September 29th, 2020

Del Sol Lawn Care Hawaii here for a quick chat about electric lawn mowers. Many of you may be due for a new lawn mower or at the very least a good tune up. In the mower and hand tools world you’ve got three options; Gasoline, Electric and Manual. These all have their pros and cons, but I want you to consider upgrading your old machine to a new battery electric machine.

Pros 
Maintenance- An electric lawn mower only requires maintenance on 1 part, sharpening the blade. Unlike a gas powered machine that requires fresh gas, spark plugs to be cleaned, carburetor cleaning, air filters, oil changes, and blade sharpening. This means lower operating costs for you, as well as less time and hassle to maintain the machine. 
Noise- Electric lawn mowers are quiet, about the same loudness as a vacuum cleaner. A quiet lawn mower in Kona means you’re free to mow your lawn earlier or later in the day to avoid the heat, without upsetting the neighborhood. Happy neighbors are good neighbors.
Storage- Traditional mowers need to be stored flat on the ground requiring about 16sqft of real estate On the electric side, these mowers can be folded and stored vertically against a wall, needing but 3sqft of space. Hawaii isn’t known for the most spacious of garages, this makes electric lawn care machines a great option.

Neutrals
    Cost- A good quality electric mower will cost about $400-$600. This is about the same as a top level non-commercial gas mower. However after this initial purchase you will no longer need to buy gasoline, tuneups, and oil.
    Runtime- A modern electric lawn mower will last about 45minutes on the charge of a single battery. For most of Kailua Kona this is plenty, but some you need more. Recharging the battery packs can take upto 2hrs, luckily most homeowners will purchase 2 batteries to get their large jobs done.

Cons-
    Less powerful- Electric mowers are not as powerful as their gasoline counterparts. If you are someone who lets their yard get to a foot tall between mowings, this isn’t a good option for you. Electric lawn mowers are ideal for a maintained lawn.
    Brand Loyalty- When you purchase your electric lawn equipment, you’re committing to a specific brand and tool line. Most every electric lawn care brand has all of the tools you need to maintain your lawn. Unfortunately their batteries are proprietary, encouraging you to only buy tools from the same company. 

Electric mowers and hand tools have improved to the point in the last few years that they are viable even for commercial operations. With new improved motors, longer lasting batteries, and higher outputs most homeowners will be able to happily swap the gas can for a battery pack. Low noise, no fumes, and no gas, what could be better? The favorite electric equipment line for 2020 is the Stihl machines for heavy duty, and the EGO machines for homeowner duty. 

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