A new report on the impacts of gas-powered lawn and garden equipment in Massachusetts estimated the devices generated more than 600,000 tons of carbon dioxide in 2020 — an amount equivalent to the pollution from about 135,000 standard cars.
And they’re fucking noisy
I love my electric yard gear. I’ve got an EGO mower, string trimmer, leaf blower, and 2 stage snow blower. So much quieter and lighter than any gas versions.
The only fueled yard appliance I use is a neighbour’s riding mower because I’ve got an acre to mow (I know, not terribly eco friendly, but there’s minimal non-natural intervention. EGO’s got a riding mower, but it’s a small town and it doesn’t make sense for everyone on the block to have their own machine they use once every week or two.
I have a Dewalt 40v string trimmer I bought back in 2016 and it’s been amazing. Same with the Ego chainsaw I bought more recently. I want an electric rider, and I may get one when my current machine gives up.
I enjoy the quiet, and I enjoy even more the way they just work. No little carburetors to clean, no gas to store, no oil to mix or to change. Just slam a battery in and get to work.
Yep, I got an EV this year too. Such a simple machine mechanically and requires very little maintenance.
It’s sad to imagine where we might be if development of very early EVs and transit wasn’t stamped out by oil. I’m sure we wouldn’t be in the mess we are now.
I have an old 4x4 with a bad engine and I’ve really considered trying to EV swap it. It has a 1.3 liter engine in it, and I wouldn’t need a huge motor, I just wonder where I’d put the batteries.
I’m sure you could find some space after removing all the ICE components, even just where the fuel tank was. I was considering doing something like this back in high school. I’m not sure how active things are, but ecomodder was quite a good resource back then.
I also fully invested into EGO. But I must admit it’s very pricey. They are cool though.
Wait until they find out about lawnmowers
And weed eaters, which are usually 2 stroke engines, i.e. extra dirty.
Add in pestacides, herbicides, and fertilizer; you will have a lovely lawn for your kids to play in!
I love lawns, can’t you tell!
Is there a no lawns community/magazine here?
Glyphosate is really good at getting rid of lawns.
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Cool, thanks. Subbed.
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I love lawns, can’t you tell!
They also waste a lot of water! So much to love about lawns.
The old ‘someone else’s problem’ machine
I hate leaf blowers. I’d rather use a rake. I can’t comment on the landscaping business but when I see neighbors use them I just roll my eyes.
Yeah. Like almost zero impact (zero if exclude the creation process and calories you have to eat) and you are a lot more precise, with the only downside being that it takes a bit longer to finish.
Where I live leaf blowers are really rare. I see them as a very unnecessary luxury.
Leaf blowers seem infuriating to me to use. Where I live people even use them for snow clearing because in the deep cold the snow is light/dry.
I can often go outside, shovel, and be back inside when my snow blower and leaf blower neighbors started before me and are still at it. The driveways and walkways are the same.
I don’t know, I just feel like some people love noisy machines and could not care less about anything else?
I’m really curious about progress made in backpack blowers as they’re used decently often for commercial sidewalk snow removal where I’m from.
Ego has an electric backpack blower in their commercial product line.
There are electric alternatives to pretty much any gas engine tools these days. While they often cost more to purchase, they are drastically cheaper to run and maintain. Those high powered two stroke engines aren’t only a blight on the environment, they’re also unreliable and need a lot of maintenance. An electric motor just works.
To be fair they’re typically not that unreliable for what they are, its just that what they are is a incredibly intricate machine that needs ragular care and to be treated properly.
That being said, since the average amarican doesn’t know how to take care of their intricate clockwork mechanisms, the simplicity and abuse tolerance of electric is definitely the way to go.
All I can say is that I regularly see people using them for work.
(I use a plug-in blower with a 30m long cord)
Is it better to get rid of a working gas mower to buy electric? How about a snow blower?
I got rid of all gas power equipment a while ago and have no regrets but I have a small yard and do everything with hand tools (snow, raking, etc) except mowing and string trimming. I use corded, not battery, and while a cord is mildly annoying I never have to charge batteries and the mower and trimmer were both very affordable because of this.
Before switching to a fully mulched food forest garden, I used a Fiskars reel mower. For a lawn I’d consider a reel mower first, then an electric, then a scythe. There are free reel mowers on Craigslist from time to time.
How much snow do you get? We get 50 inches (127cm) of snow in winter and a shovel works fine for us.
I wasn’t sure. Everything metal went to the recycler, most of the rest was plastic or rubber but surprisingly little on a push mower that I couldn’t recycle.
The real problem is monoculture lawns that need to be cut regularly and HOA/State regulations to that point.
