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Comment by bdamm | Hacker News Reader

I'm really enjoying the new generation of battery powered lawn tools. From chainsaws to leafblowers to lawnmowers, li-ion is taking over. I won't miss the mess and cheapo carbs and tricks like shipping products without a simple fuel filter.

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Electric is nice, but the long term cost seems to be significantly higher. As a practical matter an battery electric mower, for example, is good for a few years. Where a gas powered Honda is good for decades. This is what has stopped me from buying too many electric yard tools. Instead I just pay someone to do the yard and that way the ecological impact of the tools are minimized.

i can't wait either. gas leaf blowers are technically illegal in LA, but yardworkers still use them all over the place without concern. they're loud, but more gravely, emit noxious pollution. all the more, it's not much more work or time to sweep or rake whatever it is they're (more rigorously) blowing up into the air and our lungs.

Thank you for inadvertinely informing me that they are illegal in LA :).

you're welcome--you can apparently report it, giving regulators the time and place to come check and cite the violation. i haven't done so because i don't want to punish low-wage workers frivolously, but i hate the smell and pollution those things put off.

Good luck when your manufacturer changes their battery system or drops their electric line all together. Or your batteries start to deform. I’ve seen all of the above happen to family members.

Keep ethanol fuel out of the equipment to keep the carbs in good shape.

There's usually a third party manufacturer you can get replacement batteries from for any decently popular system.

My cost on batteries/electricity is probably less than I would have spent on fuel. The noise/size/maintenance-free advantages of electric are huge too.

Third-party battery packs are super common for electric tools, especially for the older generations.

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