Testing the Stihl Kombi battery powered tool platform Vs Stihls gas powered tools in a head to head direct test to see how they perform. We test Stihls polesaws, blowers, weed whips and more attachments from their line up.
I have a KMA 130R for my landscape business in Northern Colorado. I have typically used and owned gas powered equipment, but after using the battery Kombi model I can never go back. It does really have the power comparable to that of a gas Kombi. It is one of the only battery powered products that is truly pro grade in my opinion. Stihl really set bar high!
I'm not an everyday guy however I do expect quality. I have the kombi setup and LOVE it! I have the weed whip, blade cutter, pole saw, blower, paddle wheel. I wouldn't pick the blower for a leaf job, but for clean up after a weekly you bet! I've been using the paddle wheel for light snow removal. Up to 3 or 4 inches leave the shovel a In the truck. Love my kombi tools!
@@hoeto63 I'm done Me with snow shovels! I've also used it for dirt and rocks. Amazed at how quickly it works. Understand that the paddle wheel setup is heavy. And pricey. Just the tool was like $309. But I love it!! I am going to order a set of brushes, my dealer and I sat down and compared the attachment points, and we think you should be able to trade out the paddles and brooms fairly easily. Beats ordering a whole setup.
I’m a homeowner in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and have had the Kombi gas powered system for a couple years and absolutely LOVE it. I have the blower attachment, edger, string trimmer and pole saw. If I’m not careful, the blower will remove the landscape river rock from around my home when I’m blowing out leaves. Your test of the blower for wet leaves is something I do here frequently. I also use it to blow out wet sand and gravel that has a tendency to collect along my curb, and it removes it as if it were never there. This last fall I used the pole saw all day removing tree limbs ( not whole trees) for me and my neighbor after 3 tornados came through our city. Although it’s not a “true” chain saw, with patience and a little common sense, it performed admirably. The edger is as slick as it gets. Takes me about 3 minutes to edge all my sidewalk, driveway and curb; it’s a beast! The string trimmer is as efficient as your test showed. Personally, I’d never use a battery operated system. I would not want to lug around that battery backpack, and I like being able to gas and go. Don’t want to have to worry about whether the batteries are charged or not. I’m not a professional yard man, but I would, and I have, recommend this system to anyone. Far and away the best yard equipment of it’s kind on the market!
Here we are plowing heavy snow!! And i tried the gas multi tool with the black blade and the thing cuts 🤣 Love the videos man! Continue that awsome work!!!
seemed like a fair test. One thing I didn't hear you talk about was the run times with the backpack battery set up. Another negative is the cord getting in the way from what I can tell. But overall, I can see benefits as well. Good job stihl. I have two Kombi 130R powerheads with a slew of attachments that get used. Love them!
Glad I came across this video Stan. I’ve been thinking hard about a Kombi tool and have been back and forth on gas or battery. I love my stihl battery demo saw, my battery stihl blower, and my stihl battery shrub trimmer. Wasn’t impressed with the stihl battery weed eater I got for home. Trying to decide if the battery kombi will work ok for me, I’m thinking it should after watching this. Thanks for posting and as always nice video!
Great test tho as you say, not really meant for home owners. That said investing a few thousand into battery packs is a great move, especially if you have to work in a residential area a lot, neighbours will appreciate lower noise.
trimmers, hedgers, mowers even chainsaws in many cases can all be converted to electric now, quieter cheaper to operate lighter, no gas easier to transport.
@@crimmy0204 Huh? Your comment has nothing to do with this thread. Maybe you meant to post it in another thread? Also, no one is converting any of those things to electric. I'm not saying no one has ever converted a gas implement to electric, but it would be super expensive because of all the custom parts, and it would take a lot of engineering.
I have both systems, except the battery back pack. The reason we went to the battery Kombi is that we are both in our 60's and my wife who uses the blower, just can't carry and pull the starter cord on the gas one. I love the small saw and carry it on my tractor or zero turn. I just bought the 220 and it is a ripping machine. I will not give up my gas powered MS361, but otherwise, I will use battery power now.
running the KM130R gas Kombi system with all those attachments and like them, so interesting to see the battery powered version. Also wonder about run times and how it is wearing the battery pack.
we use these at work and they are fantastic, the weed wacker with the steel blade you don't need any earplugs wich is great. if im not misstaken we could use the weedwacker for a whole work day without charging. and depending on battery packs, if you get the largest one it fully charges the battery in 45 minutes. and believe it or not the largest battery pack charges the fastest
Great Video! For those asking about cost comparison (Canadian), see below. KM11R - $519.95 KMA130R - $449.95 AR 3000 Backpack Battery - $1179.95 Attachments range from $85-$430
I am curious why Stihl gave you the 111R gas instead of the more powerful 131R gas engine. You would think the 131 would be the comparable engine to put up against the battery powered version. Any chance you could ask them? I've been doing professional landscaping for a couple years and we use the 131r kombisystem system every day, we have one 111r engine, and it is significantly weaker when it comes to tasks that require a lot of torque.
I own both the km131 and the kma130 with both the backpack and the smaller ap300 batteries They do not compare on any level, with any attachment. Take the edger for instance, in soft soil the electric will work. However in hard of tough soil, you will do twice the work with the km131 As of a couple months ago, stihl offered the blowing capacity of each power head under the blower attachment specs. (But it appears they have pulled it) They still list the blowing capacity of the kma130 in the specs of that power head. To compare, the kma130 has less blowing capacity than the km56
In all fairness the gas powered Stihl engine was the 111 which is the mid ranged kombi gas engine and the KMA 130 R was the biggest battery now I believe it would be more fair to compare the KM 131 R to the KMA 130
The thing is, how long are they going to last. I have the 36v makita blower and it burns through a set of batteries in 10-15 minutes. Can't imagine battery tools being practical with commercial usage unless you're bringing a TON of batteries with you because you're going to go through several batteries per job.
The blower blew me away too! I'll take it over any backpack now! I love my Kombi system I might dabble in the electric version as well because I might get their mower!
that battery pack has to be miserable in the summer, i imagine that it produces heat has the battery gets discharged and just by have to wear the pack itself would be hot. As far as the steel stihl blade they work better if u keep wacking or tapping the wood or a sapling, rather then just letting the blade just sit there and burn the wood
I would get an rpm gauge and measure what the shaft speed on the split shaft is and then compare the 2. They would be similar speed and the electric should have better low end torque. I’d like to see how it works with the bed rediner. I have a stihl km131r and when wet dirt it packs and will slow me down to a near stop. I’d be interested in seeing how the electric does with that tool.
Lol no bat compares to gas. That's 100% marketing. There's more energy in gas then you have to put into it then battery powered equipment. Batteries aren't near as efficient or clean as people like to believe. You loose efficiency with a battery over gas.
I love this video! Serious question though. Are the batteries chargeable in a mobile situation? I work in remote mountains in New Mexico and use a Stihl chain saw to clear out roads after wind storms. It can make for a rough week sometimes just to getting to the generators. LoL, or running away!
Who wants to wear that battery pack all day. Good Night. And it must cost a veritable fortune to replace. My verdict is "Closer, but Not There Yet." with a postscript of "Get the Battery off my back!". Cheers.
Still stands behind the warranty! They covered a broken handle on my still MS chainsaw! No questions asked! The handle was smashed by a tree that went rogue! They could easily have not covered it, but they did! EDIT! MY AUTO CORRECT HATES STIHL'S NAME
I've read that quite a few electric blowers don't handle being used in snow well, ends up killing the blower, because this is at the end of a shaft it will probably be ok but I think one guy went through like 3 ego hand blowers doing his car in the winter.
@@crimmy0204 thanks! My dad has a sthil gas powered and ran into a great deal on the battery powered set. He used the gas blower to clear light snow. I'll be sure to let him know to stay away from heavier snow with the cordless! ;)
Is their going to be a part two to this Stihl Kombi comparison? Such as how long the battery power lasts compare to the gas power. As well introducing the power bristle brush sweeper?
My biggest question is how do yall feel about the water concern if youre working in the rain? That's my biggest concern with batteries. Looks like the stihl has some kinda plastic over of the battery pack. I've used one of their electron blowers before and I think I remember seeing that.
100% a con man I run battery equipment and my ego stuff quit for life in the rain . Definitely can’t run in the rain and can’t have a open trailer in the rain with theses types of tools . I believe they are ip4 for water not the best would like to see ip7 or higher for these tools unfortunately we will probably have to wait another 4yr for the new wave of tools maybe they will fix this issue then .
We actually did the math to compare the kombi system gas vs the electric. We found that electric is the cheapest to operate over time. When we did the analysis, we assumed that we could get 3,000 hours (lifespan) out of the electric and gas. Obviously, getting 3,000 hours out of the gas is very unlikely without major repairs. But based on how many charges you can get out of a battery backpack, you can get 3,000 hours. The gas over time assuming that there are no major repairs would cost about $7,700. As the electricity over a 3,000 lifespan with no major repairs would cost about $2,700. Those prices include the purchase of the unit and the cost over time such as electricity cost and gas/oil. Also, you would likely need to buy a second gas powerhead to compare to the lifespan 0f the electric. Electric is not just getting better in performance, but it also makes sense on a financial level over time.
The KM131R is definitely more powerful and way less expensive than the KMA131R with that battery pack in a even match. Now if you step down to the KM111R or KM90R they maybe a closer match for power for the KMA131R machine but the total weight of that battery pack and machine aren't even close to the gas machines.
Hmmmm definitely got balls in comparison to petrol , contractors maybe, around the home and farm definitely worth it, good video Stanley thanks for the info dude .
The performance is close but my concern is operation time meaning how often must I refuel or change battery? The longer I can run it without stopping, the quicker I can finish the job. That would be the most important test.
A gas operated machine you can fill up the gas in 5 minutes the battery machine you need to charge witch takes a few hours you can have More batteries with you but you still need to keep them charged up
If you can get that backpack empty in a day you can go home and be free the next day, it lasts all day for me when trimming and blowing non stop and even have some hours left on it
2 Stroke is life. I'll give battery another ten years. Maybe then. Good.. but yeah, watching the petrol one perform a bit better. Thumbs up for a nice review though.
Stanley "Dirt Monkey" Genadek Stihl makes a few different brush blades. The one you had was the more general purpose brush blade. It’s great on reedy and scraggly brush, but they also have a blade that is essentially a circ saw blade for cutting down saplings. The part I like the most about the blade you had is that if you dull it out you can flip it over and then you have four fresh edges to get right back to cutting.
I have a Stihl FS80 I bought a brush blade(saw blade) for and used. I cut up to about 3 in trunks with it and had to use a saw technique to get the blade through. It is a wicked business end as the guard has to come off to use it. The blade has about 20 or 24 teeth on a 5 or 6 in blade. It is good for woody stuff. Looks like the tri-lobe or quad-lobe blades are better for reedy or grass type stuff.
I have a small landscape company and the Kombi system has changed my way of doing lawns and the blower is the bomb I love it irun the gas ut would consider the battery how was the tiler what's your opinion I blew up my mantice riller
Wow! Very impressed how the battery powered equipment has come. Price would be the next comparison that might turn people away. As always great job keep it up Stan.
Travis that is a very good point. Stan in the beginning of the video you had mentioned something around a $1000 Initial investment for the battery backpack and I'm not sure how many attachments it comes with but you also did not add the price of the gas powered system with the same attachments can you please fill in the blanks. Great video either way
Being in the lawn mowing business and having demo'ed battery stuff at GIE this past summer, I personally would not make the invest yet. High cost, low operation time. They are getting better, but still a few yrs away for commercial. They can call it whatever you want, but I currently rate that stuff as very good homeowner equipment.
Determine which one is better as a function of run time or acreage. For a yard under certain square footage (think small) batteries *may* suffice for a home owner.
I switched from stihl gas to husqvarna battery and its the best thing ive ever done so good u pay a fair bit for the whole system but im now saving over 200 pound a month on petrol and i never need to buy 2 strike again
Makita is introducing a 40 V system for powerful tools this year, because the LXT batteries came to their limit with chainsaws and lawn mowers. This will be probably also offered for garden tools.
Hey Stanley,nice video comparison,I did post one video regarding the topic on my chanel,you can check it out if you want,but I think when you add up the battery cost it is a big drawback(It doubles the initial cost of a gas kombi machine)+ all that weight in the summer,it gets HOT,sticky,and you stink as a rat after 7 hours of work.I worked with the whole contraption in 80-90 degrees F.It is a big hassle.They deffinetly need to improve on the small batteries
Are you sponsered by Stihl? You should be. Bought a battery powered Ryobi leafblower this morning. After watching this I already decided to return it and get the Stihl blower attachment for my KM 111 R, with a plan for getting the battery KMA 130 at a later time. Great to see both size by side and will love to have both power options with cross-compatible attachments!
Based here in London our requirement for low carbon output,yeah right,is forcing us to go battery so Stihl will be the products we will be buying.Hope Stihl battery machines live as long as their previous equipment.
5 months later... did you get Stihl's battery system ? if so, what battery, which tools do use with it, and what's your take on it now, how does it compare to the gas version ?
Great video and Impressed with the battery however for a 1000$ I am going to stick with the Gas and also You should compare the 131 Gas vs Kma130 maybe more fair
I disagree with the pole saw, the guy with the gas started cutting before the battery even touched the log. But over all, I'm sold on the battery line of products, the only thing now is what's the price for and how much to replacement batteries cost?
I think it's pretty clear that unless you own several acres of ranch/farmland or are commercial (or just really love tinkering with tiny motors for some reason), battery powered is the way forward.
Excellent video. A head to head contest. Batteries / electric looks like will be replacing most gas engines in the near future. Long live the internal combustion engine. It served us well for many years but its time has come. The future is electric.
As a craftsman I have seen the development of cordless tools the last 20 years, today it's no comparison to then, the actual machines are lighter, much more powerful and have a longer runtime. I'm really curious how the technology will be in 10 years, today billions are invested in battery research, more than ever before.
I just see this as more of a residential system than than commercial, I feel most contractors want dedicated machines and not to be playing the switch attachments game. I've got a dedicated pole saw, weed eater and brush cutter. I have one kombi system but the only 2 attachments I use are the edger and hedge trimmer. Most contractors want multiple machines so multiple people can do miltiple things
I avoid battery backpacks especially heavy backpacks as much as possible for my commercial operations, that's why I went with the ego non commercial platform, their batteries are amazing and there tools range from amazing to passable, depending on which one you get. I haven't really been that impressed with stihl's battery line yet but that could change eventually. Trimmers, hedgers and even push mowers now in many cases can all make the jump to electric. Even zero turns if you want to dish out a ton of money, blowers are still not quite there yet but that might change with the new 2021-2023 batteries which pack about 30% more capacity.
I’m still not convinced on battery power yet, here in Scotland the environment can be really tough on equipment. I think maybe another year or two and probably most landscape contractors will be using battery powered equipment. For the time being I’m still petrol 👍
Zero turns will be battery before too long. It's only a matter of time. Especially if you have a PTO generator on your truck and you can send power to your trailer to charge while traveling.
Question Which one is more powerful, a 3 hp electric motor or a 2 hp gasoline motor? The problem with battery powered tools is that the energy density of a battery is nowhere near the energy density of gasoline. Now, if you are willing to connect your tool to an electric generator, how powerful it is compared to a gasoline powered unit would depend on how powerful is the motor on the electric unit.
For example, my corded trimmer has a 10 amps/120 volts motor. 1200 watts of power. That would make it a 1.6 hp trimmer. More powerful than many gas powered units. If that motor were to be replaced by a 15 amps/ 120 volts unit, that will raise its power to 1800 watts, or 2.41 hp. Only a handful of gas trimmers are that powerful.
Stan I sure wish you'd get yourself a remote microphone to wear on you when your talking, it's alot harder to hear you when your not in front of the cameras..
Battery stuff has its pros but its got a ways to go.. especially with the blowers. Ive got a bunch of electric stuff and its great for smaller/medium sized jobs. Honestly taking the batteries inside and charging them after a long day at work is the last thing I wanna do. Ive got an Ego battery backpack blower and ive also got an Echo 8010. Well its like comparing a 22 cal pea shooter to a large caliber hunting rifle. Funny thing is theres a rich town here that has banned gas blowers entirely so i might make a good coin with my ego blower this fall. I charge by the hour and im happy to bring a pea shooter to the job if gas blowers are banned. Lawns here in California are usually very small and I get by professionally 100 percent with my battery mower. I even have a couple customers with rather nice lawns and the cuts very acceptable. For weeding in the big lots or the woods I use a Stihl KM 131 animal.
I hear the power difference. Now maybe someone can clarify the following. A colleague of mine used to sell chainsaws. He said that chaps are useless when using an electric chainsaw because the torque is so great, it shears right through. Chaps are only effective when using a gas saw. Professional opinions? Please don't guess, data driven answers only. Thank you.
I could actually see myself getting one of these battery KombiSystems to go green and help reduce emissions. I'd more than likely use a backpack style battery (plus a solar power station) so I could use it with a cordless chainsaw. My dad has a few E-GO tools (chainsaw, edger, and hedge clipper) and they're of good quality so I think Stihl would be right up there also.
That’s a grass blade they had on there. Not for cutting dowels, or small trees… atall. Very dangerous. The one guy comments in the video “I usually have a Diablo blade” - that’s what the correct blade should look like.
Now the kicker . How long does the battery last and how long does it take to charge . Hate to be doing a job and near the end of the day your battery goes dead . Bring out the spare battery . What do they cost compared to a can of gas . Just saying .
OK great . I hate fooling around with gas and oil . Battery is the way to go . Thanks . Just wanted to say because of your winter clothing video I have spent a bundle on a jacket and bibs .
I did same test with my cars. The result was so convincing that I never used my gas car again. Gas car $25 a week plus oil change, plus tune up, plus emission test, plus noise. Electric $0.0+0.0+0.0+0.0=What a nice feeling.
Once you add up the premium for an electric car, plus electric costs, and then battery pack replacement, it's not zero. It cost me almost $5000 to replace my hybrid battery pack, and that's not even Li-ion, and not very big. I have spent far more on the battery than I ever did on maintenance of IC car. Your comment is total propaganda. Tune ups on an IC car isn't really done anymore. As long as you change your oil regularly, and use some injector cleaner. I have never taken any of my IC cars in for a tune up. Oil change, big deal. I get 5000 mile oil, so I only need 2-3 changes per year. ($100-150/yr) Add in the cost of the battery charger and electrician to install it, and that's another $1000-2000 if you want a high current/power one that charges your car faster than 3 days. (The ones that plug into a regular 110V outlet take an eternity to charge the car.) It also costs around $550/yr to charge the car on average. (Based on 12k miles per year, $0.15/kWh, and an average of 3¼ miles per kWh.) So it's about 1/2 to 1/3 as much as you'd spend on gas, but it's still a cost you neglected to mention. You can't state all the bad about the IC car, and pretend like there are no costs associated with a BEV.
@@xenonram Completely disagree and no propaganda #1 My battery has warranty for 10 years. Two more years left and still 90% capacity. #2 Electricity is free from my 30 panels 335 watts each. #3 Brake pads still new since all braking is regenerative. #4 I did all electrical work myself. #5 My ev is the best car I have ever had. #6 ICE is an obsolete technology that isn't eficient, good for your health or the environment. #7 Yes, expensive to buy new because of greed but prices coming down on used ones.
@@neliosamch3195 ya, hope your car batteries arent like phone batteries bro!, when they're new they're great!, but we've all had an old phone with an old battery and we all know how that goes!, have to charge it every 2 hours .. good luck mate
Not so sure about the battery powered tools. Just seems like the cord going from the battery pack to the tool will get caught on something when working in close quarters and will get pulled loose or damaged. How expensive will that be to fix or replace. Plus how many charges can you get on one battery before it goes bad and will need to be replaced. From what I've seen the batteries are just as expensive as the unit itself. How many batteries will you need to buy or keep charged in the truck to get through one full day of work. Also why not compare the Stihl top of the line battery powered kombi unit to the Stihl top of the line gas kombi unit the KM 131R instead of the medium kombi line unit KM 111R. There are pros and cons with both units but I think I will stick with what is tried and true. Besides the fact the gas unit is loud I am still not convinced the battery powered unit will last or hold up as long as the gas units.
