OT: Electric Lawn Mower

[NikkiSixx]

So while I am back in Florida for the next 6-10 months (going through probate) I am considering getting an electric lawnmower..

What are the general thoughts about them? At home depot they have a ryobi that looks ok along with some others.

Are these things legit?

Can I use it for 6-8 months and will I still be able to sell it on for half price?

I am only considering self propelled.. as I am too old to be pushing the thing lol.

Thanks in advance for any insight based on your experience.

 

[bmb81664]

Personally, I would buy a used gas mower at a garage sale or on facebook for $20 and then give it away when done.

 

[Champs 70-71-94-95-97]

We have the Ryobi 18v 16” mower for our area inside the backyard fence. Works surprisingly well. That being said, I would invest in the 40v version in self-propelled. As far as resale - nothing holds value anymore.

 

[LightningJack]

So while I am back in Florida for the next 6-10 months (going through probate) I am considering getting an electric lawnmower..

What are the general thoughts about them? At home depot they have a ryobi that looks ok along with some others.

Are these things legit?

Can I use it for 6-8 months and will I still be able to sell it on for half price?

I am only considering self propelled.. as I am too old to be pushing the thing lol.

Thanks in advance for any insight based on your experience.

I went through this just recently, I took my Ryobi back! Dig a little deeper and get an Ego LM2156SP, much lighter, better cut and easier to maneuver.

https://nebraska.forums.rivals.com/threads/electric-mowers-what-you-got.354687/

 

[GBRforLife1]

Personally, I would buy a used gas mower at a garage sale or on facebook for $20 and then give it away when done.

If you can pull that off that's a good deal. Most are trashed.

 

[GBRforLife1]

So while I am back in Florida for the next 6-10 months (going through probate) I am considering getting an electric lawnmower..

What are the general thoughts about them? At home depot they have a ryobi that looks ok along with some others.

Are these things legit?

Can I use it for 6-8 months and will I still be able to sell it on for half price?

I am only considering self propelled.. as I am too old to be pushing the thing lol.

Thanks in advance for any insight based on your experience.

Check Facebook marketplace. Get the 40v selfprolled Ryobi. It's good enough for what you need.

 

[NikkiSixx]

Thanks guys, appreciate the feedback!

 

[Huskers7772004]

I’ve been really impressed with the Hart 40v self propelled at Walmart. I love it!

 

[SickOfPractice]

I've had a self propelled Ego for 4 years now and I love it. It's so quiet you can mow anytime of the day and not bother anyone unless you're mowing right under their bedroom window.

The first year I took advantage of it's ability to fold up and store on its end. That quickly broke the wires running through the handles but it was repaired under warranty. I haven't folded it up since.

In the beginning the battery took a little under an hour to charge and then it ran for about an hour+.

I've noticed this year it won't mow for an hours worth anymore. As I tend to mow for a 1/2 hour here and 1/2 hour there throughout the week it's no big deal to me. That might be annoying for folks who like to do all their mowing at one time.

I've noticed a replacement Ego battery is $99 no matter if I buy it in store or online. Yikes. But have you checked car battery prices lately? Double yikes.

Unless this Ego doesn't last I don't plan to ever go back to a gas engine.

 

[HuskerJag]

Echo the thumbs up for the Ryobi 40v - no issues with ours over the last 2 years. Super quiet, light weight, highly recommend

 

[RBigredMax]

 

[redwine65]

I been using a huskavarna since 2018...it's nice when it's 90 degrees out...I just don't like how it bounces around and doesn't make lines..
and with the bouncing around it seems to mat the grass more in certain areas..

now they got em that makes patterns and everything...seems like the luba is good for difficult yards (hills) and yuca is better for smaller yards...in a few years they will probably have them dialed in where they do it all, hills, vacuum leaves, patterns, and probably even have a trimmer on the side..

this seemed like the best one when I looked around 6 months ago..but there's alot of competition.

LUBA 2 AWD 5000: Perimeter Wire Free Robot Lawn Mower

Mammotion LUBA 2 AWD 5000/5000H mows up to 1.25 Acres with all-wheel drive, handling 38° slopes. Features 3D Vision & RTK mapping, no-wire setup, multi-zone control, and Alexa/ Google Home control.

us.mammotion.com

 

[schuele]

I've noticed a replacement Ego battery is $99 no matter if I buy it in store or online. Yikes. But have you checked car battery prices lately? Double yikes.

Unless this Ego doesn't last I don't plan to ever go back to a gas engine.

Have you looked at off-brand batteries that are compatible? I purchased one on Amazon and it seems to work just as well as the original. My mower is GreenWorks, but I would think they exist for EGo.

As for my mower, it works fine because we gradually eliminated a lot of our lawn over the years in favor of other landscaping. I wouldn't want to tackle a large lawn with it.

 

[litespeedhuskerfan]

I use a 10 y/o Troy Built Home Depot special I bought for about $185?ish) ..if I needed another mower...i'd look for same. Cheap and dependale. Then i'd donate it when i'm dun with it..if i were in your shoes.

 

[otismotis08]

My Craftsman gas-powered self-propelled mower continues to start on the first pull after 25 years of dutiful service.
I've replaced the rear wheels twice now, and a few springs here and there but it's been a trooper.

 

[Dr_Alan_Grant]

I have a toro super recycler 60 volt. Got the super recycler because of the aluminum deck.

I'd never go back to gas.

1. Maintenance (not an issue for some but I'm lazy)

2. Noise

3. Vibration. If I mow or trim with gas my hands are dead from the Vibration. There is none with these.

Negative if you don't keep up, long grass will absolutely destroy run time. You may need more than 1 battery if your lawn is big or you do front and back at the same time. I have 2x 7.5 amp hr batteries.

 

[SickOfPractice]

Have you looked at off-brand batteries that are compatible? I purchased one on Amazon and it seems to work just as well as the original. My mower is GreenWorks, but I would think they exist for EGo.

As for my mower, it works fine because we gradually eliminated a lot of our lawn over the years in favor of other landscaping. I wouldn't want to tackle a large lawn with it.

I have not looked at any potential off brands in my brief initial searches. I'll keep that in mind. Thanks.

 

[drubendall]

I use a 10 y/o Troy Built Home Depot special I bought for about $185?ish) ..if I needed another mower...i'd look for same. Cheap and dependale. Then i'd donate it when i'm dun with it..if i were in your shoes.

My push mower is a Craftsman with a Briggs and Stratton. It starts up on the first pull every time. I clean the filter and sharpen the blade. Only changed the oil once in 3 years. I was talking to the guy at our local rental store. He said the Briggs has been a much better motor for them than the Honda which surprised me. I think I can get 10 more years out of mine.

What I really need is a good battery powered leaf blower and trimmer. Leaning toward Stihl since everything they build is quality. My current trimmer would more aptly be called a weed tickler.

 

[NikkiSixx]

I have a toro super recycler 60 volt. Got the super recycler because of the aluminum deck.

I'd never go back to gas.

1. Maintenance (not an issue for some but I'm lazy)

2. Noise

3. Vibration. If I mow or trim with gas my hands are dead from the Vibration. There is none with these.

Negative if you don't keep up, long grass will absolutely destroy run time. You may need more than 1 battery if your lawn is big or you do front and back at the same time. I have 2x 7.5 amp hr batteries.

appreciate this post.. Vibration is also an issue with my wrists, so this is very good to know.

 

[Dean Pope]

So while I am back in Florida for the next 6-10 months (going through probate) I am considering getting an electric lawnmower..

What are the general thoughts about them? At home depot they have a ryobi that looks ok along with some others.

Are these things legit?

Can I use it for 6-8 months and will I still be able to sell it on for half price?

I am only considering self propelled.. as I am too old to be pushing the thing lol.

I have an 80 volt Kobalt self propelled mower from Lowes. They are legit. One charge could mow an acre probably more depending on the conditions. No gas, no oil, no filter, you can turn it upside down to get to the blades to sharpen them. Won't take up as much room since you can store it however you wish, even hang it on a wall. Super quiet. Lithium power is super reliable and the battery charges in an hour or so. I have a neighbor who has an Ego mower- I think that one is even quieter.

The downside-- on a regular sized lot, if you try to go 3 cuttings between charges you may run out of power in the middle of a job. It's probably happened to me twice in four years. So what I do is make sure that I get the highly visible areas cut and if the battery runs out, let it happen in the back of the house.

I also have a cordless weed trimmer & blower. For urban areas, there really isn't a need for gas powered trimmers or mowers anymore. If you have a farm, acreage, or run a lawn service, gas power is the way to go.

Not sure on resale value of a new cordless mower, but getting half back sounds about right. If you're concerned on cost I'd buy a used gas mower and sell it at the end of the season for the same price that you bought it for.

 

[3fingershomer]

After a bit of research this past winter I jumped on a Greenworks 80v mower that was $130.00 off from Costco a few months ago. Included 2 batteries and an extra blade. Love it so far as does my 15 year old son since it’s essentially push button starting. As if on que, I received a letter from my electric utility about 30 days after I bought it offering an additional $100 rebate. Score! IMO, it performs best if you mow about every 5 days, less desirable results if the grass has gotten too long. At my age I no longer seek the perfect lawn, just need the equipment to do the job.

 

[planored]

I love me EGo, have had for a few yrs now! Sure they are even better now

 

[nostromo78]

My push mower is a Craftsman with a Briggs and Stratton. It starts up on the first pull every time. I clean the filter and sharpen the blade. Only changed the oil once in 3 years. I was talking to the guy at our local rental store. He said the Briggs has been a much better motor for them than the Honda which surprised me. I think I can get 10 more years out of mine.

What I really need is a good battery powered leaf blower and trimmer. Leaning toward Stihl since everything they build is quality. My current trimmer would more aptly be called a weed tickler.

We have the ryobi trimmer, 40V and have been really happy with it. We dont trim a TON, its only about 5-10 minutes worth every week.

We are in the market for a new blower as well. I dont know if I want to go the electric route though. I think you are right about the Stihl quality though. Id stick with the gas powered for that. Battery powered ones (at least the ones with any power) are really expensive and I dont think they can do what I need (blow thousands of acorns out of my grass on a weekly basis)

 

[litespeedhuskerfan]

yeah, it's like that

 

[NikkiSixx]

So after looking at FB Marketplace, I found a lot of electric mowers.. they basically came in 3 categories..

1. really old electrics, already outdated
2. near new electrics - not powerful enough for the owner, as they are selling after only a small amount of use.
3. 1-2 year old electrics without batteries or chargers, or just 1 working battery

This led me to look at battery prices.. and holy moly.. this is where the catch is. For a 40 volt 4- 6 Ah battery, it ranged from 150-200 bucks, and most of these units come with 2 batteries.

So if you get lucky and have a good battery that lasts you, then nothing to complain about, but I saw numerous complaints about batteries only lasting a year or two. This means the guys in the #3 category are finding it more useful to just buy a whole new mower and hope to sell off their old one to someone else willing to buy a battery for it.

Anyway, that sealed the deal for me.. I found a used self propelled honda for $220 and figure I will probably get most of my money back when it comes time to sell.

 

[LightningJack]

I have not looked at any potential off brands in my brief initial searches. I'll keep that in mind. Thanks.

I have bought the Off brand batteries from Amazon, for several years now. I get about 3 yrs out of them, but this is just for the the old Trimmer, Blower and the occasional power tool use, for Black & Decker. But for $20, hard to pass up. The Amazon-Ego ones are like 1/2 price or better, might be worth a shot. They're you tube videos of guys cracking these open, same thing just different shell. I bought the extended warranty from Lowe's, got 8 yrs on mower and battery. I wouldn't hesitate to buy an Amazon for this when time comes.

 

[litespeedhuskerfan]

I ride mtn bikes year round, weather and darkness be damned...as such, I find myself logging a lot of hours in darkness so I use lights...good ones cost freaking bank...the current set up i'm using costs considerably more than a new sweet mower....because of the high cost of the nicer set-ups, chinese companies have come into the marketplace and made these billion lumen torches and people are buying them cause they're cheap.. One thing you get with those that you don't get with the name brands, is fires while you charge em once and a while. Friend of mine up the street heard his explode, said it sounded like a .38 going off. Same thing is happening with e-bikes.

Now, especially after having lived thru a house fire, you couldn't give me anything that resembles a rechargable mower. Fvck that.....I underatand YMMV, lots of success stories out there...just wouldn't be my thang.

 

[leodisflowers]

I have the Kobalt trimmer and mower self propelled. They battery is as advertised at 45 minutes. As of now it gets the job done, but definitely not a gas mower. Only reason I got it is I already have a ton of Kobalt tools and so I can swap the batteries all over. It's not fantastic, but it works and I don't have to worry about forgetting to get gas.

 

[huskeralk]

I bought an Ego self propelled from Lowes last summer. Turns out I barely use the self propel. It pushes that easily. It does a pretty good job on my bermuda/weed lawn except for if it's a little on the damp side like it has been recently. Then it really struggles. I recently hit a hidden tree stump while mowing a friends yard for him. It wasted the motor and control board. Parts were going to be over $400 but they were covered under warranty. Only problem was I never registered the mower so I had to go buy a new one and register it immediately. 🤦‍♂️I do like the whole convenience of not having the change oil and run out to fill up the gas can every time that I need to mow but I do miss the power of my old gas mower so it's kind of a tossup for me.

 

[northtexashusker]

I have a couple of acres, so have a big gas riding mower and do very little with a push mower. Between a mower, trimer, blower, chainsaw, pole saw, and hedge trimmer it was a lot of work to keep all those small gas engines running reliability. So I went over to electric years ago.

I went with the 80V Kobalt from Lowes. Like all the electric devices, they lack the power of gas. But I've only lost 1 battery out of 5 in probably 7-8 years. They are generally going to degrade on number of full cycles, so it depends on how much you use them.

I bought an Ego misting fan and knock off battery on for the kids sporing events in 100 fmdegree temps. That works well and my trimmer needed replaced. I ordered a Kobalt tool only for $148, but went and exchanged for a 56v EGO trimmer, blower, battery, and charger for $299.

It seems to work well. But again, won't have the same power as gas. I can't imagine the 40v are any good other then for some real light work.