No matter how crappy the condition of your lawn, when you out down some nice neat edges, it always looks 100% better.
I looked into it and bought the Ryobi 18V mower, 16-inch version. I have a small yard, roughly 36 x 100 feet. The mower does the front and back fine. If I continuously do front then back on a hot day, the batteries are a bit hot, but also still at half-charge at the end leaving enough for trimming and blowing. It’s good for me but if you leave foot-tall grass and cut it angrily on a 100-degree day, I’m guessing the batteries won’t hold up. I also like the trimmer and blower it came with, both are not too powerful but enough for me. The 18V batteries are compatible with my drill, driver, and air compressor. I love the Ryobi system, maybe that makes me a consumerist but that’s ok :).
I think we both have the same tools. :)
I will say going from a gas weed trimmer and corded electric leaf blower to the cordless Ryobi 18v trimmer and blower were 2 of the best things I ever did for my yard work sanity.
My old weed eater leaked gas and needed around 10-15 pulls to start, and I do not miss the 100 foot extension cord I needed for my leaf blower to reach the end of the driveway. And as you said they bigger batteries work great in the power tools, and air compressor. Is this the one you have?
https://www.amazon.com/Ryobi-P731-Function-Inflator-Compressor/dp/B006NKLHOY
Works great for cleaning out a dusty PC also.
Yep, I know it’s not very heavy duty but it works well. I recently saw the vacuum for $30 or something and wish I grabbed it (I have a cordless dyson but could keep this for my own use, rather than ‘the house’s’ :)). Maybe I’ll go get it.
I got the little shop blower as a freebie when I bought the battery kit recently (no leaf blowers nearby). I love the bloody thing. It works great and it is very light and easy to handle. I have an old Toro corded blower, but no need to use it.
Sweated it out today, in the 90F New York heat. 1.3 acres with a 22 inch gas push mower. It’s a trip for sure. Bonus pictures of lawn guardian Chutney and an elusive wife 🤓
That is a lovely backyard!
Thank you so much 😊
We bought the house 4 years ago this August and it’s been grueling taking back the yard. House was a former farm, laid fallow for 20 years, then a pig ranch, then a carpenters shop. It was in pretty rough shape when we took over, waist high grasses and vines. Trees with Akira like bulges. We will never get the grass weed free, with our groundwater being the home’s lifeline I’m loathe to Agent Orange the zone. But I finally got a garden in this summer, and the soil retains its pig effluent goodness 🤣
Edit. Like I said, a bit of a walk.
Wow, that is a nice yard! I would refuse to mow that with a non-motorized push mower, however.
OTOH, a couple sheep would take care of that grass real quick. Do you still have agricultural zoning?
No, but I could get grazing goats if I was so inclined. I’ve considered chickens or guinea hens, but from working on a small family poultry farm as a kid, I know about all the new horrors and blood that comes with raising animals. With our coyote situation I would need to be on constant vigilance and with a day job it’s impossible. Shame, because I have adjacent lot and would love to clear it and go all Stardew over here.
Also thanks so much! I love and hate it lol.
Pygmy goats are awesome! I wonder if they are good at lawn keeping?
Goats are no good for grass…they munch on shrubs, ignore grass
Sheep are better.
My lawn-care solution.
I had goats, long gone now, that ignored the grass.
These sheep do keep the lawn down, but moving the temp fence every few weeks is a pain and about the same effort as mowing.
Plus the sheep are picky. They like nice grass and over the years they have winnowed down one part of the yard into clover and crabgrass. I let them graze too long there.
You don’t get a nice suburban smooth cut with them, but you don’t have to mow every week either. Every 3 or so weeks works.
Bottom Line: Sheep are cool. They are an easy pet to keep if you have a shelter for them. They don’t need much —just get a local guy to shear them in the spring and give them hay and sheep chow in the winter. Let them eat your yard in the summer, They are really dumb. But adorable. They work better in pairs since each needs another to follow.
Lolol
Last week, Amazon had a sale on their greenworks battery, so I finally broke down and got it. With the 3 batteries, I can finally get the whole yard done in a single go, which is a nice change of pace. The extra battery is a bit pricey, but, it beats the hell out of missing with gas, filters and oil. Plus, the damn thing is really light, so easy to use.
Greenworks also sells converters for batteries, so you can plug other stuff into them. When one of those goes on sell, I might grab it because it will make edging a whole lot easier.
The secret to a push mower is to never change the filter / oil. My Toro is going on 11 years, same oil and air filter. :)
I recently bought a new mower that says it will never need an oil change for the lifetime of the mower. Maybe an occasional top-up, but never a change. I don’t know how that works exactly, but it sure makes my life easier.
I have one that’s now 21 years old. I had to change the air filter two years ago.
I’ve never changed the oil/filters in my mower and it’s been going strong for at least 10 years now.
I’m super happy with my battery mower. I do the whole yard, trim, and leaf blower, and both batteries are still at 50% or more. The mower is light enough and compact enough (16-inch) that I lift it onto a shelf for the winter to put it out of the way. No need for gas, ever.
I’m mullling over a battery snow blower. A much harder task than mowing a lawn though. They seem fine for snow, even deep wet snow, but not really capable of taking on the pile from the City’s grader, and definitely not if it’s left to settle.
