As I’ve both investigated and actually delved into purchasing and running new cordless garden tools over recent years, there is something about cordless outdoor power equipment that immediately strikes us as we first begin to foray into this new future. Which is an anomaly which we will have to take into consideration of every single time we look for a new tool and begin our research into what product or brand or model to buy. And that little anomaly we must face and always factor into our consideration is ‘compromise’.
Why ‘compromise’? Because we soon find that compromise is built into every cordless tool we may be looking into, and these compromises can easily effect how we can work and what tools we can use, and what prices we are willing to pay for the conveniences and great improvements which cordless outdoor power equipment now affords us to utilise.
Why Is Cordless Outdoor Power Equipment Compromised?
While cordless tools of all types are now becoming the new normal for everyone, we must remember that this is all still in its very early years.
As an example, I remember that buying a quality VCR in 1985 could cost $1,000.00, which in today’s money is about $2,500.00… for a VCR… that was famously unreliable and prone to break. Today we can buy a laser DVD player for about $19.00. Leaps and bounds in technology and its resultant capabilities is what we’re focussing in on here. Back on track…
These new batteries which make it possible to power all these new power tools, are indeed wonderful, remarkable in fact that they can do so much and produce so much power. This can’t be underestimated what a breakthrough this new technology really is.
However, let’s remember that it is still new technology and that means cordless tool batteries are still very limited when compared to petrol engines. If we try to run a cordless tool the same way as we do a petrol powered tool, that battery will not last long at all. The battery would be dead in minutes if we tried, which would of course make the battery option of cordless power tools absolutely worthless to so many people.
So compromises are made on machinery designs so as to increase battery life on our outdoor garden tools, which in turn makes the cordless tools begin to become viable for so many more people to seriously consider and use, and this of course Is great news, and for now these compromises make perfect sense.
Types Of Compromises: Motor Power
I want to stay focussed exclusively on cordless outdoor power equipment (OPE) in this article, so when reading, please remember that I would be referring to tools such as cordless line trimmers instead of cordless drills.
Remember, all compromises are to extend the battery life of any given machine.
Smaller motors are usually the first compromise to be made, whereby the electric motor in cordless OPE will not be as powerful as a petrol engine driven similar machine. This means that often we will not have the same power at hand to do the work we want to do. Many times we can simply adjust our work practices inline with what the machine is giving to us in terms of power to work with, and there is no issue at all, we simply adjust and proceed.
Though for bigger jobs where we’re facing overgrown yards with three foot high grass, the cordless machine may slow us down due to the decreased power on hand, as well as draining batteries much faster due to the heavy workload being presented to it. In which case we may work slower, and we may need to wait for batteries to recharge or have a larger supply of batteries on hand. We can see in this situation that cordless may not be the right tool for the job, yet.
However on regularly maintained lawns, we could easily mow, trim, edge, and blow clean, all using cordless outdoor power equipment, without any issues at all.
Cutting Heights On Cordless Lawn Mowers
When looking at cordless lawn mowers we can often find that their minimum cutting height may be far too high for our Australian needs. Due to the lawn types we grow, and our climate, most Australian lawns are cut quite short, and so we may find that the cordless mower we are looking at buying may in fact be unsuitable to our requirements.
As an example, someone may like their Couch lawn to be cut at 15mm or even 20mm, yet when researching a new cordless mower (or even some petrol mowers designed for other countries), we may find their minimum cutting height could be 35mm, which would be unsuitable for that person’s needs.
The reason for this disparity in cutting heights comes back down to battery life once again.
The lower a lawn is cut, the more power is needed from the motor, taking more power from the motor then drains the battery faster. The motor itself may in fact be powerful enough for the job at hand, but the drain on the battery coming from the extra power needed from the electric motor will then decrease battery life before needing recharging.
So some manufacturers for some models may increase the minimum cutting height, and advise us to only cut the very soft green leaf tips off the top of our lawns.
This is a compromise, and it is fully understandable for now until battery technology improves somewhat more in the future. So be aware of this, and be sure to check minimum mowing heights and if that height is suitable for your own lawn while researching a new cordless lawn mower.
Water Resistance On Cordless Lawn Mowers
Many people, myself included, like to thoroughly wash their lawn mowers clean with a garden hose after use. And this does seem to be an issue with cordless lawn mowers, whereby we are instructed not to wash our cordless mowers with a hose, but to instead brush them clean.
This is also understandable. Electric motors, batteries, and water are not a good mix for obvious reasons. I get it, we all do. And I am not an engineer, I have no knowledge at all about such things as designing and building electric motors, batteries and so forth. But I can hope and dream and wish.
And in such a scenario I would welcome a cordless lawn mower that could be washed clean, with a hose, after use. Whereby somehow, magically, the electrical components could be ‘sealed’, so no water could enter into sensitive areas. Now that truly would be a wish come true. But again, I have no knowledge about such things, so I wouldn’t even know if such a thing would be possible, but it would be nice. And if it could be done, then I could myself go out and make my first purchase of a cordless lawn mower, for this remains the one biggest thing holding me back thus far.
Smaller Cutting Diameters On Cordless Mowers
Another way to extend battery life on cordless mowers is to make the lawn mower itself smaller, perhaps choosing 16” or 18” instead of 19” or 21” cutting diameters. This is not really a big deal for a homeowner with a small lawn, it might only mean another pass of two when cutting the lawn. It’s just something else to be aware of.
Some manufacturers do make cordless lawn mowers of 21” which are also self propelled, now that’s impressive. Though again, be sure to check minimum cutting heights on all cordless mowers to ensure the mower is suitable for your needs.
Cheaper And Lighter Materials
Another way to save weight, to again extend battery life on all outdoor power equipment, is to use lighter materials in manufacturing a given product. This can possibly mean that the machine in question will not be as rugged or long lasting or as durable as a conventional petrol powered counterpart of the machine we are considering.
Light weight however does not always mean cheap, or unreliable, or flimsy. A high quality cordless power tool can be very light, very tough, exceptionally delightful to use, and will have a price tag to match. An example of such a high quality and lightweight cordless outdoor power tool can be found in my review of my Husqvarna cordless line trimmer. A brilliant machine, and very light, and very tough.
Light weight can mean cheap and flimsy and not long lived, or it can mean the exact opposite where we get an equally reliable and durable machine as a petrol powered equivalent. We get what we pay for in this regard.
Cutting Swathe On Cordless Line Trimmers
The cutting swathe on a line trimmer is the diameter of the length of line which does the cutting of a line trimmer. Most if not all commercial petrol line trimmers will run a wide swathe by design, perhaps 43cm, and this is the preferred setup for any commercial contractor using these machines on a daily basis.
The cutting swathe on domestic petrol line trimmers for the homeowner will generally be shorter, maybe 33cm or 35cm.
However once we begin to look at cordless line trimmers, we once again face the same dilemma of increasing battery run time, and another way this can be achieved is by running a shorter cutting swathe on cordless line trimmers.
So a cordless domestic line trimmer may be cut down to perhaps a 30cm or 33cm swathe.
And a medium range cordless line trimmer may push out to a 35cm swathe.
And a commercial top of the line cordless line trimmer may reach itself to 38cm.
This is another factor to be aware of for anyone considering a new cordless line trimmer, as we may find the wider cutting path to be more preferable. For most people however these little things may likely matter nothing at all.
Personally, I purchased a model where I could quickly change the guard and so increased my cutting swathe back to about 43cm, as the longer line length meant much more to me than the extra few minutes battery life. So even in this scenario I too had to compromise, exchanging my preference for a wider swathe for shorter battery life, and I’m a very contented customer.
Cordless Leaf Blowers
Some fantastic news awaits us right here in regards to cordless handheld leaf blowers and compromises, as there really doesn’t seem to be any at all.
Of all the cordless outdoor power equipment available to us today, it is the cordless leaf blower that has already truly come of age. These machines are very light, small, and powerful. With power often equal to petrol powered leaf blowers and at about the same price point too.
Battery life for cordless blowers can be fantastic, and as soon as we buy one of these machines and switch from using petrol, we just automatically adapt to the machine and use it at a lower setting, realising that we don’t have to be blowing everything at 500kph all the time. And with this natural adaption in our use, this too increases battery life.
Already at this stage of the game in cordless tools, I don’t know why anyone would still be using a petrol powered handheld blower anymore, the cordless is superior in every way, especially with its very light weight, its small size, easy handling, and attractive price.
Like with all other tools, and all other cordless outdoor gear, be sure to do your research when considering a new cordless leaf blower, there can be big differences in product performance in such areas as wind speed, battery life, weight and size of the machine, controls that are easy to use etc. So do your homework.
I switched over from a heavy 4 stroke blower a couple of years ago due to the chronic pain it was causing from years of use due to its weight and size, I personally chose an Ego blower, with a 2.5 amp battery to reduce weight even more, and even to this day I can say this remains one of the best purchasing decisions I have ever made in outdoor power equipment. I am extremely happy with this leaf blower and I cannot fault it, it’s small, light, super powerful, and priced perfectly. Credit where credit is due, and so I’m happy to give a shoutout to Ego for this wonderful machine.
Cordless Garden Saws, Chainsaws, Pruners, Hedge Trimmers
Off the bat I will say that I don’t own or use any of these types of tools, therefore I am not one to comment on their use, or what may or may not be lacking or excelling in any such tools, and I certainly will not attempt any type of review for any product which I haven’t thoroughly used extensively, and only then will I only review the machines I really do like.
With that out of the way, I will say a few brief things about these cordless gardening tools which I have picked up from their use from others, especially professional contractors.
Just like the cordless mowers, trimmers and blowers, these other cordless garden tools are all coming of age right now. So many contractors have long since already switched over to using cordless garden tools in their business, and they will never switch back to petrol powered engines again.
While some contractors do run into issues here and there, in reality this is no different than with any petrol powered machine, any new tool can have teething problems. Yet still, all those who’ve made the switch to cordless continue to power on into the future with these machines at hand.
Personally, if I were to consider purchasing any of these powered garden tools mentioned in this subsection, I would only ever consider cordless.
Cordless gardening tools are here, they are ready, and they are most definitely highly worthy of consideration instead of petrol powered tools. If not at least to be considered alongside our next shopping research for any such machines.
The time for dismissing cordless gardening power tools has long since passed. These are serious machines, seriously powered, and can be very high quality dependent upon the brand, model etc.
(images from this article can only be republished alongside the republished article)
please read the terms to republish articles before republishing
you do not need to ask permission to republish - so long as you abide by the republishing terms
some website types are banned from republishing articles from this website
while all lawn care articles are freely shared - they remain original and copyright to lawnmowingcontractor.com
