There has been a lot of buzz in the outdoor power equipment industry lately regarding lithium-ion battery products. It seems that everywhere you look there are battery products or an ad for battery products in sight. When did this happen and why? Battery products have existed for many years in compact tools, but only in recent years has battery technology migrated into handheld outdoor power equipment, by and large to the rapidly growing demand for cleaner, quieter and more user friendly tools that require less maintenance.

STIHL has recognized the demand for battery products and have developed tools for all types of user groups from casual homeowners to professional landscapers and everyone in between. Being a company known for producing quality, professional tools, naturally this was the initial focus with the launch of professional AP series battery tools in Canada in 2011. These tools were and are developed with the landscape professional in mind and are equipped with high quality batteries, robust materials and performance that rival STIHL’s professional line of gasoline tools. STIHL uses a combination of 36 V high quality lithium cells with high amp-hour ratings in order to achieve the best performance possible while maintaining a lightweight and simple design.

Over the past few years, with the progression of technology in conjunction with advanced development capabilities, STIHL has expanded the range of professional tools from the original offering of four tools, two batteries and one charger to a whopping twenty different tools, three chargers and four batteries available in Canada. Recognizing that for a professional, runtime is as important as performance and durability, STIHL developed a large capacity battery; the STIHL AR 3000 (31.9 Ah). Having these options available for professional users makes battery products a viable alternative to gasoline products in all respects, from performance and durability, to how long they will run on a single charge boasting runtimes from 1 hour and 20 minutes to 13 hours and 20 minutes of constant use depending on the battery and tool being used.

STIHL will continue to grow its product offering and offer premium handheld outdoor power equipment that consumers have come to expect in not only gasoline tools, but in the lithium-ion battery tools as well. If you would like to know more about these great products, visit your local STIHL Dealer and speak with one of our product experts.