Hi,
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Originally Posted by gasstingy
Your electric mower is corded then, so I'm curious how big is your yard and what obstacles do you have?
I have far too big of a yard for a walk behind mower, but have been considering an electric walk behind model for trimming around the house and the trees in the front yard. So far, I've been thinking cordless though.
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My yard is 'L' shaped an is about 4/10's of an acre. I live in New England, so there are a fair number of obstacles. I use 200' of cord and it is way more than I need for most of the grass area. I have also used the mower on a very large lawn (close to 2 acres that takes over 4 hours to mow) with 250' of cord. i have also used it on several other lawns from 1/4 to 1/2 acre or so. The obstacles are an issue, but with a little trial and error you can figure out ways to make it work.
I use the same cords with the leaf blower and the chainsaw. I get good at chaining them -- which uses interlocking loops to prevent (most) of the tangling.
I realized I also own one other electric landscaping tool: a heavy duty hedge/brush cutter.
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How do you like the yard tools Neil? A pros/cons list would be cool.
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Sure -- I meant to add some details.
Managing the cords is the main issue. I have two 100' 14 gauge cords, and one 50' 12 gauge. The 100' cords are rated at 15A, and while the mower peaks at 12A (very briefly on start up), it runs most of the time between 4-6A. I just made a really cool looking and effective way to link the two cords together out of 12 Velcro straps (that I had for wrapping up computer wires). I'll post a picture of this soon.
Chaining the cords is the main chore with any of the tools. The mower and the chainsaw can cut the cord -- I did manage to cut it once with a chainsaw...
Luckily, it is on a GFI outlet and I only cut off about 10', so a new receptacle was all I needed.
The mower is great -- the wheels have ball bearings and the deck is steel and is quite sturdy. It is very easy to push, because it is light weight and rolls very smoothly -- and I think the wheels will last a very long time; like decades.
I was suspicious of the one-lever height adjustment, but it has worked flawlessly. It is very quiet, and runs completely cool and fume-free! The handle folds in half with two knobs, and it fits easily into my Scion xA with the 2/3 side of the rear seat folded flat.
I have used it on damp grass, and yes it clogs a bit with the rear bag, but worked fine with the side discharge. On really thick grass, it slows the motor more in mulching mode, so I use the side discharge chute.
The leaf blower/vacuum is pretty noisy, and I use a pair of good "ear muffs" to prevent my ears ringing after extended use. The model I have has a cast aluminum impeller and this is key -- I have also used a lesser model Toro, and the plastic impeller doesn't work quite as well. The impeller does have a significant amount of wear and tear, especially from the small twigs and the occasional chunk of wood or pebbles that get sucked into it.
The biggest challenge in deep leaves is to prevent it from clogging -- sweeping it back and forth works well. Wet leaves are harder to deal with and sometimes twigs cause clogs inside the housing. You need to wear sturdy work gloves to keep the flying bits from stinging your hands -- I find that by blocking the discharge, you can often unclog it without too much effort.
I use the blower nozzle to gather leaves that are dispersed. I use the vacuum without the bag most of the time -- this shifts everything and chips it down to a fraction of the volume. This is especially good way to go, if you can pile the leaves up under a tree or on a garden or planting bed. Or, I do this once to reduce the volume, and then use the bag to collect everything, and then I dump it out on a tarp to move a large quantity to a place where I can compost them.
I also use the electric mower to mulch leaves in place, if there aren't many left, and/or before collecting them with the vacuum. This lets the small bits compost in place without having a mat, which kills the grass.
I never bag my leaves for curbside collection. By chipping them up, they will completely compost by the next year, and this eliminates the need for any chemical fertilizers!
The pole saw is an awesome tool! My neighbor Mack has put it to more of a test than I have -- they heat with wood, and he has had to do some major tree work with it. I can't see how I could get along without it -- broken branches and heavy pruning, and the endless numbers of Norway maple weeds have put it to the test.
You have to be *very* careful how you cut long branches, especially when the handle is 15' long -- I bent the chain bar almost 30 degrees on a branch at my Mom's house. You cannot let it get bound up... So cutting off long branches in say 8' long segments is a wise thing to do.
About half the time, I use it as a small handheld chainsaw -- it works very well at this. The one weak point is the chain oiler is not consistent and it could be improved a bit. Again, it is very quiet, and runs very cool (though it can warm up with lots of continuous use) and -- no fumes is an excellent thing!