Time is running out (California folk)

[682bear]

Sounds great
The downside is if have power failure. Now what do you do?
Battery will only last so long.

The good news for me is I own a small generator.

Dave

Well... that might be an issue for something more important, like an electric car charger...

But I can go for weeks without running my trimmer...

-Bear

 

[Inferno]

Sounds like a typical political thread.

 

[skogkatt007]

Duh they sypposed to make electric. So they can only sell you solur generatuz. Or wind powered.

You know I've been thinking. The average male aka non-bany maker1, whizzes 3x a day. If we turned every urinal into a tiny hydoelectric plant ...

Then there's flatulence. Most people don't get enough ruffage/beans. We could pass a law ... you get the idea.

 

[markba633csi]

It might be a good idea to refurbish our electrical grid first- I hope that's in the works- we really need it
Time to buy a generator and maybe a PV setup too

 

[projectnut]

We have a small Stahl electric chain saw and it works great. We also have a couple gas ones that very seldom get used anymore. They haven't come up with a HD string trimmer to replace our big gas machine yet, but I think they are getting close. We have a lot of land that we use a string trimmer on.

Electric lawn care and tree cutting equipment have made big strides in the last few years, but they're in most cases not a direct replacement for gas powered equipment. Over the years I've purchased a few chain saws. In 40 years, I've only needed to replace 1 gas powered saw, but I'm on the 4th electric. The gas ones have all been built better and have always had replacement parts available. Another downside of electrics is the weight. My newest 16" saw is an Echo. It weighs almost as much as my Husqvarna 24" gas powered saw. The Echo is far better than the earlier ones, but in this case uses chains that are specific to the model, and hard to find.

As for weed eaters' things have improved drastically. I have a couple Echo professional models that can use a number of attachments. They far outperform the older consumer grade gas ones. The downside on these is battery run time and again the weight. The ones I have still aren't in the same class as the older gas-powered commercial models. I still have 1 Toro commercial model built in the 1990's. It was sold to be a brush cutter as well as string trimmer. It's big, tough, and doesn't weigh any more than the newer electrics.

Electric mowers still seem to be far behind the gas-powered models. Toro has a "cost calculator" comparing the typical cost to purchase and maintain both gas and electric commercial mowers. It takes 3-1/2 years at 700 hours a year runtime to recover the difference in cost of a battery powered machine. That's with the lower priced models in the lineup at $30,000.00. Prices range from $20,000.00 to over $50.000.00.

The biggest drawbacks in my mind are battery runtime and machine weight. After the maximum 7-hour runtime it takes 12 hours to fully recharge the batteries. The 60" machines (largest electrics available) weigh in at just under 1,500 lbs. The 72" gas powered models are slightly less.

 

[Smithdoor]

Well... that might be an issue for something more important, like an electric car charger...

But I can go for weeks without running my trimmer...

-Bear

It is the refrigerator and other little things like cooking, heat and cooling.
Batteries will only go so far.

I have Battery backup and generator to recharge the battery backup.

Dave

 

[mmcmdl]

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14" bar ? That's $100 per inch ! Less maintenance they say ? Once you learn NOT to use ethynol gas in chainsaws what maintenance is there ? Why don't the gub make some new laws up that takes this crap out of gas and let the motors do what they're supposed to do without eating the internals up and causing them to run like crap ? Remember MTBE ? Another FU from our leaders . Ended up in all our wells and cost trillians of dollars to clean it up . I would hope these law makers would be able to come up with better ways to reduce their smog issues .

Rant over ................................back to our regular broadcasting .

 

[682bear]

It is the refrigerator and other little things like cooking, heat and cooling.
Batteries will only go so far.

I have Battery backup and generator to recharge the battery backup.

Dave

???

I apologize... I have a tendency to look for straight lines in a conversation, even when there aren't any.

My bad... carry on...

-Bear

 

[woodchucker]

Big polluters like China, India and 3rd world countries don’t give a crap about our planet, a few million more batteries won’t save it nor will forced extortion of citizens

it's easy to blame other countries. We were the biggest polluter for almost 100 years. We have done little to curb our emissions.
Lets avoid slinging at others, to avoid our own issues. We need to stop it. We can't point at others if we are hypocritical.
Most of our leading is just lip service.

Like anything else, there will be many failures before realistic solutions. I don't think batteries are the only solution, and while current battery tech is better than yester year, there's a long way to go before it resolves everything, including how to recharge it given the lack of power over the grid and it's problems.

 

[C-Bag]

I guess because I always hated mowing the lawn when growing up, I just never understood the attraction. When we moved here only the rich people could afford the water and maintenance for a lawn so the yard was already drought tolerant with no grass. Didn’t have to talk me into going full bore with succulents and native bushes with lots of hardscape. I put in a couple areas of new fake turf and the dogs love it and gophers hate it and won’t come up in it. Touchdown score. My dad gave me his electric polesaw and I’ve not used my gas chainsaw since. Yeah, my corded blower and polesaw work great but the cord is a bit of a pain. But they never give me a problem and always get the job done. I’d much rather be in the shop than doing stupid yardwork so it’s a great trade off for me.