I suggested to people around me to switch to battery mowers , which had a reputation of sucking ass many years ago that its never managed to shed, but one guy caved and bought a Chinese egopower and the rest saw it be better in noise and power and also ended up getting similar ones. Now I can enjoy weekends without the constant 2 stroke drone of gas mowers. Also less exhaust fumes in the air which is nice.

Doesn't solve the issue of wasting this giant plot of land that could be used for native flowers or gardening or growing herbs and veggies, but its better than nothing.

[–] Justice@lemmygrad.ml 6 points 5 months ago (4 children)

I regret not getting an electric mower. Definitely will when the next time comes. I got all electric for everything else. I picked up a bunch of dewalt outdoor stuff during some sale years ago because I was in "battery ecosystem" with their drill and impact driver. I was highly skeptical, but i got the trimmer (use it for edging too if I give enough shits... which is like once a year) and it's literally better than any gas powered trimmer I ever used for my parents as a kid. Those pieces of shit spewing burned oil in your mouth... this thing is nearly silent except when it's chopping the shit out grass. I have some of 2A batteries and one of them is enough for me to get all the way around my fence and other places. I got like a small tree branch/bush trimmer too which works great for the intended purpose... don't try to cut down saplings though... I got an electric leaf blower to clean dirt and grass clippings from my walking areas. It's definitely loud as fuck but still not nearly as loud as a gas engine. Still just as powerful.

That's what honestly surprised me because I had little experience with electric replacements for traditionally 2 stroke lawn stuff. I expected it all to kinda work but mostly just be frustrating and it's really not. So when the mower starts shitting its ass I'll have to do some digging and find a good electric replacement and be done with small engines forever hopefully. Not to convince the "pros" who have riding mowers the size or a small car just to mow lawns the same size as mine... at 8am, on a Saturday. Shit like that really makes me understand Rand Paul's neighbor and that whole incident.

I can practically guarantee those large riding mowers could be converted to electric. But then the issue would be converting the overcompensating suburban lawn care company owner (not the poor asshole cutting grass in full sun all day) to electric because it's "gay and for pussies." That's the general response or vibe I get when I tell people I'm planning on covering my roof in solar panels. One guy literally said "you're into that... solar stuff, huh?" Like a Hank Hill response. "I sell non renewable produced electricity and non renewable electricity accessories... That's how you can know I ain't gay." I always have to tell people like "why do you give a shit what produces the energy? It's cheaper and you don't have to be cucked to an uncontrollable unregulated electric company." "Yeah, but solar sounds gay... and Chinese..."

[–] infuziSporg@hexbear.net 6 points 5 months ago

You know what the true test of strength and potency is? Not using any external supply of energy to do the job.

As a bonus, it costs zero in gas/electricity, motor doesn't wear out, battery doesn't wear out, basically cannot malfunction.

This post was made by rotary mower gang

[–] Tabitha@hexbear.net 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

But then the issue would be converting the overcompensating suburban lawn care company owner to switch to electric

I'm surprised they don't decline on the basis of battery charging. The batteries work for individual home owners, you can usually do your single-occupancy-home yard and charge the battery for next month or w/e, but these companies do apartments, businesses, highways, they might being doing yards that can't be done by one person, or on one battery, or they might be doing 12 yards in one day.

I don't know the logistics of switching from "fill up this portable gas tank at the start of the shift" to juggling batteries and charging from the back of a truck, you'll probably need to be able talk numbers to them that debunk the presumptions they will have about the upfront costs of switching hardware (progressively or all at once) and waiting around (unpaid standing around) for batteries to charge.

[–] redtea@lemmygrad.ml 2 points 5 months ago

A handful of 5Ah batteries in rotation could work if they can rely on a mains connection to recharge them. They'll also need to cool in between or I assume they won't last long. Expensive up front cost.

[–] TrudeauCastroson@hexbear.net 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

My top concern in switching to electric lawn equipment is removable battery storage in the winter, and battery degregation/range concerns.

I bought a used 4 stroke lawnmower from someone moving away, and it mows my whole lawn.

Considering the rate at which my laptop battery deteriorated, I don't think the lawn mower battery would last 2 years if I want to do my whole lawn at once.

Electric replacements for 2 stroke stuff is definitely way better, I love my electric trimmer/edger. It's easier to charge a battery than mix the oil/gas and smell all that purposely burned oil.

I hope you live somewhere you can sell that solar energy back to the grid, batteries are the worst part of electrifying stuff. I wonder if anyone's built a water tower in their backyard for energy storage. Pump it up during the day, release the water down into a cistern at night.

[–] Justice@lemmygrad.ml 4 points 5 months ago

Yeah, we can sell electricity back but I looked into it at some point and I believe they buy it for less than they sell it...a lot leas, IIRC. You should end up making money but in reality still end up with a (obviously substantially smaller) electric bill.

What a great country, btw. Instead of opening the flood gates and sucking individual owners who can and want to go solar, the states are like "woah woah woah hold up there, buddy. You still gotta pay the electric company that we totally are actually "regulating" and not them regulating us..."

I think the dream for these electric companies is you still pay them basically what you pay now, but you produce the electricity via solar, you sell it to them at 1/5 of the actual rate, and they resell it to businesses at an even more jacked up rate. They're just another level of rent seeking... literally everything boils down to scams on top of scams.

My areas REQUIRES everyone pay a small monthly fee to the natural gas company (private but "regulated" and oh btw the cost of gas is going up I think they said 25% this summer when no one is watching so it's all baked in for the winter...). So even if you had full solar or dug a geothermal thing for heating, still gotta pay that fee for the convenience of potentially being able to have natural gas. It's in some local law or whatever... amazing country.

All roads lead to scams when they should lead to "fuck you, that's a public utility now."

[–] redtea@lemmygrad.ml 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Btw those DeWalt strimmers can develop a common fault eventually. I took one apart for a friend after it started cutting out. I took the bottom apart and cleaned it all – no fault down there.

It's up in the handle. There's a connection between two blue cables. It lays next to what looks like a transformer. So it gets hot and melts the plastic coating for the connection. I'm still trying to figure out what to replace it with. Probably solder and heat shrink. Maybe a metal crimp? Another plastic connector block well probably just melt again. I just need to borrow or pick up a soldering iron from somewhere.

Anyway, thought you might like the info on case yours starts cutting out. This one was cutting out here and there for a couple of weeks before it stopped completely.

As for the mower, I'm no pro but when I rent somewhere with a lawn I use a hand push mower. It's quicker, easier, and results in better grass than an electric imo. Even with bigger lawns tbh. They're also practically silent and while you might run out of energy, it won't. I find they've got their own momentum, though, so it's not really any more difficult than walking up and down with a non-self-propelled gas mower. Something to consider.

[–] Justice@lemmygrad.ml 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Hmm, I'll have to keep an eye on the trimmer. Tbh if it dies early, I guess I'll just have shitty edges for a few years.

[–] redtea@lemmygrad.ml 1 points 4 months ago

I didn't mean to suggest they're not good tools, sorry! You've bought a good one. Just wanted to let you know that if/when it does break, it's an easy fix if you know where to look. In my mind, that's a positive, as many machines are made to be unfixable. This one that I'm talking about lasted for three years using two 4Ah batteries back to back a couple of times a month.