When did you start converting gas powered tools to electric?

[MrsJones]

I love to handle gas powered tools but my husband doesn't. He was quite subtle in letting me know by pulling the cord a couple of times and then said 'Something is wrong with it, it's not working." This of course happened a few times before I caught on . So I started investing in electric power tools. Now he is more willing to come out and ask if I need him for anything.

Have you or when did you start converting from gas to electric power tools?

 

[marlingardener]

We haven't converted to electric tools at all. With seven acres to shred, two and a half acres to mow, and with trees to trim or take down and three vegetable gardens to till, we rely on our gas-powered machines. The chain saw is constantly a problem--temperamental. The shredders work pretty well, if we keep them cleaned out, and the walk-behind mower is a champ--starts after at the most two pulls, has a bagger attachment and a feature that cuts off the mower blades but leaves the engine running so I don't have to restart it each time I empty the bag. The tiller is really good and turns over our black land prairie gumbo without a problem, as long as the soil isn't too wet.
Electric is fine, if you need light-weight, light-duty tools. Otherwise, I'd really recommend gas-powered tools.

 

[Chuck]

Electric is great if you have a small lawn or want to trim up some boxwoods. Try cutting down 3 ft tall weeds or cutting down a 2 ft diameter tree or trimming a big dead limb that is about to fall on your house with an electric tool. I have an electric chain saw. I use it to cut up hogs and deer and use vegetable oil instead of bar oil. I will stick with my Stihl and Husquavarna chain saws and weed eaters and John Deere mowers for real work. As far as I am concerned the battery powered things are just about useless. I have always wondered what would happen if an extension cord mower accidentally cut the cord in half when mowing damp grass.

 

[MrsJones]

Electric is great if you have a small lawn or want to trim up some boxwoods. Try cutting down 3 ft tall weeds or cutting down a 2 ft diameter tree or trimming a big dead limb that is about to fall on your house with an electric tool. I have an electric chain saw. I use it to cut up hogs and deer and use vegetable oil instead of bar oil. I will stick with my Stihl and Husquavarna chain saws and weed eaters and John Deere mowers for real work. As far as I am concerned the battery powered things are just about useless. I have always wondered what would happen if an extension cord mower accidentally cut the cord in half when mowing damp grass.

Never on wet grass but it just stops mowing

 

[MrsJones]

I hope I didn't offend any one with my question here. I live in the city and what you are tackle is quite admirable from where I stand. As I stated I love using gas powered tools and I haven't gotten rid of any of them and probably won't. I figure if I should hire someone to help me with a project that they would come in rather handy.

 

[marlingardener]

Oh my, Mrsjones, I hope I didn't come across as harsh or judgmental. It's just that some tasks require more "oomph" than electric can provide, or are too far from an outlet for using electric tools to be practical.
Choosing the right tool for the job is the sign of a good gardener, and if you need to hire someone to do some heavy work, the gas tools would be very practical. Until then, let your husband enjoy the electric ones, and you use whichever fit

 

[Chuck]

Me too

 

[MrsJones]

I will try to be more thoughtful in the future with my questions as for the diversity that participates in this forum. Not everyone lives in the city. I really do admire you all for the stamina it must take and has taken to develop and maintain your gardens and homesteads. And to think I'm just getting started ...

 

[Chuck]

I will try to be more thoughtful in the future with my questions as for the diversity that participates in this forum. Not everyone lives in the city. I really do admire you all for the stamina it must take and has taken to develop and maintain your gardens and homesteads. And to think I'm just getting started ...

I wouldn't give it another thought. Most folks live in the city or suburbs these days anyway.

 

[nematode]

I started converting to electric last year. Stihl has good sales as the end of the year so two falls ago we got the battery powered blower. Their lithium batteries are plenty for the average home.

I would personally rather rebuild a carb every year than wrap a cord up once. That is probably the reason I delayed electric for so long. Now that I already have the battery stuff there is pretty much no going back. I only use about 1 gallon of mixed fuel now instead of 4-5 per year. It is much healthier.

 

[Shimus]

Most of my tools are hand-used, like an old-style push-mower, some hoes, trowels, shovels, and you name it. Mostly nothing runs off an energy source anymore. Gotta have their base forms because I don't know when I'll be shifting places of living again (might lose electric, gas is still way too high to justify it being used on a toolset)

As to the original question: when gas spiked up way heavily last year (4ish+ USD$) per Gallon (3.7 Liters, I think)

It was just too much. Goodbye weedwhacker. Goodbye old beast of a lawnmower.

Hello physical labor. Oh well, little work never hurts.

 

[LIcenter]

I have an electric chainsaw that works very good for what I need it for. (less than an acre) It'll take down a good size tree if you know what you are doing. Plus I get more life out of the chain from not over reving. I also have an elec. hedge trimmer, that works well enough. The reason for those two are; I don't use them much, so it's nice to just plug in, pull the trigger, and go. Time wasted trying to get a machine to start after it has been sitting for a few years, just wasn't worth the trade off. I would also like to get a battery powered weed wacker, so if anyone has any input, it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Shimus]

I have even less than an acre, so no need for gas tools. I live in apartment with no storage, either. If I had my own property I assume I would have a least a few for convenience sake, even is gas/petrol was still very expensive.

As to Licenter, though, there is a list of good battery powered ones here:

http://www.lowes.com/Outdoors/Outdo...less-Electric-String-Trimmers/_/N-1z0wgb3/pl#!

I tried many companies outdoor accessories. Husqvarna. John Deere. Black and Decker still seems to be my favorite brand name. If you can find them cheaper by all means, do. But that list is something to sink your teeth into. And I like some of their prices (60 and below) - and most of them are cordless, and battery operated. Perhaps it'll help, maybe not. It'll get ya thinkin' regardless.

 

[Cereus]

Depends on the size of the area. Living on a large parcel of land, electric isn't going to cut it just because of lack of convenience. Too many cords and tangling issues. Batteries only last a certain amount of time so unless you have multiples already charged and ready to go- that's another obstacle to overcome. That being said I generally use a mixture of both and it's highly dependent on where I'm at. I lived on a farm for a year and it was nothing but gas powered tools because of the sheer expanse of the area that needed care. For small/moderate households, electric or battery operated is more than good enough.

 

[LIcenter]

I have even less than an acre, so no need for gas tools. I live in apartment with no storage, either. If I had my own property I assume I would have a least a few for convenience sake, even is gas/petrol was still very expensive.

As to Licenter, though, there is a list of good battery powered ones here:

http://www.lowes.com/Outdoors/Outdo...less-Electric-String-Trimmers/_/N-1z0wgb3/pl#!

I tried many companies outdoor accessories. Husqvarna. John Deere. Black and Decker still seems to be my favorite brand name. If you can find them cheaper by all means, do. But that list is something to sink your teeth into. And I like some of their prices (60 and below) - and most of them are cordless, and battery operated. Perhaps it'll help, maybe not. It'll get ya thinkin' regardless.

Thanks for the link Shane. I've been window shopping online for awhile now. The problem is, I don't trust a lot of the reviews, and was hoping to solicit some useful hands on info from the community here. It used to be you could rely on a specific brand name to sway a purchase. But now that most companies have merged, and or been bought up only to be made by cheap labor, it's no longer the standard for buying quality stuff.