In this Battery Powered Yard Tool Buyers Guide, we’ll take you through everything you should know about Battery (cordless) Lawn Equipment – Before you buy.
Whether you’re totally new to the world of battery-powered lawn equipment or are interested in knowing more about yard tool batteries, you’ll find the information you need in this comprehensive, easy-to-navigate guidebook.
If you’re a homeowner with a lawn to maintain, you’ve undoubtedly seen neighbors running around their yards with the latest battery-powered yard tools. And in case you didn’t already know, Battery yard tools are now the number one segment in lawn equipment sales worldwide.
Besides that, how do they finish their yard before you and your gas-powered lawn equipment? I know what you’re thinking because I was there myself once. Can it really be that easy?
The answer is Yes. It’s easy to achieve a great-looking lawn with far less maintenance and time – using battery-powered lawn tools vs. gas-powered lawn equipment. With No gasoline, spark plugs, oil, or air filters to run lawn equipment, you plug a battery into the cordless tool and go!
Cordless yard tools have become wildly popular with consumers, and they’re the right choice for anyone’s needs help around the home. Before you make a purchasing decision, here is a complete guide to these tools and their benefits.
What Are Battery Yard Tools?
When you think of powered yard tools, Lawn equipment run by gas engines automatically comes to mind.
And while there are still plenty of gas-powered options on the market, technological advances have made it possible to run almost every yard tool on battery-powered electric motors.
However, with the introduction and use of Lithium-Ion batteries in battery-powered lawn equipment – Gas-powered lawn equipment is losing its edge in overall sales.
A critical distinction in electric yard tools is between equipment powered by batteries and tools that draw power from outlets via extension cords.
While both options can have their merits under the right circumstances, this guide will focus on machines powered by batteries, also known as cordless tools.
In this section, we’ll review the top categories of cordless yard tools and help you find the best equipment for your yard.
What Yard Tools Are Available with Battery Power?
Here are the Four Most Popular Battery Yard Tools:
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String Trimmer (Weed Wacker)
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Leaf Blower
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Lawn Mower
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Hedge Trimmer
1). String Trimmers
Loosely called “Weed Wackers,” – String Trimmers are one of the most common and most popular lawn tools powered by batteries.
The Battery String Trimmer has been on the market for dozens of years and has become progressively better as battery life and power have improved. This comes with introducing and using Lithium-Ion batteries in all battery-powered lawn equipment.
Consumers prefer cordless string trimmers because of their light weight and mobility, making them easier to take anywhere on a property where weeds or tall grass are a problem.
2). Battery Powered Leaf Blowers
Are another popular category of battery-operated lawn tools. Like string trimmers, leaf blowers are available with various battery voltages.
In the last five years, vast improvements have been made in this category, including big increases in (CFM) cubic feet per minute – including turbo power options; in addition, lithium-ion batteries offer superior duration.
Video demonstrating the power of a battery-powered EGO Blower
As improvements in battery power have occurred, manufacturers have also upgraded the features of cordless blowers. Nowadays, you can buy blowers that act as vacuums and leaf mulchers.
These features make the tool much more versatile and give the average homeowner more utility for more than just blowing grass, leaves, and other debris.
3) Battery Powered Lawnmowers
Cordless lawnmowers previously included lead-acid batteries, which powered mowers for several years. They were typically not a huge favorite of consumers, as they had very limited battery run-time.
However, battery-operated lawnmowers have surged in performance and popularity as lithium-ion batteries with higher voltage ratings and extended Amp Hours (Ah) have overtaken the market.
And if they weren’t a higher entry price point, they would be the number one segment in battery yard tools sales.
These days, the right cordless electric lawnmower will give you the power and runtime you need to easily mow a small to a medium-sized residential yard with little effort and no downtime.
And now you can find multiple manufacturers offering Battery Powered Riding Mowers were introduced and quickly followed by the Battery Powered Zero-Turn Mower featured in the video below:
4). Battery-Powered Hedge Trimmers
Another essential battery-powered yard tool is the Cordless Hedge Trimmer. With a no-limit range of use, you can take these hedge trimmers anywhere in your yard.
With no electric cords or gas-powered performance issues, plug in the lithium battery and trim your hedges like a pro.
Greenworks Hedge Trimmer Demo:
5) Cordless Chainsaws and Pole Saws
These popular yard tools have also become fixtures in the cordless outdoor power equipment market.
Though this equipment is usually less powerful than their gas-powered counterparts, cordless chainsaws, pole saws, and hedge trimmers are incredibly convenient for homeowners who don’t need to cut down large trees or trim massive amounts of hedges regularly.
Cordless pole saws are handy since they make it easy to trim high branches without handling the weight of a gas engine or worrying about an extension cord getting accidentally unplugged while you’re working.
5). Battery Powered Lawn Edger
Lawn Edgers are truly another favorite yard tool among homeowners.
If you want to take your lawn care to the next level, edging your lawn before mowing is a great idea.
We use edge walks and driveway, then run over and mulch the edge clippings with your lawnmower; follow those steps with a cordless blower to finish off the lawn.
Video for the popular Lawn Edger and Trimmer Combo from WORX:
Battery Powered Edgers are easy to take to the far edges of your property, making them more convenient than corded models.
While gas-powered edgers can be helpful for substantial properties or commercial use, they’re usually a bit more than the typical homeowner needs.
The Advantages of Battery-Powered Lawn Tools
As you can see from the previous chapter, every tool you need for ordinary lawn maintenance is available in a battery-powered format.
You may still wonder why you should buy cordless lawn equipment instead of gasoline engines or corded electric options.
This section will examine how cordless tools stack up to these two categories and why they are often the best choice for homeowners.
Battery-Powered vs. “Gas-Powered” Lawn Equipment
One of the most critical distinctions between battery-powered and gas-powered tools is the sheer difference in weight between the two.
Even a small gas engine can weigh quite a bit, making it difficult for some users to move and manipulate their tools as they need to.
This difference is particularly noticeable with handheld yard tools like chainsaws, hedge trimmers, and string trimmers, which must be leveraged away from your body.
While the weight difference isn’t as significant a factor for lawnmowers due to the mechanical advantage provided by the wheels, you’ll still find a battery-powered lawnmower lighter and easier to push than most gas-powered models.
Another advantage of battery lawn tools over those with gas engines is their lower maintenance requirements.
Gas engines require gasoline, sparkplug changes, seasonal oil and air filter changes, and occasional carburetor cleaning.
Lubricating the engine will require effort since you’ll mix oil and gas for 2-stroke engines or serve seasonal oil changes for 4-stroke engines. Occasionally, you may even have to change gaskets or other wearing parts on the machine.
On the other hand, with a battery-powered yard tool, your only typical maintenance task will be charging the batteries.
With all of this said, it’s still true that gasoline engines offer more power and a greater distance of use than battery-powered tools.
You may be better suited with gas-powered lawn equipment if you have a huge yard.
However, for the average homeowner in a suburban neighborhood, battery-operated equipment is far more practical and convenient than gas-powered equipment.
Battery Powered vs. “Corded Electric” Yard Tools
Corded electric tools offer many of the same benefits as cordless models when compared to gas. Specifically, they are lighter and require less maintenance than equipment powered by gasoline engines.
However, corded lawn equipment’s shortcoming comes from requiring an extension cord to provide power.
Dragging an electrical cord around your property with you can be a serious hassle, especially as you get farther away from your house.
It’s common for users to wrap their cords around obstacles or even trip over them accidentally. If the cord is pulled while the tool is in use, it can disconnect the power.
While this is inconvenient with any tool, it can be a serious problem when using a corded pole saw or chainsaw since the disconnected power will immediately stop the saw – and potentially cause it to bind in the wood being cut.
By contrast, battery tools have no problems plugging your lawn equipment in.
Because their power sources are self-contained, they can be taken any distance from your house and used without worrying about 100 or more feet of extension cord being dragged behind you.
The Four Essential Cordless Tools
While you can get any piece of lawn equipment you need in a cordless battery-powered form, there are some that we recommend specifically.
In this section, you’ll find our top four picks for the essential battery-powered lawn tools no household should be without.
Battery Powered Lawnmower
You may be surprised that a cordless lawnmower appears on our list of essentials. Still, there are excellent reasons for most homes to have one.
While a lawnmower is a tool every household needs, most people don’t require greater power than a battery-powered model.
If you’re mowing an average size yard (5,000-8,000 square feet), an excellent battery-powered lawnmower can handle the job while saving you both time and money on maintenance.
Battery Powered Hedge Trimmer
If you have some hedges on your property, keeping them neatly trimmed is essential.
Gas hedge trimmers are typically overkill for almost all homeowners, making electric options the only practical ones for most buyers. While you could opt for a corded electric hedge trimmer, a battery-powered model is always better.
Aside from the standard difficulty of dragging an extension cord around with you, it’s common for people to cut through their own cords accidentally while trimming their hedges.
To avoid this possibility and gain greater convenience of mobility, we strongly recommend buying a cordless hedge trimmer.
Battery Powered Leaf Blower
A cordless leaf blower is an excellent option for blowing leaves in a standard-sized yard.
Gas blowers are extremely useful for large properties but are usually heavier than electric blowers
Over the course of an hour or more of yard work, a gas blower can become tiresome and uncomfortable to carry.
At the same time, using a corded blower is hugely inconvenient because you must have enough cords to reach every spot on your property.
As a result, Battery powered blowers are the most practical solution for most buyers.
String Trimmer
The same fundamental problems with gas and corded leaf blowers also apply to weed trimmers.
Since weeds often appear along fences at the edges of a property, your weed trimmer should be reasonably easy to carry and mobile enough to take wherever you need.
For this reason, a battery string trimmer is almost always a better solution than the alternatives.
How to Use Cordless Tools
For the most part, cordless tools work the same way as similar tools powered by gasoline or extension cords.
A cordless chainsaw, for instance, will have a trigger grip that a user can depress to start its chain, just as the same tool would when run on a different power source.
The primary difference you’ll notice in using cordless tools if you’re accustomed to gas engines is that you don’t have to go through a starting procedure before using the tool.
Contrary, with cordless equipment – once the Battery is in the tool, you’re ready to go without the need to pull-start an engine or adjust a choke mechanism.
A critical point about yard tool use is that you should always read your manual before operating lawn equipment.
Battery lawn tools are often so intuitive that users don’t think they need to go through the instructions for proper use – before working with them,
But this is a mistake you should avoid.
Reading the manual is as essential when working with a cordless tool as with any other yard equipment.
By thoroughly reviewing the instructions, you can ensure you are correctly familiar with the tool’s use and safety features.
“Lithium-Ion Batteries 101”: Everything You Need to Know About Battery-Powered Tool Batteries
You’ll have several battery options when you’re ready to buy your cordless lawn tools.
Suppose you need to get more familiar with battery ratings and specifications.
It can be tricky to pick out the best Battery for your needs.
In this chapter, we’ll review the key characteristics of cordless tool batteries so you can compare them properly when purchasing.
Voltage (Ah)
Arguably the most critical factor in picking the right tool and Battery is the Voltage rating. You can think of a battery’s voltage rating as a proxy for how powerful it and the tool designed to use that Battery will be.
Suppose the work you need to do on your property is very light. In that case, you can get away with a relatively low-voltage battery.
For more substantial lawns, you’ll get more power and performance from a tool with a higher-voltage battery.
For example, a string trimmer powered by a 40-volt battery will be more able to cut through thick, dense weeds without bogging down for much longer than one that runs on a 20-volt battery.
Amp-hours (Ah)= “Battery Power Storage”
Battery Amp Hour (Ah) ratings are essential yet often overlooked by consumers when selecting battery-powered lawn tools.
Usually shortened to (Ah) – Amp Hours refer to the amount of electrical charge your Battery can deliver over the period of one hour.
The Amp Hour rating can be viewed as a measurement of how long a tool will last on a fully-charged battery.
For instance, if your tool draws 2.0 Ah of charge from a 4.0-Amp Hour battery, you would expect it to last two hours of runtime.
Remember that the exact running time will be slightly lower because batteries and motors never operate under ideal conditions.
Battery Voltage
As early as 2020, nearly every cordless yard tool now runs on “Lithium-Ion” batteries. Lithium-ion batteries are considered the proven source of cordless power tools, available in 12, 20, 40, 60, and 80 Volt options.
Buying Your Battery-Powered Outdoor Tool Set
By now, you should have all the information you need to select battery-powered outdoor tools and put them to use around your home.
Before wrapping up, we want to give you a few extra tips about buying your outdoor power equipment lineup. Here are some things to remember that will help you get the right combination of tools for your needs.
1) Decide Which Battery Yard Tools You Need Most
The first thing you should do is to come up with a list of which tools you want to run on a battery.
You saw our list of the four essential cordless lawn tools in one of the previous sections.
While that list is a great place to start, your own lawn and the work you do in it will determine which cordless tools you should need.
2) Buy One Brand – With Interchangeable Batteries for All Yard Tools
One of the biggest mistakes you can make when buying cordless tools is purchasing different tool brands.
Keeping in mind that different brands all use different batteries.
Buy all yard tools within the same brand, allowing you to interchange batteries for every too.
Also, buying more battery-powered tools will collect multiple batteries you can keep charged and change out when the one you’re using loses its charge.
The more tools you buy that use the same BatteryBattery, the longer you’ll be able to use any one tool by using batteries from the others.
3) Pick a Reputable Brand of Battery Yard Tools
To discover the best battery-powered tools, it’s usually best to go with a reputable manufacturer.
While many off-brand manufacturers may offer you great pricing, you have to think about whether or not you’ll be able to get batteries for your tools when the ones that come with them wear out several years in the future.
If you’re buying from a large name brand, you’ll still be able to find new batteries for your tools five or even ten years down the line and have a tool warranty to fall back on.
When buying from an off-brand competitor, you may need more support for your tools when the first batteries get worn down.
4) Don’t Be Afraid to Pay More for Better Tools.
While picking out your tools, you’ll notice that prices can range significantly. While you can undoubtedly get decent tools at lower prices, there’s nothing wrong with paying a little more for a better product.
Suppose you’re torn between two battery voltages, for instance. In that case, it’s generally best to go with the higher one, as that will ensure you get the power you need to get through larger jobs down the road.
The good news is that most battery-operated tools come in at lower prices than equivalent gas options, so you’ll still save money compared to the cost of doing your yard work with gas-powered tools.
Conclusion
Knowing the pros and cons and features of battery-powered vs. gas-powered lawn tools is essential for those considering buying cordless lawn equipment.
Thanks for visiting our informational article on What Battery Yard Tools are and what they can accomplish for homeowners.
If you would like to see our Product Reviews and considerations for the “Best Of” each battery power yard tool you can buy per category – See our featured articles by clicking any link below:
Best Battery-Powered Yard Tool Product Guides:
Best String Trimmer – https://besthomegear.com/best-battery-powered-weed-eater-string-trimmer/
Best Leaf Blower – https://besthomegear.com/best-cordless-leaf-blowers/
Best Hedge Trimmer – https://besthomegear.com/best-cordless-hedge-trimmer/
Best Self-Propelled Push Mower – https://besthomegear.com/battery-self-propelled-mower/
Best Riding Mower – https://besthomegear.com/best-riding-lawn-mower/ – see item #3 (Greenworks)
Best Zero-Turn Mower – https://besthomegear.com/best-zero-turn-mowers/ – see item #1 (EGO) and #3 (Greenworks)
Best Pole Saw – https://besthomegear.com/best-cordless-pole-saw/
Backpack Leaf Blowers – https://besthomegear.com/best-backpack-leaf-blower/ – see items #4 (EGO backpack blower) and #5 (Greenworks Backpack Blower).
References and Additional Reading:
- How To Use A Pole Saw – “YouTube”
- How do you safely use a pressure washer? – CDC.gov
- Chainsaw Safety from – Cornell University.Edu
- What You Can Do in Your Yard to Avoid Fertilizer Pollution
- Best Space “Heaters” for Your Indoors – Besthomegear.com
- Chainsaw (and pole saw) Maintenance – Tractorsupply.com
- For Yard Clean Up – “The Best Cordless Leaf Blower You Can Buy” – Besthomegear.com
