Electric Lawnmowers

[ElectricTundra]

Latest on the Echo 58v stuff. While mowing the other day I could not get the battery to recharge. Charger would indicate 'evaluating' with blinking red LED for 10 minutes. Took it out for 5 mins and back in with same result. Repeat. After 30-40 minutes called Echo. They said it shouldn't do that, especially on a relatively cool day. She said it sounded like the battery was bad and she'd send me a new one. About 45 later it suddenly started to charge.

New battery appears to actually be refurbished. Only provides about 60% the mowing time of the other batteries and is all black with no orange strip. Original battery still has difficulty charging. Sometimes will, sometimes not. Definitely something wrong.

On Saturday our Echo 58v blower suddenly stopped working. Tried several times with different batteries that all indicate fully charged and nothing happens with the blower.

I've always been quite happy with Echo. Exceptionally disappointed with their cordless stuff though. Home Depot will be getting a pile of Echo stuff back in a week or two.

 

[SpiceWare]

Bought my new mower, Kobalt 80 Volt from Lowes. As mentioned earlier, I'd purchased the blower and trimmer last year.



First use was Saturday, which also happened to be the "heavy" day whereby I also trim back all the bushes. This presents an extra challenge for the mower as I use the blower to move all the trimmed off branches into the yard, where they get mulched by the mower as I cut the yard (I never bag the grass, always mulch it).

New mower handled it beautifully. Whenever I would go over branches the mower would automatically spin up faster to handle the heavier load. In spite of the extra workload, one battery handled mowing my entire yard.

 

[SpiceWare]

When I mowed on the 24th I hadn't been able to for a couple weeks due to the rainy weather. Grass was quite a bit taller so the mower was spun up faster for most of the yard. As such, I ended up needing the second battery halfway through the backyard (front first). No major ordeal though, I'd stashed the extra battery just inside the back door. Mowed again yesterday and was back to just 1 battery.

Did have a problem with the trimmer - third party edger attachment got stuck in it. I broke the edger trying to remove it, but even after that the cable that transfers the rotation down the edger's shaft was still stuck in the handle, rendering it useless. Since I already have 4 batteries I ended up replacing it with the trimmer without the battery & charger. Had to order it though as they don't stock that in the stores.

 

[RacerX]

I went ahead and ordered a Robomow for this season. We'll see how it goes.

We have a Robomowers RL 500. Love it. Very Quiet except when the neighbors dog barked at the mower. We used it to cut backyard. Took 3-4 hours on full charge. Only had to worry about the rain for this early electric robot model.
I cut the front yard with a corded electric lawnmower.
I miss using my robot Lawnmower.
We moved and just too many obstacles in the way.

 

[Xenius]

Ended up converting everything except for the chainsaw (still gas) to the greenworks line.

Here's the mower: Amazon.com : GreenWorks 25302 G-MAX 40V Twin Force 20-Inch Cordless Lawn Mower, (1) 4Ah (1) 2Ah Batteries & Charger Included : Patio, Lawn & Garden

It works great.

 

[strider]

Just put down a deposit for a Mean Green Nemesis 48" ZTR.
NXR-48/52

We're adding the solar canopy option which allows the cost of the canopy and mower battery pack to qualify for the 30% Fed tax credit. Factory thinks we'll have it in about 6 weeks. Will update when it arrives.

 

[Skotty]

I'd love to try one of those mean green machines. I really hate my gas riding mower. It backfires, leaks gas, and is loud as hell. But I just can't stomach the price.

You can buy a high end gas riding mower for about $2K. They need to offer something that doesn't go over $4K (riding). Doesn't have to be zero turn, or have any other fancy stuff, other than a reasonably sized lithium ion battery pack. Anything over $4K is ridiculous and beyond what my wife would allow me to buy.

I'm still debating trying to convert my gas riding mower to electric, but it would still be expensive, and it wouldn't be as quiet due to the belt drive mower deck.

Still waiting for my Tesla riding mower. Tesla Model M.

No one takes electric lawn equipment seriously yet. It's a shame too, because it's somewhere where the improvement electric makes is potentially significant. Even without my mower deck running, my gas mower is louder and more noxious than a big diesel truck.

 

[JRP3]

Nice, I've been following them for a while and they seem to make good quality products, though I've never seen one in person.

 

[JRP3]

You can buy a high end gas riding mower for about $2K.

I wouldn't consider a $2K gas mower to be high end, though certainly good enough for most people. Like EV cars lithium EV mowers are going to be premium priced for a while.

 

[Skotty]

I wouldn't consider a $2K gas mower to be high end, though certainly good enough for most people. Like EV cars lithium EV mowers are going to be premium priced for a while.

John Deere D140 48 in. 22 HP V-Twin Hydrostatic Front-Engine Riding Mower-BG20995 - The Home Depot

$2,000 at Home Depot

I consider that high end. Top name brand, high horsepower, V-twin engine, 48in mower deck. Much nicer than my Troybilt turd.

I don't include zero turn models, as those are total BS. They are no more advanced than a regular riding mower, other than the zero turn. They just reconfigure the seat, steering, and driving controls, then add $2,000 to the price for about $50 of actual added value.

 

[Skotty]

Really, riding mowers are a pet peeve of mine. They are basically garbage. All of them. Because that's what the industry is willing to offer, and it's all the public expects. Their engines are loud noxious pieces of $$^^#. And everything else about a riding mower is extremely basic. They shouldn't cost much more than the metal they are made out of.

 

[JRP3]

John Deere D140 48 in. 22 HP V-Twin Hydrostatic Front-Engine Riding Mower-BG20995 - The Home Depot

$2,000 at Home Depot

I consider that high end. Top name brand, high horsepower, V-twin engine, 48in mower deck. Much nicer than my Troybilt turd.

I got a D170 for my father a few years ago, nice machine, but the D series is the low end of the Deere lawn tractor lineup
The Difference Between John Deere Lawn Tractors - Consumer Reports

 

[Skotty]

Ford, Chevy, and other auto manufacturers should just stick a blade on the bottom of their entry level automobiles. They would make better mowers than anything John Deere has ever made, and they wouldn't cost much more.

Not all John Deere's fault, of course. More fault lies with Briggs and Stratton, Kholer, and all the other small motor manufacturers who are still using 1800's motor designs. Somehow, it never occurs to them to try to make their products better.

You've got me on a roll now. What do you need from a lawn engine? What qualities actually matter, and should be improved upon over time? Power, durability, emissions, maybe efficiency, and noise. That's it! Power they have had from the beginning almost. Durability has been fine for many decades. Maybe time to try to improve on some of the other aspects? Emissions and efficiency because, oh, I don't know, maybe we should give a $&#^$? And noise? Hello? Maybe noise is something they should look into, because, you know, THEY ARE AS LOUD AS HELL and people like things to be somewhat quiet in neighborhoods. If your little 25 HP engine is louder than a Ford 5 liter 400 HP V8...which they pretty much all are...you are doing something wrong.

The entire lawn industry is either incompetent or complacent -- probably both. I would fire them all if I could, and we can all go back to cutting our lawns with scissors until someone steps up and does it right. Either quiet gas or electric. Until then, we all deserve to suffer for our collective colossal failure.

 

[BerTX]

Maybe when my current mower wears out I'll get one. The current mower is a 1988 Lawn Chief corded model, still going strong.

I could maybe paint it lime green to update it?

 

[JRP3]

The entire lawn industry is either incompetent or complacent -- probably both. I would fire them all if I could, and we can all go back to cutting our lawns with scissors until someone steps up and does it right. Either quiet gas or electric. Until then, we all deserve to suffer for our collective colossal failure.

My solution is to take a 30 something year old Wheelhorse lawn tractor and convert it to electric drive. Relatively easy conversion, rebuilt forklift motor from Ebay running at 24V from 2 sealed AGM batteries with an on/off marine battery selector switch, no speed controller needed. Gives me about half an hour of cutting time which is plenty for my small lawn. I could double the pack size fairly easily if needed.

 

[unnoho]

Just put down a deposit for a Mean Green Nemesis 48" ZTR.
NXR-48/52

We're adding the solar canopy option which allows the cost of the canopy and mower battery pack to qualify for the 30% Fed tax credit. Factory thinks we'll have it in about 6 weeks. Will update when it arrives.

I cut lawns and am interested in battery equipment although can not afford a Mean Green. I have yet to see a real world review on any of their equipment although their Youtube Channel has been uploading vids lately although they need a better guy in front of the camera. Would be great to hear a real word use review. Lawnsite.com would like it.

 

[unnoho]

John Deere D140 48 in. 22 HP V-Twin Hydrostatic Front-Engine Riding Mower-BG20995 - The Home Depot

$2,000 at Home Depot

I consider that high end. Top name brand, high horsepower, V-twin engine, 48in mower deck. Much nicer than my Troybilt turd.

I don't include zero turn models, as those are total BS. They are no more advanced than a regular riding mower, other than the zero turn. They just reconfigure the seat, steering, and driving controls, then add $2,000 to the price for about $50 of actual added value.

As a professional mower that mower is crap. You are paying for the name and color. Think of it this way a commercial mower is cutting 5-20 yards a day and can go for years that way. Your mower will likely be falling apart cutting one yard for 5 years. A commercial mower cuts in a week what you do in a year. Granted that doesnt account for the aging aspect.

 

[strider]

I cut lawns and am interested in battery equipment although can not afford a Mean Green. I have yet to see a real world review on any of their equipment although their Youtube Channel has been uploading vids lately although they need a better guy in front of the camera. Would be great to hear a real word use review. Lawnsite.com would like it.

I'll definitely report back here on my findings. I'll look into lawnsite.com too.

John Deere D140 48 in. 22 HP V-Twin Hydrostatic Front-Engine Riding Mower-BG20995 - The Home Depot

$2,000 at Home Depot

I consider that high end. Top name brand, high horsepower, V-twin engine, 48in mower deck. Much nicer than my Troybilt turd.

I don't include zero turn models, as those are total BS. They are no more advanced than a regular riding mower, other than the zero turn. They just reconfigure the seat, steering, and driving controls, then add $2,000 to the price for about $50 of actual added value.

Have you used a ZTR? I have been using my father in law's old JD STX38 riding mower for the last year. It is SLOW and is very difficult to cut around trees. I have to make multiple passes to cut around each tree. My father in law bought a Toro ZTR (hence having the JD to loan us) and he let my wife and I test it out. It is night and day. The ZTR cuts MUCH faster than a tractor. That translates into less time mowing. It's also a lot easier to mow around trees with it. IMO after you've used a ZTR you won't go back to a tractor (unless you have steep hills you need to mow).

I've been doing research on mowers all winter. Everyone I talked to recommended buying a commercial unit, even if it's used, over a residential unit. I prefer to pay more up front and keep it for a long time than pay less and change it regularly. As @unnoho said, commercial mowers are designed to run all day every day. My use will be a walk in the park to a commercial unit. My hope w/ the Mean Green is that they started with commercial and hopefully worked out all the issues before designing the Nemesis. As for price, when comparing the Nemesis to a commercial ZTR the price is competitive. My hope is that w/ the fewer moving parts, lower maintenance, etc. that it will serve us for many years while also giving us a better mowing experience.

 

[unnoho]

[@strider] I can actually drive both my ZTR and Stander with one hand if needed. I have been causally looking for a used Hustler Zeon over the last few years with bad batteries for cheap just to tinker. I saw a homeowner cutting his house with one about 1.5-2 years ago. I stopped to talk and he said he has 7 acres and cuts 45 mins a day. I asked when he was getting a Tesla and he said he has an electric drag car that is faster. lol

Right when I started commercial cutting just 7 yards I had a 34" Dixon ZTR residential. In 1 month I broke 2 $60 belts, bent a couple deck pulleys, and the deck belt tensioner. I bought a Snapper Pro the next month and sold the Dixon to a young kid who was just starting. He saw my new mower and I even told him why I was selling it. I actually changed the "lifetime" hydro fluid but I had to remove the drive assembly and left it draining for a few days upside down.

 

[strider]

Hi everyone. Picked up my Mean Green Nemesis 48 early last week. I've been able to mow with it twice now and feel ready to report. This thing is quite a bit like a Tesla in that there are a few things that are missing but the overall experience more than makes up for those deficiencies.

The positives are this thing is QUIET and almost no vibration. With our ICE mower when I got off of it my hands would tingle for over an hour due to the vibration from the engine (I had the same problem weedeating until I switched to the DeWalt electric weedeater). You get a small amount of vibration from the blades through your feet but it's much lower frequency than I'd get from the ICE and the soles of my shoes dampen it before it hits my foot. Though I noticed today that running the blades in high speed actually minimized the vibration (at a small noise penalty). I can (and do) easily run this thing without ear plugs. Our ICE mower I had to have ear plugs. Like a Tesla it's full and ready to go when you're ready to mow. No stopping midway to refuel (always when the mower is as far from the shop as possible) and/or taking time to fuel up before or after mowing.

The small battery is plenty for our 2 acre lawn. We also bought the Solar Canopy option to take advantage of the 30% tax credit and to provide shade while mowing (heat index is 105F here today). The only other option we bought was Monster Mode which is a bump in torque/speed.

My only regret is not getting the 52" deck. There a section (shown in pic 1 below) where the distance between the fence and small trees/shrubs is ~50". The 48" deck fits fine there now but as the trees/shrubs grow it won't fit. Since I'll have to weedeat it anyway I'm sacrificing that extra 4" in the rest of my mowing. But live and learn. This thing is still WAY faster than our tractor.

The only downside is that there is a bit of lag in the controls. For you old video game nerds I liken it to the first time I played Unreal after playing Id games for years. There's a bit of lag that causes me to push further on the stick and then I get too much movement and overcorrect. This is also my first ZTR so I have 2 learning curves to contend with.

I was talking to the guys that are digging our pool and they said that's exactly how the new Bobcat (skid steers) are now. They moved to electronic control sticks and there's a bit of lag on the inputs. So it sounds like this is not solely a Mean Green problem. Hopefully the industry will improve as time goes on.

Overall I am thrilled with the purchase. A few pics below.