Battery-Operated Lawn Tools: Is electric lawn care equipment worth it. Commercial…

​Battery-Operated Lawn Tools: Is electric lawn care equipment worth it?

Once upon a time, the only electric lawn equipment we had access to, was plugged into a wall.

Which was not only inconvenient but also dangerous.

Nowadays, battery-powered lawn care tools are available for everything from lawnmowers, to chainsaws and leaf blowers.

But is battery-powered equipment worth investing in? Or is it a gimmick?

Below you will find everything you need to know about lawn care with battery-powered tools.

What do lawn care pros say about battery-powered equipment?

We wanted to know what lawn care pros thought about battery-powered equipment in commercial applications.

So we asked them!

And what we found is the overwhelming majority of lawn care professionals (64.5%) said that battery-powered lawn care equipment had some practical commercial applications.

The most commonly cited tool used by lawn care pros is battery-powered hedge trimmers. Battery-powered leaf blowers and weed-eaters were also cited as a good way to quickly and quietly finish a small job.

But the overwhelming consensus is that nothing beats gas-powered equipment overall.

While 34.5% said they can not stand using battery-powered equipment when it comes to their lawn care business.

Only 1% of the lawn care pros we polled said they “love” battery-powered equipment.

Battery-Powered Equipment: Professional vs. Homeowner

Here’s the deal, battery-powered equipment has come a long way and is more than suitable for most homeowners.

Whether you are talking about a battery-powered leaf blower, chainsaw, or lawn mower. Battery-powered equipment is truly up to par as compared to gas equipment for the average homeowner.

However, there are certain limitations that battery-powered equipment is subject to that limit its value in most commercial applications, as well as for “professional homeowners”.

Pros and Cons of Battery-powered Equipment

Here’s the deal, whatever your preconceived notions about electric power are, there are pros and cons to using battery-powered equipment. And to know whether or not battery-powered equipment is worthwhile, we need to look into the pros and cons of using them.

Benefits of Battery-powered Equipment:

There are so many positives to owning and operating a battery-powered lawn mower or weed whacker.

Those benefits include:

• Less mess (no spilled gasoline or oil to manage),
• Near silent operation,
• No smells,
• Great for small residential neighborhoods.

Think about it, despite the severe limitations of battery-powered lawn care equipment. In certain applications, such as small residential neighborhoods. Battery-powered lawn equipment can be less disruptive to the neighborhood.

Which can make your neighbors happy if you are a homeowner, or give you an edge on the competition if you use the quiet nature of battery-powered equipment as a selling point. And you won’t have to worry about whether you will need to use a fuel stabilizer or not.

Cons of Battery Powered Equipment.

Now for the limitations. Here’s the deal, no matter what improvements are made to battery-powered equipment, there will be limitations.

The cons of battery-powered equipment include:

• Energy is limited to battery storage,
• There are limitations to the power a battery can produce,
• Requires power source.

The biggest downside to battery-operated equipment is the limitations on the run time of the equipment. Gas-powered engines can theoretically run indefinitely as long as fuel is available.

But a battery-powered machine requires access to a power outlet, and unless you have extra batteries while the one charges. You are going to have downtime.

Which for the average homeowner, isn’t really a problem. But if you are operating a commercial lawn care company, or are regularly doing yardwork. It may be a limitation you don’t want to deal with.

Who is battery-powered lawn care equipment for?

Look, it’s not really about whether battery-powered equipment it’s not really about whether it’s worth it or not. Its about who is it for?

Who are battery-powered lawn mowers for?

In short, battery-powered lawn mowers are for the average homeowner who lives on a ½ acre or less of land. While some more expensive models like the RYOBI 38 Inch can cut up to 2 acres on one charge.

But battery-powered lawn mowers won’t really serve in most commercial applications, though there are commercial battery-operated mowers nowadays.

Who is other battery-powered lawn equipment for?

Other battery-powered equipment on the other hand can serve a wider range of people. For example, battery-powered leaf blowers can be great for almost anyone, even lawn care professionals. However, when it comes to fall leaf clean-up, battery-powered equipment may not always be practical in commercial applications.

Hedge trimmers and weed whackers that are powered by batteries can be great even in commercial applications. Assuming the property you are working on has been maintained regularly.

On the other hand, for example, if you need to clear brush on a half-acre, a battery-powered weed whacker or lawn mower may not “make the cut”. Commercial companies may find it useful to market their company on as an all-electric lawn care company in densely populated neighborhoods.

Battery Powered Lawn Care Equipment At the End of the Day

At the end of the day, battery-powered lawn care equipment is great for regular maintenance on most properties. And it is improving constantly. In fact, many argue that battery technology is the next step in the evolution of the lawn mower.

However, when things get overgrown or are not managed regularly, battery-powered equipment may not be up to the task.

That being said, battery-powered equipment has come a long way. And it truly serves a wide range of purposes. Best of all you will have less to do when it comes time to winterize your lawn care equipment.

Hi, I’m Gene Caballero and I’m the co-founder of GreenPal. At GreenPal, we’re helping hundreds of thousands of Americans solve one of the trickiest problems: a reliable, fast, and affordable way to get lawncare taken care of. On behalf of GreenPal, I’ve been featured in the Indianapolis Star. the Sacramento Bee. Entrepreneur. Inc.com. and dozens more. Please feel free to say hi on or connect with me on LinkedIn.

Best and Worst Times to Buy Commercial Lawn Mowers

We understand that a commercial lawn mower is an investment in your business, which is why we’re always more than happy to answer any questions you might have about our commercial lawn mowers for sale.

Whether a lawn mower in your fleet decided to quit on you unexpectedly or you’re planning ahead, you can trust our expertise in the lawn care industry. Continue reading to learn about the best and worst times to buy commercial lawn mowers. For more information, don’t hesitate to reach out to our municipal equipment and lawn mower shop in Grand Rapids, Mi.

“Will I be able to save on commercial lawn mowers if I buy them during the ‘off season?’” This is a question that may be on your mind when you’re shopping for new or used lawn mowers. Ultimately, the best time to buy a commercial lawn mower will depend on how soon you need the lawn care equipment and what you’re willing to pay.

The Best Times to Buy Commercial Lawn Mowers

According to Consumer Reports, the best time to buy a lawn mower is at the start or end of the mowing season. In other words, start shopping for your next commercial lawn mower in April, May, August, September, or October. In general, we recommend that contractors start looking for the commercial lawn mowers they want in the spring so they’ll be ready for the upcoming mowing season.

During the Spring

The last thing you want is for your old commercial riding lawn mower to stop working in the middle of summer. Since lawn care is a seasonal industry, you’ll want to take full advantage of the limited months you have to build your business.

In addition to scoring more clients, you should also carefully consider the condition and age of each of your lawn mowers to determine if replacement is imminent.

Summer is the busiest season for lawn care. In our opinion, you should take full advantage of the warm weather months by purchasing the lawn care equipment you need ahead of time. By purchasing your commercial riding lawn mower in the spring, you’ll also have a wider selection to choose from. As a municipal equipment company, we typically offer more selection in lawn care equipment in spring when there’s higher demand.

During the Fall

Will the cost of commercial lawn mowers fall with the autumn leaves? The answer entirely depends on the company who sells the commercial lawn mowers you want. As a municipal equipment supplier in Grand Rapids, Mi, we help our customers find the best options for their budgets. In addition to our new commercial lawn mowers, we also have used lawn mowers that have been kept in good working condition.

Beware of waiting too long to purchase your next commercial lawn mower in the fall. Otherwise, you may not have as much selection. Since lawn care is a seasonal industry, companies aren’t as motivated to keep a healthy stock of lawn mowers as we inch closer to winter.

Buying your commercial lawn mower in the fall also means that you’ll have to wait several months before you’ll be able to use it for your next job.

The Worst Time to Buy Commercial Lawn Mowers

The worst time to buy a commercial lawn mower is when your old lawn mower breaks down unexpectedly and you needed a replacement yesterday. To prevent this stressful situation from happening to you, we highly recommend you take good care of your lawn equipment.

That way, it’ll last as long as possible. If you need to quickly replace lawn care equipment during peak mowing season, give us a call. Our team will do everything they can to help you find the best lawn mower for your company’s needs.

In the End, There’s No One Right Answer…

Ultimately, the best time to buy a commercial lawn mower is up to you. If you’re considering investing in a commercial lawn mower, you’ll need to determine when you’ll need it the most and how much productivity it’ll offer your company.

Whether you buy your commercial lawn mower this spring, summer, or even fall, you can trust us to have the latest lawn care equipment you need for your company.

Shopping for a used lawn mower? Our company often sells those too, so be sure to give us a call to check for availability. Since you can’t predict when the perfect used lawn mower will come along, you have to be ready to buy when you see what you want.

Request a Quote

As a municipal equipment and lawn mower shop in Grand Rapids, Mi, we know how important it is to spend your money wisely on lawn care equipment built to last. To request a quote for any of our commercial riding lawn mowers, call Fredrickson Supply at (888) 949-2385.

Related Blog Posts

This blog post has been updated.

Is Battery-Powered Equipment Right for Your Commercial Lawn Care Business?

The world is quickly modifying the way we do business, including lawn care and landscaping. With global climate change and emissions standards under intense scrutiny, many cities and countries are changing laws to reflect a greener workspace.

One way lawn care companies are evolving to fit this new eco-friendly world is by swapping gas-powered for battery-powered lawn care equipment. There are a variety of battery-operated tools to choose from, including:

• Lawn mowers
• Hedge trimmers
• Leaf blowers
• Trimmers and edgers
• Tillers

At Arborgold, we develop specialized software for field-based businesses like lawn care and landscaping companies. We know the work that goes into streamlining your business. Making a big move from gas to battery requires extra help.

Here, we’ll talk about the pros and cons of battery-powered lawn care equipment and important factors to consider as you make your decision.

Why Try Battery Powered Equipment?

Battery-powered lawn care equipment is a beneficial step for companies across North America and maybe the globe. Here are some reasons to consider the switch:

Going Green

The biggest reason to try battery-powered equipment is because eventually, it might be mandatory. Already, California has begun the transition by passing a law banning the sale of equipment causing SORE (small off-road engine) emissions by 2024. New York quickly followed suit. promising to ban equipment, off-road vehicles, and co

mbustion engine vehicles by 2023.

Cost

While initial costs are substantial, ongoing maintenance and charging costs are less compared to gas-powered mowers.

Commercial ride-on gas mowers, for example, uses roughly two and a half gallons of gasoline an hour. Multiply that by the current cost of gas and then again by the number of hours you mow on a standard day. For example, let’s say the cost of gas is about 3.8/gallon, that makes an hour of mowing 9.5. For an eight-hour day, you’re looking at about 76 in gas.

In comparison, a battery-powered mower uses rechargeable batteries. The cost of electric

ity to recharge a battery is a little tougher. First, find out how much you spend per hour of charging with the equation:

• kWh x hours charged/1000 = cost to charge per hour
• Now determine how much your electricity costs with the equation:
• Total power bill – taxes/total power use = cost of power
• Finally, multiply the answers from each equation together:
• Cost of power x cost to charge per hour = cost of electricity used to charge mower battery

You can use the electricity equation to determine the cost of electricity for all battery-operated tools.

Quiet

Anyone who’s ever mowed a lawn, used a chainsaw, or trimmed weeds with an edger, knows how loud gas-powered equipment gets. They pose time constraints on when you can start and stop work for the day.

Battery-powered units produce much less noise and vibration. Not only do you get a quieter workspace, but a more comfortable one.

Companies Producing Top Performing Battery-Operated Equipment

Choosing a new type of commercial lawn care equipment often falls to the manufacturer. If you’re going to make a switch in something as big as equipment type, you should do it with a company you trust.

There are plenty of online ratings and reviews to determine the best performing battery-operated equipment brands for yourself. At Arborgold, we tend to recommend the tried and tested companies producing high-performance equipment. Here are some of the top contenders in the field:

Greenworks Commercial

Greenworks commercial produces some of the top battery-powered equipment in lawn care, including the powerful 82V 42” Crossover Zero Turn Mower. They also make a variety of other battery-powered lawn care equipment, including:

• Power tools
• Leaf blowers
• Hedge trimmers
• Spring trimmers
• Tractors
• Utility vehicles
• Snow throwers
• Tillers
• Cultivators

Mean Green

Mean Green electric mowers and equipment produces some of the top electric mowers in North America. Their top battery-powered machines are the:

The most efficient mower, the Evo, provides operational savings of 12 to 15 an hour compared to gas mowers.

Gravely

Gravely has ride-on, stand-on, and walk-behind mower options. They also call say they are “the first all-day electric commercial zero-turn” mower. Their battery-powered mowers have swappable lithium-ion batteries to ensure lawncare crews continuously mow throughout shifts.

Next-Gen Battery-Powered Equipment Projection

According to Fortune Business Insights, North America is likely to have the largest share of battery-powered equipment in the future. With our governments updating laws to minimize carbon emissions, North American lawn care companies are leaders in the lithium-ion future of mowing.

This isn’t bad news for North Americans, as the 2028 value projections show a potential value of 40.86 billion for outdoor power equipment.

Things to Consider when Choosing Batter- Powered Lawn Care Equipment

Making the change from gas to battery is a big decision. There are so many factors to consider, including:

Battery Life for Full Day Use

There are two ways to extend battery power for a full day—swap batteries out or buy a long-lasting battery-operated lawn care tool.

The most common of these two scenarios is the former. Most battery-powered equipment won’t last an entire day on one charge, although the Mean Green Evo has 8-hours of continuous mow time.

The key to success is bringing multiple battery packs with you during the day. The number depends entirely on the type of equipment and how long the battery runs on each charge. This varies, but you can normally find the information in your user guide.

Cost vs. Long-term Battery

Long-term battery life is something you’ll pay for. A big decision as you choose the right battery powdered lawn care equipment for your company is to pay more for longer use or pay less but use more batteries.

The cost-to-value ratio is something you can work out mathematically. If your business does large quantities of work every week, it’s probably worth it to pay the extra for the long battery life. This can be a substantial leap in price from four to five-digit price tags.

Warranty Coverage

Warranty varies between brands and products. A good example of this is the Gravely mowers. Many of their mowers fluctuate in warranties of 2 to 5 years. Their electric mower has the following coverage:

• Battery: 3 years
• Charger: 5 years
• Mower: 5 years of 1500 hours (no hour limit on first two years)

Compared to gas mowers, this is a sizable warranty agreement. While the battery warranty phases out before the mower, it’s much cheaper to purchase a battery than replace an electric mower.

Ongoing Maintenance Needs

Ongoing maintenance needs for battery-powered machines are less than that of gas units. There are generally fewer moving parts to worry about in an electric mower. That combined with fewer fluids to factor into maintenance, it’s a less cumbersome job to upkeep battery-powered tools.

Rebates for No-Emission Equipment

governments are incentivizing the change from gas to battery with rebate programs. The restrictions and amounts for these rebates are based on your location. Government rebates can be enhanced with brand rebates. Some lawn mower dealers are adding their own rebate incentives to the pot as well. Ask about rebates when you chat with your dealer.

Contact Arborgold to Learn

Arborgold designs software for field-based businesses like yours. Our customized approach to business management targets every facet of your business, from productivity to invoicing to customer engagement.

Discover more ways to reduce costs and improve margins with business management software from Arborgold.

The Lawn Care Business Purchasing Guide

Make Smart decisions when purchasing equipment for your Lawn Care Business. Learn about the equipment you will need, typical costs, and where are the best places to buy it.

Required Equipment and Materials

Most lawn care owners will need the following equipment to get started:

You should plan to budget approximately 30,000. 40,000 for initial purchasing.

Sample List of Purchases

A typical person looking to purchase equipment for a lawn care service might make the following purchases:

Grand Total: 42,833

Key Decisions

When starting a lawn care business, it is important to purchase the correct equipment. Since your business will use this equipment every day, it is vital to ensure quality and durability. Lawn care equipment can be purchased both online or in various home improvement stores, and you may be able to get a good deal on second-hand products. Just make sure the equipment is in good working condition before making a purchase.

The following are some of the most important buying decisions that your lawn care business will have to make. We outline the key considerations you’ll need to keep in mind when making these purchases and provide some popular options.

Truck

In order to pull a trailer full of lawn care equipment, you will need a powerful truck. Obviously there are hundreds of truck options, but we recommend buying one used to save some money. This is especially helpful if you have a limited startup budget.

When buying your truck, make sure to pay attention to the model, miles per gallon, and engine strength.

Truck fluctuate based on geographical region and model, so here are a few useful websites to get you started:

Equipment Trailer

An equipment trailer is necessary for a lawn care business. It must be large enough to fit and support all of your equipment. Plus, there must be a ramp to drive your mowers up onto the trailer. Trailers come in many shapes and sizes, so look around a bit until you find the one that works best for your needs.

Riding Mower

There are a variety of brands and styles to choose from. When purchasing your riding mower consider these key variables:

• How many acres on average will you mow?
• What type of terrain will you be mowing?
• Are there a lot of obstacles in the lawns?
• Do you want to be able to add attachments to your mower?

Once you have answered these questions, you can purchase the right riding mowers, either used or new.

Lawn Tractor

This mower is traditional and operates with a steering wheel. They are ideal for ½. 2 acre lawns and are compatible with various attachments.

Garden Tractor

This mower has a similar design to lawn tractors and the ability to use attachments. However, they have more powerful engines and transmissions. This mower is better for mowing several acres.

Zero-Turn-Radius (ZTR) Lawn Mower

ZTR mowers are great for lawns with multiple obstacles. Although it is not as versatile as the tractors described above, it is faster and more efficient around flower beds, trees, landscaping, and other obstacles. This is the most common lawn mower used for lawn care businesses.

Push Mower

A push mower is necessary for smaller lawns and regions of the yard you cannot access with a riding mower. Like a riding mower, there are a variety of brands and styles. However, in order to save time and energy, most lawn care businesses use durable, self-propelling push mowers. A used or push mower will be sufficient for your business.