Anyone go from gas to electric, then back to gas?

[jjp8182]

I would add drills, saws, impacts, etc. They are pretty good there, too.
Batteries not quite ready for prime time in chain saws or weed walkers except for short time use limbing not tree felling or lighter grass cutting, not heavy brush clearing.

Essentially the places where gas engines would have issues, and finding/using an outlet can be a pain (if even possible).

A big part of what drove me into trying a battery string trimmer in the first place was the impracticality of leaving a running gas string trimmer strapped to my tractor while I was mowing. The starting/stopping it once every few minutes to do a quick trim around a mail box or street sign was both a nuisance and starting to cause problems for the engine since it rarely got a chance to fully warm up and just run.

Battery nailers and staplers are also questionable in my mind.

On the other hand the 18V Ryobi telescoping pole pump with a 4AH battery has proven very useful as an easy way to water plants that are further away from a spigot than I care to drag a hose. Easy enough to drop it into a 55 gallon drum or 275/330 gallon tote and let it run

 

[kioti28527]

I jumped in on the electric blower, chainsaw and weed wacker eagerly, thinking they would replace the Stihl gas pieces I previously run.
Fast forward to today and I am once again back to my Stihl gas blower, Stihl gas weed walkers and never really left my Stihl & makita gas chainsaws.
The electric tools are all 60V DeWalt. Nothing wrong with them. They all work fine, but after running both in a commercial business for 2+ years, I really only use the electric weed wacker periodically for light jobs I know will be done in under 15 minutes.

Not disappointed, just have found gas revs higher & keeps running when far away from the truck for hours on a full tank. Gas chainsaws are screamers and will cut circles around the electric. Electric only really good for quick 10 minute pruning jobs. Gas blower just keeps on running & running.

Anyone else try electric, go back to gas?

My wife was hooked on her husky elec weed whacker for a while but uses 2 batteries to get done around the house 2 of the same batteries for the husky leaf blower,seems she was always waiting for a bat to charge now instead she uses roundup,so i guess you could say she went from roundup to elec and back to round up,for me gas powered is still king

 

[Tony Haerens]

I have a battery blower and a hedge trimmer. They both are good for light work but for big jobs I still grab the gas powered ones.

I jumped in on the electric blower, chainsaw and weed wacker eagerly, thinking they would replace the Stihl gas pieces I previously run.
Fast forward to today and I am once again back to my Stihl gas blower, Stihl gas weed walkers and never really left my Stihl & makita gas chainsaws.
The electric tools are all 60V DeWalt. Nothing wrong with them. They all work fine, but after running both in a commercial business for 2+ years, I really only use the electric weed wacker periodically for light jobs I know will be done in under 15 minutes.

Not disappointed, just have found gas revs higher & keeps running when far away from the truck for hours on a full tank. Gas chainsaws are screamers and will cut circles around the electric. Electric only really good for quick 10 minute pruning jobs. Gas blower just keeps on running & running.

Anyone else try electric, go back to gas?

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[Snobdds]

So the consensus seems to be, battery is not going to replace gas anytime soon for real work. Battery lawn tools provide some convenience and reduced weight for woman and aged men.

Now extrapolate this to the bigger picture. Will batteries every truly replace gas? Unless there is a giant breakthrough in technology, I don't see it. I do have a solar generator at my cabin that I just this year bought and started to use. In that situtation it makes a lot of sense. It's heavy, but I don't really have to move it. The solar does recharge it every day and it's seems reliable so far. It runs all the cabin lights and tech that it needs to.

One thing I have found, I still have to use a gas generator to use power tools. The start up power draw is hard on any batteries. That might be where the advancements need to be made, in the start-up power draw.

The writing is on the wall for me though, there will be a movement away from gas powered tools. I have been actively buying all the old "good" gas chainsaws, trimmers, etc and putting them in storage for the day you can't get them anymore. I have a lifetime supply of good stuff that I will be able to use on the ranch for a long time. Battery power just dosen't cut it for my stuff...I have too much stuff for battery power.

 

[Hay Dude]

So the consensus seems to be, battery is not going to replace gas anytime soon for real work. Battery lawn tools provide some convenience and reduced weight for woman and aged men.

Now extrapolate this to the bigger picture. Will batteries every truly replace gas? Unless there is a giant breakthrough in technology, I don't see it. I do have a solar generator at my cabin that I just this year bought and started to use. In that situtation it makes a lot of sense. It's heavy, but I don't really have to move it. The solar does recharge it every day and it's seems reliable so far. It runs all the cabin lights and tech that it needs to.

One thing I have found, I still have to use a gas generator to use power tools. The start up power draw is hard on any batteries. That might be where the advancements need to be made, in the start-up power draw.

The writing is on the wall for me though, there will be a movement away from gas powered tools. I have been actively buying all the old "good" gas chainsaws, trimmers, etc and putting them in storage for the day you can't get them anymore. I have a lifetime supply of good stuff that I will be able to use on the ranch for a long time. Battery power just dosen't cut it for my stuff...I have too much stuff for battery power.

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just make sure you store them with Motomix or something non ethanol so they wont get damaged in storage

 

[Grumpycat]

just make sure you store them with Motomix or something non ethanol so they wont get damaged in storage

That is not a sure solution. Talking about chainsaws and power lawncare tools? 2-stroke? The oil in premix goes bad with age.

The safest way to store unused tools is to drain the gas tank and run the carburetor dry. But even this is not sure-fire.

 

[two_bit_score]

I have gas powered equipment. Also battery. Also corded. Also pneumatic. Some duplicates, probably some triplicates.

They all have a place and a use. But as far as outdoor equipment it’s gas all day over battery baby!

 

[lman]

I have used gas chain saws for years. This electric has made the biggest differance in cutting wood. The Sun-Joe electric chain saw. It will out cut any gas motor saw hands down. I have the 044, 028 and a Sears gas saw but this cuts the best, For remote cutting I tow a gas powered generator 4000 watt that will power the 18" and a 14" electric Sun-Joe. I will not go back to gas....

https://www.amazon.com/Sun-Joe-SWJ701E-18-inch-Electric/dp/B003T0FSV4

So if you are using a gas powered generator to power your equipment then it seems you have gone back to gas. I would think it would be more efficient to just use gas powered equipment eliminating the generator.

 

[Hay Dude]

That is not a sure solution. Talking about chainsaws and power lawncare tools? 2-stroke? The oil in premix goes bad with age.

The safest way to store unused tools is to drain the gas tank and run the carburetor dry. But even this is not sure-fire.

Thats not what my Stihl dealer says. He says ethanol is the problem.

 

[Grumpycat]

Thats not what my Stihl dealer says. He says ethanol is the problem.

Yeh, he pretends there were no problems before ethanol.

At first premix oils were not formulated to mix with ethanol. No matter, go research shelf life of premix in gasoline.

The other problem with ethanol is it carries water in solution. The ethanol doesn’t hurt anything, the water and ethanol combined do.