Quote:
Originally Posted by SailinAway
Take your pick (this applies to just about anything that takes physical effort): Exert (a) more effort over less time, or (b) less effort over more time. I prefer (b) so I really don't mind going out twice during a storm. The snowblower also prefers (b): it's more effective with lower amounts of snow.
There's nothing to figure out. Clear snow for 30 to 45 minutes, put batteries on charger for 30 to 45 minutes, go back out later if needed, and congratulate yourself for not adding more carbon to the atmosphere. While you're taking your gas snowblower to the shop to get the carburetor cleaned, changing the spark plug, and going to get gas, I'll be just dropping the battery in the hatch and getting going.
However, this is not all about user convenience. To those who love their gas snowblower/lawnmower/car, etc. I say, we all have a duty to transition to electricity as soon as possible for the sake of the planet. I understand that electric tools and cars do not yet have fully developed technology and are expensive, but I feel that the technology and price are good enough that it's time to start making the switch. We can do this over time to lessen the financial impact. Buying electric tools and cars contributes to supporting research and development to improve performance and reliability and bring the price down. You know this is going to happen eventually; it's just a question of when we each decide to get on board.
|
A prefer (c) less effort over less time. The right balanced ICE snowblower is push-start one-and-done so no need to go back out when it's turned to rain or gotten slushy or frozen.
Clearly, I'm not (totally) on board with electric tools yet, but the question of "when" is a good one. I don't know enough, but the questions I have: 1. Electricity still requires a percentage of fossil fuels—I'd like to know what that is. 2. What fuels do the machines that produce the batteries use? 3. What's the recyclability of the batteries? 4. What's the issue with mining impacts for the (rare) metals? 5. What's the long-term impact of the machine itself?
For example, Jeep Wranglers and Ariens snowblowers don't go to waste and are made to last forever—will electric vehicles be in the field after 10 years? 15?
I do really like my Greenworks whacker, but that uses one battery for my whole yard with a tad to spare. If I had to cut the job in half or even rely on multiple batteries, it would be far less interesting.
PS I'm starting to research a whacker/blower combo for camp, so this is mostly part of that process!
Sent from my SM-G990U1 using Tapatalk