Let’s Start With Lawn Equipment!
Photo by Daniel Watson on Unsplash
Jeffrey Clos is a participant in the Amazon Associates LLC associates program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. There are some links within this article to the described product.
Buying a new home comes with making several important decisions. One such decision involved our lawn and who would be cutting it. The pandemic had caused us to second guess just about everything in our lives. We were happy with our lawn service company, for the most part, but was it necessary in today’s environment? Having a lawn service was convenient when we traveled often and planned several excursions. It is nice having your lawn completed for you in less than 20 minutes, but they don’t always cut it at the most reasonable times. I can’t tell you how often they would cut it too soon or too wet. There is nothing worse than a tire mark on the side of our house, which eventually turns to mud.
I was spending more time at home, and wouldn’t it make more sense to take up this weekly task? Ultimately, I decided I would make it a go and return to manicuring my lawn. With that came the following questions. What equipment would I buy, and what would I need? I had it in my head I would need the following:
Lawnmower
Weed Whip (Eater)
Blower
I would have to do more research on the type of unit I would need to purchase. In the past, I was always compelled to buy gas-powered, but battery-powered had come so far. I eventually settled on an Amazon deal for Greenwork’s line of products. At certain times of the year, Amazon will have a daily “deal” on the Greenworks line of products. This resulted in me buying all 3 of the above items at the same time.
The 40-volt lawnmower came with a dual battery charger with (2) batteries. The self-propelled feature was a must, along with the 21″ clearing path. Wider is always better, in my own opinion. I have found our new lawn can be quite a time-consuming job. As I learned during my first few uses, two batteries will not allow me to cut the entire lawn. It was not long before I invested in two more. I justified this with the intent of using the additional batteries in the other equipment I accumulated. I immediately saw the advantages of having a battery-operated unit, provided you have your spares. The unit powers up immediately with no hesitation. It is not as loud as a 2 or 4 cycle engine. A 40V unit has ample power to cut tall lawns and still gives you enough energy to maintain the self-propelled aspect. I attribute some of this to the unit’s power management system. It will adapt to how the user walks while cutting. It only gives you enough power to maintain your stride. More power is released on inclines, and less energy on declines. It works quite well. I have cut my lawn no less than 15 times this past summer, and it seems to be a different experience each time. There are some instances when I can complete the entire process by using only two batteries. In some cases, it takes nearly three batteries. I chalk this up to how I cut the lawn and how long it is at the time. Is it perfect? No! There are times when the unit seems to forget to engage the self-propelled aspect. In these cases, I power the unit down and then restart it. This has solved it 100% of the time.
I always begin the process by using the weed trimmer on all of the overgrown edging areas. A 40V trimmer is an ample power for my needs. The deal that presented itself included the string trimmer with added blower. With the kit came an additional charger and battery. It wasn’t the most powerful battery at 40V and 2 amp hours, but it serves its purpose. I had extra, so I wasn’t too worried. The blower works, but it wasn’t long before I was looking to make some upgrades. I wanted a more focused outlet rather than just a large snout. I began searching for attachments to see if I could buy something more “focused.” It wasn’t long before another opportunity presented itself. The following blower became available for the super low price of $31. I jumped at it, knowing full well it was only the tool. I had ample batteries at home, and attachments would have cost just as much. I now had the directed blower attachment I craved, and it has paid dividends.
The need for a focused blower stemmed from the completed edging and the grass and dirt remnants left behind on the surrounding road and driveways. I really wanted to keep my nice edging trenches free of debris and directed entirely on the surrounding lawn. I then found another use for the blower as it was pointed out that our gutters needed cleaning. It wasn’t long before I was on a ladder and using this directed blower to blow out the debris from our gutters. It worked well, but in some cases, it was not long enough. It was time to research adding extension attachments. As of this writing, I made a quick purchase of $49 and should take delivery of the pictured attachment kit as soon as tomorrow.
I have stayed within the 40V ecosystem and grown it over the last few months. It wasn’t long before we decided the trees surrounding our property needed some trimming. With that came another 40v purchase. I added a telescoping tree branch cutter. This has been getting a lot of use and has a lot of power considering. We trimmed up our ornamental Cherry, Magnolia, and Evergreens in short order. With the purchase of the branch trimmer came the additional battery and charger. I am now happy to say we currently have 3 chargers and 5 total batteries. You have to discipline yourself to charge the batteries throughout the week to ensure you have at least four available for the tasks needed on lawn day. Worst-case scenario, charge a few batteries while you are performing the actual lawn cutting.
I must say, owning battery-powered lawn equipment has been less stressful than having gas-powered. I still have a gas-powered snow thrower, but there is something to be said about cleaner equipment.
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