Flower Power / Earth Day

As I was doing some yardwork today, reflections of our flowers in the LEAF caught my eye and I thought it made a nice photo for Earth Day.

Truth be told, I was killing plants at the time. But I'm pleased to say that not a drop of gasoline was employed as I went about my business with electric lawnmower and electric weed trimmer. :mrgreen: I must say I'm impressed with the 10 Amp Ryobi unit. It's power is easily a match for the gas-powered trimmers. And it's a joy not having to mess with gas/oil, fussy starts or being engulfed in an exhaust cloud.

Nubo said:

I must say I'm impressed with the 10 Amp Ryobi unit. It's power is easily a match for the gas-powered trimmers. And it's a joy not having to mess with gas/oil, fussy starts or being engulfed in an exhaust cloud.

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I don't need a lawnmower (Yippee!) but I definitely have a hillside full of fire hazard that I need to trim a couple of times a year. Would you recommend the Ryobi? If so, what's the model #?

JohnOver said:

I don't need a lawnmower (Yippee!) but I definitely have a hillside full of fire hazard that I need to trim a couple of times a year. Would you recommend the Ryobi? If so, what's the model #?

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The model is RY15122 -- it's a power-head that fits the same modular system as their gas power-heads. I'm not sure but I seem to recall it may be a Home Depot exclusive.

I got it last summer, and I'm very happy with it so far. I've got a fairly large area to deal with and substantial weeds/brambles/etc.... It chews through just as well as (if not better than) my previous gas-powered units, which I had to fuss with any time they'd been stored for any length of time. With the electric you push the switch and get on with business -- without the fumes. The only small hassle is needing to deal with the cord. And since I've got a large area to deal with I've got a 100 foot cord. With that length at 10 amps, to avoid voltage drop I'm using a 10 gauge cord. A 100-foot, 10-gauge cord is definitely some mass to deal with, and cost probably double what the Ryobi power head did. But it keeps the motor happy, and my hedge trimmer benefits from it too. I used to wonder why my electric hedge trimmers would burn out every couple of years. Now I think it might have been due to the voltage sag from the 100-ft 14-gauge cord I'd been using.

I was tempted to take a photo of my LEAF in front of the gas station and say "Happy Birthday Earth." but never got around to it

EricBayArea said:

I was tempted to take a photo of my LEAF in front of the gas station and say "Happy Birthday Earth." but never got around to it

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We had a Shell station going through ownership change so it was abandoned for about a month. I always meant to stop and get a picture with my Leaf while it was abandoned and post, one down and a million to go.