The insanity of battery incompatibility

[Bob E]

Meh, can't be that great yet. Folks are still complaining about the same stuff they were then. Give it another decade and my current crop of power tools might need replaced. I might give batteries another glance then. :tongue:

 

[helomech]

Meh, can't be that great yet. Folks are still complaining about the same stuff they were then. Give it another decade and my current crop of power tools might need replaced. I might give batteries another glance then. :tongue:

BS, I love my 60volt greenworks products. They will run longer than you ca use them. Getting the pole saw next. And yes I have 80 acres of land.

 

[1 Lucky Texan]

a decade ago, the batteries for yard tools WERE pretty crappy. It was difficult to get Ni-Cds to last more than a season maybe 1-1/2 seasons.

IMHO lithium is the game-changer. lighter, stronger and seemingly more durable. The CASE of my batteries may wear out before the internals do.

I just added a GW 40v tiller to my 'fleet' - no, I wouldn't want to go into soybean production with it - but for my large lot it's been perfect so far.

But, I would go back to gas if I felt a need to, just haven't yet.

as for complaints, at work, every spring, I here multiple complaints of how blowers, weedwackers, mowers and other devices won't start.

I put in a battery and start mowing.

 

[HON]

I just now jumped into the battery operated outdoor power equipment.

The final straw that pushed the decision forward was the realization (stumbled upon during research) that 15 different states in the USA now have laws against gas powered blowers. These laws run the gamut from simply restricting days, times, and duration of usage, to an all out ban altogether, depending on the local municipality of jurisdiction. California has over a dozen cities that I am aware of that restrict the use of 2 stroke gas/oil powered OPE.

As 1 Lucky Texan above said... these types of bans would not have been possible without the existence of quieter, less locally polluting alternatives, that with the advent of lithium ion battery technology, have become more viable and safer for the application (no accidental cord cutting when wielding a hedge trimmer) in the cordless battery format, vs corded.

I went with Makita, because Makita had more variety of tools in the OPE sector alone, than any other battery operated garden tool company I reviewed... nevermind Makita's 200 other construction tools that use the same 18V LXT battery format in 18V and 36V arrangements.

When other OPE battery company's advertise 40v, they are likely doing the same thing as DeWalt... citing the superfluous surface charge that can be measured on a battery immediately after being freshly charged on a charger... rather than the nominal "running" voltage the battery maintains in actual use, which is what Makita cites.

My new battery operated OPE is in the mail as I type... a string trimmer, a hedge trimmer, and a small chain saw. I look forward to being freed from pulling cords of any type, whether starter cords or power cords. I look forward to being free from figuring out how to dispose of bad gas, and wondering if I mixed the gas 40:1 or 50:1, or if I mixed the gas twice by accident. I look forward to being free from the smells and the noise of 2 strokes. I look forward to no longer worrying about near misses with extension cords. I look forward to simply being free.

But one thing the battery operated tools won't set me free from... the actual doing of the work. Ugh. Maybe it's ok that the shipment is delayed.

 

[videobruce]

"If the industry won’t do it, we need legislation to force a standard."
Not a chance of that happening with the Dictator in power currently. :laughing:

 

[dehv]

Looks like 1st gen greenworks 40v fits some others demo'd here:

 

[MowerMike]

Looks like 1st gen greenworks 40v fits some others demo'd here:

That is a 2nd generation (GMAX) Greenworks 40 volt li-ion battery. The 1st generation has a silver side panel and doesn’t say GMAX.

 

[MowerMike]

So, today I did an inventory of all the different batteries and chargers that I'm currently using in my OPE. This doesn't include shop or indoor tools such as cordless drills and vacuum cleaners. The grand total is 21, with 20 being Li-Ion and one NiMH. The last time I bought an OPE with a new type of battery and charger was in June, 2019, and I'm hoping that this is the last of it.

 

[dmc1620]

Just got a hart 20v 4ah mower for trim work but it eats batteries my question is can I use the hart 20v 6ah to replace the 4ah?

 

[MowerMike]

Just got a hart 20v 4ah mower for trim work but it eats batteries my question is can I use the hart 20v 6ah to replace the 4ah?

Most likely you will be able to use a different capacity battery with the same brand and voltage. Sometimes there are different generations of batteries that are incompatible, but as long as you purchase a battery from the same model line you should be ok.