Battery Power

I’m not much for gas tools. But I own an Echo SRM-225i grass trimmer that I bought a few years ago because it had an “easy start” pull cord. Compared to the previous machine I used, this one was a life-saver, preserving my upper body strength for the cutting, not the cranking of the engine.

Then my brother-in-law offered me a Makita battery-powered grass-trimmer, calling it an “extra” in his life that he didn’t need.

My brother-in-law is a low-power geek. He scrutinizes battery-powered tools, LED lights, solar power and energy efficiency, uncovering the latest, coolest, least carbon-generating gear Amazon Prime can deliver.

He was the one who suggested my wife get me a Makita battery-powered chainsaw, when I told him I couldn’t start up the gas-powered ones at the hardware store. The chainsaw, which she gave me for Christmas a couple of years ago, is a prized possession, capable of felling buckbrush, slicing dead tree limbs and shaping thorny hedges like nothing else I’ve ever owned.

I accepted the grass-trimmer gift with thanks, thinking I’d use it in an area where I didn’t want to send tiny rocks flying into windows.

Gosh, was I wrong.