Those end-of-the-season yard work tasks can be daunting and costly, especially with today’s gas prices. But being able to rely on equipment that doesn’t guzzle ever-more-pricey fuel or require heaving on a pull cord to start can take some of the sting out of mowing, trimming, blowing and cutting.
There was a time when battery-operated lawn and garden equipment wasn’t quite up to scratch with the old, roaring gas-powered monsters that got the job done and then some. Those days are over. According to local experts in the field, rechargeable tools are more reliable, powerful and more varied than ever.
The power capabilities of electric tools used to pale in comparison to their gas-guzzling ancestors, but those limits have begun to diminish, says Dave Goodman from North Country Track and Wheel, adding that not only have rechargeable tools caught up to small engine products, but they can even outshine them.
“You can get very similar power capabilities now, sometimes even more,” Goodman said. “It’s similar to how lots of electric cars now often have much higher horsepower than gas engines on the road. The only real limitation is that they can’t always run as long. With a trimmer or a chainsaw where you can just keep running and running as long as you have gas to put in, electric can slow you down if you don’t have spare batteries charged.”
As much as you might love your smoke-belching Old Faithful, the advantages of modern battery-operated tools seem to be suggesting it might be time for a breakup. They produce no exhaust fumes, create less vibration, and are generally lighter and easier to handle, reducing fatigue during long cleanup sessions. A single battery platform works across multiple tools—run a blower, hedge trimmer, pole saw, chainsaw, edger and mower using the same batteries and charger.
Relief from ever-rising gas and oil prices isn’t the only advantage to steering away from gas—with recent gradual shifts to higher ethanol blends (Ontario is aiming to raise the standard to 15 per cent from the standard 10 per cent by 2030), older fuel system carburetors are more heavily impacted, requiring more frequent disassembly for cleaning and maintenance such as spark plug and filter replacement.
“The carburetors are really prone to being affected by ethanol, so one of the biggest advantages with anything electric-powered is that you just don’t have to worry about that,” Goodman said.
North Country Track and Wheel displays a line of Husqvarna battery-operated equipment including chainsaws, leaf blowers, mowers and more.
One of their new pieces of gear is the automatic mower, which operates off GPS and can be used to robotically cut lawns up to two acres, allowing for choice of grass height and the ability to operate on slopes. Mowing gets a lot easier on your back when you don’t even have to be there.
Another spot to check out when considering the switch from fuel to battery-powered tools is Tompkins Outdoors.
As a partner of Stihl, Tompkins sells a lineup of saws, trimmers, blowers and mowers that operate using electricity. Staff member Rachel Watts said she and many customers have come to increasingly favour them over the gas-powered alternatives.
“There are a lot of customers that really believe in their battery-powered stuff,” Watts said. “You don’t have to haul gas around, they always start up when you want them to, and there’re no carburetors to worry about.”
Watts said that next year Stihl will begin distributing kits with multiple tools all in a single package for ease of purchase.
Although Tompkins Outdoors focuses on Stihl brand equipment, Tompkins Hardware on Front Street of Emo offers other brands for similar outdoor electrical power tools like Radley and Benchmark.
With the wide range of available brands for reliable battery-operated power tools, they might just become the new norm in day-to-day outdoor work—as sad as it is to say goodbye to Old Faithful.
