Electric Lawnmowers

[Ardie]

I've been using a 1964-ish Sunbeam (corded) electric lawn mower on my lawn, and it only took a couple of weekends of mowing to figure out the best way to mow the lawn without the cord being in the way. At the worst, I'd say it uses 50 cents of electricity at the highest tier rates. Quiet, but not whisper quiet. But you can hold a conversation next to it while its on. You'd be hard pressed to do that with an ICE mower.

That lawnmower has had the audacity to require maintenance after only 46 years - new motor brushes. You'd think they would make them last longer. Bearings are still going strong, though.

There is a danger: this mower was made in 1964 or '65, and has limited safety features. It'll take your toes off if you aren't paying attention. And since it doesn't shut off unless you shut if off, don't *ever* clean the exhaust chute while its still plugged in. :-(

-- Ardie
20" deck, too.

 

[herbvdh]

How about a hybrid lawnmower EVATECH OFFICIAL WEBSITE I do not own this mower I have a "Land Management" company do it free for life as I partly funded the company in the beginning.

 

[JRP3]

Mean Green Mowers now have a lithium version for easy battery swapping by hand.

 

[DFibRL8R]

The majority of my lawn is cut automatically by an electric LawnBott. It's carbon-free and does an excellent job.

View attachment 6276

Doug G,
This mower looks nice, how is it holding up? I found online but $3400 seems pricey for an outdoor Roomba. At that price it would need to last several seasons with little maintainace to make it pay off (financially). Some of LawnBott's cheaper ($1200-$1500) models have pretty negative feedback on Amazon. There's an even pricier version now the 3510. Lawnbott LB3510
I'm trying to decide if this summer is time to take the leap or to wait for the inevitable improvement in technology and price that would come waiting another year or two.

 

[Dragonfly]

[

I've been using a 1964-ish Sunbeam (corded) electric lawn mower on my lawn

Talk about being ahead of the curve.
I hope my Neuton lasts that long!

- - - Updated - - -

To drift (pun intended) slightly off topic, I've been pondering purchasing this electric snow blower. www.ampbyariens.com
I'm hesitating because I live on a corner in Minnesota and get socked in by the plow when it snows. If it had swappable battery packs so I could have one charged in reserve, I'd jump right on it. Anyone have any experience with one of these?

 

[Doug_G]

Doug G,
This mower looks nice, how is it holding up? I found online but $3400 seems pricey for an outdoor Roomba. At that price it would need to last several seasons with little maintainace to make it pay off (financially). Some of LawnBott's cheaper ($1200-$1500) models have pretty negative feedback on Amazon. There's an even pricier version now the 3510. Lawnbott LB3510
I'm trying to decide if this summer is time to take the leap or to wait for the inevitable improvement in technology and price that would come waiting another year or two.

It's been working very well. Bought it mid-summer two years ago. It's been working with no issues whatsoever, and it does a really good job. The lawn looks like someone took an enormous milling machine to it. Once in a while it gets stuck somewhere, but normally it just returns home and recharges, then heads out again automatically.

(That said, the first one I got simply didn't work. After a bit of a runaround they replaced it and all was fine.)

Prior to that I had a Robomower, which was less expensive, but much larger and heavier. It lasted 8 years with only minor issues. I had to replace the blades periodically, and the lead-acid batteries needed replacing every two years. The processor board died after eight years. I considered repairing it, but the company I bought it from offered a trade-in program so I decided to try the LawnBott.

 

[yobigd20]

Well, I dont have an electric mower, but I do have this:

But I work too much, and mowing is pretty much limited to weekends, and only if it's not raining. Sometimes this leads to my lawn getting waayy out of control (like right now). I would love to get one of those lawn bots, but can't justify the cost of it after spending so much on the zero turn J.D.

 

[mknox]

I have used cordless electric mowers for years. The first one I had was a store-brand model with it's battery sealed inside. Problem was it could only cut half my lawn on a charge, then took 8 hours to re-charge. My neighbors thought I was nuts with a half cut lawn all the time, and if it rained between mowing sessions, it looked ridiculous even longer.

A couple of years ago, I got this Ryobi self-propelled job:

The reason I got it is because of this:

I can now cut my whole lawn at once, emissions free.

 

[djplong]

I have one of these: http://www.amazon.com/Earthwise-601...366293058&sr=1-1&keywords=eathwise+lawn+mower

Fortunately the battery is replaceable. This has worked VERY well for me as it'll do the front and side yards on one charge.

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

hmm. now that I have an electric car, my gas mower doesn't want to run anymore. Time to get a plug-in? or maybe just a small goat

 

[Plug Me In]

hmm. now that I have an electric car, my gas mower doesn't want to run anymore. Time to get a plug-in? or maybe just a small goat

I was electric mower long before the electric car. I hated the first mowing of the spring with the ICE mower. Damn thing would never start and I'd battle and cuss for hours, gas and grease all over. Now it's plug and go!

 

[AnOutsider]

Go for the goat

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

Go for the goat

we just picked up 4 chicks - 3 giant cochins and a Brahma. they might do the trick.

I managed to get the mower to work by breaking the carb so I could adjust the choke plate manually. Now I can make it run crazy fast! (and loud as hell)

 

[DEinspanjer]

A couple of years ago, I got this Ryobi self-propelled job

I started out with a B&D corded. After a couple of years, it broke and I bought a cordless that had two 12v batteries. That one only lasted a year and a half before the motor blew. Bought the same ryobi pictured above, and it has worked pretty well so far, but not quite enough juice to do the front and back if the grass is damp or a bit high. Fortunately found replacement part for the B&D corded, so I still use it occasionally when needed. Very light and quiet.

Sent from my GT-P7510 using Tapatalk HD

 

[DEinspanjer]

I was on a plane next to a Husqvarna engineer a while ago and talked to him about EV stuff.
He said that they had made designs and researched electric riding mowers but one thing that scared them off was the fact that many customers would leave them unplugged all winter long - without charging them after the final mow of the year. Making the batteries survive their customers scared them.
The seasonality of lawnmowing provides a huge challenge that an EV does not have.

My solution to this problem would be to sell a lawnmower, a leaf sweeper, and a snow blower that all work off of interchangeable battery packs. That way you can always have the appropriate machine for the season accessible and charging/conditioning the batteries.

Sent from my GT-P7510 using Tapatalk HD

 

[JRP3]

Good idea, but a properly designed lithium battery would have no issues sitting unused for months, even years. Just have a master disconnect switch that powers down all BMS and any vampire loads,though there really shouldn't be any in a lawnmower.

 

[wycolo]

Chainsaw Electric Chain Saw

Like Teslas, there are so many virtues to this saw over ICE saws that it is NO contest. Ok, maybe not for use up in trees or deep in the forest, but for the usual home use: chewing your way thru a semi-truckload of logs, this is a winner.

This one is unused; the other one has done a year's worth of Lodgepole pine (a heavy pine unlike Eastern White Pine) without having to sharpen the blade. True! The magic here is an excellent lube system plus that BIG KNOB which adjusts the chain in one quick backoff-tighten motion. Uncanny.

3.5 HP, quiet, vibration free, etc. If you drive a Tesla you already know all the hidden benefits of electric operation. Bottom line though is after a few hours of knocking off rounds with this bad boy you aren't worn out as you would be with the ICE chainsaws (been using them for 40 years).
--

 

[JRP3]

I've been using a Makita electric for a few years now, so much nicer than the smog producing 2 strokes, though not as powerful. I use it whenever I can instead of the gas saw. I'm not sure why but the chain on this one also seems to stay sharp much longer. I think the clutch on this unit slips too easily, I even replaced it with a new clutch and it's better but still slips too easily, I might just weld it solid :scared: Wired an old computer UPS to my AMPhibian battery pack to use it as a mobile saw.

http://amp-phibian.blogspot.com/2008/12/new-mod-portable-120-volt-power-supply.html

I keep thinking about putting together a lithium pack that fits in a back pack to make it fully mobile, it should be able to run off straight DC voltage, though I'd have to use a contactor to switch it on and off.

 

[constraint]

Technically it is a series hybrid with 48v dc drive and mower deck. The generator runs to output 7.1kw AC current and can at least move around on electric only.

The Raven MPV

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6UtGkZEfrc

 

[J in MN]

I've been using a Makita electric for a few years now, so much nicer than the smog producing 2 strokes, though not as powerful.

This upsets me all the time. Due to the fateful adoption of 120V in the USA instead of 240V as in most of the rest of the world, we will forever be doomed to having appliances that are only half as powerful as they could have been. This affects so many things - snow blowers, lawn mowers, kettles, power tools, etc, etc, etc.