2017 - How do battery power tools compare to petrol?

[d000hg]

Looking online I see battery versions of virtually every hand-held power tool, even larger ones like strimmers, leaf-blowers and chain-saws that are traditionally the province of petrol engines. I suppose in a world where cars can run off batteries, so can anything relying on an engine, but how do they line up as of 2017?

Can/Do the higher-end consumer models (i.e. not industry/pro use) compare with their petrol equivalents in terms of power and cost? Clearly no battery will last as long as a tank of petrol but if you have two, will that typically stop it being an issue? I saw DeWalt doing 5Ah for instance on their 18V brushless leaf-blower.

I'm a bit intimidated by petrol power tools, and 2-stroke especially are noisy and smelly, so as I build up my inventory for my 1/2 acre garden I'd quite like to go the battery route... but equally I want solid tools that are up to the task and will last.

So are they gimmicks for townies, or a real contender?

 

[Burnerman]

1/2 acre garden? Petrol every time for me.
Although battery tools are good for what they are, serious work compromises them and after a couple of years how good will the batteries be......
Most power machinery are four stroke now to minimise pollution......Honda will have the machines for you! Lawns - the Izy range, Strimmer - the UMK range. If you look at them sternly, they'll start
John

 

[d000hg]

Thanks for that. Most of the stuff I've seen is 2-stroke, maybe 4-stroke is the more serious end of the spectrum? Though I thought even Stihl were 2-stroke?

I'm not sure how serious I need to be in terms of tools - I don't want a £25 Black and Decker strimmer clearly but equally do I want a £300 one? If I can get 4-stroke I'd much rather and they should last virtually forever (if serviced) I suppose, but dropping a grand on garden tools is quite a pill to swallow.

 

[Burnerman]

Stihl produce the 4-mix engine.....a curious device that has valves like a 4 stroke but also has a total loss lubrication system, just like a 2 stroke!
I realise that the outlay is quite steep of course - you should get an Izy for around £400 and the strimmer for much less. They will last a long, long time and will be reliable throughout.
I forget the volume of B&Q type strimmers that come my way......folks just can't start them and they just lie in a shed gathering cobwebs.
The Honda strimmer I mentioned is also a brush cutter - these are straight shaft machines and come with a blade and a harness. 3 pulls on the starter cord gets it going, even being laid up for the winter. Fitting the strimming line is dead easy too.
Obviously its your choice at the end of the day.....plenty of Izy's on ebay but they'll all have knackered decks!
Most manufacturers have a stacking range too - you buy one power unit and then the accessories fix onto that. It can be worth a thought if you need a hedge trimmer as well!
Don't buy cheap here - they will come back to haunt. Stihl, Husqvarna or Honda for me every time!
Hope this helps
John

 

[d000hg]

Strimmer is the one item I'm set on petrol and something pricier... But I might start a new thread about multi function tools as I'd welcome more views on petrol Vs battery for stuff like leaf blowers, hedge trimmers, etc here

 

[DaveHerns]

FWIW my Qualcast strimmer typically £99.99 from Argos is still going strong after 6 years. Starts on 1st or 2nd pull. Noisy though

 

[ntb]

A strimmer (not brushcutter) is the one that makes most sense to me to run on battery power compared to other tools since it is much lower powered. I have a Makita 18V one that I use on my own garden and on gardening jobs that come my way. I've never come close to draining a 4Ah battery on any occasion I've used it. Performance is just the same as a small mains one. I also have a Makita hedge trimmer which will happily trim any privet that has so far come my way on a single charge. It chokes on anything over 1cm thick but that's not been a serious limitation for me. That said, I chose them because I already have the batteries and charger. There may well be better options if you don't already have a stack of 18V kit.

If you need more power I think petrol is still the way to go. I certainly would if gardens were more of a feature in my working life. I detest the noise of 2 strokes but they are lighter than 4 strokes which is why they are so popular.

 

[d000hg]

I was looking at DeWalt products... as my go-to for decent quality... and saw they do 18V XR product DCM561PB 5Ah and a 54V FlexVolt
DCM571X1 which seems to come with 3Ah battery and run time of up to 45min.

Now When they talk about this, they mean it delivers 5Ah at 18V or 3Ah at 54V? since power = current x voltage that means the latter stores about 1.5X as much energy, right? Presumably then a 3Ah 54V FlexVolt battery in an old 18V XR tool would be more like a 9Ah? And if I invested in a 6/9Ah FlexVolt battery it would run my XR tools pretty much all day?!

I haven't looked into FlexVolt before... are they well-regarded?

 

[crank39]

I regard them very well, I have the 5" grinder and a DCS777 mitre saw and rate them highly, imo are the market leaders in battery technology cordless tool wise

 

[d000hg]

How do you find their claim to be as good as mains power?

 

[crank39]

Apart from the obvious lack of constant source of power you get from a corded tool they perform just like one, they really are, take the 18v grinders of old even dewalts, the minute you touched the work piece they'd slow down and stop, you'd get 5 mins from a battery and absolutely no torque at all, the new flexvolt tools really are a revelation, mine just keeps going and going

 

[ntb]

I was looking at DeWalt products... as my go-to for decent quality... and saw they do 18V XR product DCM561PB 5Ah and a 54V FlexVolt
DCM571X1 which seems to come with 3Ah battery and run time of up to 45min.

Now When they talk about this, they mean it delivers 5Ah at 18V or 3Ah at 54V? since power = current x voltage that means the latter stores about 1.5X as much energy, right? Presumably then a 3Ah 54V FlexVolt battery in an old 18V XR tool would be more like a 9Ah? And if I invested in a 6/9Ah FlexVolt battery it would run my XR tools pretty much all day?!

I haven't looked into FlexVolt before... are they well-regarded?

The Ah rating is at 18V. Divide by 3 for the 54V rating.
I don't know what the backwards compatibility for old tools is, hopefully someone here does but you should definitely check before you buy.
The benefits come from having 15 cells in the pack as opposed to 10 in a typical 18V pack (or 5 in the entry level ones) thus allowing a greater power output either through increased voltage (wired in series for 54V) or greater current (wired in in parallel for 18V). It would have been just as good to stick at 18V but 54V sounds better to the marketing droids I suppose.

 

[crank39]

The Ah rating is at 18V. Divide by 3 for the 54V rating.
I don't know what the backwards compatibility for old tools is, hopefully someone here does but you should definitely check before you buy.

Yes the 54v flexvolt battery is backward compatible with any 18v XR tool, it just senses it's in an 18v tool and adjusts itself to 18v from 54v, clever stuff

 

[SammyInnit]

I was looking at DeWalt products... as my go-to for decent quality... and saw they do 18V XR product DCM561PB 5Ah and a 54V FlexVolt
DCM571X1 which seems to come with 3Ah battery and run time of up to 45min.

Now When they talk about this, they mean it delivers 5Ah at 18V or 3Ah at 54V? since power = current x voltage that means the latter stores about 1.5X as much energy, right? Presumably then a 3Ah 54V FlexVolt battery in an old 18V XR tool would be more like a 9Ah? And if I invested in a 6/9Ah FlexVolt battery it would run my XR tools pretty much all day?!

I haven't looked into FlexVolt before... are they well-regarded?

3ah@54v
6ah@36v
9ah@18v

The new XR 6ah should run your tools all day. I get a few days across the board from a Makita 6ah.

As for flexvolt being well regarded, so far they look great but are too new to have stood the test of time. This said dewalt are now well established in lithium power.

Yes the 54v flexvolt battery is backward compatible with any 18v XR tool, it just senses it's in an 18v tool and adjusts itself to 18v from 54v, clever stuff

Surprisingly simply actually just surprisingly late in the day someone came up with it.

 

[d000hg]

I even saw they do a 9Ah FlexVolt now... crazy. Quite tempted...