Mow Forever? Solar Powered Lawn Care
Вставка
- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
- Ride along with me as I mow as many yards as I can using only solar power from my trailer. Turns out Florida thunderstorms might be more of a hindrance than running out of battery!
----
Signature Solar: signaturesolar...
This is where I bought my EG4 Inverter and Battery for my trailer. They have lots of off-grid options, great deals on 48V LiFeP04 batteries, Victron equipment, and off-grid mini split/heat pumps!
My Equipment:
200W 24V Rich Solar Panels: richsolar.com/...
EG4 3kw Off-Grid Inverter/Charger 3000EHV-48: signaturesolar...
EG4-LifePower4 Lithium Battery | 48V 100ah: signaturesolar...
EGO Z6 Zero Turn Mower: amzn.to/45QKhZE
EGO 765cfm Blower: amzn.to/45t9NnW
EGO String Trimmer: amzn.to/3YXejIM
EGO Edger: amzn.to/45we2Pk
I get a small commission if you purchase a product through my affiliate links above.
If you are interested in purchasing a Tesla vehicle or solar product, please consider using my referral code!
ts.la/stephen6...
Building something really special, all contributions go right back into the channel and working on changing the landscape. (puns always intended) / solarpunksteve
Great setup, I'm in the process of transforming my trailer into solar as well. I have zero knowledge of what to do but I'll get it, thanks for sharing!
Hey thank you for the kind words! I knew little about what to do when I started too so I’m working on sharing everything I’ve learned to hopefully help others out with the same questions I had. Feel free if you have specific questions to ask, I’m happy to try and answer what I can!
Can you do a walk through and show us what you're running? Like the panels, inverters etc. I'm also trying to do this. Thank you and awesome content
Absolutely! I'm editing the video as fast as I can. Stay tuned!
Awesome!! Thank you and looking forward to more content from ya
Your wearing a camo shirt and trying to be another solar liberal 🤣🤣
I'm sure you are planning to do this, but just in case, it would make sense to put a ventilation fan in the trailer.The batteries are going to degrade very quickly with that level of heat.
Good idea
Highly recommended. Batteries don’t like being hot or too hot when not in use.
Tell that to Tesla.....
Really cool to see another fully electric guy out crushing goals and lawns! Dope trailer setup def goals!
Thank you! Keep up the good work out there in Jax! Solar/inverter/battery walkthrough video coming soon!
I was explaining a concept like this to a co worker and he did not believe it was possible. Super cool to see what you are doing! It would be cool to see a breakdown of the cost and economics of your rig and business. Subbed, keep up the good work.
Hey thanks! You can send this to them as "proof of concept" haha. In my most recent video "Solar Powered Lawn Care Setup; Why Not Just Buy More Batteries" I get into just a little bit of the costs of doing a system like this on a trailer. It's not a detailed breakdown or anything, I'll definitely get to that as a lot of people would like to know, and I think it's important for people to have the full picture and determine for themselves if it's the right call. For me, it's not necessarily about going the cheapest route to solve a problem, but trying to find the most practical or elegant (function & form). I may not be making a ton of money doing this yet, but I can proudly say I'm not in debt and things are growing.
If he ran with 300-500W panels (home roof or commercial ) would be even better!
Oh it's possible, and people love it too, much quieter in the mornings!!
@@solarpunkstevethe best part of not being in debt with a business investment is how little the nitpicks and complaints matter. Keep on killing it
One of the most underrated channels on UA-cam
lol thanks. I just got started, hopefully I can get to that appropriately rated level soon 😉
I mow my parent’s lawn and their house is on a corner. I switched to electric mowing with the Greenworks 80v series. That included mower, leaf blower, an edger and a trimmer that uses the same batteries. I mentioned their corner lot. Because that eats up three batteries for a single mowing, I recharge while mowing and using eBay have added extra batteries and a extra charger. Really happy with the switch from gasoline to electric.
Nice work..👍🏻
I built my solar trailer in 2020 and it's still working perfectly..😊
Nice set-up.... and finally a lawn professional that doesn't like blowing the clippings on to the street.... It really bothers me to see so many just blowing it to the neighbors or street when there done. 👏
I’ve only seen one or two lawn care professionals blow it down the storm drain, most do the right thing (that I’ve seen). I find the most of the culprits are actual homeowners that do their own lawn care. They either don’t own a blower, or they choose to blow it into the street off their driveways. *Blows* my mind.
My area is really having a problem with our local estuaries getting too much nutrients and having algae blooms and subsequent fish kills and mass manatee deaths so it really hurts to see happen. It’s an area and topic I will focus on in the future, both for videos and trying to solve the issues in my community. But I have to get started somewhere and building a functioning electric lawn care business was step one, solar step two, UA-cam step three, and you’ll have to stick around for future steps 😄
My friend YOU are on the leading edge of what will be the norm. This is AWESOME!
Solar and electric vehicles/equipment is still developing technology with short falls, difficulties, and a lack of resources, so huge bravo to this guy taking on the challenge, pioneering a different energy source for his industry at a commercial level.
This has to be the coolest set up that has to do with anything solar that I've ever seen!
The vibe that I didn’t expect but the good vibe that got me watch this till the end 👍
Ive been thinking about a setup like this for a while but wasnt sure how practical it would be but it seems like you got it dialed pretty well you should do a video on everything you did to youre trailer pls, plus a price breakdown.
I had an idea for a business exactly like this a few years ago. Very cool to see someone do it! I'll be subscribing and looking for more!
I love your setup, great use of solar. I recommend you get yourself a refrigerator for the trailer. Having cold fluids are a godsend when working in the heat.
A refrigerator adds the ability to carry foods for lunches as well.
Great build and awesome business model. 2 thoughts on your trailer. Without knowing the dimensions of your tailer you could look into changing your panels to 450watt panels, it may provide your additional power and that inverter can do up to 450v so I can handle those panels in series. You'd need a minimum of 3 though (minimum of 120v). Second that inverter can take 120v ac input so on rainy days and days you finish late you can still charge your batteries. You can set it to prioritize solar and supliment with grid power. It would ensure you're always topped up for the next day.
What a sick video and set up. I'm subbed. I've actually been playing with trickle charging my OPE haha but you're next level dude!
Thanks so much! I'm shooting the video for my solar panel/inverter/battery overview right now! Maybe you'll get some ideas!
I had to pause The Overanalyzers podcast to check out your video. Inspiring stuff! I shouldn't be surprised that Mike and Dan's other brother is this cool. Great editing. Subscribed
Thanks for coming this way! Yeah my brothers are pretty cool guys. Glad you enjoy what we’re sharing and working on! More to come!
This set up is so cool! Awesome vid
I want a set up like your's.
I love the setup and the solarpunk name is a sweet creative twist. An idea; Have you thought about high mounting your blower so that you don't have to pick it up from the ground? Maybe like a fold down shelf with a bungee cord? Great video & proof of concept.
Selling the trailer fully assembled in California would be a huge money maker with their mandated electric for commercial landscapers
No way they actually mandated that 🤦
@@TheBestEverEverEveryeah for new purchases
Love the setup. I drive a Model 3 here in Florida myself. I love to see the M Y and the trailer that can fully power your setup on a normal Florida sunny day. Cheers!
Awesome! Yeah I love my car, it’s sooo versatile. What part of Florida? I’ve got two events coming up that I’m bringing the whole trailer to. One in Cape Canaveral and one in Miami, if near either of those, you should come say hi! September 30th in Cape Canaveral and October 14-15th in Miami.
Sorry Missed this till now. I am near the Orlando Area :) @@solarpunksteve
Heck yeah. I do landscaping in Gainesville and we use all electric and have been wanting/needing to figure out a set up like this.
I think you might be interested in what I have coming soon™ :)
You should put a tesla charger on the front of the trailer The use of the extra power that you are producing
Fellow solar florida man! It's always good to see others like us around here. If you moved an hour west I think I would hire you lol
This is awesome. Great branding opportunity.
seems like the perfect setup for the scenario you have
Yeah it's pretty cool! *A* solution to *my* problem but might also be a solution to some others out there. Hopefully it at least gets people thinking and maybe they can learn from my adventures what works and what doesn't.
Thanks for this!
Was considering an array at home this is awesome!
Oh cool! What kind of array? Off grid or grid-tie and what size? You building it yourself or having someone else do it for you?
@solarpunksteve I'll have an electrician start it, with room to grow.
Plan is to backup the house power, with day to day capacity sufficient to charge the EV and small amount of personal lawn equipment of course :)
Haven't done the math on amount of panels yet the end game will be ~10kW certainly.
There are tons of cheaper options for solar panels for an array at home. These Rich Solar ones are more niche in that they are designed for RV and mobile applications like mine. So you can definitely get a decent $/Watt for a roof mount or ground mount system. Good luck and looking forward to hearing how your system works once you’re up and running!
Yeah absolutely. Knew what I was seeing but really great this is consumer available now and good job making it yours.
If I was younger, I would like to say I'd get into it as well but I was never as smart as you 😊
Will try to remember to update..
Great job…like your set up…making it all work
Just figuring it out as I go!
Not even sure how I got here but I use electric powered equipment at my house and I love electric cars. What a cool concept!!! Nicely done, dude.
Coolest setup ever, it’s cool to see a Tesla and trailer set up like that! Good job👍🏻
Amazing set up! Well done & and executed. I love it
Thanks so much!
Actually great videos! You will go places :-) Nice start! And yeah - as a EV fan I love electric mowing - I have all my equipment also only on batteries and idea with Solar charger is awesome. Maybe you may add one opening sheet of solar panels on the side of your trailer! That you can raise if needed and if there is evening, you may get some more sun if you will let it closed.
As someone in Marketing in the Trailer Industry, this is the cool shit I like to see!
Love this. Proof that it can be done. 🙌🏼
Glad I found your channel! I have a Tesla, the Ego Z6 52” mower, string trimmer and blower already for my house. I’m shutting down my Segway business of 9 years in a couple weeks and looking for something to replace that income. I’ve thought about starting a 100% electric lawn care company (we have solar on our house too). I feel like since I already have most of the equipment, the trailer setup would be all that much after watching your breakdown video. Will be watching your channel over the winter!
I have a similar setup. Same mower, Dewalt other stuff.
I have a ramp door on my 6x12. I don't take the "key" out of the mower after using it, I just leave it in the socket.
In my german camper van, I added a 550W Solarmodul, an small victron mppt and 2,5kWh Battery. I love it to cook and charge my e bike while traveling. Your setup is a absolut dream setup :D. Once done, you reduce your noise and cost a lot. In germany one kWh is around 30 euro ct. This video was very very cool.
I really love this setup❤. keep it up 💪🏼
Just found this video, subbed and hit the bell :-) It's my first year in the game, running all petrol (gas) powered machines at the moment but this setup is making me think about doing something similar even if only for some machines next year. Greetings from South Wales (UK) :-)
Hey we all have to start somewhere! I started all electric, but then added solar and the onboard trailer battery later as I was taking on more clients and more jobs. I wonder how well onboard solar would work for you out in Wales, might be better to have panels at home and just bring battery/charging capacity with you? Also, do you tow a trailer or run out of a van?
Sidenote: I've worked with a people from Wales at my previous job, good lads and ladies! Thanks for stopping by!
So cool to watch. Growatt has a 48v all in one inverter that has a minimum solar requirement of 60 solar volts... So it does a lot better on cloudy days. My current system has the same minimum 120 solar volts it shuts down in clouds as well.
Perfect.. amazing setup
That is one sweet setup!
This is awesome, great setup
super cool video, love your creativity!
You’re a genius! perfect setup! I can see a bunch of these in California eventually. CA is banning the sale of petroleum powered gardening equipment after 2024. The issue for the transition is the cost of those tool batteries and this just solved the problem.
Next upgrade, solar mini split for the trailer, from EG4. 👍
Hehe, then I wouldn’t have enough energy to mow! However I would be much cooler than I am now 😎
I have a Ego blower and string trimmer and yes you can feed the wire through with out taking the cap off and it's super easy. You'll want to pull your string all the way through whatever length you want usually 14 foot of string is all it can hold. Then you'll press down on the cap and twist at the same time I believe to the right or left but it'll slowly feed through. I can re-string mine in about a minute. I'd say if you can put that money initially a fully battery powered lawn business would save substantially on over head. The occasional battery replacement, blade sharpening, and string that's the only occasional cost I could see.
Thought about this when I started to use electric lawn equipment. Glad to see someone actually bringing this to life!
Look forward to long term equipment updates.
That's really smart. We are transitioning to battery powered tools at work and the old guys aren't happy about it. I was on their side but after seeing your gear it seems like they do the same job but quieter! Roadworker in the Highlands of Scotland
Great job doing something innovative! Bravo!
We have multi million dollar home neighborhoods where they would definitely all pay more for someone to come by with electric machines just for the quiet. Ive been surprised nobody has done this setup here!
Does your trailer have ventilation? I was thinking "Dang I bet it gets hot in there with all that charging" and about 2 seconds later you said "whew, it is toasty in here!". Very cool idea for a lawn company, and a GREAT differentiator!
My goodness, this is so awesome!
nice work man! super impressive and fun setup
Whoa this is crazy I had an idea like this a year ago with all electric lawn equipment
Nice 👍🏾 setup
Thank you!
Very cool, I was 100% electric from 2019-2022 struggled with it a little and never invested in a full mobile charging setup and now im back to a hybrid setup temporarily. I used a lot of ego as well but my ride on was a 52” commercial Green works. All the ego string trimmers I have used can be loaded with the head still closed it is tricky though you have to find the spot in the rotation of the head where it lines up and then remember where it is in the future. Looking real hard at the 30” push mowers that recently came out and my plan is to use those as my primary mowers and focus on smaller properties.
Hey awesome that you're trying things and seeing what works and what doesn't! The whole reason I started this was to see if it could actually work, and so far for my use case it is, but it definitely doesn't come without it's challenges. Keeping the yards small was key in the beginning, I have some larger lots now but it could be difficult for some with large properties or large crews to make the switch, so I completely understand the hybrid approach too.
A topic I'm covering in the next video is why I chose this setup over just buying more batteries for my equipment. One reason is simply not being restricted to a specific brand, I could run greenworks/dewalt/meangreen/whatever as long as I bring the charger with me I can plug it in and charge up their specific batteries.
Thanks for your feedback and let me know if there's any questions or things you want to see covered in future videos! I'm happy to try and share what I've learned. Good luck in your endeavor!
What kind of cost are we looking at for those solar panels
The six 200W 24V panels I'm rocking are from Rich Solar and cost about $1500, not including taxes, shipping, and all the brackets and mounting I installed etc. You could use different panels, but ultimately I settled on these for voltage requirements (this inverter needs 120V DC to start producing power from the panels, and these actually produce more like 37V each instead of 24V) and space considerations on my trailer. You'll see a bit more about this in the next video. Thanks for asking! Hope you get something out of this.
@@solarpunksteve Thanks a lot of good information👍. I also really enjoyed and learned a lot from interview with your brothers channel.
Cool set-up
Awesome set up! I’ve been on the fence on getting battery powered lawn gear. Although I do not mow multiple lawns like you but I would like to get batt powered gear for my own lawn. You may have convinced me! I also subscribed to your channel!
This looks like a great idea. Im a one man band knocking out yards every 25mins (Usually do about 20 a day give or take). I think Id run out of charge pretty quick being that my next yard is a few houses down the street and all 95 are within a mile radius of each other.
wish you were closer id 100 percent support this all-electric business model.
Worst case you can get a second battery for your trailer. Also you could add some panels that you can fold up for shade and extra power on the side of the trailer. Charge the car too.
Love your work!!!
Extremely smart for a business, don't have to pay for gas and since electric has less moving parts, it rarely needs any repair. Other than maybe buying a few new batteries and whatnot your cost to break even should remain almost the same as the day you bought all the gear.
Nice set up. Don't Panic is a great books from the 80's
I
That it, I have not read them in a long time either. lol yes, 42. I might have to read again myself.@@solarpunksteve
Awesome content and editing!
Subscribed, great editing and fun to watch. For the Ego batteries, like all others, I find that low charge is the fastest way to damage them permanently. They can handle being topped off frequently, so keep doing that!
Topping them up right now! ☀️🔋
The up front cost might be a bit higher, but the savings of not needing gas(including the need to drive to get the gas) you also don’t even have to pay for the charge!(not including maintenance) that will pay off!
OK, play this in your head to Rebel Yell in Billy Idol's voice. "With the solar power, we gonna mow, mow, mow..."
Super cool setup and nice to see you towing with a Tesla was just looking at getting a hitch on mine they have a pretty good row rating.
impressive! best of luck! looking forward to vids, subscribed.
hey love the video, may want to set some cones out. one in front of your tesla and one behind the trailer.
Good call, I’ve been thinking about it but you know how those things go, you just get used to operating without it. Maybe I should listen to my own advice of safety never takes a day off haha. Thanks for looking out for me!
Hi Steve, can you tell me if you are going to go through the thick and thin of how you put together the solar power unit to charge your ego equipment? I am very much interested in going for a battery pack charger unit to fully solar powerSystem. I would love for you to do an involved step-by-step on how you created this BEAST of A solar power system. This thing is the bomb and it’s exactly what I need. That is if you don’t mind sharing!
Hey Triton! Yes, I will cover the nitty-gritty details of how I installed this system and how much everything cost. Working my hardest to get you guys some more content, but with summer here in Florida, university, my other project (@DeltaVCoffee) and working on the weekends for my friend in his general contractor business, I'm flat out! haha. But we'll get there, I promise!
I love the idea & it's overdue. I'm still not certain if 100ah is enough but your small setup is doing it.
First time seeing a video of yours been thinking about getting the mower you have. While watching I was thinking man that looks a lot like Brevard. Than bam you pull up the map ha.
I have a full setup like this also. Self sustained.
That’s awesome! For your lawn care business or your house? I love seeing other peoples setups, you should post a video of it!
I thi k this is an amazing setup for southern states. But not practical in my area with the hills and growth of grass. I had to double cut most properties this year with the amount of rain we had.
Thanks! It does fit “The Sunshine Stare” quite well. However, the summer down here was tough, we had record heat, rain nearly every day, and things just wouldn’t stop growing. That meant I had to double cut some properties/areas too. Luckily I had enough power storage, but I could always add more if I needed it. An option up north might be to just have lots of battery storage and not solar. Again it might not make sense to do it right now with electric equipment being early days, but something to think about for the future maybe.
Have you thought about a ford e-Transit with panels ? I think you could fit your whole setup in there.
Good decent job bro!
Nice set up buddy
This is really cool. I wish it could work for large commercial use. We got 3 zero turns running all at once and electric isn’t practical yet. For my home all my equipment is battery and works just fine.
I wonder if there is a positive to getting another battery pack for the trailer, so on cloudy days you will have enough juice to get you through the day.
Sweet! I have all the electric Ego tools but not the riding mower! Nice!
This is awesome! You just need a vent fan in that trailer to keep it a little cooler for you
Bro I live in Florida and I was wondering why nobody tried this since it's so sunny almost all the time. Great video!
Just wanted to point out its best to run the battery down to red. That way the cells last longer. You get like 1000 charge cycles before degradation. Everytime you charge the same cell, it causes wear. If you already knew this, just disregard, but if not I hope its more helpful than an annoyance.
Are you thinking of Nickel Cadmium (“Ni-Cad”) batteries which require you to discharge fully so it doesn’t develop a “memory”? For these (and most other lithium ion batteries), they can be charged at any point and do not require that they be drained before recharging, which is also stated in EGO’s battery manuals. Now, EGO doesn’t specifically state the chemistry (NCA or NMC etc.) other than lithium ion but typically it’s not good practice to drain a lithium ion battery completely, nor is it good to charge it to 100% all the time, but since I don’t really have a way to control the max charge other than manually removing it from the charger when its ~80% and that’s simply not practical when mowing lawns all day I just opt to let them charge up to whatever level before I pull them back out again.
I agree with you they will suffer from degradation, and I’ll cover this in another video at some point, but I would actually prefer manufacturers to use lithium *iron* phosphate batteries (heavier per Watt hour but cycle life is much greater) and just make the batteries a little smaller/less capacity and I can just keep charging them all day and not have to worry about degradation.
Hope this made sense, and if I’m incorrect please let me know.
Thanks! I have been thinking of the charge cycles all wrong. I to have an all-Ego electric lawn service. I had been charging only when in the red, which is annoying to keep up with. I don't have solar, but I have 40 batteries.
40 batteries! Wow! Right now I’m working on my video of my solar/battery/inverter setup and I’ll cover the cost difference of that equipment vs buying more batteries.
How have you been liking using the ego mower?
@solarpunksteve can't wait want to try this as well hope cost breakdown
Great solar setup.
Regarding the lineIQ trimmer - I have to strighten the first six inches of line before threading it through.
You gotta press down on the weedeater feeder spring head so you can see straight through…then you can feed the string.
You're a lot less noisy than traditional lawn care companies. 👍
This is very much niche content but I can’t help but subscribe because it’s super interesting and your videos are really good.
Like I’m a patent lawyer. This is not “conventionally relevant to my interests” or whatever, but these videos are just too dang good. Well done.
Never hurts to expand your scope of knowledge or interest! Thanks so much for the kind words!
I was a marine engineer working for billionaires on their yachts, traveling the world and I quit all that to try and solve problems that I thought were interesting and important. Speaking of Patent Lawyer, I would love to talk to you about something specific if you have time to answer a few questions. If not no problem, but if so please send me an email at Steve@solarpunklawn.com
If I had a lawn, I would look for landscaper who uses battery-electric equipment.
wow I'm surprised your batteries dont get over heated after all those re charges . My Son and myself have an Ego Mower and weed wacker and some times the battery gets to hot and dosn't charge . We have to wait until it cools down.
Nope! I think keeping them in the enclosed trailer actually helps a bit (shade). I've left a tool out in the sun a few times and the battery is baking hot just from sunlight. Most of my mower batteries don't get above ~115ºF but the blower batteries can get around ~125ºF. They actually "cool off" while charging, weirdly. I think just because they get put in the shade and there's a little fan blowing in the charger.
Buddy I been wanting to do this setup for over a year. Big prompt to you and your setup and homework you did. Only thing holding me back is if I drive up in a diesel truck kinda counterintuitive to be using solar. 😂 You might want to add fan or 2 to help ventilate the trailer or it could affect your battery charges
Honestly I wasn’t sure if my car was going to be able to handle this whole setup and I’ve been pleasantly surprised. Don’t let it hold you back, one thing I’ve found, is most people just don’t care. Some people are like “oh you have solar, that’s so cool!” others; “that Tesla hauls that thing‽ wow I didn’t know that”. But the vast majority: “how much do you charge to mow my yard?” 🤷♂️
Get your system up and running with whatever you have, reinvest as much as you can and build a client list and reputation. That brings cash flow, then buy an electric vehicle some day down the line when you can afford it and save on fuel costs.
I sound like I have it all figured out and it’s easy but honestly I’m just solving one problem and then moving on to the next as best I can. Good luck, let me know if you go for it!
Where you are from is green friendly, they don’t even believe in watering their yard.
Do you do a lot of fall/leaf clean ups?
Never apologize as well as feel bad about your set up. We all have to start somewhere.
Great video and setup. Would love to know in future videos how well the Ego holds up to Commercial mowing.
Hey thanks! I’m working on some of that content as there are a few things that have come up. I will say though so far things are holding up pretty well, knock on wood.
I work for a small landscape company as a lead driving the trucks, I couldn't imagine using a Tesla as my work vehicle for landscape maintenance and sprinkler work. I would be always worried about getting all the crap cleaned off of me before I hopped in every time lol. I would love a setup like this for my own business, maybe just with a mid size regular truck though.
What a great setup!
Thank you! It was a lot of work but I feel worth it in the end.
I would love to know how the batteries hold up over time in a business like this. Super cool content
Lasts a bit over 2 years
Great idea dude!
Thanks!