Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

Interested to see how well this will work. I wonder what battery replacement costs will be?

http://www.wisesales.com/ariens_916003.html

Product Name AMP 24 Stage Type Two Stage Powered By 48V Brushless DC Motor Starting System Key On, PTO On Clearing Width 24" (61 cm) Housing Height 20" (50.8 cm) Throwing Distance 3' - 40' Chute Turning Radius 205º Chute Rotation 2.5x Ice Drill Chute Construction Steel Deflector Control Remote Tire Size 13" x 4" (33 x 10.2 cm) Axle System Pin Lock Batteries 48V / 30A-Hr Drive Type Disc-o-matic Speeds 6 FWD, 2 REV Gear Case Aluminum Impeller Profile Steel 3-Blade Impeller Diameter 12" (30.5 cm) Auger Diameter 11" (27.9 cm) Auger Type Steel Serrated Skid Shoes Reversible Energized by two 48-Volt AGM Valve Regulated battery packs that last up to 200 charges. Unplug charger, turn key and you are ready to start throwing snow. Specially designed steel chute discharges snow accurately up to 40 feet. User-friendly controls for simple and convenient maneuverability. Largest in-class freeze-resistant 12-inch 3-blade high speed impeller ensures superior performance. Features a battery level indicator that gives the operator an early warning by flashing approximately 10 minutes before battery is discharged.

Battery powered devices carry their own brand of environmental impact and in my view are disappointingly wasteful. 

Right now, I have a box in my basement with four perfectly working cordless drills that are virtually useless because the eight batteries that came with them cannot take a charge.   Replacement batteries cost as much or more than a new drill, batteries and charger.   Each drill came with two NiCad batteries which would last maybe two years if I was lucky.    

This method of manufacturing a product that requires batteries that are prohibitively expensive really rubs me the wrong way.   I don't see anything green about a product that is rendered useless because the power source that drives them costs nearly as much as a complete new item.   It irks me to no end to discard perfectly working devices. 

Almost every gasoline/diesel powered device I own or have owned is still working after decades of use.   But there, in the basement is a box full of battery powered devices, each only a couple years old and capable of years more service that will end up being recycled or trashed because batteries are either no longer available or too expensive.  

There's NO WAY I'll be buying any large battery powered OPE or anything else battery powered for that matter, until manufacturers produce a battery that will work for ten years and be reasonably priced when needed to be be replaced.            

iLikeOrange wrote:

It will be a big hit with the "green" enviromentalist's. Great for people who need a 2 stage and have to keep the machine inside there home. No gas or oil fumes to deal with, Nevermind they dont have to worry about stabilzer or draining the gas. Dont get me wrong I would never buy one but they may have a place in the market.

What would impress me is someone building one out of 2 cheap standard auto batteries that charges off a standard fifty amp charger car charger. ( Trouts- go check your spares, get Borat for plans) --Friiy

What would impress me is someone building one out of 2 cheap standard auto batteries that charges off a standard fifty amp charger car charger. ( Trouts- go check your spares, get Borat for plans) --Friiy

What a waste. Probably OK charge-wise if you have a small driveway in town, but that "up to one hour" means what? One hour of smooth light snow like they show in the video? You'll really bog down that 4HP motor on EOD and that will greatly reduce your usage. Then you have to wait 6 hours before you can use it again.

The battery could probably be replaced by 4  motorcycle sized batteries with a little fab work, that should cut the cost of replacing them if you can do that yourself. I don'tthink you can fit 4 auto-sized batteries on that. Still must be very heavy.

6 hour recharge at a 10 (? just guessing) amp draw would be 7.2 kW. Not cheap. And despite what the greenies say, electricity DOES pollute. Almost half the US supply is from coal-fired plants (I don't have stats for CA).

I see a niche market in places that don't get a lot of snow. But let another year like this past one happen and they'll all be looking to upgrade.

Perfect Florida snow blower.  Or maybe SoCal.  

I 'm thinking now about a 220 volt  electric,   I wonder what gauge  the power cord would have to be  for 75 feet?

No batteries and quiet...   I' ll have to see how much Romax I have lying around and check the Harbor Freight Catalog.

-Friiy

Here are some pictures for you dreamers.



http://www.evalbum.com/3628









http://www.evalbum.com/2612









http://www.evalbum.com/758








http://www.evalbum.com/2984

High power electrical line and snow blower augers....   What could possibly be wrong with that picture?

I also have a couple of those cordless drills where the batteries are no longer available.  One is a fairly recent Craftsman (yep, another reason to stay away from a product line that changes product vendors every year or two!).  I think there'd be good money in a business that retrofits these 'obsolete' drills with a universal powerpak, so you could at least use the sucker.  The electronics behind them aren't difficult, just match the voltage and amps; however, a retrofit wouldn't be very elegant and may not sell well just due to perception (which, as we all know, is reality).  I took apart one of the older battery packs and it looked like just a bunch of rechargeable "C" or "D" cells wired up in series.

Hobbyists use the motors out of these cordless drills for different things, like motors for hopped-up R/C cars/boats!  You could probably re-purpose one to operate the chute on your blower...

As for electric OPE, I don't think it is there yet for a two-stage blower.  Smaller equipment might be a different story - was reading an article the other day that said modern electric lawnmowers can mow the typical one-third-acre lawn for about ten cents worth of electricity.  If the batteries would last ten years and you could replace them for around $100 (just guessing here), then that would be a worthwhile solution.

My brother has an electric chainsaw.  He likes it a lot, except that in cold weather it doesn't get hot enough for the oil to flow to lube the chain, so it is pretty much a warm-weather tool.  I thought it wouldn't have enough power, but he pointed out that a good circular saw has plenty of power for cutting wood - that this is just applying the same concept to a chain-blade rather than a circular blade (good point!).

One advantage I see for electrical OPE is that you have max torque at starting rpms.  On the flip side, you have no reserve torque if things get nasty.  One way to offset that issue is to use a flywheel (which brings up the question as to why don't snowblowers use flywheels to get them through the really nasty stuff?).  I have an electric wood chipper - if the motor starts to lug down, I can pull the branch back out and let the motor catch up again - but it is only the flywheel effect of the spinning chipper blades that allows that to happen.  Otherwise, the motor will hang and trip the onboard circuit breaker.

Anywayz, I think there is a lot of room for electric OPE to improve.  With $5/gal fuel on the way, it may become more attractive to many folks.