We’d all like to use lawn equipment that’s better for the environment. But none of us want to sacrifice quality or ease-of-use to accomplish that. We want equipment that’s good for the earth and up to the task of handling our lawn care.

With today’s battery-powered lawn equipment you don’t need to choose between quality performance and environmental friendliness. They have both. You’ll get lawn tools that use no fuel and produce no emissions that are also high quality, easy to use, and easy to maintain.

Battery-powered lawn equipment isn’t powerful enough for every situation, but there is a wide range of available models that offer performance comparable to gas-powered equipment. For example, we don’t sell a battery-powered riding mower but you can get battery-powered walk-behinds that work just as well as comparable gasoline models.

The light-weight, easy-care and environmentally friendly battery-powered equipment available on today’s market attracts both homeowners and professionals. Several brands, including Stihl and Echo, manufacture battery-powered equipment that offers the same quality and reliability as their gas-powered equipment. In addition, different tools from the same manufacturer can share batteries, making them even more versatile and easy to use.

Comparable to Gas-Powered Equipment

In the past, battery-powered lawn equipment wasn’t nearly as powerful as gasoline options. If you wanted to trim large properties or blow leaves off sidewalks all day you needed the power of a gasoline engine. That’s no longer the case.

Modern battery-powered lawn equipment typically runs on high voltage lithium-ion batteries. As technology improved, battery-powered equipment became more powerful and capable of running longer. Now you can find equipment and batteries that can hold their own alongside comparable gas-powered models in both homeowner and commercial markets.

There’s also a wider variety of battery-powered equipment available now. If you need a tool to trim, cut, and clean up around a yard then there’s probably a battery-powered option. For example, Stihl and Echo both offer battery-powered chainsaws, string trimmers, hedge trimmers, blowers, and lawnmowers. Stihl also offers pole pruners.

Environmental Benefits

Every gas-powered engine contributes to air pollution. Though lawn equipment engines are rapidly becoming “greener” and more efficient, the United States Environmental Protection Agency reports that in metropolitan areas lawn-mower emissions alone still account for almost 33 percent of the total pollution.

Battery-powered tools do not use fuel and generate no engine exhaust. They’re also much quieter than gas-powered equipment, reducing noise pollution as well as keeping the air clean.

Another, often overlooked, environmental benefit comes from recyclable batteries. The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC), a nonprofit public service group, provides a way to keep used batteries out of landfills and add even more eco-value to battery-powered lawn equipment. Check out the Call2Recycle website for recycling locations near you.

Low Maintenance Needs

Battery-powered lawn equipment is easy-maintenance. Since there’s no gasoline engine to maintain, you never have to replace spark plugs and fuel filters or change the oil. You also don’t have to worry about draining or stabilizing fuel before storage.

Like other lawn equipment, battery-powered tools need regular cleaning to remove built-up grass and other debris. They are no harder to clean than traditional equipment, though. Other than that, the main maintenance tasks required for battery-powered equipment all involves the battery:

• Re-charge batteries before they’re fully depleted
• Remove batteries from charger after they’re done charging
• Store them fully-charged in a cool and dry place
• Protect batteries by storing in the original case or a cushioned bag

Batteries should be recharged after use, and they’ll need to be replaced when they eventually wear out. How long the batteries can go before needing recharged depends on the battery and the type of equipment you’re running.

Adaptable Tools and Fast-Charging Batteries

One of the great things about battery-powered lawn equipment is that the different types of equipment can share batteries. You can get a trimmer, blower, and chainsaw (for example) from the same manufacturer that will be able to use the same batteries in all three tools.

You will have to plan ahead if you want to do this, though. Stihl, for example, offers a variety of different batteries and tools and they’re not all interchangeable. This lets you choose how much money you want to spend and how powerful you want your tools to be. Click here to see a list of which tools are compatible with which batteries.

Even with advances in battery technology, battery-powered equipment still has a limited run time. You have a few options for combating this problem. Keep an extra battery or two on hand so you can swap-out a fully charged battery as soon as the new one runs down. Or you can take breaks partway through a longer job for the battery to charge. Today’s lithium-ion batteries are fast-charging so you don’t have to wait very long before they’re ready to use again.

Available Selection

Stihl’s battery KombiSystem offers homeowner and professional models of chainsaws, pole pruners, trimmers, blowers, shredder vacs, and a lawnmower. Each piece of lawn equipment is designed with signature Stihl quality in a light-weight package. The lithium-ion batteries feature long run-times and quick charging. These batteries operate at full-speed until depleted, so you don’t have to deal with gradual power loss.

Echo 58v Cordless line offers string-line trimmers, a hedge trimmer, blower, chainsaw, and lawnmower. They have a smaller selection than Stihl, but all Echo 58v tools are compatible with all their 58v batteries and chargers. Their unique brushless motors and lithium-ion batteries promise enhanced tool performance and long run-times.

These lithium-ion batteries are fully recyclable through the RBRC program, but you won’t have to worry about replacing them for quite a while. When you do need new or additional batteries or want to expand your collection of battery-powered equipment, just come see us at Richardson Saw & Lawnmower. We’d be happy to help.