Someone who does not know me well asked me by email if I could repair the engine in her weed wacker. I bit my tongue and politely replied that I don't use gasoline powered yard tools and would not choose to repair one even if I could. I urged her to see this as an opportunity to go cordless and reduce pollution and emissions.
The EPA says that: "A conventional lawn mower pollutes as much in an hour as 40 late model cars for an hour." Plus I don't like the stink of gasoline or the awful noise. Cordless yard tools are now in their prime and very affordable. You can buy them at almost any hardware store.
Shown above are my Black & Decker 20 Volt cordless hedge trimmer, weed wacker and my home made monster lawn mower. The hedge trimmer I refer to as a "Light Saber" - I can just wave it near anything less than 1/4" and it cuts right through without slowing down a bit and can chew through up to 1/2" branches. The weed wacker is also very powerful. Both tools last over 20 minutes on a charge which is plenty for home use.
Back in 2005 when I built my cordless lawn mower, there weren't many options for cordless lawn mowers, but they are common now thanks to advancing lithium battery technology that has driven the costs down dramatically.
If you are a curious/nerdy person, you can read about my electric lawn mower construction in my detailed blog: http://www.arttec.net/Solar_Mower/index.html It was featured in Popular Science Magazine in July 2008 and I inspired several people to do similar conversions of lawn mowers. Mine is very powerful and can charge through tall grass with impunity! It has a 22" cutting path while cordless models range from 14" to 21".
Popular Mechanics recently reviewed 6 best cordless lawn mowers for around $500. Read the full review here. Or this excerpt:
"The benefits of a battery mower are obvious from the moment you engage the operator lever: They’re incredibly quiet. Gas-engine mowers succeed because they produce so much power that they can afford to waste most of their output as noise, heat, and friction. With battery mowers, that output occurs at the power plant, not in your yard. These mowers are also mechanically simple. There’s no electric start or recoil start, either—just push a button to power it up. Like any electric machine, basically it’s on or its off. There’s no engine oil, spark plug or air filter to change. Keep the battery charged and sharpen the blade. That’s all there is to it. As with cordless power tools, you charge a battery separately from the tool or machine, which allows you to simply swap out the battery when it’s dead and to keep on working."
The EPA says that: "A conventional lawn mower pollutes as much in an hour as 40 late model cars for an hour." Plus I don't like the stink of gasoline or the awful noise. Cordless yard tools are now in their prime and very affordable. You can buy them at almost any hardware store.
Shown above are my Black & Decker 20 Volt cordless hedge trimmer, weed wacker and my home made monster lawn mower. The hedge trimmer I refer to as a "Light Saber" - I can just wave it near anything less than 1/4" and it cuts right through without slowing down a bit and can chew through up to 1/2" branches. The weed wacker is also very powerful. Both tools last over 20 minutes on a charge which is plenty for home use.
Back in 2005 when I built my cordless lawn mower, there weren't many options for cordless lawn mowers, but they are common now thanks to advancing lithium battery technology that has driven the costs down dramatically.
Popular Mechanics recently reviewed 6 best cordless lawn mowers for around $500. Read the full review here. Or this excerpt:
"The benefits of a battery mower are obvious from the moment you engage the operator lever: They’re incredibly quiet. Gas-engine mowers succeed because they produce so much power that they can afford to waste most of their output as noise, heat, and friction. With battery mowers, that output occurs at the power plant, not in your yard. These mowers are also mechanically simple. There’s no electric start or recoil start, either—just push a button to power it up. Like any electric machine, basically it’s on or its off. There’s no engine oil, spark plug or air filter to change. Keep the battery charged and sharpen the blade. That’s all there is to it. As with cordless power tools, you charge a battery separately from the tool or machine, which allows you to simply swap out the battery when it’s dead and to keep on working."
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