That one week last summer when our whole crew went electric and nothing worked

We switched to battery-powered pressure washers for a week in Phoenix to cut emissions, but the batteries died after 45 minutes in the heat. Had to drag out the gas washers anyway just to finish the parking lot job. Has anyone else tried electric gear and just hit a wall with real-world temps?

3 comments

3 Comments

davis.olivia16d ago

Dropped $3,000 on a set of electric leaf blowers for our landscaping crew last August. First day out in 95 degree humidity, the batteries gave us maybe 20 minutes of full power before they started sputtering. I timed it. The gas ones were back in the truck by noon and we didn't touch the electric ones again. I called the company and they said "operating temperature range is 32 to 104 degrees" but that's obviously tested in a climate controlled room, not on a sunny driveway.

karen_carter16d ago

That one week last summer" sounds like a nightmare, honestly. Did you check the battery specs before you bought them to see if they had any kind of heat protection or temperature rating? I'm just wondering if the manufacturers actually test these things in real world conditions or just in a lab.

patricia3216d ago

$3,000 for leaf blowers that can't handle a muggy morning seems like a lot of trouble, @karen_carter, but I wonder if it's really that bad. I mean, 20 minutes of full power isn't great but maybe you just needed to rotate batteries or take a quick break in the shade. Most people don't run leaf blowers nonstop for hours, so it might not be as big of a deal as it sounds.