Do you have any insight into who, if someone else is making their tools? I have never seen then their electric offerings used in person; I would love to know what the market penetration is like.
Likewise, I have not seen any performance benchmarks comparing the gas/electric, even from an OEM.
If a vendor is making an electric and ICE version, but the electric models just do not sale...is it a marketing problem? is it a shelf space problem at the places people buy? is it performance issue? is it they already own ICE models and don't need to buy new? a 2-stroke engine is super simple to maintain, and i'd imagine any landscaping company getting the eye of Sauron in this thread has someone on hand that can repair them.
Maintenance is non-existent, until they stop working. Then, your only option is to stare at a circuit board and hope you figure out what blew, or just throw the whole thing away.
2-stroke engines have some advantages. They also require little maintenance, especially if they are used often. Refueling is much faster than recharging, meaning a much smaller capex investment. Large electric batteries are still painfully expensive. Ours got left out inn the rain accidentally, and it was very nearly cheaper to buy a new one on sale than to buy the replacement battery from the manufacturer.
That said, the noise and fumes suck. Nobody likes that part. I have an electric lawn mower, but still use a gas leaf blower and chain saw. Since I use those less frequently, the carb tends to gum up if I'm not careful, but it still beats the prices of electric versions.
I've had battery string trimmer w/ various attachments and blower for years now. I only have 2 of the batteries, er, had. Neither of them will charge now. Both batteries came with the 2 pieces of equipment I have. To now replace those batteries by just buying the battery, it will be more expensive for 1 battery than I paid for both of the devices together. It will be cheaper for me to buy a new device with a battery. It's almost like it's cheaper to buy a new printer with ink than buy the replacement ink.
The replacement of batteries is going to be a show stopper for a long time.
Yeah you have to manage the batteries. Don't try to charge them hot. Don't store them at full charge. Don't leave them on the charger any longer than they need to reach full charge. Don't leave them outside or where they might freeze.
Still easier (so far) for me than fooling with oil/gas mixing, starting troubles, cleaning carburetors, etc.
I bought an electric chain saw at Harbor Freight and I love it. I'm sure it would not be adequate for use by a tree service business, but it cuts well and I don't have to fool around with mixing oil and gas, fooling with the choke and throttle to get it started, and hoping it starts at all because I only use it once a month at most, and not at all through the winter. As a homeowner, for those occasional-use lawn and landscaping machines, I'll never go back to gas engine power.
I liked mine, up until the battery died and I saw the replacement cost. I upgraded to a much more powerful two stroke and haven't regretted it once, though I cut enough wood that mixing the gas isn't much of a hassle anymore.
Weed whackers and push lawn mowers though- electric is really the only way to go.
