There was a recent article about counties in South Carolina pushing “lawnmower exchanges” where people would drop off their mowers and receive a credit toward an electric mower. This would of course be subsidized by the generous tax payers of South Carolina and probably the infinitely wealthy federal government on some level. I won’t go into why government should be influencing people’s choices to cut their lawn. This is not the place for that.
Electric technology is making quick progress in many areas due to the huge investments that are being made in battery technology by the automobile and related manufactoring businesses. There are now companies that are making high quality, riding electric mowers that can mow up to 1.5 acres on a single charge. That is more than adequate for the typical homeowner. Even better is that most homeowners only use the equipment once per week so the 18 hour charge time at a 120v outlet is no big deal. There are many advantages to electric equipment. The most attractive is that because there are few moving parts they are very durable and don’t require a lot of recurring maintenance like oil changes. You don’t have to worry about bad fuel or accumulation of water in the fuel because electricity is one of the most consistent fuel sources available.
For commercial operators the technology is still not practical. We need equipment that can run 6 hours or more per day. Charge times are much too long for daily use. Its a nice thing to say but the reality is there are very, very few customers out there who would be willing to pay a premium price for their vendors to use all electric equipment. However, with rising fuel prices a reality and technology quickly advancing there will come a “tipping point” where electric equipment will make economic sense and will be adopted. HSG will be one of the first to adopt when that takes place.
For now, good combustion is the most reliable and practical way to go.
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