Battery powered lawn mowers

[oldbike54]

 Looking at battery powered lawn mowers . We have a small lot , although most weeks I mow the neighbor's front also . Takes about 15 minutes in total . Does anyone have experience with these , don't need self propelled or a bagger , just the simplest mower available . See prices from about $80.00 to over $400.00 . Guessing something in the $250.00 range . Also thinking of a solar charger , since it will have a week or more to charge. Anyone here have experience with one of these mowers ?

 Dusty

[Italianmotofest]

For our house in the city we bought the Lowes 40 volt push mower. It works just fine but I usually only mow the front and side yards with it. I would suggest the 80 volt mower instead. It should mow even better.

I was impressed that it cuts as well as it does. It's a nice mower if you think the yard is an acceptable size for an electric.

Bill

[oldbike54]

For our house in the city we bought the Lowes 40 volt push mower. It works just fine but I usually only mow the front and side yards with it. I would suggest the 80 volt mower instead. It should mow even better.

I was impressed that it cuts as well as it does. It's a nice mower if you think the yard is an acceptable size for an electric.

Bill

 The Kobalt or the Greenworks ?

 Dusty

[adaven]

We have had a Black and Decker wide body for probably a dozen years. We have not had repairs that I couldn't handle (minor). Our lot is small, but the back yard is a steep incline. It holds a charge well, it is relatively quiet, it charges pretty fast, but it is heavy to push up the hill. If the properties are flat it would be just fine. If they are not, be sure to strengthen your hamstrings and stretch your achilles.

[cliffrod]

much depends upon your lawn, both size and type of grass, and how quickly the battery can be recharged or better yet swapped.  If you get behind on mowing for whatever reason, tall/thick grass wipes out the battery even faster.  Planning on a hours-long or overnight charge (or not planning..) may not always work.    But when they're cutting, the different ones I've used worked great.  If I had adequate waiting batteries, I might buy one.  If not, I wouldn't have one unless my lawn was tiny.

Back then, I had to use a save-the-planet electric mower to mow a girlfriend's lawn in a fancy grass McMansion-type subdivision. Too much lawn, Too little mower and no way to fast charge or swap batteries.  when the lawn got thick, it would wipe out the battery long, long before mowing was done.  mowing then turned into a daily grind of exhausting the battery mowing another small chunk of ever taller grass..  It would take forever to resolve. 

[Shorty]

much depends upon your lawn, both size and type of grass, and how quickly the battery can be recharged or better yet swapped.  If you get behind on mowing for whatever reason, tall/thick grass wipes out the battery even faster.  Planning on a hours-long or overnight charge (or not planning..) may not always work.    But when they're cutting, the different ones I've used worked great.  If I had adequate waiting batteries, I might buy one.  If not, I wouldn't have one unless my lawn was tiny.

Back then, I had to use a save-the-planet electric mower to mow a girlfriend's lawn in a fancy grass McMansion-type subdivision. Too much lawn, Too little mower and no way to fast charge or swap batteries.  when the lawn got thick, it would wipe out the battery long, long before mowing was done.  mowing then turned into a daily grind of exhausting the battery mowing another small chunk of ever taller grass..  It would take forever to resolve.

I'm sure battery tech has improved, but I had a similiar experience with a weed wacker.  Not enough juice to complete the job, too long a charging time to do consistent work.

[LowRyter]

I am interested as well.  I have a pretty small yard.  The best I could tell, looking at the normal electric push types at Lowe's in the $300-400 range, I was borderline to SOL.  I think I am still a generation away from getting one.  (I am looking at the customers' ratings, not the "specs".)

Maybe next year or the year after?

[inditx]

Well call me crazy but a corded electric works great and lasts basically forever. (or as long as you’ll need it to) And they’re a lot cheaper.

Of course you have to plan your cut so you don’t run over the cord but honestly since my boys grew up and no longer cut the grass, I have yet to run. a cord over. 

inditx

[Gliderjohn]

Nice timing as I am considering one. I just need one for trim mowing where my rider can't get into but still kind of large for using a sting trimmer. Actually the smaller the better for my purpose and would probably only need to run it 10-15 minutes once every week or two. Concerned a gas mower would have problems from sitting so much. Haven't looked into anything yet.
GliderJohn

[PeteS]

I was thinking of one as my 40 year old Honda is getting a bit long in the tooth but was put off by the weight. My Honda still works but if it dies I will just get another cheap gas mower. Compare weights before diving in. Also the reviews. Some seem to fail in the first year.

Pete

[Tom H]

The Ego that Home Depot sells is a decent mover. I had one that I borrowed for a bit, 40V 56V Li something and it worked great, cuts forever and the folding features were great as well. Also had the string trimmer. Would love to but a set, but I'm kinda cheap. More on this in a moment.

I have a Earthwise 24V AGM. The folding feature sucks. The mower works well, but maybe they have improved the bag, the bag leaks alot of dust if you also have to go over dirt and grass. Easily cuts 100' X 100' and a bit more.

The down side to battery mower is the battery packs. A spare Li something will cost you almost as much as the mower. I looked into this with the Ego. Also, my Earthwise batter pack was going to cost me almost as mush as the mower. But I found out that it used 2 12V motorcycle size AGM. The 2 batts cost me about $60 for the pair when I needed new ones rather than about $180 from the Mfg with the box they come in.

If you can live with a corded string trimmer, I bought a B&D single string trimmer about 5 years ago and it's still going strong for about $30. Works great for a small yard.

Good luck with your choice!!
Tom

[AJ Huff]

I've been researching the same for about the past two weeks. Ego 56V self-propelled seems to be the best bet. I plan on buying one end of the month.

-AJ

[oldbike54]

 Thanks guys 

 I spent years in lawn mower hell , unless you spend serious money on a gas mower most of them last a season and a half , the newer automatic throttle models all seem to act up after a short time , and I hate working on the dang things . About 6 years ago a little old Yard Man mower popped up for 20 buck , 6 HP Honda engine on a 20 inch chassis . Yeah , you read that right , 6 HP with a 20" cut , the motor just idles along and cuts thru almost anything . Unfortunately  it is probably 25 years old and replacement parts are unavailable , the old girl will need replacing soon . Refuse to go thru lawnmower hell again , will buy a modern manual reel mower before spending money on a new gas mower . No need for a fancy feature laden piece of junk , don't need self propelled , or a bagger , just a basic lawn mower . Hopefully the old Honda powered jewel will make it thru the season, but the motor is showing its age , the deck is rotting away , and the wheels are falling off  Just want something that will cut the yard and be as hassle free as possible .

 Dusty

[pyoungbl]

I live in an urban area, actually a historic district.  My grass cutting takes about 10 minutes max and it's mostly the 'hell strip' between sidewalk and curb.  Using a gas mower I found that I was having to replace the carb every year or two (our gas has ethanol) and it cost darn near what the entire mower cost (Guzzi content).  A few years ago I switched to a Ryobi 40W electric mower.  It does the job just fine and is quiet.  It looks like my battery is going bad after maybe 3 years of use.  The replacement battery is priced at about $115.  I still think the electric mower is better for my situation, just wish the darn battery would last longer.  At least I'm not having to store gasoline for the mower.

[oldbike54]

I live in an urban area, actually a historic district.  My grass cutting takes about 10 minutes max and it's mostly the 'hell strip' between sidewalk and curb.  Using a gas mower I found that I was having to replace the carb every year or two (our gas has ethanol) and it cost darn near what the entire mower cost (Guzzi content).  A few years ago I switched to a Ryobi 40W electric mower.  It does the job just fine and is quiet.  It looks like my battery is going bad after maybe 3 years of use.  The replacement battery is priced at about $115.  I still think the electric mower is better for my situation, just wish the darn battery would last longer.  At least I'm not having to store gasoline for the mower.

 Not unlike my situation Peter , it takes about 15 minutes to actually mow our lot and the neighbor's front . Always seems I need gasoline to run the mower , and now that there isn't an old carbed bike around to drain fuel out of it means a trip to the C store a mile away . I know , 1st world problems, but if I can match up a solar charger to a battery powered mower and trimmer it will satisfy an inner need .

 Dusty

[zebraranger]

I've never owned one but a couple of months ago I was considering a Ego electric mower that Home Depot sells (considered one of the better ones). I decided against it when I found out that the batteries range in price from $130 to $350 depending on which AH battery you get, there's 3 different ones. If I remember correctly a 3 AH, 5 AH and a 7 amp hour battery. From reading reviews, batteries started getting weak after about a year.

Its kind of like the Dewalt 20v lithium ion drills. You can buy the kit which includes the drill, two batteries & charger for $99.00 or, you can buy a two pack replacement batteries for $99.00. if you upgrade to the XR batteries, its $179 for a two pack.

[blackcat]

I've been researching the same for about the past two weeks. Ego 56V self-propelled seems to be the best bet. I plan on buying one end of the month.

-AJ

That’s what I have and it works great. A replacement battery is about $130 bucks but I don’t need one as I can cut the entire yard without loosing a charge. It has a variable speed self propelled feature, and on the fastest setting the mover will fly. The one great thing about most of these electric mowers is that they are extremely light, pushing one isn’t a problem so half the time I push the mower and use the self propelled feature on the straightaways.

And it has headlights in case you want to cut the lawn at night.

Replacement battery also has a 3 year warranty:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/EGO-56-Volt-2-0-Ah-Battery-BA1120/205163009?cm_mmc=Shopping%7CG%7CBase%7CD28I%7C28-32_PORTABLE%7CNA%7CLIA%7CFixed%7C71700000041074954%7C58700004788398043%7C92700040946149284&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIleeO7brP4gIVlY7ICh1hagCTEAQYAiABEgLD7_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Aaron D.]

No plans for electric here (way too much grass) but replacing a carb a year? That isn't ethanol.

[Vagrant]

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-40-volt-Brushless-Lithium-Ion-20-in-Cordless-Electric-Lawn-Mower-Battery-Included/1000192703
I bought this one about 5 weeks ago. on sale for 249 then I had a 20% off coupon so 200 bucks. my lawn takes 10 minutes but it quit raining so I've only used it once. Very pleased and amazed.
that said battery tech has come a long way. nobody buys 110 volt electric drills any more. I bought this based on my friends advice, he's been in the outdoor power equipment business for 11 years. as I recall they offer a 90 day money back guarantee so nothing to lose. I have a garage full of Stihl blowers, trimmers etc so I should never need anything else but if I didn't I would have gotten the hand held blower in the biggest battery possible.

[Vagrant]

If you want the carburetors and or fuel injection to last buy non ethanol fuel if possible. if not get name brand premium. always use startron http://www.starbrite.com/startron in whatever you buy and NEVER let it get 60 days old. PITA but it works.

[Lannis]

I live in an urban area, actually a historic district.  My grass cutting takes about 10 minutes max and it's mostly the 'hell strip' between sidewalk and curb.  Using a gas mower I found that I was having to replace the carb every year or two (our gas has ethanol) and it cost darn near what the entire mower cost (Guzzi content).  A few years ago I switched to a Ryobi 40W electric mower.  It does the job just fine and is quiet.  It looks like my battery is going bad after maybe 3 years of use.  The replacement battery is priced at about $115.  I still think the electric mower is better for my situation, just wish the darn battery would last longer.  At least I'm not having to store gasoline for the mower.

I have a total of 10 little seasonal engines here, and used to have to replace or rebuild carbs all the time.   But since I started filling the tanks on both the two and four-strokes with gas or mix treated with Marine Sta-Bil, I haven't had to replace a single carb.   Even if I forget to drain the float bowl or diaphram chamber for the season, they'll still start and run in the spring.

I'm bringing an old John Deere Kohler engine back to life this week.   Got it for free, it's been sitting for 9 years.   Carb was completely clogged, cleaner wouldn't touch it, so I've ordered a new Walbro carb for it.   $16 complete, pretty good deal ... !

Sounds like sizing the proper electric equipment is just like sizing gas equipment.   

If one can't finish the job with a given specification of power/service cycle, then you have to get a bigger one.   And if they don't make bigger ones, you go to a different technology.   

Our weekly grass job is 6 acres plus a mile or so of driveway and road ditches, about 4 hours, some of it pretty heavy.   The 23 HP, 61-inch cut zero-turn mower we use is JUST big enough, uses about 5 gallons of gas.   It's 14 years old this year, the next mower will be 30+ HP and maybe a diesel.

Not electric, though, probably not ever.

Lannis

[PeteS]

Hmmm, my Honda was made in the mid '70s. Used ethanol fuel up to about three years ago when a local station offered ethanol free. Below 40F it takes about three pulls to start, above 70 it still starts on the first pull. Never pulled the head nor rebuilt the carb though I did adjust the linkage a few times. Like my 45 year old Maytag dryer, maybe things were just better built back then.

Pete

[oldbike54]

 Fellas , I've operated everything from Diesel powered track hoes to 18 CC actual Weed Eater brand string trimmers when they were built in Houston, worked on them too , know about running straight gasoline sans ethanol which is readily available here . But unlike some of you I don't need to mow 5 acres , been there done that , never again , and battery cost probably isn't an issue since we have an electrical supply house here has proven they can match any new tech battery for about 1/3rd the price of the original . When you factor in never needing to change oil , no trips to buy a small quantity of gasoline , and hopefully ease of operation , IMHO a battery powered mower is the best solution for this application . Just doing some basic math indicates over a 8 year service life , a $300.00 investment in a battery powered mower makes sense . Simply wondering who has experience and what that experience was . Kinda like if I want to know about Subaru cars , asking someone who owns one makes sense , right ?

 Dusty

[kballowe]

Goats

Then when the mowing season is over, you can have steak.

 

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

15 mins to do it all? Doesn't sound like you need a motorized mower of any sort for a postage stamp sized yard. Maybe a reel-type mower instead? Plenty of choices, here is one of many:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Scotts-Scott-s-16-in-Manual-Walk-Behind-Push-Reel-Lawn-Mower-415-16S/100540960

[oldbike54]

15 mins to do it all? Doesn't sound like you need a motorized mower of any sort for a postage stamp sized yard. Maybe a reel-type mower instead? Plenty of choices, here is one of many:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Scotts-Scott-s-16-in-Manual-Walk-Behind-Push-Reel-Lawn-Mower-415-16S/100540960

 Mentioned those earlier , and the new ones are really light and easy to push . The problem is , we have already had 30 inches of rain here this year, which means we can't mow at times for over 10 days , and the ground is soft . Makes it kinda tough to mow , the grass being really thick and tall .

 Dusty

[Wayne Orwig]

Looking at battery powered lawn mowers . We have a small lot , although most weeks I mow the neighbor's front also . Takes about 15 minutes in total . Does anyone have experience with these , don't need self propelled or a bagger , just the simplest mower available . See prices from about $80.00 to over $400.00 . Guessing something in the $250.00 range . Also thinking of a solar charger , since it will have a week or more to charge. Anyone here have experience with one of these mowers ?

I often cut the grass for a friend. She got an Ego mower at Home Depot. 56V 7 amp/hour. A replacement battery is well over 1/2 the total cost.

The lot is large enough that it takes close to two hours of actual cutting, with that mower, and it is thick Bermuda grass, so you need to go a bit slow. It usually takes three full charges to do the yard. Lots of beer breaks in hot weather, which is nice. A recharge takes over an hour, so it often doesn't get done in one day. Sort of OK, I'm not in a rush, but annoying at times. I do like the mower, self propelled, fairly quiet, no worries about getting fuel. Just hit the button.

As for solar, likes crunch a few numbers.
A 56 volt 7 amp/hour battery, or about 400 watt/hours. It is only practical to recharge in the factory charging stand with 120 volts. So you would need solar, feeding a charge controller, feeding intermediate storage (likely lead-acid), feeding an inverter, feeding the lawn mower system.

1) The lawn mower battery system needs 400 watt/hours. Recharges in 1 to 2 hours, so needs maybe 400 watts from the 120V line.
2) The inverter to feed the charger would need to be over 400 watts. Would potentially pull 35 amps or more, from the 12 volt intermediate storage battery. I would only go with a sine wave inverter here.
3) The intermediate storage needs to provide over 400 watt/hours, likely over 35 amp/hours @ 12V. A good sized deep cycle battery may do that. But if you run it too dead all the time, it will sulfate and go bad quickly.
4) A charge controller. A cheap PWM controller may be all that you need.
5) Solar panels. You can get a 200 watt panel for under $200. A 200 watt panel might provide an actual output, in this case, close to 120 watts. So you can recover one recharge in under 4 hours of sunlight.

So, 200 for the solar, 20 for a cheap controller, 100 for a battery, 100 for the inverter. So maybe under $400, for a solar setup. And the maintenance of the lead acid wet cell. Don't forget to turn off the inverter when done.

It would be great to be able to directly charge the mower lithium battery, and obviously it can be done, but it is really not practical with off the shelf parts.

[oldbike54]

 Thanks Wayne , although as mentioned before , I have a 15 minute mowing job , so likely one charge would mow it twice . A friend who knows about this stuff , (a gear head physicist) is working on a charger using off the shelf parts . Who knows what he will come up with , guy is pretty inventive .

 Dusty

[lucian]

Hire a kid with a mower and go for a ride instead. 

[oldbike54]

Hire a kid with a mower and go for a ride instead. 

 How long has it been since you've tried to hire a kid with a mower , pretty thin on the ground here . The teenager next door thinks a lawn mower handle will give him cooties 

 Dusty