ASK THE EXPERT: TIM BAKER

TIME IS MONEY, and maximizing uptime
is crucial for successful landscaping. As professional landscape contractors (PLCs) shift from gas to battery-operated equipment, managing this new fuel source is essential. Tim Baker, Director of Product Management for EGO Commercial, offers guidance on making this transition smoothly and efficiently.

1. What are common misconceptions among PLCs when transitioning from gas to cordless equipment?

There's a common misconception that an overwhelming amount of batteries are needed on OPE trailers to last the day. PLCs should choose a unified battery platform allowing interchangeable use across equipment of all sizes. The more effectively PLCs manage their energy, the better they can control costs and mini- mize the number of batteries needed. 

Additionally, there's often a belief that charging many batteries requires numerous chargers to be plugged in and organized. However, any time multiple electronic devices are plugged into a stan- dard circuit, the risk of tripping a circuit breaker increases, because too many chargers will overload and trip the circuit.

2. What solutions does EGO Commercial offer to address these?

With the PGX" Commercial Charging 1600W Hub, one standard 15-amp circuit is all you need-no expensive electrical upgrades are required. It's also flexible: the 1600W Hub can be mounted in a garage, vehicle, or mobile trailer to connect to any standard 120V outlet.

And it's scalable: each 1600W Hub con- nects to PGXTM Commercial Charging 3-Port Docks to charge up to three batteries at the same time, and as many as 24 3-Port Docks can be connected to charge up to 70 2.5Ah batteries overnight from one 15-amp circuit. Lastly, it's economical: unlike other chargers needing costly electrical upgrades and hardware, it's designed to be simpler and much less expensive. So as PLCs scale their PGXTM system, they can do it for a much lower cost than the competition. To solve for those instances where energy is depleted that in the gas world would re- quire a quick stop at the gas station, we've also designed an off-the-grid solution: the PGXTM Commercial Charging Power Bank recharges up to eight 5.0Ah batteries. Using a 2.2kWh (40Ah) High-Capacity battery, it recharges batteries in the field without cables or special connections, recharging two in just 30 minutes.

3. How does a PLC go about calculating how many batteries they need?

New industry jargon can be daunting. EGO Commercial simplifies it and guides
you through battery comparisons. Stick with me; it's about to get a bit technical, but the payoff is straightforward:

Watts is the unit of power measure- ment for cordless and the equivalent to horsepower in the gas world. Watts is calculated by multiplying Volts times Amps (V x A=W). The equivalent to gas tank capacity in battery-speak is Watt- hours, the unit of energy. Watt-hours is calculated by multiplying Volts times Amp-hours (V x Ah = Wh).


The more energy a battery contains, the more work it can do. For example, a 12Ah battery is an option for several volt- age platforms, but not all 12Ah batteries are equal. Let's use a real-world example comparing 12Ah batteries on 18V and 56V platforms:


18V battery: 18V x 12Ah = 216Wh 56V battery: 56V x 12Ah = 672Wh


In this example, the 56V battery is more powerful and has more than three times the energy. That means three times more 18V batteries would be needed to harness the same amount of energy.

4. How is EGO Commercial simplifying the process of calculating PLC energy requirements?

Calculating energy needs when tran- sitioning from gas to battery can be complicated, which is why we introduced the Power Manager, a web-based tool designed to help PLCs begin to answer the most important questions when converting to cordless: "Where do I begin and how?"

In a few steps, the Power Manager provides battery and charger recom- mendations based on your crew size, tools, equipment, workday length, and estimated trigger times, ensuring you have the run time needed to complete your typical workday.

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Tim Baker

Director of Product Development, OPE; Chervon North America

With over 20 years of expertise in product management and marketing, Tim has been at the forefront of EGO Commercial’s initiatives to electrify the commercial OPE sector. Before joining Chervon, Tim honed his skills at industry giants Honeywell and Bosch, where he held key roles in product management, marketing, and engineering.