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?

a

 

[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.

 

[Hay Dude]

Never heard of oil going bad, as long as it’s in a sealed container.
I have filled my tanks 100% full with ethanol free fuel mix for long periods of time and they start right up.

But what would I know, I only been in property maintenance and farming for 20+ years.

 

[Grumpycat]

Oil in the gasoline goes bad.

 

[WranglerX]

Watched a very good arborist that has all the latest goodies.... Has the little Stihl 12inch(?) one hand electric the cost in neighborhood of $800 and it stalled out 2-3 time in 5 inch limb.... Have really old Homelite 12 inch gas saw that cut circles around the Stihl..... Not going 'lectric until I can no longer buy gas saw in Kalifornia... Going to keep the old polluters running as long as I can...

 

[ultrarunner]

I think he got royally ripped off as they cost a fraction of that

Was the chain sharp, bar oil full and battery charged?

149 to 179 msrp and homeowner model not in the pro line for the only one handle model I’m familiar with.

https://www.stihlusa.com/products/gardening-tools/battery-hand-tools/gta26/

 

[Hay Dude]

Watched a very good arborist that has all the latest goodies.... Has the little Stihl 12inch(?) one hand electric the cost in neighborhood of $800 and it stalled out 2-3 time in 5 inch limb.... Have really old Homelite 12 inch gas saw that cut circles around the Stihl..... Not going 'lectric until I can no longer buy gas saw in Kalifornia... Going to keep the old polluters running as long as I can...

Some are starting to believe the craze has peaked and reality is setting in. Small gas engines work harder & faster than electric battery counterparts.

Until there’s a significant breakthrough in battery output (and there very well could be one) gas versions of chainsaws, blowers, weed whackers, etc are still the only choice for continuous use, commercial duty applications.

 

[bigtiller]

When I'm cleaning up storm damage with the wood chipper I have the Makita electric 12" chainsaw with me. It starts easier than gas and makes short work of trimming the kinks out of branches that don't fit in a 6" hole.

 

[rScotty]

We have both. Gas chainsaw and weed whacker are both Stilhl with a gas can and full tool kit.
The electric are Makita. The chainsaw is 36 volt dual battery14". Each has a spare pair of batteries.

Both are equally handy but for different jobs. If either will do the job, I use the battery powered.

rScotty

 

[ultrarunner]

During Christmas at the tree farm the gas Stihl saw was started maybe 200 times on the busiest selling days making fresh cuts...

Replaced 3 gas Stihl with one electric and two AP batteries and not going back...

15 second cuts starting and restarting is hard service every few minutes... needed 3 gas saws to insure at least one was ready through out the day...

The electric just keeps quietly going often same battery for 12 hour day...

As others have said gas and electric often compliment each other.

 

[aczlan]

I've been on the Ryobi 40 volt train with a couple chainsaws, weed Wacker, and hedge trimmers. Still have all my gas gear, but haven't used them. I have about 6 acres so lots of trimming and pruning.
I guess the idea is to stick with a brand you like so you can maximize your batteries.
I'm not sure about compatibility with other 40 volt batteries. Does anyone know if all 40 volt lithium battery packs are interchangeable? For example, does a Swift 40volt battery fit a Ryobi 40 volt tool and vice versa?

There's some out there, for example the Greenworks 80V batteries fit in the Kobalt 80V tools, but it's not a guarantee.

This is where I landed. I still have my electric tools, but they are NOT a replacement for continuous or commercial use (like a weed wacker or chain saw). There’s no practical way to keep charging batteries all day, although I do have a DeWalt vehicle charger and multiple 9/12 amp hour batteries, it’s too difficult to keep charging them. Refueling is much faster than recharging.

I think a blower might be a little closer to gas. I find I only use a blower for 10-15 minutes (unless it’s fall and we are blowing leaves for hours). My DeWalt blower broke and I have not replaced it.

I find on the chainsaws, the torque and speed just isn’t there yet. It’s really not even close for continuous work. I bet future breakthroughs close the gap more, but when and how many more previous models will have to be thrown away until parody is achieved between them

I have an 80 volt Kobalt powerhead (came with weed eater, works with pretty much everybody's flavor of quick disconnect attachments), it does pretty good, we took down an 80 foot maple that had a bad lean from a storm and one two amp hour battery on that was enough to limb the whole tree out using the chainsaw attachment (just cutting the limbs off the tree so they could be dragged over to the burn pile).

As others have said gas and electric often compliment each other.

Exactly, we have electric saws, we also have a few gas Stihls, the electric saw will do most anything we want for limbing, but it won't replace the Farm Boss with the 18-20 inch bar on it.

Aaron Z

 

[sixdogs]

I've got three year old ethanol free gas, with some Stabil added, in fuel cans in the barn right now. It runs fine. Also some in a collector tractor, some in my high dollar pressure washer and some in gas chain saws and assorted maintenance tools. All of them have been started this year and zero problems.

When I used ethanol gas, 10% and with Stabile added, I ruined a generator, ruined a Mantis tiller, some maintenance tools and had the rubber rot some rubber fuel lines on older equipment. Very expensive and troublesome.

I don't care what the philosophical explanation is and only care that ethanol fuel ruins my equipment and costs me money and ethanol free gas does not.