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Thread: Totally electric commercial contractor

  1. #46
    Senior Member DavidS's Avatar
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    Default Re: Totally electric commercial contractor

    Ok just so you guys know, if the person had a 400Ah lithium battery pack in the back of his ute which would only weight 36kg, he could run a 3000w inverter all day charging all his gear as he worked or drove. When he got home he would just have to hook up the Lithium battery to a 40amp charger and it would be charged the next morning. If he really wanted to be green then he could have 1000Ah of lithium at home with 20000watts of solar on roof and his whole house woild be run by solar and all his recharging would also be done by solar.
    If you are willing to learn and spend the money to get setup then I cant see it being a problem to run all elcectrical. They would need a few backup batteries for each machine. I have used some cordless machinary and have been very impressed by the weight and power, if I was going to get back into the business again, I would have a electric hedger, whipper snipper, blower and would look at electric mower for those little easy jobs, would still have a petrol SP mower for the big jobs.

  2. #47
    Senior Member DavidS's Avatar
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    Default Re: Totally electric commercial contractor

    Sorry guys that should read 2000watts of solar not 20000

  3. #48
    Senior Member steveo's Avatar
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    Default Re: Totally electric commercial contractor

    3 things will influence my decision to go electrical. The first is can it come close to doing the job quicker and similar quality to petrol (including the time and effort to recharge). The 2nd is will it lower the vibration injury factor. I'll forego a bit (but not a lot) on the first if there is definite gains on the 2nd.

    The 3rd is if people are happy to pay a premium for a job to take longer, I don't see that happening for me, things will get more competitive, not less.

    As is probably true for most peoples purchasing decision when it comes to the crunch most people choose the cheaper product rather than the (so called) more environmentally friendly one because we all know often the claims to being environmentally friendly are often due to the possibility of making money rather than genuine concern for the environment.

  4. #49
    Senior Member steveo's Avatar
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    Default Re: Totally electric commercial contractor

    Quote Originally Posted by DavidS View Post
    Ok just so you guys know, if the person had a 400Ah lithium battery pack in the back of his ute which would only weight 36kg, he could run a 3000w inverter all day charging all his gear as he worked or drove. When he got home he would just have to hook up the Lithium battery to a 40amp charger and it would be charged the next morning. If he really wanted to be green then he could have 1000Ah of lithium at home with 20000watts of solar on roof and his whole house woild be run by solar and all his recharging would also be done by solar.
    If you are willing to learn and spend the money to get setup then I cant see it being a problem to run all elcectrical. They would need a few backup batteries for each machine. I have used some cordless machinary and have been very impressed by the weight and power, if I was going to get back into the business again, I would have a electric hedger, whipper snipper, blower and would look at electric mower for those little easy jobs, would still have a petrol SP mower for the big jobs.
    I'm curious as to what advantage you see in running an electric hedger, whipper snipper and blower? Are you saying they are on par with petrol powered?

  5. #50

    Default Re: Totally electric commercial contractor

    Quote Originally Posted by Redeye View Post
    l think it'll be a few years before there is commercial quality gear - all the current stuff looks cheap, nasty & very plastic
    Take a look at the car industry! The electric cars Havel gone gangbusters

  6. #51
    Senior Member DavidS's Avatar
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    Default Re: Totally electric commercial contractor

    I used a Hitachi hedge trimmer it was a 18volt job and I thought it did a great job, was a lot easier to use as it was a lot lighter and less vibrations than petroll model, battery lasted well too. Maybe not on par but not far behind them. Hedger had plenty of balls, just could not cut that thick stuff you can with a petrol one but that could change. If I was doing regular hedges like I used to then the electric one would be brillant. Electric blower is behind but coming along as is the whipper snipper, give it a couple more years of development and I reckon they will be as good if not better. Weight alone will be a big seller, electric ones are so much lighter but still rugged and powerful.
    As I said recharging would not be a problem, just need a couple batteries for each unit.

  7. #52
    Senior Member Wyadra's Avatar
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    Default Re: Totally electric commercial contractor


  8. #53

    Talking Re: Totally electric commercial contractor

    Quote Originally Posted by DavidS View Post
    I used a Hitachi hedge trimmer it was a 18volt job and I thought it did a great job, was a lot easier to use as it was a lot lighter and less vibrations than petroll model, battery lasted well too. Maybe not on par but not far behind them. Hedger had plenty of balls, just could not cut that thick stuff you can with a petrol one but that could change. If I was doing regular hedges like I used to then the electric one would be brillant. Electric blower is behind but coming along as is the whipper snipper, give it a couple more years of development and I reckon they will be as good if not better. Weight alone will be a big seller, electric ones are so much lighter but still rugged and powerful.
    As I said recharging would not be a problem, just need a couple batteries for each unit.
    Can't wait to get something lighter than my shindy backpack that can do the schools and carparks!!!

  9. #54
    MEMBER Fred's mowing's Avatar
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    Default Re: Totally electric commercial contractor

    Quote Originally Posted by Wyadra View Post
    Already looked into this but, the actual units themselves do not have enough reach for what Im doing.
    For smaller hedges they may be ok, they look like they have a decent run time.
    Sure would be nice if they had a try b4 u buy option, partic at 4k.
    Cheers Fred.

  10. #55
    Senior Member Arfa Brayne's Avatar
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    Default Re: Totally electric commercial contractor

    Quote Originally Posted by DavidS View Post
    Ok just so you guys know, if the person had a 400Ah lithium battery pack in the back of his ute which would only weight 36kg, he could run a 3000w inverter all day charging all his gear as he worked or drove. When he got home he would just have to hook up the Lithium battery to a 40amp charger and it would be charged the next morning. If he really wanted to be green then he could have 1000Ah of lithium at home with 20000watts of solar on roof and his whole house woild be run by solar and all his recharging would also be done by solar.
    If you are willing to learn and spend the money to get setup then I cant see it being a problem to run all elcectrical. They would need a few backup batteries for each machine. I have used some cordless machinary and have been very impressed by the weight and power, if I was going to get back into the business again, I would have a electric hedger, whipper snipper, blower and would look at electric mower for those little easy jobs, would still have a petrol SP mower for the big jobs.
    Sorry - doesn't Math out.
    There is no reference to what volts your lithium battery pack is, but we'll suppose 24v x 400ah.
    A 3000 watt inverter (without current loss) is 3000w divided by 24v = 125amps, which means the 400ah battery will be dead in under 3.1/2 hrs = short day.
    If you plan to run a 3000w inverter all day (and allow for voltage loss you'll be closer to 150amps) so 150amps x 8hrs = 1200ah battery minimum.
    To charge your 1200ah battery at 40amps you'll need to charge it for 30 hours minimum (once again not allowing for current and thermal losses).
    If you wanted to have your 1200ah battery charged by next morning, you'd realistically need a 100amp charger. (that's welding current)

    Yes it's do-able. But if you're using 12v instead of the 24v I've allowed - double my above amps figures at least.
    If you're using 72v (which would make your figures add up) I doubt you'd get a 400ah 72v battery that weighed 36kg.

    Here is a 12v 400ah lithium battery weighing 75kg for $9,284.00 - you'll need 6x of these !
    http://www.offgridbatteries.com.au/e...mplete-system/
    "Can't" is a dirty 4 letter word.
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  11. #56
    Senior Member Arfa Brayne's Avatar
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    Default Re: Totally electric commercial contractor

    Ok - to bury this green nonsense entirely.
    Here is the link to the Ego electric mower. Claimed to be the most powerful battery in the industry.
    http://egopowerplus.com.au/products/mower
    By their own specs it has a 600watt motor = 0.8 horsepower, and a 56v 4ah battery that will run "up to" 45 minutes.

    Imagine mowing with a gutless whippy engine ?
    Not my cuppa tea.

    "Mean Green Mowers" seem to have lots of fantastic claims about their equipment, (if it lives up to the hype it'd be a winner) but not much in the way of solid specifications. My truck will get 9.5litres per 100k , carry 2 tonne while towing 3.5 tonne, and do 120 km/hr - (just not all at the same time)
    Last edited by Arfa Brayne; 13-08-2015 at 10:27 PM. Reason: additional info
    "Can't" is a dirty 4 letter word.
    If someone says "Can't" , take the "T" off the end and brew it.
    Sip on a mugfull, relax, and take a look at what you've got left to work with.

  12. #57
    Senior Member steveo's Avatar
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    Default Re: Totally electric commercial contractor

    Quote Originally Posted by DavidS View Post
    I used a Hitachi hedge trimmer it was a 18volt job and I thought it did a great job, was a lot easier to use as it was a lot lighter and less vibrations than petroll model, battery lasted well too. Maybe not on par but not far behind them. Hedger had plenty of balls, just could not cut that thick stuff you can with a petrol one but that could change. If I was doing regular hedges like I used to then the electric one would be brillant. Electric blower is behind but coming along as is the whipper snipper, give it a couple more years of development and I reckon they will be as good if not better. Weight alone will be a big seller, electric ones are so much lighter but still rugged and powerful.
    As I said recharging would not be a problem, just need a couple batteries for each unit.
    I would imagine the hedger design lends itself to battery power more because it doesn't seem to take as much energy to drive the blades. A small electric hedger could be handy. Sometimes i like to hit the outer of roses with a hedger so I can then get to the inside branches. i reckon it could be handy for that and for those small buxus hedges.

  13. #58
    Member Redeye's Avatar
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    Default Re: Totally electric commercial contractor

    been using a makita 18v hedger for a few years, only really good on light stuff, handy for lollipops, tight corners etc, but def not commercial by any means




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  14. #59

    Default Re: Totally electric commercial contractor

    Quote Originally Posted by Redeye View Post
    been using a makita 18v hedger for a few years, only really good on light stuff, handy for lollipops, tight corners etc, but def not commercial by any means
    Same with me! Rarely comes out now except small light stuff

  15. #60
    Senior Member DavidS's Avatar
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    Default Re: Totally electric commercial contractor

    Arfa,
    your maths is working on 3000 watts continuous where that will never happen, dependant on what you have connected and what it draws will give you your load. If I was using 3000watts continuous then yes I would have a problem. Recharging all day with solar also boosts the charge so when the batteries are charged then they switch of and all charge goes back into the main battery pack.
    Yes I run 12v 400Ah battery pack and can run all day and all night with what I have connected, just have to turn off the Hotwater which is automatically controlled to turn on and off. Only run A/C when hot and only for a few hours. I run a fridge, 2200watt kettle, hair dryer, HWS when needed, microwave/convection oven, coffee maker, slow cooker, washing machine, lights, TV, satellite TV, phone and computer chargers and other household stuff and have no problems. As I said there really is no way you could draw 250Ah when the system is hooked up, yes maybe for a few minutes if everything kicked in at the same time but in reality it does not happen.
    As I said the technology is getting better every day so in a few years I can see battery powered equipment taking a large slice out of the petrol powered market.
    As for your battery, Enerdrive are so far out with that pricing. I can buy 400Ah of cells for $2496.00 plus set up a Battery Monitoring System and controller for another $500. and then another $1000.00 for solar and I am set for the next 10 years at least. So I could setup 2 of a DIY system for one commercial system.
    Battery chargers for small lithium batteries would never get your load up to 250Ah, would be luck to get to 20Ah and with lots of solar charging it would be hardly noticed.
    Yes I do believe that the mowers are way behind but there is a new battery technology coming which is even lighter, power powerful and fast charging. Then all we need is the electric motor to power a mower and we will all be looking to sell the old mowers, might take another 10 years though, so I may not see it in my time but it will happen.

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