Is electric the way to go now?

[smhardesty]

Yep, that cheap plastic fan kind of blew my mind too. I have to wonder just how easily those nubbins and tabs break off. I'm not even thinking about hitting a rock or big piece of metal. What would those plastic pieces do if you were to push it into some tall, thick, tough grass and/or weeds? Or are these mowers supposed to only be used on nice, manicured lawns with grass no tall than 3" or 4"? If that's the case, shouldn't they be required to make that info readily available to prospective customers?

 

[bertsmobile1]

YEP
It goes back to those accountants with MBA's who run every business off spreadsheets , because they are trained that all businesses are the same and can be run identically
So some one did a survey and found out that x% of fridges are installed on a concrete slab floor which are all close enough to being level that leveling feet are no longer required.
The marketing dept worked out that "Free delivery" was a strong selling point so every one gave free delivery but no one wanted to pay for it and of course the $ Y that was charged is never more than 1/3 of the actual cost of delivery .
Because delivery drivers do not need a university degree then they are expendable and the cost of them needs to be lowered to a minimum then because their productivity is easy to measure they are being forced to do way more than they can do properly and training consists of a 2 minute run down on using the technology .
In Australia the actual take home of delivery drivers is 30% lower than it was in 1978 when you take inflation & CPI rises into consideration
Your first mistake was buying from Lowes who do the same thing with white goods manufacturers that they did to mower manufacturers and you can not keep supplying goods at a lower price every year while maintaining the same quality .
Buying white goods is like buying mowers and best done via a small shop that keeps a limited range of goods that work well because they have to fix them when they don' t work
My fridge & freezer are over 30 years old and every 10 years or so they go in for a refurb & regas .
No automatic ice maker or any fancy dancy gimmicks just a cyclic defrost fridge (NO FAN ) and a fan forced freezer
both are in the pantry & there is a bar fridge in the kitchen for the stuff we use several times a day, cold water, milk, butter, sauces , jam
This knocks a massive amount off the running cost of both and allows both the freezer & fridge to work properly
So I actually do have a continious temperature variation in the fridge thus the shelf position makes a difference .
I can keep fresh veggies including lettuce for up to a month nice & crisp because of the moist cold conditions.
The only thing that does not keep well is spinach

 

[bertsmobile1]

I watched this last night. I couldn't believe that all that holds the blade is a cheap plastic fan, and that a couple little plastic "nubbins" are all that keep the blade from spinning on the fan. It's the most toy-like design I've ever seen. If you read through the comments, the part number is identified through the original manufacturer (Greenworks), but, of coarse, it's out of stock.

Err did you watch it properly ?
There is a bolt that holds the blade on
The plastic pips are there as a shear pin and are necessary because if you have the motor under full power and the armature stops working then you will burn out the coils in a few seconds if the thermal cut out fails
Then the batteries can overheat & self ignite as they require a cooling air flow to dissipate the heat generated when they are discharging a high current load
So they go to great efforts at the lowest cost to avoid that happening .
Judging from the accent of the customer service operator I would speculate she was in the Phillipines in a call centre that handles "customer service " for dozens if not hundreds of different brands & types of items .
She obviously dd not have an IPL of the mower in front of her or she would have known what the proper name of the fan was.
In the 45 second gaps she probably answered 2 more calls while the computer was doing an inventory search of what parts they had in stock for that mower .
Call centre staff have to answer X calls per hour or they get fined for taking too long on calls >
"please hang on while I consult my supervisor "
is call centre speak for
"I just have to take a couple more calls or I will be under quota for this time period "
If they are only doing a small number of brands they will have a set of cards that they read from
If they are doing massive number of brands then they will have multiple screens.
What you do in these cases is write a big sign that says "this $ 600 mower is trash because you can not buy this $ 5 part
And early Saturday morning you and the mower set up near the front door.
Within minutes if you are white you will be loading the new mower into your vehicle
If you are black then you will be beaten & dragged off to jail for more beatings .

 

[smhardesty]

Your first mistake was buying from Lowes

That's a fact. I have to shoulder that stupid mistake myself. My wife and I had been talking about getting all new appliances. We happened to be in that city for another reason and I popped up and said that we should at least run by Lowe's to see what they had. Up until that point I had been telling my wife that we should probably go to the appliance store here in the town we live in. So, nobody's fault but mine.


As for the call center, I'm betting your dead right. When I was still in the computer biz, when I'd call one of the big computer manufacturers, I ran into that a lot. I finally learned to just start telling whoever answered the phone that I wanted to speak to their supervisor. Sometimes I'd have to just completely ignore what that person was saying and insist on speaking with a supervisor. Then, when I got the supervisor on the phone, I'd have to tell them I wanted to speak to a real tech. The supervisors were nothing more than "customer service representatives" that had stayed on the job long enough to be promoted to supervisors. They weren't computer techs, for sure.

 

[sgkent]

all of the above is true. And sometimes you have to start the call with "do not hang up on me again or I will call your boss's boss." I used to look up staff in staff directories and have names of people to drop when they got testy with me. One time on a Fedex package that was being mishandled I offered the guy the phone number of his regional manager's boss if he didn't have it. That got his attention fast.

 

[smhardesty]

I offered the guy the phone number of his regional manager's boss if he didn't have it. That got his attention fast.

Now, that's funny. I'll have to remember that trick. Never thought of doing preliminary work before a conversation with a trained script reader. Excellent!

 

[stevon]

I've been seeing more and more battery powered mowers and trimmers in my neck of the woods. I just got a a Stihl chainsaw in to prep for sale by the owner. He told me he has switched his mower, trimmer, blower, and hedge trimmers to battery powered devices already and plans to buy a small, battery powered chainsaw as soon as he sells this Stihl.

So, is that something we should all be looking to add to our regular repairs? Should we be stocking a couple of battery powered mowers? And my big question is, should we be learning to repair these things? I'm just getting my little repair business going and I'm wondering what the near future holds. Then, if we should be considering learning how to repair this type of equipment, where do we find courses?

Actually, I have been referring to "we" and the truth us I really mean me. LOL! Are there any repair courses available now? I'd be interested in an online course or a good, old fashioned, book type course. If anybody knows of one, or more, I'd be grateful for the info.

Why have you been seeing More? Because it's happening. I'm an older guy who resisted Electric until a guy gave me an electric hedge trimmer with a long last battery. Now, I will never go back to ICE. My hearing is stuffed due to ICE and this thing is way quieter,plus it has the duration, and it's lighter. No fumes coming out of that hedge to give me a headache.I'm impressed!. I read the Forum, guys are reluctant to change. You know what happened to the dinosaurs!

 

[Swarf]

I've been seeing more and more battery powered mowers and trimmers in my neck of the woods. I just got a a Stihl chainsaw in to prep for sale by the owner. He told me he has switched his mower, trimmer, blower, and hedge trimmers to battery powered devices already and plans to buy a small, battery powered chainsaw as soon as he sells this Stihl.

So, is that something we should all be looking to add to our regular repairs? Should we be stocking a couple of battery powered mowers? And my big question is, should we be learning to repair these things? I'm just getting my little repair business going and I'm wondering what the near future holds. Then, if we should be considering learning how to repair this type of equipment, where do we find courses?

Actually, I have been referring to "we" and the truth us I really mean me. LOL! Are there any repair courses available now? I'd be interested in an online course or a good, old fashioned, book type course. If anybody knows of one, or more, I'd be grateful for the info.

Wait a bit is my advice. I think the battery phase we are seeing will be short-lived, especially cars. Rather like the fluorescent light bulb. Governments have woken up to the fact that it is not a sustainable or practical alternative. Small battery tools are excellent, but not for larger machinery when real power is needed.

 

[Charlie8d]

I am on my 3rd year with a Greenworks 60V mower. I LOVE IT ! I love it so much that I also bought a string trimmer, blower, hedge trimmer , & chainsaw, that all use the same battery. The mower is self propelled, has a steel deck, ball bearing wheels, & dual battery .I use it to cut a 1/2 acre yard. I didn't pay any more for it than I would have for a good quality gas mower. I have not done anything to it other than sharpen the blade. I will not go back to gas.

 

[johnboy647]

I have a small electric chainsaw that I received as a Christmas present from my daughter a couple of years ago. It has held up well thus far and it is great - but for small jobs -such as trimming small limbs and cutting down small trees. I also have a battery powered blower that I got last year that has done well thus far. There are a couple of things to note. These two items do not have the power of the gas powered ones I have. The batteries also have to be recharged if you use them very much. The electric powered items are much more convenient to use. You charge the battery and simply attach it to the item and you are ready to go. No mix of oil and gas, not adjusting needed on the carb, no spark plug, no pulling rope to crank, etc. I have had battery powered screw drivers for home use for many years. They are also very handy, but as stated by other people here, if they are not used fairly regularly the batteries and/or charges die. I have a Stihl chain saw and blower that I have had many years that are still going strong-you just have to maintain them. I also have a JD X350 lawn mower that I have had for quite a while, and again you simply have to properly maintain them. I just don't see battery powered tools and implements taking over the lawn and garden industry for quite some time-unless forced to by the government.