Yahoo Autos Get into the Earth Day spirit by upgrading your power tools to all-electric
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Did you know that when it comes to internal combustion engines, the EPA estimates that just one hour of operating a lawn mower produces about the same amount of emissions as 11 hours driving a modern car? Mowers are not equipped with catalytic converters, so they are filthy smog machines — creating up to 5 percent of our nation's air pollution. And according to an industry group called the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute, it's not just mowers. There are 100 million gas-powered mowers, trimmers, blowers, tillers, etc., in America's tool sheds, and 54 million of us mow weekly in the growing season. It's a real problem.
But it's a problem with a real solution. Many of us at Autoblog own and use the electric lawn equipment that has joined the gas-powered machines in the aisles of big-box stores. And as we compared notes, we discovered we all like these tools a lot. Here are some recommendations.
I have a house on an acre, with a low-pitched roof that constantly needs to be cleared of debris. So I bought an Ego leaf blower and string trimmer. The 530 cubic-feet-per-minute blower blasts the patio and driveways clear, and moves a mountain of maple leaves. The string trimmer can tidy up nearly the entire acre on one battery, and it automatically winds new string — wrapping line was a pain in the butt with previous trimmers.
Recently, a small tree needed to come down. I dug out my cranky old gas-powered chainsaw, then spent more than an hour fiddling to get it running. The saw generated a cloud of blue smoke. Made me appreciate the electric tools even more.
You can still buy the basic trimmer/blower starter pack I purchased, but Ego's store on Amazon now carries more than 50 products — entire lines of blowers, chainsaws, hedge trimmers, string trimmers, multi-head tools, snow blowers, mowers, and battery systems with packs of up to 10 amp hours. (I have two 2.5Ah batteries.) There's also a more rugged commercial-grade lineup of tools. Ego's even got a 42" zero-turn riding mower that's good for up to two acres.
Two years ago, Consumer Reports did a comparo between an Ego walk-behind mower and a Honda gas model. The Ego held its own.
Amazon carries battery-electric yard tools from lots of other manufacturers: Greenworks, Sun Joe, Makita, Black and Decker, and Snapper, to name a few. Many of them are probably good, too. — Greg Rasa, managing editor
RYOBI ONE+ 100 MPH 280 CFM Variable-Speed 18V - $169.99
I picked this one up about a year ago. It's a solid value and I use the 18-volt battery in other things, like my Ryobi drill. The leaf blower is light, cordless and not crazy loud. I get about 15-20 minutes of use when using full power, which is fine. I can clear the grass clippings and get the patio in decent shape, which is why I got it. It's good on pavement for moving leaves, but for a full-scale fall cleanup in the upper Midwest or New England, you'll need something stronger. If you already have a Ryobi battery, you can get the leaf blower for even cheaper. — Greg Migliore, editor-in-chief
CRAFTSMAN Electric Chainsaw, 16-Inch, 12-Amp - $79.00
This is my electric chainsaw. It’s corded, and I haven’t sawed through an extension cord yet. I have a lot of aging trees in front of my house that drop huge limbs in storms. This lightweight chainsaw makes quick, relatively quiet work of them, providing me with tons of free firewood. I like that I’m not inhaling fumes in addition to sawdust, but I still have to fill the bar-and-chain-oil reservoir (many of those oils are vegetable-based). It’s easy for an idiot like me to adjust chain tension, and to clean up when the day’s cutting is complete. — John Beltz Snyder, Autoblog Green senior editor
Greenworks 16-Inch Reel Lawn Mower with Grass Catcher - From $71.36
