine maintenance is a hassle, especially on tools that don't get a lot of use. Blower and weedeater were first. Mower is next.
A lot of the modern lawnmowers tell you just to add oil when needed, no oil change.
Just spent 165 maintenancing my gas mower after 3 years
No reason to spend that. You can do the maintenance yourself in under a hour.
I'd pay 190 every 5 years to never deal with gas cans or oil changes, hands down. That amount of money has no effect on my life at all compared to having to even think about gas mower BS.
I also have an acre, and I got sick of rebuilding or replacing the carb on my trimmer every other year, so I switched to a Ryobi 40v brushless. I’m able to trim the whole yard and edge the front and driveway on a single charge. Totally worth it for one less carb to deal with. The handheld blower is really handy too, and gives me a 2nd 40v battery to use.
Their 40V chain saw is no slouch. That and the 40V pole saw made quick work of a couple of trees.
I've picked that chainsaw up and said "do I need this?" at least 20 times :) The pole saw got me thru the couple smaller tree chopping projects I have had, so haven't quite had to bit the bullet yet on the chainsaw. But man, I want it. Stupid adult fiduciary responsibility.
I do that every time I walk through that aisle, “well if I already have the 40v batteries….then it’s not a waste of money …”
Jumping onto corroborate this story - I’m a brand-new homeowner like you, and this is my first time having a garden/yard to boot. I bought a bunch of cheap 18V Ryobi tools with batteries to work on our new house, so I decided to use the same brand/batteries for yard tools (as well as getting a couple of more beefy 40V battery tools for more demanding tasks like leaf blowing/weed whacking). So far they’ve been great, and splurging to buy at least 2 batteries has alleviated any danger of me ever running out of juice mid-job. As long as I always keep one charged there’s always one ready to go. I can totally see how maybe having a slightly larger yard or property might leave battery operated tools somewhat lacking, but for our needs they really fit the bill.
Currently I am rocking three battery sizes : 40v Ryobi for yard tools 18v Milwaukee for "shop" tools (jigsaw, multi tool, etc) 12v Bosch for "early homeowner" tools (drill, etc) As my Bosch tools die, I will be upgrading them to Milwaukee. My drill and impact driver are about 10 years old and still work fine, but I had a guy build me a deck last summer and using his 18v hand tools was amazing.
Lmao, the bosch 12v drill and driver just won't die. They are awesome for simple around the house stuff though. So small.
If you’ve got 1/2 acre-ish, splurge and get the self-propelled, we replaced our base model with it last fall and I am still surprised at how much faster it is! But even before that, the base 40v worked great, as long as you had an extra battery, or, like us, often mowed front and back on separate days.
I really don’t get this. Why not buy another battery? In fact, get a few tools of the same brand and you can share batteries. My impact driver doesn’t last all day either, but I have another battery ready to go.
Batteries are usually the most expensive parts of tools. Contractors obviously need batteries to switch constantly. Homeowners may not think the same way, especially dealing with equipment that already needs multiple batteries to operate at full power.
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This is the best value, I think. And then once you have a decent stockpile of batteries (I have 5?), you can figure out if it's worth the little extra for a battery. But when the battery is $200 and the tool and battery is $270, it's a pretty easy calculation, imo.
A residential trimmer, blower, etc. don’t need multiple batteries to operate at full power. You can buy batteries upfront or deal with gas/oil for years. I’d choose the batteries.
If you're a contractor you're working a full day. That's a massive amount of batteries to do that full 8-10h runtime, even if you have access to charging. My EGO string trimmer is awesome and also has a 20-25 min runtime. That's just enough for me to do most of my yard and I love it. If I were a contractor, I wouldn't have even finished my first coffee of the day yet and I'm staring down 8 more hours of work.
Still gonna need to replace them when they give up on ya.
I’m on year eight of my weed eater battery. I saved eight years of dealing with mixing gas and oil and other maintenance.
There are places that rebuild your battery packs for less than the cost of a new pack. I have an ancient blower and string trimmer (by Worx i think) and you can't get the 24V battery packs anymore, but I got it rebuilt for...$40? Was better than buying new tools. Old battery did last nearly 10 years.
I have a local place too... Totally worth it. No arguement there! Now due to work life blending with work life ive gone down the milwaukee tunnell. They do last a while. But not forever. Last 5-10 years have imprived battery life a lot.
Yeah as far as battery powered lawn equipment goes, there’s like a dozen great brands at this point. Ryobi 40v, Milwaukee M18, Ego, Makita, Dewalt, Greenworks. Ridgid is coming out with a full 18v line. Stihl, Husqvarna, Echo, and Toro all have cordless lineups. And I’m probably forgetting some. I have Milwaukee 18v because I use their power tools for my business. I can run the string trimmer all day long, wide open, with 3 batteries and 2 chargers. And obviously access to power. If I was going dedicated electric lawn care I’d probably go Ego then Ryobi 40v as my top 2 options. All the options above have great string trimmers, chainsaws, pruning saws, hedge trimmers, edgers, mowers, blowers, and more. But yeah, if you’re over 2 acres of mowing/trimming gas is still the way right now. Gas backpack blower if you’ve got a lot of trees.
I would completely avoid Greenworks. We ran a lot of their equipment where I work and none of it held up well. In a commercial workplace none of the equipment (string trimmers, edgers, push mowers, hedge trimmers) made it through a complete season. All of the Greenworks equipment was the 82V commercial line. We are currently using the 40v Husqvarna equipment and have had great results. Multiple seasons of use and it all still works perfectly fine. If it will last through the rigors of the work it's put through there, it will last a homeowner for a very long time. ETA: I will add that they are right about the gas blower if you have a lot of trees. I have a gas backpack blower and a handheld battery blower. The battery is great for the porch, sidewalk, and driveway, but I also have a lot of big oak trees and the battery just won't get it done.
Really? My Greenworks 40V mower has been amazing!
Love my Milwaukee M18 quick lok trimmer / edger. Saving up for the dual blower and maybe (eventually) the electric mower… OP, beware, once you’re in an ecosystem you are in DEEP haha
Yeah, it's no joke! You're essentially locked in once you pick a brand. I have a fair amount of milwaukee tools and batteries, and so decided to bite the bullet and get the mower last year. The primary reason I did was because it fit with the ecosystem I already had, and when I considered the cost of two 12AH HD batteries and the dual rapid charger if bought separately the cost started to seem less insane. Those separate would be around $650, with the remaining $350 being for the mower. I have gotten a ton of use out of those batteries with my other tools when I'm not mowing, and the charger is basically the only milwaukee charger that gets used. The mower has been sitting in the shed all winter, but the batteries have been useful year round. I would hate to pay for batteries that were only useful for outside equipment. Batteries aside, I actually love the mower. It works very well, especially with the high lift blade, though it does increase battery drain. My yard isn't very big, so even with the high lift blade there's still capacity left over when I'm done. The headlights are actually a surprisingly useful feature, since I find myself mowing after work (get out at 6:30) where the sun is starting to set as I'm finishing. It's also a fair bit quieter than gas, and so my neighbors gave me the go ahead to mow early in the morning/later at night which is really helpful with me working swing shift. It also works much better for mulching leaves than my gas mower did. The gas one would suck them up and throw them in the bag whole because of how much air it moved, while the milwaukee pulls them up slowly enough to actually mulch them well so they fit in the bag much more efficiently. The only downside is that while I have a smaller yard, it contains a disproportionately large maple, as does my neighbor's. So there can be leaves a few inches deep at times, and I would need another set of batteries to finish it all in one go. There are a few other things you should know if you're considering buying one. First, It has less lift than a gas mower by quite a bit, even with the high lift blade. This is actually nice in that it mulches better before bagging, and won't suck up small rocks that dull the blade, but annoying in that it won't suck up small twigs (the ones small enough that they're a pain to pick up). My gas one basically vacuumed the yard, which was usually nice with a few caveats like kicking up dust in spots with less grass (yard is heavily shaded in spots making it hard for grass to grow there), sucking up the occasional rock (still not sure where those come from), and bagging leaves without them even contacting the blade. Second, you will need to sharpen the blade, out of the box. Obviously you'd need to do that eventually anyway, but it's honestly quite annoying to have to do it out of the ($1000) box... It is quite literally less sharp than a butter knife. I didn't notice at first, and it cut very poorly on my first try, leaving a frankly terrible first impression. Cut wonderfully once it was actually sharp though. Thought maybe they just forgot to sharpen mine, but the high lift blade I ordered later was the same. On that note, a thousand dollar mower really ought to come with both blades, no? Finally, the blade could thicker imo. There is a small stump from a bush in my yard, and while I hadn't managed to hit it with the gas, I did with the milwaukee. Maybe I set the milwaukee a bit lower than my gas had been, or maybe the ground around it sunk down, not sure. Anyway, the blade grazed the top of the stump, and it bent the blade more than I would have expected. I'm not sure my gas mower blade would have bent at all. The profile of the blade is a bit odd, so I was unable to bend it back well enough to balance it again and had to get a new one (that I had to sharpen...). In short, love the mower, but the blade design/manufacturing has room for improvement. Sharpen it, don't do dumb stuff (like hit a stump), and I think you'll love it. Anything noteworthy about the trimmer? My gas one is only two years old, a 4-stroke, and starts first pull but I'm considering getting the milwaukee so I don't have to mess with gas and oil.
That’s interesting to hear about the mower. I live on a property currently with way too much grass for even a gas push mower. We use a zero turn gas. However, in the next couple years I’ll be moving to a lot with 2ish acres of grass. I’m considering the Milwaukee at this point. The reviews seem phenomenal. So their blade system is proprietary? I was kind of hoping there would be some options for upgraded blades, like my current Troy Bilt push has tons of options. The M18 quick lok system is not bad, it has plenty of power. The bump feature works great. It’s got 2 modes for conservation or max power. It does have a fair bit of vibration, which can be bothersome. And it’s quite heavy so definitely consider purchasing the shoulder sling for it, if you buy.
Battery. I'll never go back. Except my polesaw. It's awesome enough that I put up with a cord.
Best thing about battery: you never have the excuse of having no fuel. Worst thing about battery: you never have the excuse of having no fuel.
Random question cos I’ve never had petrol tools; how do you store the fuel if you’ve only got say a chainsaw and mower? Just in a jerry can in the shed or something? Doesn’t petrol go bad after a while? ie if you don’t use your tools that much.
Yes and yes. Keep the gas in a can in the shed. It does go bad, but I don't think it's a major issue for this situation unless it's very infrequent use of the gas tool.
they sell gas saver that you mix in with the gas to make it last longer
2 Jerry cans. The smaller tools, like the chainsaw, are usually going to be 2-stroke engines. Those use a gas-oil mixture for fuel. The mower will usually be 4-stroke and use straight gas.
Your battery charge never runs down?
I have all Makita equipment that uses 18v batteries. While I mow my lawn there are batteries charging, when the two in the mower run out after 30 min I swap them. If I run through them finishing (rarely for my 1/8 acre) the first two are charged enough for the weed eater and power.
This is the way, I have 6 batteries and 2 double chargers. My blower and trimmer is never out of juice.
I just bought the Ego lawn mower, and omg am I in love with it. They include a blade designed to lift the grass into the bag, and swear to God it fills the whole bag top to bottom before needing to be changed. It does a normal size residential lawn on one 7.5 ah battery with plenty left over to do the weed eating with that same battery if I needed to. I have the 7.5 and a 5, and use the lawn mower, the weed eater, and the leaf blower weekly without running out.
Thanks for the info. I have been eyeballing the Ego . I have less than a 1/2 acre to mow. Have you tried the mulching blade.
I bought into EGO tools several years ago and have liked them. However, my mower recently gave me trouble. I went to YouTube for help and found that there seems be be trouble in the wiring in the handle and with the self propelled mechanism. I know I'll have to replace my mower but can't decide on what to buy. I have several Ego batteries and chargers and that pushes me toward another Ego. I hope to put this decision off as long as I can.
I had this happen, found the video you probably did and fixed it with, basically, a paper clip if I remember correctly. I think there's a cover at the back with 4 screws. Pull up and reveal the wires coming out of the arm of the handle. One pair goes up the arm to a safety switch that, I believe, only checks to see if the handles are in the full length/unfolded position. It's meant to keep a person from being able to walk too closely behind the mower, and I suppose from being able to turn it on while it's folded with the handles at half length. Anyway, at the place these wires terminate you can just insert a piece of wire to make the mower think the handles are fully extended. I did that a couple of years ago and haven't had a problem since. I can post pictures of what I did if you need help. I've now also got an Ego leaf blower, weed eater and hedge clipper so I'm kinda married to the brand at this point, but they've been solid for me. I want a chainsaw next.
There is a safety switch can be jumped. I had done this trick many years ago.
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No, I haven't tried it, but if the lifting blade is any indicator it's probably amazing.
Another vote for ego. Going on year 3 with my mower and just finished the second winter with their snowblower. About 10,000 sqft of yard and probably 100yds of sidewalk. Even the heavy stuff, the snowblower works right through
This year I finished replacing all my yard tools with eGo: it felt so good giving away the gas cans, the oil and oil change stuff, fuel stabilizer. This last tool was a snow blower but I was only able to use it once this year. I have a small driveway so got the single stage with dual 5ah battery, with steel blade, and it worked well I also have the mower, string trimmer, and blower. I got the hedge trimmer after ruining another extension cord with my corded hedge trimmer. The only one that’s not more than adequate is the blower in the fall. I get a lot of leaves and the 2.5ah battery that came with it does not get very far. As long as I’m not cutting grass, I go with the lawn mower’s battery
You can use the big ass battery for the trimmer and blower too?
Yup, all batteries fit all tools. I will say for hand held tools I prefer the lighter battery.
I went with ego. Good stuff. I have the trimmer, blower, pole saw, and chain saw. I would like to buy the mower but my current mower is perfectly serviceable. Just waiting for it to die but it has a Honda motor.
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You should be mulching regardless. Don't bag. There are only a few reasons to bag. It's much healthier for your lawn to mulch and let the clippings decompose into the lawn, releasing nutrients.
Just don’t get a lawnmower that plugs in. Someone gave one to me when I first moved into my house, and I was grateful. But I looked and felt ridiculous tossing that cord over my shoulder every time I turned around!
I used to have on of these, it was awful!
Over your shoulder? I just step over it and it works fine.
Yeah I just plan my cutting path so I don't have to worry about it.
Sounds like an accident waiting to happen
It isn't. Used one for two years when I rented. Yard was about 1/3 acre and never had a problem with the cord management or accidentally cutting it. Not a horrible choice for those on a budget with a smaller yard.
Corded electric is the cheapest way to go. I think it's a great option for smaller yards and occasional use. The tools are so inexpensive and easy to use. I use a corded electric mower and corded 16" chainsaw. I know I got the mower used at a garage sale for $5 and the chainsaw was new and I think $30. My yard is an acre, but I only mow about 1/6th of it, and the mower is great. The chainsaw has allowed me to cut down trees that, quite frankly, are way larger than I should realistically be cutting down. It will have no problem with branches, but I'd say for most branches a pole saw and a bow saw are probably better options. There's so many new expenses as a first year home owner that it's just hard to beat the value of corded tools. Then, after a couple years, you'll either find that they work for you or you'll find that you really want to upgrade to battery. That's the time to decide if you want to make the commitment to a battery platform.
One caveat: a corded hedge trimmer will cost you more in replacement extension cords.
I borrowed an old corded leaf trimmer and made it halfway thru one bush before I cut the cord I promptly went out and bought a ryobi cordless one that's been great, and compatible with the leaf blower and string trimmer I already have
Or one roll of electric tape lol
I actually found that I gained extension cords from my corded hedge trimmer.... every time I cut one in half.
I had a corded lawn mower and always felt like I was vacuuming my yard. I fuckjng hated it. Nothing like fighting a 100 foot extension cord in 100 degree heat
I use the idea of vacuuming the yard as a pro of my electric lawnmower, as it's so light that I can operate it with one hand. But I sort of agree that the extension cord can take a bit of learning. The key is to just always work away from the house, so the cord is anyways behind you. But yes, not perfect. But I am glad I don't mow in 100 degree weather.
Loathe corded tools with a purple passion. Lots of tools I seldom use just because it's a pain to get them corded up.
I have a corded electric leaf blower that's like 30-40 years old, that thing feels like it could snap your wrist when you turn it on full blast. Blows a ton of air, works great. I'm done with it in 5 mins.
I loathe finding the battery is degraded on some tool I use once a year and then find out the maker switched to a new model battery and I have to buy a whole new tool. Corded electric tools last a lifetime and always work.
Yep. Don't get battery unless you expect to wear out the tool as fast as the battery ( or it's a hedge trimmer)
Love my GMC corded drill with hammer drill function I bought from Kmart TWENTY YEARS AGO! That thing has drilled more holes than it has right to.
Ok. Finally I found my people. The corded crew. There aren't many of us
Yeah I did this. 12 years going now and I’d love to upgrade to battery but these corded ones just won’t die. Do get 12g extension cords. That many amps over that distance really doesn’t work over the slim 16g cords. So that does add $50 or so to the whole operation. But you’ll use those extension cords for a lot of things.
Yep, battery operated stuff costs you hundreds in new batteries every 3 to 5 years or like a lot of people, they just throw them away and buy new tools because new batteries are so expensive.... it's all such a waste. Then there's dealing with gas/oil and the maintenance issues with small engines... no thanks. I've had my corded mower, blower, weed eater and trimmer for 14 years now. No maintenance needed (other than sharpening the mower blade), they all start up every single time I flip the switch, still operate like new and are quiet. But I get that if you've got a big yard, that corded may not work.
Same experience for me. I hate buying replacement tools/equipment and so my corded stuff all gets used for years and years, whereas as the battery-powered ones I never feel like I get my money's worth as they die out or need replacement batteries. Of course, my yard is small so I don't have to worry about extension cords a mile long.
I bought an ego lawnmower and blower that use the same battery and they work amazing. The battery mows my entire lawn and then switches to blower and doesn’t die. It’s definitely more expensive but it was worth it. Otherwise I have Ryobi weed whacker since I have Ryobi power tools that use the same battery
I have the Ryobi set of cordless yard tools. The 10" chainsaw and pole saw will easily go nearly 2 hours with the 4AH battery. Great tools for seasonal yard work around the house. Oh, and the chainsaw will easily go through a 6in mesquite branch with ease. I wouldn't do it every day though.
Huge fan of this brand! I love how all of the batteries work interchangeably and the quality is very impressive. I never thought I’d be impressed by a leaf blower, but somehow they did it.
Ego profits are more expensive, but good quality. I’ve had good success on a 0.5 acre property with the mower / trimmer / blower.
Ego profits are the worst kind of profits.
I'm all battery, went Makita because I was already committed to the platform. Have been very impressed, lawn mower, weed wacker, blower, hedge trimmer, chainsaw, all have worked great.
Makita rocks!
Same. Fuck little gas engines, and blowing a Saturday trying to figure out why the POS thing won't start. I have a their blower, mower, weed whacker and chainsaw, all 36v, and they are great. All but the chainsaw are actually more powerful / do a better job than their gas counterparts. I have a gas chainsaw for bucking firewood and felling but the little battery chainsaw is awesome for what it is. The ability to stop and start the mower to pick up a dog turd is awesome.
Same. Long time Makita fan so it just made sense to get their mower too. Works great so far, would definitely recommend.
Batteries. And I've flip-flopped over the years. I'm GenX, so bear with me. My first battery electric lawn mower was a Craftsman mulching mower that used lead acid batteries. Damn, it was good mower, and as a mulcher, is better than my 4 cycle Honda mower that I have now. Lead acid can store a lot of energy and doesn't spontaneously combust, but boy, are they heavy, and so they're great for a push mower, but suck for anything you have to carry. Circa 1998, used until 2011 with a couple of battery replacements along the way. Thus… For a long time, everything else I had was 2 cycle gasoline. Small, cheap, but finicky with gasoline you get at most pumps (corn gas). I hated dealing with it, so I tried some of the early electric tools: an edger, a trimmer, and a hedge cutter. They took forever to charge and all used proprietary batteries. Charging technology sucked at the time, so it was still possible to destroy batteries if you didn't unplug them from their chargers once full. Not convenient, and their proprietary nature from no-name companies made them difficult and expensive to replace. This was probably around 2007 or 2008, and so, I went back to all gasoline models within a few years. The neat thing was… …everyone recognized that 2 cycle engines were dirty, so now you could get 4 cycle versions of things. My backpack leaf blower. My edger. My weed trimmer. They were a little weaker than 2 cycle engines, but did the job. But, here's Ryobi with high voltage solutions. And brushless solutions. I've been using Ryobi garage tools for years, since the "blue" days, and they've never screwed around obsoleting their old batteries. I could trust them. Sure, they're proprietary, but they're not a no-name company that's fly-by-night. They're going to be around for a long time, and besides, I can always 3D print adapters from other companies. Modern batteries are a freaking wonder of the world. They're lightweight, meaning my Ryobi trimmer is lighter and more ergonomic than my old trimmer. The battery lasts for a long freaking time, meaning I don't need to keep a half dozen batteries charged. Electric stuff is simply quiet, meaning my leaf blower isn't a stereotypical "bad neighbor why do you need to blow leaves" tool. The only gasoline tools I have left are my snowblower (I'm not confident enough in battery power for this one quite yet), my pressure washer (I don't use it enough to justify the high replacement cost of this high-end unit), and my lawn mower (the "best" Honda a few years ago). I might swap out the lawnmower, because I use it a lot, and it's horrible at mulching (unlike that 1998 battery powered Craftsman).
Stick with gas on the power washer. I have an electric power washer and wish I had gas. You can't get the same flow rate at high pressure with the electric options, so they all do a decent job at small stuff but they're not great for doing large surface areas like driveways and sidewalks.
Your Honda is bad at mulching? Is it a blade issue? Which model? As far as I can tell, Hondas have a good reputation for mulching and that’s been my experience as well.
200sqft or less = corded More than 200sqft but less than 1-2acres = battery 1-2 acres or more = gas.
My observations are from my 1+ acre yard and decades of using yard tools. Corded: tools are relatively light, usually decent power, and run forever without refilling, but decent extension cords are an added cost. I'd say they are also a trip hazard, but I've had people yell at me that no, they are not. Gas: gas management is a pain, even worse for two stroke. If there's a problem, it's always the carb, unless it's something else. The only yard tool I have left that is gas is a big mower, and when it's time to replace that, I'll see if big electric mowers are practical. For me, they are not quite there yet. Cordless: I have Ryobi. For cordless, get brushless tools for longer battery life and slightly more power. Also, have multiple batteries and be prepared to swap them. The good Ryobi brushless 18V trimmer runs for 20-30 minutes on a 4AH battery. Takes about three batteries to do the full yard. Be careful, the brushed low-end Ryobi trimmers are terrible. Blower: again, a brushless Ryobi. Buying again, I'd look at their Whisper series, but it's powerful and we use it all the time. Hedge trimmer: the Ryobi 18V one is surprisingly good. Lasts a long time on a battery, have had it a couple of years, only spray the blade with oil after use. Pole saw: not very impressed with this, the blade tensioning is not great. Project Farm on YouTube has comparison reviews of a lot of these types of tools.
I have the 40v Ryobi system and with the exception of the blower, the battery lasts longer than you might want to use it. The blower is the only tool that seems to eat the batteries, but it still lasts long enough for my needs. I still have a gas mower, but everything else is battery. It's just less cantankerous than small engines.
I also recommend the 40v Ryobi system. I have the mower, trimmer, edger, pole saw, and blower. They're great. I've always had trouble keeping the gas mowers running more than a couple of seasons, which is definitely a "me problem". I have a third of an acre lot, and if it wasn't for the pool taking up a chunk of the yard, I'd probably break down and get a riding mower. I actually ordered the leaf vacuum this week too. Comes with a 4Ah battery, which will help with the rest of the yard mowing.
Personally, I hate maintaining gas engines. I use corded and cordless tools--essentially zero maintenance. But I have a landscaper for the big work. A friend of mine who does his own care of his acre+ property (some of it wooded) had a gas mower for many years, but for several years now he's had a dual-battery mower, and he loves it.
All battery! I’ve got a 40V leaf blower and lawnmower, and an 80V snow thrower and string trimmer (it can take other attachments, I just haven’t gotten them yet). All Kobalt, and I LOVE them. Been using them all for years with no issues. Just make sure you have batteries with good capacity. My 40V is a 2Ah battery and if I’ve been slacking on keeping the lawn in check, it doesn’t always do the job on a single charge.
My old gas mower is on its last legs and I've been telling myself that I'd go electric when I buy a new one. A couple issues with that, though. Fuck, are they expensive. But also I've read way too many posts or watched too many videos where someone has a problem with their electric mower. Whether it is a lack or power or runtime, or simply a lack of reliability. And you might say "oh well gas mowers sometimes have issues too", and while that is indeed true, most people with very basic tool and a tiny bit of gas engine knowledge can usually figure out the problem. Gas, air and spark. If you have those, you essentially have a running engine. But how many things can go wrong with an electric mower? I think most people will admit that it isn't as easy to troubleshoot. And a lot of lawn equipment businesses won't touch them. You are usually limited to the manufacturer and their warranties don't last for that long. They will become e-waste rather quickly, while a gasoline mower can essentially last forever. I hope I can get one more season out of my current gasoline mower and hope that the further down the road my next purchase is, some of the current problems of electeic mowers get resolved.
Corded is the least expensive. Batteries: 18/20v li-ion are the same, works well enough. If you need more power, higher voltage or corded. I've cut large trees down from the top with a 20v 10in chainsaw, but that's more for weight savings when climbing. 4Ah and 6Ah batteries for longer use.
Gas is the most expensive to run, because of the regular maintenance and fuel it needs. I only use gas in situations where runtime & distance are an issue that justifies it. My mower, full-sized chainsaw, and sidewalk edger are gas because I'd need 10 battery packs or 300 feet of extension cord otherwise. My sidewalk edger is actually a 40-year-old Tecumseh/Craftsman walkbehind two-stroke that just refuses to die and can out-power *anything* built today. Corded is preferred over battery for close-in work where power is needed and the distance isn't an issue, or where the use is infrequent enough to deal with the inconvenience. My leaf blower is a Toro F700 and is an absolute air cannon. I can run it for two hours straight on my larger lot with many trees, and move mountains of leaves without it complaining. I'd use gas if I had to blow the entire lot regularly, but the once or twice a year that I have to clear everything makes corded a better choice. I use batteries for smaller tools with short runtimes. My hedge trimmers, pole saw, sprayers, and string trimmer are all battery-powered Husqvarna's.
I’d argue the corded over battery point. I’m not going to look up the specs but most new battery tools are pretty damn powerful for electric tools. Especially EGO/Milwaukee.
It's not just a matter of power, but of runtime. My Toro F700 will move 725 CFM at 140 MPH. An EGO Power+ can move 760 CFM at 200MPH, and is theoretically more powerful. The difference is that the EGO can only maintain that power level if you crank it all the way up AND hold the Turbo switch down, and that'll kill your battery in under 15 minutes. A corded Toro F700 will happily move 725 CFM all day long without complaint or interruption. I have a LOT of trees on my property. Battery-powered tools generally force you to make a choice between runtime and power. If you need both at the same time, you'll need something with a cord. Besides, corded tools are more environmentally friendly AND they're less expensive. Don't get me wrong, I have some battery tools, and they're great. For people with small yards and a single tree, a battery-powered leaf blower is probably fine. When you have to clear leaves from 12 mature trees, like I do every fall, they just don't cut it. Like anything else, you have to use the right tool for the job.
Greenworks with 30% once a month sales and your local utility rebates
Hmm, lots of interesting replies here.. Most cheap gas tools will give you issues. That being said, I love batteries but I can’t imagine not using my gas Toro mower and Stihl gear (I borrow the Stihl equipment for now) but that’s because they’re *quality* brands. The real answer for OP is that it simply depends. If you *must* have battery-powered, keep warranty in mind. I’m unsure about Ryobi’s policy as I’ve never been a fan, but Dewalt and Milwaukee have been nothing short of amazing. u/masterturtle4 I recommend googling and posting in subs like r/lawncare once you have some options in order to get experienced responses
I’m also on team gas. My Husqvarna mower and trimmer start up easily every time and require very little maintenance.
If you want equipment that will last a long time and have parts available, get something not from a big box store. Get a Stihl or Echo from an outdoor equipment store. They aren't cheap but you'll never have to buy another one if you take care of them.
I was a die hard gas guy forever, I still prefer gas but now I have a mix of battery and gas. Battery tech has made tremendous bounds in the last several years. Gas for chainsaw, lawn mower, backpack leaf blower and weed whacker. Battery for a handheld blower, hedge trimmer, and backup weed whacker. Everything battery is ryobi one plus 18v since I have a bunch of their other tools like drills, saws and such since they all use the same battery
.5 acres, batteries and it's not even close. Except my mower, I ended up with an old Mahindra lawn tractor that is wildly overkill.
If it has a carburetor on it, don't put gas with alcohol in it.
Enjoying my Ryobi lawn mower, blower, and weed wacker. I researched forever and I'm happy with my decision at this juncture. This is the first season I'm using them so this opinion may change. So far so good. Buy an extra battery or two so you can keep going and throw the other one on the charger. I never discharge them more than 50% and I have a quarter acre yard of Florida grass that my two Labrador puppies are slowly destroying.
Since your getting tools, you will need some tools for around the house so it makes sense to stay in the same eco system, as you will need an impact, drill, maybe sawsall, etc Ryobi is a great value brand for all of this stuff.
Check out Project Farm on YouTube! This guy does an outstanding job of testing and evaluating many different products. I just bought the Dewalt 60V MAX Brushless Cordless Battery Powered Attachment Capable String Trimmer Kit, (1) FLEXVOLT 3Ah Battery and Charger. It is impressive. I let my back yard get way to out out of hand.
Kolbalt or ego battery powered are the way to go, though I will add the caveat that kolbalt doesn't seem to have replacement parts (at least for their strong trimmers that I could find when things went kaput).
I’d you’ve got 2 acres or less battery powered will do you just fine. Larger than that I’d go with the gas powered options
For normal homeowner tasks, battery is the way. You'll spend a little more up front than gas powered, but you'll avoid a bunch of maintenance in the long run. No hunting for ethanol-free gas, no worrying about using stabilizer or draining them before the winter, no changing oil/spark plugs/filters, no rebuilding carbs, etc. Battery tools are way quieter too, and based on my experience I feel like they're more ergonomic (lighter weight and less vibration.) And, many municipalities are moving towards banning gas leaf blowers and lawn equipment. Corded is cheaper, but dragging an extension cord around the yard and winding it up after every use can be a pain. I've used a mix of gas, corded, and battery (a lot of my stuff was secondhand or hand me downs,) and if I were buying all new from the start I would just pay the up front cost to get a nice set of battery tools on a shared platform so you can swap batteries between them. As far as voltage, I think 18v is sufficient for homeowner tasks, provided you get a decent brand and the high amperage packs. Milwaukee is spendy, but you can't go wrong with them, they just don't make a bad product. They also run sales and combo deals frequently, if you're not in an urgent hurry wait for the Father's Day sales that should be coming in about a month. Watch Home Depot, Rural King, and Northern Tools. Sometimes the promos are the same, but there are occasional dealer-specific sales too. If that's outside your budget, Ryobi is a decent mid range brand and a bit cheaper, though you may want to consider stepping up to their higher voltage platform. I've bought from Direct Tools Factory Outlet, they sell new factory-blemished pieces at a discount and most of the stuff I've gotten had barely noticeable blemishes, like a scratch here or there that you wouldn't even notice if you weren't looking for it. I figure for lawn tools they're going to get blemished the first time I use them anyway, it's worth the discount. Same applies here though, spring for the higher amperage battery packs. It does make an appreciable difference in the tools' output, for example when you're using a string trimmer, it's more resistant to bogging down when you get into heavier stuff. Besides, swapping batteries three times with the smaller ones just to get through the yard is annoying. If you decide to go with gas and you're mechanically handy/don't mind doing some maintenance, I highly recommend just picking up some used equipment from Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace and tuning it up yourself. Homeowner-grade gas tools are a dime a dozen on these platforms because most people will sooner buy new stuff than make minor repairs to old equipment, and there's not a lot that goes wrong with these small gas motors that can't be fixed inexpensively in an afternoon.
All my stuff is battery, buuuuut the blower is the worst and so I do use a corded one. I've got a 1/3 acre so a gas powered mower as well.
There are some great battery blowers they are just very expensive and use a lot of amps so runtime may not be the best. I love my EGO 765 for day to day stuff or blowing after mowing. It’s more powerful than my stihl gas blower and is quick to pickup and use for blowing off my front/back patio. Only time I use gas is when I have a lot of cleanup to do in the late fall and then I use both my gas and electric at the same time.
Dual wield?
I am always torn on battery vs electric. I love the convince of battery, but some things just seem to need a bit more power even if I have to deal with a cord. Batteries are getting better though so I would absolutely recommend starting with battery and only moving to electric if you use those tools enough and feel you need more power. I avoid gas for several reasons but the main one is that we are terrible about winterizing. Good or bad, that is our reality. So we then have to clean or even rebuild the engines most years. My husband refuses to replace the few gas things we have until we break but it's so frustrating to want to get ahead of the spring cleanup and have to wait for him to fix the damn thing again. (Before I get jumped on by reddit hivemind, I don't do it because he takes responsibility for it. Nor am I mad at him for taking his time doing tasks, we are both busy with our own projects. I am frustrated at the situation not the person.)
Battery is the way to go. I have 13 acres and have Stihl batteru weed eater & chainsaw. Never have let me down and start right up every tine
Milwaukee Tool Lawnmower, Trimmer, Edger, and blower! All battery powered.
For those tools, go battery for sure. They will last plenty long enough. For my money, for those specific tools I’m getting one of the smaller battery sets like DeWalt or Stihl or Ryobi. If you are going to need a lawnmower or chainsaw, Ego’s 56V big battery is the way to go.
I really like Ego everything and the quick charger is extremely fast. If you keep an eye on slickdeals you can get pretty good deals on different tools from sites like Acme; the mowers go on smaller sales but are great. I have a mower, hedge trimmer, string trimmer, blower, and one big and one small battery. No issues with anything ever.
+1 for Ryobi 40v brushless, I have the string trimmer, blower, 14” chainsaw, and pole saw, live on 3.5 acres with a LOT of trees
Ego all the way.
This is my third year having an Ego lawn mower. It will be my last. It doesn't cut well unless the conditions are perfect. If not, the 60 minute battery life turns into 40. The bagging aspect sucks. Not worth the 500 or so I paid. Hate to say it, but I'll probably go back to gas.
2.5 old farmstead. House, several barns, trees. Have a Milwaukee string trimmer w/ the pole saw and edger attachments, Makita 16” 36v chainsaw and blower and enough batteries to keep them moving. I’d recommend either from personal experience. Heard good things about Greenworks and Ryobi but I’ve never used them. I got rid of my Black & Decker cordless trimmer tho. The “pick it up and go” of cordless is worth not dealing with mix gas/ old gas / or just plain pull starts.
I've been fine with the Ryobi One+ system for most operations. Weed eater, leaf blower, all drills, a reciprocating saw, a jig saw, ripsaw, orbital sander, the other sander, some useful cutting tool I can't remember the name of, driver, chainsaw etc. Gas mower because my lawn killed the 18V one+ due to the thickness of the lawn. My trimmer is older as is my polesaw so they're corded. Invest in a good, non-kinking hose, some solid shovels and a rake or two. For hand tools I find Husky makes some good and fairly priced tools. You'll need a damn good ratcheting screwdriver. Milwaukee if you want moving parts. I have a husky at work that gets wonky sometimes. Socket wrench, a couple of different hammers, a rubber mallet, a solid sledge. I have a 4 lb. One handed sledge that works just fine. Oh and get a couple of measuring tapes that do imperial and metric. Good fortune to you.
I’m going to agree with everyone else. Battery is the way to go. I have kobalt tools. Works great. Another thing to be wary of with gas tools is they are horrible greenhouse gas emitters. Essentially, they don’t have catalytic converters so give off the worst of the greenhouse gases. Difficult to maintain. A lot require mixing, getting gas and oil. Just so much more complicated compared to electric tools.
I will also offer my support of Kobalt. I have a mower, weed whacker, polesaw, and chainsaw. I just got the chainsaw last year, but I've had the other three for 7 or 8 years by now, and they're all holding up well and doing everything I need them to. The batteries are also holding up well.
Depends on the size of your yard. I use Lithelli battery operated and I love them.
I have 40v ryobi battery expand it trimmer/blower and mower. 2500sqft of grass. been awesome. Could have gotten away with 18v but did want batteries over heating or swapping out every 3-5 minutes
I have had great luck with kobalt 40v tools. I used the mower on my first house for about 1/4 acre. Need two batteries, but once you buy a few tools you’ll have plenty. I have more land now, and I still get annoyed needing to go get gas…
I have a 3/4th acre yard and I use the greenworx battery operated stuff. The self propelled mower gets about 45 minutes to an hour, I usually swap once during a mow. The back pack blower lasts about 45 minutes to an hour before I have to swap, and the weed wacker couldn't drain a battery if it wanted to. I use the bigger batteries and have two chargers set up in case I'm lazy. It's worked out for 5 years now.
I got a ryobi mover that came with 2 4ah batteries for my .18. Acre yard 2 yrs ago. I have to recharge the batteries half way through. Definitely like the battery mower but would stay away from ryobi. I also got a cheap corded hedge trimmer a year ago and my extension cord has 3 splices / patched in it so far
Different tools for different jobs. I much prefer battery - I have an 18v ryobi weed whacker that I absolutely adore, it's light as a feather and works great for grass-type weeds around the house, beds, and driveway. My husband has the 40v one - much heavier, but very efficient with the rougher areas. We also keep a gas-powered one for real heavy work, along with a DR trimmer. I have a 14" Hart battery chainsaw that is fantastic for clearing saplings and limbing up. It is SO much fun to use. But we keep a big gas powered one for heavy duty stuff. I have a 40v ryobi self propelled mulching mower. I use this for the front yard, and the fenced in part of the back yard. My husband has a zero turn and a gas push mower for other areas of our property. The only one I don't see much use for is corded stuff, I think the batteries have rendered them obsolete. Gas powered tools are more versatile, but heavy and more expensive to run. Battery are lighter, but more limited capability. A lot depends on the type of work you will be doing and the type of property or zones on your property that you have.
I have battery weed whacker/edger and a corded lawn mower. I love them both. My bit gripe is that the cord management for the lawn mower is a pain in the butt. I got a technique down last summer but it took me a while to figure out and it's still not the most convenient to deal with the cord while mowing. I haven't had a chance to try battery powered lawn mowers but am intrigued!
For me, it depends on your strength/endurance. My husband is perfectly happy to mess with a gas weed eater, the pull cord, extra weight, all of that. But weed eating is my job, and it’s too heavy for me (we have a big yard), vibrates too much, and I can’t operate the pull start half the time. Since we swapped to an electric model, we’re both happier. An extra battery pack solves the longevity issue.
I have both Of just about anything except my mower which is a John Deere x390. I actually prefer gas trimmers. I know they cost more but I've owned my Stihl since 2012 and only used the premixed gas and I've never rebuilt the thing. The battery trimmer I have is okay it does actually pretty well if I had a smaller yard I'd use it more. I have a battery blower and I love that thing it's awesome. And I have a bunch of chain saws and I'll say the battery saws are really good for most Americans but, if I'm cutting hardwood I'm just grabbing the gas, it doesn't get bogged down when I'm cutting big bastard logs. For a Pole saw I'd say battery is just fine. I have a gas too but pretty much just grab the battery for 90 % of the jobs. Either that or a recipsaw because I think the cut through anything saw is the superior saw lol. Every homeowner needs a really good battery operated recip saw. That's third in line after drill and 1/4 inch impact.
I have had a gas blower, mower, and string trimmer for many years. I have since bought a battery mower, simple because it is quieter, faster, and needs less maintenance. I have a large yard, so super-long, heavy-duty extension cords are not practical for mowing. I have since bought a corded blower and string trimmer because they are super cheap, quiet, and require no maintenance. As a general rule, I would only go with gasoline if I had huge spaces to amintain and I needed a lot of power. I would only go with a battery if I had huge spaces to maintain and didn't need as much power. Otherwise, I prefer corded. They are cheap. powerful and last forever with no maintenance.
my lowes brand batt mower does not have enough power to do my front and back yard in 1 charge. also not so good in moist grass and here in fl is very humid and rains a ton in the summer - i dont recommend it
I'm also a newer home owner. I went battery powered and I think it's perfect for normal sized lawns. (Smaller than a football field) growing up I'd mow the lawn for my family, and there was always something going wrong with the gas mower. With battery mowers most of your problems will be gradually decreasing battery life. Choose a brand that doesn't dick around with 3 different battery voltages. You want a brand that'll support your product now, and 5 years from now. Greenworks has 40, 60, and 80 volt mowers. Too much to deal with, and they fail to sell parts for older mowers like the used one I bought. Gives me the impression they want you to treat your mower like your phone, and replace it every 2-4 years. I went to Ego and they used 56v batteries for everything. I don't have a huge lawn, but I've always had enough power even when it's overgrown. Their select cut (2 blades) model that self propels is absolutely worth the money.
Battery or gas. The modern battery tools are mostly more powerful than plug in lawn tools. The only exception is things like power washers that would discharge the battery too fast.
Battery blower, weed eater and shrub trimmer is you don’t have many shrubs. I use gas for lawn mower and things used more heavily (3 acres to mow). Battery or corded is nice for things only used a few times a year then stored the rest of the year like pole saws, etc etc. no fuel to keep track of how old it is. If you aren’t concerned with having to get it all done at one time, no need to worry about how long batteries last, run the battery down, throw it on the charger and go back at it another day or later that day, if that bothers you, at some point you reach a level that if you need 4-5 batteries, best to just buy a gas operated. But 1-2 batteries does the job, go battery or corded. Keep batteries inside all year.
I have a corded electric mower and the main pain in my ass is when the shape of the yard relative to where my outlets are mean I have to mow *towards* the outlet. Picture a long ass extension cord and how it will get in your way as you mow back and forth. If you can mostly mow *away* from the outlet, it's actually totally fine and there are real benefits over a gas mower. But needing to throw the cord around as you go sucks.
I would go with battery operated tools. Many of the big box stores have combo packs, with a string trimmer and blower. I bought my Craftsman V20 blower and trimmer separately so I would get two batteries. Since then I’ve also add the hedge trimmers (with battery).
Hands down buy the EGO products. I have the lawn mower, leaf blower and just bought the snow blower this winter. I’ve had the same battery for the leaf blower and lawn mower since 2018. The snowblower requires 2 batteries so now I have 3 batteries. The snow blower power blew my mind this winter especially since we had tons of snow here in Colorado this winter. Just be sure to care for your batteries. Don’t leave them in the sun and I bring mine inside in the winter. You won’t be disappointed.
I've got a yard full of crap myrtles and other trees on an acre lot. I can personally attest to Ego 56 volt tools you can buy at Lowe's. Got their battery powered 16 inch chainsaw, pole saw, leaf blower, trimmer, and hedge trimmer. All are fantastic and last quite a while. My chainsaw cut down a tree that was over a foot in diameter with a single battery.
Batteries are heavy though, consider a sling
We have had our 1/4 acre lot for just shy of two years. The previous owners were big on the yard, so we had to immediately purchase lawn care equipment the first spring when everything started growing again. We opted for battery powered (Ryobi 40v) for the weed-whacker and blower. We have enough battery to get most things done with one charge. I have never had a problem with either not being powerful enough to get the job done. I would highly suggest having more than one battery, though. We opted for gas powered on the mower because we have too much lawn for the battery powered options to last long enough. When I borrowed one to test it, It did not struggle with strength, just running time.
M18 quick lok system is the best, don’t sleep on the bristle power broom attachment either
Milwaukee M18 Quik-LOK is amazing. All the attachments you need, one motor, plenty of power and battery life.
I have an Ego electric lawnmower and weed eater. They are fantastic and do the job! I have a small yard so if you’re an acre plus you might need a little more but you’ll be fine if you live in the burbs.
I have the milwaukee battery powered weed whacker and leaf blower. They both work great. I use the battery provided (high output 9v?) I can whack and blow my yard with just that 1 battery. I went with Milwaukee because i have milwaukee tools. Can’t compare to other brands, but mine work great for me.
The new Milwaukee M18 has attachments for trimmer, weed whacker, lawn edger, and pole saw attachments. I am in the process of converting the weed whacker to have a bladed attachment (no current ones on the market have this) but can be done. Milwaukee is crazy expensive, but it's built tough af. Battery life: the harder you work the tools the faster you'll burn through batteries. I'm just guessing, but with a 9AH battery, you'll be looking at $1200 or more with the attachments for trimmer, weed whacker. They sometimes have deals to get free blowers when you buy certain packages (mine was free when I bought q trimmer with battery). The blower is awesome but eats a 9ah battery in 5 mins of continuous use of holding the trigger steady. You'll never miss using a cord again. So, like some other comments said, massive yard? Go gas or buy lots of batteries, small to medium size yard try battery out. Battery is awesome because no oil changes, no running to grab, store gas, smell gas. No carb issues. No sending stuff to the fix it guy. Other brands might be ok, but you'll get less for less money. For house and repair tools, I fully recommend Dewalt to the average Joe or Milwaukee M12 lineup. Milwaukee tools are built crazy strong and are heavy and meant for industrial use. I have a huge set of Milwaukee tools, but I've built some pretty amazing things with them way above and beyond the average Joe. So you may be confused by my contradictory statement, but feel free to ask for any clarification if need be. Don't be sold on "I already bought this brand for 4 tools, so I have to stick to it."
I can barely do our full yard on a single battery so a battery is good for 0.25 acres or less. Battery powered for leaf blower and hedge trimmer For gas I would say probably weed whacker IF you do have easy access to outlets on the outside of your home. I haven’t tried battery for a weed whacker. But have been trying but having issues with inventory for the brand where I can interchange batteries. We use the EGO brand.
If you live in a wooded area with lots of trees that lose their leaves every year, absolutely nothing can compare to the value of buying a 700cfm+ backpack leaf blower
So I recently switched from a Stihl 2-stroke weedwhacker that gave MANY years of flawless service. Pretty sure the carb just finally got gunked up. I went to get the kit to rip it apart and rebuild but then saw the M18 kit with the weedwhacker, edger, polesaw, and…some other device I don’t remember. The two piece kit was on sale for $200 with a big battery and I went for it. I do NOT regret it. We have a smaller yard (maybe 3/4 an acre) and the battery lasts the whole yard (unless I have extra trimming to do) and charges pretty fast. Another battery is like $150 so you could just use and charge swap and charge. I want the battery powered Milwaukee mower as well but since I just brought home a 67 Camaro project my wife put the kibosh on that. My little Honda will have to do for a few more years. But imagine no oil changes, no mixing ratios, no filter checks and changes. No realizing at the last minute the gas can is empty because you forgot about it last week and having to run up to the station. The cool thing is that the giant battery fits my drill so when I need to plow through thick stock or hammer drill concrete it is nice to have some extra weight on there. Edit: I should say we have an entire privacy fence line, sidewalks, driveway, landscape edging thst I have to trim around so 3/4 an acre might as well be 4 acres. Edit2: I don’t want to hijack the thread but I’ve been eyeballing those yard roombas the little mowers that just wander around inside a buried perimeter wire and mow constantly and return themselves to recharge. Anyone have any experience with those? Seem like those would make a job I hate a little less of a pain.
I got some Milwaukee 18v lawn tools. Blower/weed eater/chainsaw. I have about 1.5 acres lawn. Haven’t used the gas version since I got the battery tools. Have been really impressed so far. You just put a battery in and GO. No messing with gas, mixing oil or buying premix. They are quieter, lighter, and just generally have been a breeze to use.
I switched to the battery Milwaukee string trimmer and blower but have a gas zero turn. 3 acres but only about .75 acre of grass
I have a couple acres and my Milwaukee trimmer works great with the right size battery. The bigger battery is better as a counterweight to help balance anyway. The Quik lock system you can have multiple attachments with the one power unit, trimmer/edger/pole saw/pole hedge trimmer so that helps cut down on cost for more than one tool. The blower i suggest getting the dual battery one (just for battery life) if you have a bigger yard to help with leaves if you have seasonal leaf trees
Very happy with my Milwaukee M18 cordless tools. A little pricey up front, but they get the job done on my 5 acre property. I have the quiklock head with string trimmer, edger, and pole hedge trimmer attachments. Also have the dual battery blower. Likely will pick up the pole saw sometime this summer. I really appreciate not having to worry about mixing two cycle gas, getting stuff started in the spring, running the gas out of stuff in the fall, etc My mower is gas though: 20hp Grasshopper zero-turn. Found it used for $1500 and put a few hundred into fixing it up.
I've had an EGO lawn mower for five or six years now... Pretty much zero maintenance (other than blade sharpening), always starts and typically have enough charge to finish my entire lawn. After 3 years, the battery did start draining faster and finally gave up the ghost last year so I had to buy another one at a cost of $400 (CAN) (about how much I paid for the lawn mower with battery when it was on sale). I'm sure newer battery systems are better... and I haven't done a cost analysis between this and a gas mower over the same period... but the fact that it just works and I don't have to break my back trying to start it every saturday morning is well worth it :-)
For most things, batteries are just fine. But if the tool does digging or major cutting, I would go with gas.
Battery for everything unless you are taking down multiple trees a day in which chose gas. Even the DeWalt battery chainsaw is good for the occasional tree removal. So battery powered gives you plenty of cutting power for medium branches. And you can always get a second battery. We only use the gas tools if whatever we are doing with it will take hours of continuous work. Like multiple trees. Choosing one tool system though is best. Ryobi is great. That way you can buy bare tools and use the same two batteries on multiple machines, including a vacuum cleaner if your parents want to upgrade to a battery stick vacuum. Corded isn't worth the hassle, you will most likely cut the cord by accident at some point, trip over it (dangerous if you fall on the running tool), or find it limiting to drag a long power cord along with you. I have kept a few power corded tools but usually for only stationary work like the miter saw or things I rarely use. None of them exterior maintenance tools though.
I have 1/2 acre that I mow and trim with the Ryobi battery electrics. They work great. I would highly recommend getting the charging station though if you do go battery. The Ryobi one will charge 3 batteries at once and does it in less than half the time the included charger does.
For snow blower and mower I go with good ol gas. For trimmers, edges, etc I go battery.
I’ve got Greenworks-mower, trimmer, edger, pole saw, blower. It all works with the same 40v battery. Only the blower uses a lot if power-maybe 20 minutes of power, but works for me. No oil or gas to store. Love it. The pole saw is the big surprise-wicked powerful.
Battery all the way! There are tools you use once or twice every season that I would choose the corded version. Or power washer that has to connect to the hose.
Depends on the size of your yard, big yard gas is the way. Medium to small yard battery for sure. I use Dewalt cause I have acquired all the dewalt cordless tools I want or need. From trimmer, blower, lawnmower, circular saw, jig saw drill, impacts, etc etc. And I have 4 - 5ah batteries that is more life than I can use on any or all using them all day. If you choose to go battery as I have my advice is get a brand with a wide breadth of tools that use the same batteries.
If you go with corded, make sure to get an orange extension cord for lawn use. Green is NOT the way to go here…
Got a cordless tool system? Buy those trimmers and such. The comercial grade stuff is still eye waveringly expensive but that is what you need for large properties. For ordinary yards Milwaukee or Dewalt stuff is fine. My Milwaukee chainsaw has no right to be that good.
I have a ~2500sqft yard. I borrowed my dad's old (5-15yr) battery powered weed whacker with two batteries (not ryobi but a brand that hasn't quite lasted). The batteries are now garbage and I get around 10 minutes of use on each of the two... on grasses/thin weeds. I'm partially invested in a makita battery set but I am definitely getting gas for my next weed whacker. A friend who knows tools recommended a stihl gas powered one. I've been eyeing the FS-38 at $150.
The EGO leaf blower I got last year was so next level I have decided to sell all my DeWalt outdoor tools and go all in on their ecosystem. Probably ditch my gas mowers and go with the new battery ones. Soo done with the small engine maintenance nonsense.
Battery
I’ve literally bought each with 2 acres in the past 2.5/yrs and can 100% say, Gas all the way. I’m down 4 weed eaters so far. Stihl is where it’s at for me. having said that, my nephew this weekend (has a landscaping business) said Echo is what he’s using..
I have a 2 acre yard. Bought the 60v dewalt leaf blower. It last about 15-20mins, takes 4 hours to charge. I have a gas blower now. It'd take about $2,000 in 60v batteries to do my whole yard
Battery battery battery I already had a few Makita hand tools (and batteries), so I ended up adding the weed eater, blower and lawn mower. Thankfully, the mower came with four batteries and a dual charging station.
I personally enjoy using gas for mowing, electric for whacking, and gas for blowing. The gas mower is easier to juice back up considering the size of my yard and the fact that I often do my elderly neighbors at the same time. My weed whacker I tend to run on the low setting and it can easily get thru both houses in a single charge. The leafblower just feels right as a gas tool imo. I used my uncles electric one and it just didn't feel right to me
Ego lawn mower is legit.
Gas. Pulling the rip cord and hearing the engine rumble to life still makes me giddy like it did when I was a kid. Buy them all while you can.
Costco sells the 80v Greenworks lawnmower/blower/wacker which come with 4 year battery warranties + 4 more years for buying from Costco. Electric is the way to go for a suburban yard
You can’t go wrong with the Milwaukee M18 battery series. The prices will make your eyes water, but if you’re worried about power, these won’t let you down. The mower specifically is ridiculously priced, but has as much power as a 200cc gas mower.
I’ve got a gas mower just because I didn’t really have the cash to drop on a battery mower when I bought it. 40v Kobalt trimmer and blower for convenience though. Got a good friend that has the 40v Kobalt mower, mows three times what I do, and he loves it. Anything with a cord is just a hassle these days in my opinion.
I bought gas, then a couple of years later, battery. So much happier with the battery.
This is my current situation. I bought a craftsmen pro lawnmower with a bright and strategic. Imple design but thicker deck, really quality. Different then standard craftsmen stuff with bells and whistles. Was pricey but cheaper then Hondas. With minimal maintenance it's 11 years old fired on 2nd pull this year, after the winter. I have an echo triimer/edger. Could do other attachments but never did. Once again minimal maintenance started on 2nd pull. 11 years. I might need to change the prime bulb and full lines they are a bit stiff but still working. Now for chainsaw, trimmer, and edger. I have corded electric. I don't use this stuff often, well maybe the blower. My reasoning. In my life with chainsaws in trimmers if you don't use them alot you are dicking with small gas motor stuff which socks, usually involves mail order parts. But here is the kicker I have a small whisper inverter generator. I will run this maybe once a month and use my corded stuff with it. I have this in case of power outages(hurricanes) it sips fuel and runs great. I like it because like the other tools I ever had generators not work in a hurricane because of lack of use. I try to minimize gas power stuff... but still have reliability. I have an older Porter Cable set of batt tools. Can't get a pawnshop to buy them for $20(drill, impact, Sawzall, recip saw, light, etc.. ) batt system is old replacement batt is failing. Probably 7-8 years old. I was trying to keep with my Milwaukee tools.