Now it's a crime to use gas trimmers in my California city just as fire season kicks off...

[Deaddog]

....But without a doubt, battery equipment has come a long way and in time I'm sure we will be happy with the alternative. Same goes for electric vehicles.

I see a lot of people complaining about electric vehicles or lawn tools yet we use battery powered drills, phones, computers, and obviously power our homes with electricity.

Come back in 20 years and most guys on this site will be driving electric or fuel cell trucks and loving them. That's my prediction.

I have an EGO string trimmer that is awesome. And now I have an EGO blower which means I have 2 interchangeable batteries. In most households these 2 implements are more than enough to get the job done.

 

[Deaddog]

I'm not for any laws like that but have to say I recently ditched the 2-stroke whacker for an EGO 56volt electric string trimmer and am kicking myself for not doing it sooner. I have about 1000' of fence and house perimeter and can easily do it in 45 minutes which is all the battery will last before it needs a charge. No more premixing or starting worries, just plug and play. It also has a ton more cutting power.

It may not be ideal for someone to use for hours at a time but for the causal homeowner it's the way to go.

I have the exact trimmer and love it. Yep, I get about 45 minutes of use out of it then put it on the charger and take a break. Of course one could buy a second battery for around $80 and be good to go all day. All the EGO tools take the same battery as well so when I purchased my blower I now have that 2nd battery when needed for either tool.

 

[Omega Woods]

Good a reason as any to move to Tennessee!

 

[5030]

Some Cities in CA have banned new house builds with Natural Gas connections.
They didn;t ban grilling, just added a mess of new rules to the old ones, like no starter fluid

I never use starting fluid at all. I BBQ with chunk charcoal and start it in a chimney starter. Don't like the 'aftertaste' of starting fluid in my meat.

I gave up on charcoal briquettes years ago. Too many additives in them.

No, I'm not in Kalifornia either.

 

[5030]

I've seen small herds of goats on fields here recently, they clear cut pretty fast!

Using Goats to Prevent Wildfires

Communities worried about the ravages of wildfires are embracing a four-legged solution

www.smithsonianmag.com

Isn't that what they did last year at the Ronald Regan memorial center, used goats to trim the brush? I seem to remember something about that.

 

[ericm979]

It's not like anyone could not have seen this coming. There have been gas leaf blower/string trimmer bans in many cities in the bay area for the last 20 years. My local chainsaw shop mostly sells to professional landscapers and they sell a lot of battery powered gear. They have nicely printed handouts showing what the regulations are in each city/town so their pro customers know what to use where.

Most of Oakland is urban or suburban, mostly with tiny lots. If you're from a rural area it's not like what you're used to. The open space to the east is largely publicly owned park or open space. IIRC Ultrarunner lives in the suburbs but has property that is outside the city limits. In which case the solution is to get battery powered equipment for around the house and keep the gas powered stuff on the farm.

 

[JethroB]

When I was a teenager a local farmer got a few goats to clear out underbrush. When done he loaned them to friends and neighbors. Occasionally there would be goat BBQ. His daughter was snacking on a (she thought) pork chop after school one day. Someone asked, “How’s Billie?”

 

[fried1765]

Rodwood - Do you pack your trash when you camp? Does it matter whether the law requires you to do it? Have you ever seen brown air in the cities? 2 cycles are bad polluters. Phasing them out won't fix anything but it will have benefits greater than the costs. You can either acknowledge that reality and deal with it, or keep spitting into the wind. Your choice.

Probably would be a good idea for the anti pollution dreamers to take a trip around the world, and learn what other countries are (not) doing.
If the entire population of the USA rode bicycles, and cut grass with scissors, air pollution would likely remain virtually the same.
Air pollution reduction by a host of third world nations, and the big boys, like India, and China, maybe COULD begin to make a meaningful difference.
The USA is "tilting at windmills".

 

[Alien]

I'm surprised you are even allowed to cut the grass at all in California. From my point of view it is one place to avoid unless you are a Karen.

 

[dragoneggs]

My insurance company (State Farm) just cancelled my home owner's policy because they noticed that I had installed a wood stove in my new shop. The stove is put in according to all safety codes. It is not a matter of raising the rate. They will just not insure me. So Insurance companies aren't too far behind California in being stupid.

I left State Farm years ago because of a similar stupid thing. We had a dog and when my wife wanted to start a small day care at the house when our kids were little, our agent said we can no longer insure you. Moved to Farmer's.