The garden of the future

Headlining Smith Power Equipment’s stand at Decorex this year was the ‘garden of the future’ concept, which is premised on its innovative range of battery-operated gardening equipment system.

SMITH POWER EQUIPMENT exhibited at Decorex SA, which took place in August at Gallagher Convention Centre. The company used the event to showcase its Ego Power Plus range of cordless, battery-powered outdoor, lawn and garden tools to the local market.

The range includes lawnmowers, string trimmers, brush cutters, as well as a multi tool system, which provides a powerhead on which one can attach a host of attachments such as telescopic hedge trimmer and pole pruners, lawn edgers, brush cutters and string trimmers, all driven by a single power unit. This is complemented by a range of chain saws and hedge trimmers, as well as a full line of blowers, including handheld and back-pack type.

A major talking point for this range is the unique, patented 56V Arc Lithium battery designed to deliver petrol-matching performance. The Arc Lithium battery has an innovative design to maximise battery cooling. Unlike conventional brick-shaped batteries where the cells are packed together, overheat and shut down, the unique Arc design dissipates heat more effectively. Smith Power offers five battery choices at this stage, in the 2.0; 4.0; 5.0; 6.0; and 7.5amp range.

The battery design is unique in many ways. Firstly, it can be used in any of the EGO machines, so a single battery unit powers all machine ranges. Secondly, apart from the innovative Arc design that helps prevent overheating,

the battery has another clever way to keep cool; each and every cell is surrounded by EGO’s unique Keep Cool phase change material that absorbs heat energy and keeps individual cells at their optimum temperature for longer.

Charging times vary from 20 to 70 minutes, depending on the type of charger selected, either Standard or Rapid. The battery’s charging times are a major talking point, given that Lithium-ion batteries, on average, take about two hours or more to recharge. The EGO Arc Lithium battery range is good for a 900 charge cycle. Locally that translates to a good four-five year lifespan. Commercially it will depend on the charge cycles.

Another key benefit of the EGO range is the lower running costs. The cost of running an EGO Power Plus product for a month is around the same as using a 2-stroke product for a day. “Another benefit is the easy set up and starting, with no filling up with fuel required, while the product range starts up with the push of a button, rather than a pull cord like on petrol-powered tools.

Unlike large, heavy petrol mowers, the EGO Power plus mower’s fold flat design makes storage and cleaning simple. The range is offered locally with a 2-year warranty on the battery, and a 3-year warranty on the machine itself.

Visit: www.smithpower.co.za