camasleaf said:
adric22 said:
I have a black & decker lawn mower which is a 24V rechargeable. I've had it for over 10 years ...
I have the same 10 years old 24VDC mower. I replaced the batteries about 4 years ago with 20Ah batteries from interstate batteries, (the old ones were 12Ah). I had to make room for the bigger batteries, I can take picture of the installation if anyone is interested. A bit heavier but I did not have any more "range anxiety" after that :lol: .
http://www.homedepot.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; goto lawnmowers and limit the search to electric. Oddly the Ryobi isn't in the results, but here's the link to that.
Ryobi has a RY14110 Ryobi 48 Volt, 10 Ah (480 Wh) Removable Lead Acid Battery Self-Propelled Mower $379
4 step LED state of charge indicator (25%/step)
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/BuildLinkToHomeDepot?linktype=keyword&id=RY14110" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Manual: http://www.ryobitools.com/product_manual/file_url/535/RY14110_860_trilingual.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Home depot also has a lithium one - Recharge Mower 15 in. Lithium Cordless Electric Walk-Behind Mower $489.00
Model # PMLI-14
Internet # 202624250
All together, Home Depot has 16 cordless (rechargeable battery) electric mowers!!! When I bought my Black and Decker 24V cordless, which is still on the original battery (smaller lawn, battery well cared for), it was the only or only one of two models available! A lot has changed over the last two years! You can even get a Ryobi Lithium battery chain saw! So all my garden tools are battery rechargeable. NO gas in the garage. I don't even own a gas can. Garage smells really clean without the gas and oil smells.
http://www.lowes.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; seems to have a poor selection, only offering the 36 volt Black Decker.
There's also the Neuton cordless mowers and lawn tools http://www.neutonpower.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
If you're concerned about pollution, you should look into replacing as many of your gas powered lawn tools with electric. If you have gardners, see if you can work with them to use some or all electric tools. You may be able to help the gardners by having them use your electric tools that are alaredy charged and ready for them when they arrive, providing outside GFCI outlets for corded tools, paying a little more for them to use electric tools - worth it if you're home while they work - my neighbor's gardners come in with their gas tools and it's so loud, even with double pane windows, that it's difficult to work or hold a phone conversation, especially when they come close to the part of the house you're in. If the neighbor was playing music that loud, you could file a noise complaint, but for some reason, lawn tools are allowed to be that noisy...
It's rather amazing to realize that mowing your lawn every other week for one hour produces more pollution than a 20 mile round trip commute every weekday for two weeks. And that's using some of the lower estimates for lawn pollution. Replacing your lawn mower is a lot cheaper than buying an EV, but in terms of pollution other than CO2, it can have a similar reduction in pollution! Of course, lawnmowers use less gas than two weeks of commuting and produce less CO2, but the small 2 and 4 stroke engines, particularly ones using an oil mix in the gasoline are extremely dirty and polluting relative to car with modern emissions controls.
You'll notice the numbers are all over the place, but even the lowest pollution numbers for a lawn mower show how incredibly dirty they are compared to cars. The variations come form factors like which criteria pollutant you are comparing or how you weight each pollutant to come up with a single number, whether the engine is 2 or 4 stroke, if the gas has oil mixed in as required for lubrication of some small engines, and how old the lawn mower is as some recent lawn mowers are much better but still very dirty compared to a car.
Environmental impactA 2001 study showed that some mowers produce the same amount of pollution (emissions other than carbon dioxide) in one hour as driving a 1992 model vehicle for 650 miles (1,050 km).[18] Another estimate puts the amount of pollution from a lawn mower at four times the amount from a car, per hour.[19] Beginning in 2011, the United States Environmental Protection Agency has set standards for lawn equipment emissions and expects a reduction of at least 35 percent.[20]
Mowers also create significant noise pollution,[21][22] and could cause hearing loss if used without hearing protection.[23]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawn_mower" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Today’s gas-powered lawn mower emits as much pollution in one hour as driving a newer car 140 miles. An older mower may belch four times as much pollution. But there are air-friendly alternatives.
http://www.pscleanair.org/actions/yardcare/mowing.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Lawn mowing contributes greatly to the ozone problem. Engines are inefficient at reducing pollution. In fact, using a gasoline-powered lawn mower for one hour generates the same amount of air pollution as driving a car for 40 hours. Yes, 40 hours not 40 miles! A gasoline powered weed eater operated for 1 hour is even worse as it generates pollution equivalent to driving a car for 60 hours.
http://www.johnson.ksu.edu/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=527" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Operating a typical gasoline-powered lawn mower for one hour produces the same amount of smog-forming hydrocarbons as driving an average care almost 200 miles under typical driving conditions. http://www.epa.gov/oaqps001/community/details/yardequip_addl_info.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I am quite surprised at how cost effective using lower emissions garden tools are when we're dealing with air quality and how little attention they receive. Lower pollution and electric tools will lead to less noise pollution also. Always irks me to see all the big gas mowers on display outside OSH (Orchard Supply Hardware) and not a single electric. On that basis, OSH marketing encourages pollution, even if the gassers are the best sellers, they could still do a little civic responsibility and showcase some of the electrics.
