Will Kelly argues gas mowers beat electric ones for lawn businesses because they pass the volume test: servicing 20 small lawns in a day. Gas tanks refuel in 30 seconds at a station. Electric batteries need an hour to charge, forcing crews to stop mid-route and lose money on uncut lawns.
Here's the issue. Most guys comparing gas and electric are comparing the wrong thing. The real problem is nobody is testing this equipment against what an actual day in this business demands. A crew is expected to hit 20 lawns a day. These are small residential, about 30-minute lawns for one guy. So when you're deciding what equipment goes on that truck, you're asking, can this keep up with the 20-lawn demand back to back without hesitation. That's the first test, the volume test. A gas engine runs until you run out of fuel, and refueling takes you 30 seconds at a gas station on the way to the next job. A battery pack runs for a stretch, then it needs to sit and charge for a close to an hour before it gets back to full charge. Now stack that against 20 lawns in a day, and you do not have an hour to give a mower a nap in the middle your route. That dead time is not theoretical. That's real lawns not getting cut, real trucks sitting still, and real money not getting made.
