Cordless Lawnmowers?

I see them for around $300 on Amazon, including the battery

Yeah or nay?

 

My only question concerning battery powered anything is how do you maintain the battery during the off season of the equipment, lawn mower, motorcycle or whatever. Is leaving it on the trickle charger for months on end good for a battery?

 

aren't they called gas mowers?

 

most of these things are Lithium Ion, and they don't lose charge or have a "memory" as a (NiCad) car battery/motorcycle battery would.

 

Pretty sure they're all lithium these days, not an issue sitting for a long time with no draw on them. I have my doubts that the battery packs on a $300 mower are going to have enough capacity for anything other that a tiny lawn. I still have a gas mower, but my hedge trimmer, blower, and line trimmer are all Kobalt lithium and work great.

 

Like anything with a battery, there’s a lifespan. Could be a year or 5, who knows? If one had a postage stamp in an urban area to tend to, I can understand one. Otherwise, dino juice is the reliable and serviceable way.

 

I watch some of you guys make the slow migration to battery powered equipment but I will remain a gas guy with a lawn that refuels before each mow, for now.

 

I have had the EGO mower for almost 2 years. No issues. Battery last long enough to mow entire yard. Takes about 30 minutes to get a full charge so when I wake up in the morning I just slap it on the charger and it's ready to go when I am.

 

There’s a ton of this stuff at the trade shows. Longevity and reliability are huge issues. Generally speaking, the market buying them aren’t the most mechanically inclined. They associate this equipment to their smart phones; one just plugs it in to charge it and it works. But, the majority of it is offshore crap. It’s all a gamble. Then, what about warranty? If purchased through a dealer, it’s a replacement situation. Online? Good luck. Even further, since this stuff isn’t really repairable, it goes to the trash. There’s however many kW of power used to create it, for what? A limited lifespan, zero repairable item that can only be discarded? No thanks.

 

I’m pretty much freaking tired of dealing with crap gas lawn machines made in China. Continuous dealing with non-ethanol fuel, oil changes, filters, fouled spark plugs, rough or non-running issues, fuel storage… I’m over it. Ditched my two-stroke weedwhacker 10 years ago and went electric. Super happy with that decision. My $2700 Husky riding lawn mower decided to stop running a couple years ago. If I can get a China made electric lawnmower for $300 and get 3 summers of use out of it, I am happy to throw it in the garbage and buy another one.

 

Those guys had some impressive stuff at their display. Very powerful. The one question I posed to them is “Why is it so much louder than my 4-stroke handheld stuff?”. The rep smiled and deflected to telling me how I wouldn’t have to carry gas cans and such. Actually I still would, because of other equipment. Plus, I’d have to deal with multiple chargers, every evening. I’d have to carry multiple spare batteries. Again, it’s not serviceable. Cordless equipment fits a specific market segment I don’t really fit into.

Incidentally, there’s a small, urban lawn outfit using compact cars (Priuses?), pulling really small box trailers, using all cordless equipment. They have solar panels fitted to the roof of the trailers to run a bank of chargers. I admire their commitment.

 

I totally understand.

I don’t have 100% gasoline available, in my area. To alleviate fuel issues: I run 87 octane and Sea Foam in ZTR’s (one is EFI), AV100LL and Sea Foam in 4T handheld equipment, and AV100LL, Sea Foam, and Klotz 50:1 in my 2T stuff. It’s a PITA, but, doing this has eliminated all carbureting issues.

The shops I patronize all report fuel-related issues are their #1 service complaint.

 

My only complaint with it is it seems the blades are constantly needing sharpening compared to my old gas powered mower.

 

Any blade will work, so long as the pilot hole is the same diameter, it’s shape is the same (flat, offset, etc), and length are the same. Oregon has a ton of replacement blades and should have something. If you don’t see anything in their catalog, any mower dealer can help you find a blade.

http://en.oregonproducts.com/pro/lookups/selguide_bladelookup.aspx

 

I also have the EGO, been great so far. The lack of vibration is the best part, my old mower would leave my hand tingling.
I also have 2 batteries since I have their snow blower. most of the time I can do the whole yard with 1, but it is nice to have on in the charger while you use the other. They sit in the garage all winter (chicago) but they do get used on the blower.

 

I've never mowed gas.

 

You can't buy the safe stuff in the cans at the hardware store?

 

Is the blade actually duller or is the electric mower's lack of power showing through? The gas mower may just be brute forcing it's way through the grass.

 

Does anyone make an electric riding mower yet?

Edit. Holy cow, they do! I'd love to hear about some real world experience on this thing: https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-4...PIPHorizontal2_rr-_-308040422-_-308040433-_-N

 

My Honda push mower starts up everytime, usually on the second pull after winter, and barely through the 1st pull every time after. It's self-propelled and a beast, recommended from fellow beebers. Spent about $500 and all I do is add fuel.

I have the EGO leaf blower, need two batteries to just dry my car, so there's that. It's definitely more powerful than the plug-in one, but it drains battery. Think it lasts about 13 minutes with "turbo" use.