Minnesota to try and ban gas powered equipment

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   / Minnesota to try and ban gas powered equipment #41  
My grandma has an electric weed eater. Love it. light as a feather. Powerful enough to trim just weeds.

But it barely last 15 minutes on a charge. Battery cost as much as an entire gas weed eater.

And after 1 year the battery was junk

Now she has a gas one.
 
   / Minnesota to try and ban gas powered equipment #42  
Maybe we will see a proliferation of small diesel engines. That would be neat. I mean, I would like a 3 or 4 HP diesel engine that was priced the same as a gasoline engine. I just think it would be cool. Not gonna happen though. What is way more likely is battery powered equipment that rivals gasoline powered equipment. Stuff that has the same power to weight ratio, same time per battery as gas tank, and a battery that charges as fast as the electric motor drains a battery. Then swapping a battery instead of filling a tank means a person won't be slowed down waiting for a charge. And same cost. If that tool existed I would buy one. Two of my brothers have battery powered chainsaws and they both really like them. And their experience is common. The little saws get used a lot. My next saw with a 16 or 14 inch bar will be battery powered. Forcing companies to go electric will make the above scenario happen faster. Folks can, and will, argue about whether it is the best way go.
Eric
Nice delusion. Yeah batteries are getting better, but it has been 30 yrs since I bought my first cordless drill and I would say they have improved a lot but nowhere near enough to match gas OPE. I think a battery powered chainsaw would be very handy for dealing with limbs and such. I got a nice battery powered Makita blower that is great for limited use. I have lots of Makita battery tools, so it fits in well for me. It is not a substitute for the gas powered Stihl backpack blower but it fits well in it's niche and is actually better than I expected. But the two are not even on the same page in reality.

For chainsaws I have a Stihl 362 with a 20" bar and a 660 with a 32" bar and I can tell you the number of times I reach for the 660 is way more than the 362 unless I am dealing with small stuff. The power is unmatched. Of course, so is the weight, but you know that going in. I often feel the 362 bog down and want the power of the 660. And a 362 is head and shoulders above what most people use for gas chainsaws. And current battery saws are far weaker than even those homeowner gas saws. So yeah, battery powered saws have a place and also a loooonnnng way to go before they are truly useful for serious work.
 
   / Minnesota to try and ban gas powered equipment #43  
We own an electric chainsaw, blower, pole saw and weed trimmer. 80 volt system and battery lasts longer than I want to work. I bought them because I wanted to not because someone told me I could not have a choice. I also don't maintain manicured lawns for suburban residents for a living and need 8 hours of use out of my equipment. Look on Craigslist or marketplace at how many gas powered late model lawn tools are for sale. Homeowners are already going electric voluntarily as the equipment improves. Let's let the consumer drive the market not the lawmakers.
 
   / Minnesota to try and ban gas powered equipment #44  
Once I saw one of our esteemed leaders at an outdoor podium extolling the virtues of electric power in small equipment.
Meanwhile in the background, a crew was clearing the grounds with gas powered leaf blowers.
Now THAT’S leading by example. ;)

We are forced to use tools that don’t create air pollution, yet the techniques used by big corporations to get the raw materials for the batteries has very destructive impacts on the environment.
 
   / Minnesota to try and ban gas powered equipment #45  
Who said anything about falling 36" trees? And guess what? Stihl is now making electric saws. Or at least putting their name on ones they sell. A friend of mine has one and he likes it. He cuts down and cuts up LOTS of trees, lots of big trees and has all sorts of saws, almost all Stihls. Stihl won't go bankrupt, they will start making battery powered saws in all sizes as soon as the technology is available. Of course there are all sorts of questions that need to be answered. And legislating the use of products that don't exist yet won't make those products magically appear. Legislation is messy. Lotsa folks don't realize what they are trying to pass into law. Oftentimes legislation is proposed just to get the issue talked about. To get folks to really think about goals. I am pretty sure these two in Minnesota don't expect the bill to pass but instead want the issue to be thought seriously about. And a question for you: If you could buy a battery powered saw that weighed the same, ran the same length of time, performed the same, and had batteries that charged as fast as the saw drained batteries, and it cost the same as a gasoline powered saw, would you? I certainly would. When it came time to buy a new saw. Actually, I would consider buying one anyway, even though I don't need a new saw.
Eric
Do you have a link for this saw with a 28" bar? When you do, we can talk.
 
   / Minnesota to try and ban gas powered equipment #46  
We have two lines of battery operated yard tools. The Echo 58v is a beast. We have two batteries and chargers and can swap them out easily. I took down a 20-24" pal in my backyard with the 16" bar. It was a lot of work and went through more than one battery. The limitation right now is not power. That battery could definitely push a 28" bar. The problem is that the market is not ready for that. The volume on chainsaws is in the 20" and under market. Professionals rarely unlike to change equipment unless they are unhappy with their current stuff. Ergo, not much market for a battery operated big chainsaw. Anyone who thinks 58v is less than a comparably sized gas one, simply has not used one. I had the equivalent gas version from the same manufacturer. The electric is quieter, but equal or greater in power. If you are having trouble cutting, try a sharper chain.

Also, 100% about it being a choice. Mandates might make it faster, but will not make it better. If a manufacturer knows you have to buy it, there is less incentive to do it well. Market forces have been proven over and over again to improve innovation and reduce costs. Electric small engines make sense and are much easier maintenance wise! Electric is even good as a supplementary power for autos. We simply are too far behind in building nuclear facilities to rationally move to electricity on a grand scale.
 
   / Minnesota to try and ban gas powered equipment #47  
The speed isn’t there. No way a battery saw takes a larger tree down or cuts firewood as fast as a quality gasser.

In terms of commercial work, that’s time/labor lost.
 
   / Minnesota to try and ban gas powered equipment #48  
I know for some of you guys that electric won't work. I could never imagine trying to mow my lawn or plow my driveway with an electric tractor. For some of us country folk, the small electric machines are a better choice. For small jobs they are fantastic just don't buy the cheap ****.

I started my foray into electric with a weed trimmer. It was a POS Black and Decker. I had nothing but problems with it. One day the line would not advance. We'll let me tell you, I had a snoot full at that point and lost my ****. I threw it as hard and as far as I could. Then I stomped on it, then I broke it over my knee and threw it again.

Fast forward to today. I have been a proud owner of a Stihl cordless weed trimmer and chainsaw ever sense that fateful day.

20180711_134859.jpg
 
   / Minnesota to try and ban gas powered equipment #49  
I threw it as hard and as far as I could. Then I stomped on it, then I broke it over my knee and threw it again.
That sounds like something I would do. :D Meanwhile the commentary would be rated X.
 
   / Minnesota to try and ban gas powered equipment #50  
I beat a poulan chainsaw to death on the loader bucket. Saw was fine when I had 6 acres and heated with heat pump nothing but trouble when bought more land and sold firewood.
 
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