Battery Power for Lawn equipment -- is it time?

Its pretty simple in my mind. Homeowners will buy electric lawn tools when its time. Contractors will buy gas since they need non-stop runtime.

 

That is starting to change.
Very slowly to start, but I expect the contractors that handle residential yards to switch over more quickly than the commercial sized jobs.

 

I wanted to add my experience, I had lived through the challenges of gas mowers and was given a used plug-in electric mower to try. I immediately appreciated not having to go fill up a can of gas. After years of using the electric mower and mowing up the extension cord a couple times, I can definitely see the value in a battery powered unit.

Also, now that I killed the electric mower and hired a gardener, their 2-stroke edge trimmer they use sprays oil on my garage door, so...

 

.

 

Not to mention having to find the right spark plug replacement, or even just the effort to remove it to clean it. Ever break one off in the block because it's stuck? Not fun... I very much appreciate the new battery power equipment.

 

i'm trying to sell my gas zero turn, and will buy a ryobi tractor if i do

 

Sold the 11 year old zero turn, 20+ year old golf cart and 3 kayaks for $2,675., and purchased this 30” ryobi tractor for $2,850. With bagger.
I’m amazed at the performance.
Mowed the whole 1/2 acre field in 40 minutes and only used one bar on the battery meter.

 

If you use a railgun to kill coyotes, you could be a navy man...

 

If I still used equipment issued by dot.mil it would be an M16A3.
Rail guns are noisy as all git out and they’re environmentally unsound on a per-shot basis, plus my yard is out of range.
Oh…and the USN has stomped the brakes on railguns.
They’re using saved time and money to try to play catch up on hypersonics and lasers.

In other words, it might be time for battery powered lawn equipment, but naval vessels still need to burn stuff to heave projectiles at other naval vessels.

Part of me thinks this may not be a bad idea.
The current administration CAN’T be wrong about everything, riiight?
RIGHT?!

As it is, I live in town now so I have to settle for a Hatsan 6.4mm (25 caliber) pellet gun….at least for quadruped varmint control.
Not really effective for Wyle E…..but then I’ve only seen one coyote in the neighborhood in the nine years since I became a sissified urbanite, and it would be unethical to try to punch holes in an animal that large with a non PCP air rifle.

I still have 5 acres in the country though…

 

Blinker on.

Merging back onto topic.....

CAVEAT EMPTOR!!!
NOT all batteries are created equal.....

 

uh-oh

i hate videos. what could the funny guy have done that in, 3 minutes?

mine has a lead acid battery. 48 volts, charges in about 4 hours, mows 1/2 acre of grass using only 2-3 out of 8 bars.
mine said up to one hour, but 40 minutes only used the 2-3 bars. of course it is going to depend on grass thickness and moisture.
even if i have to buy a new $200. battery every year or two, i'm way ahead of the average $400. my garden shop charged me to go through my toro gas zero turn every season.

it will be interesting to see the battery longevity though. the 48 volt golf cart ran for about 6 hours, and the lead acid batteries lasted around 10 years depending on usage.

he says he might swap lead acid for lithium, but doesn't mention whether the charger will work, or maybe you buy a new charger?

 

there's a landscaper here with a 'quiet crew'. all electric zero turns with solar charging on top of the trailer.
mows yards all day without issue.

 

And there will be more once the word gets out that for a few bucks more you can hire silent electric lawn ninjas, more companies will figure out where to get good-enough electric hardware and keep enough batteries charging on the truck to chase the premium rates.

Oh yeah, if you don't offer them someplace to plug in they'll just run the truck to charge everything.

 

they outlawed leaf blowers in lexington, ma i think. landscapers were up in arms. i would love to find someone to rake my lawn.

2 67 year olds can do it, but not 20 year old landscape 'professionals'.

 

Oh man!
I'm REALLY Sorry @bisco I thought you had the newer LiPo unit.

My advice would be to use the mower (unless you're within the return window!!!) and try not to worry about it.
Properly maintained Pb batteries should last at least a few years, and by then there will be some generic replacements that will fit your mower AND your charger, and you're only mowing about a half acre IIRC.

I have a golf cart with (now depleted) lead acid batteries which actually worked for almost 6 years.
I'm trying to talk my CFO into converting to petrol ($1000 ish) but she wants to replace the lead acids. ($1200 ish)

I'm slow rolling her while we work it out.
I haven't seen much energy (pun almost unintended) in the golf cart community for switching expensive batteries that suck with more expensive batteries that suck less, and I'm thinking that the charger will have to be completely different for the latter.
Granted....LiPO is good stuff in a car, but I'm thinking that the juice isn't worth the squeeze for a golf cart.

YMMV.

 

i am using it, and not losing any sleep

personally, i think that fellow is clueless. he bought the wrong machine for the job in almost every conceivable way, even though he claims he knew before buying.

i really think he's clueless and just wants to be a youtube star/influencer.

as i said, if i have to buy a new battery every few years, it's no big deal compared to maintaing a 42" zero.

i put $600. worth of duracells into the golf cart a couple years ago from batteries plus. i didn't even knowthey made replacement lithium.
and lithium can be dangerous if not done right, so i would want a company with a good rep and some experience in the marketplace.

 

Well I've had a 46" Zero turn since 2006 and while it's certainly not been maintenance free, I maintain 5 acres of property with it and there's not an E-mower yet that I have seen that will touch it....and CERTAINLY not for <$5000 which is what mine cost back in the day.

I agree that the YT presenter was a little goofy and it looked to me like he didn't exactly pamper things in his life.
I was simply shocked (pun nearly unintended) that they would actually SELL e-mowers with lead acid batteries.
I don't specifically have a "problem" with lead acids, mind you.
I'm working in an office with 4 battery strings with that 100++ year old tech....but I wouldn't want to use them on a ZT lawn mower.

HARD PASS for ME.

YMMV

 

well, you're being smart about it per your bias, but the youtuber was 'deliberately' not smart?

 

The settled science is that lead-acid batteries will stand up to a heck of a lot more abuse than lipo chemistry with far fewer expensive consequences, and a fair swath of profitable golf cart customers are not known for maintenance discipline. That is all.