Battery Lawn Mower

[Doug]

My Toro mower may have just died and I'm considering a battery powered, self-propelled mower to replace it.
I would love to hear opinions about these mowers. Tell me the good and the bad, please.
Thanks.

 

[rkwhyte2]

I have a 40 watt Kobalt mower. It works like a champ for me. Keep in mind I have a small amount to mow. They do make an 80 watt unit and at least one of them is self propelled.

 

[Doug]

My lot is about 1/4 acre. How does that compare to your's.

 

[rkwhyte2]

More than I have to mow. I'm betting the 80 watt unit would do what you want keep in mind the power drive will eat into the battery life. I'd see how it lasted and then if need be buy a 2nd battery.

I was just looking and it's not watts it's volts.

 

[Doug]

Thanks

 

[Cameramonkey]

Curious. Why not gas? Its not like its a 2 cycle that is super duper finicky to start and keep the carbs clean. And gas isnt super expensive. My mower always starts on the 2nd pull, worst case. And all the tune-up I have to do is on the parts that are not the engine. (blade, belt, scraping the buttom, etc) And they all die of other issues long before the engine would die, so I dont even bother changing the oil. Ever.

I own LOTS of battery tools. Including trimmers. But thats because those smaller 2 cycle engines are just harder to maintain and are just not as durable. Those I can see. In fact I just bought 40v Ryobi tools for our church because our $50 trimmer was toast. Until the batteries get a LOT denser, I just dont see moving to electric anytime soon. (I own a 1/4 acre)

Now if you had a little postage stamp lot small enough to consider using a corded electric mower and just wanted to stop fighting the cord, then battery is a solid choice. But if you have a 1/4 acre I dont think the payoff is there just yet.

 

[dvd1955]

Last Fall, my daughter bought a craftsman V60 self-propelled on seasonal closeout so hasn't been used a lot yet, but so far, so good. I've mowed her lawn with it three times as she has been at her sister's in Michigan for the past month helping with a newborn. Only thing that concerns me is the wheel drive. Long time ago I had a craftsman self propelled (gas powered) and had to replace the drive mechanism every couple of years as the plastic gear teeth would strip.

It sure is nice for her not to have to mess with gas, oil, carb issues, hard starting... Plus it's pretty quiet.

Bottom line: would I recommend it? Only if you can't afford a better brand. Toro, Snapper and Greenworx seem to get good reviews. I would get a second battery immediately no matter what brand

 

[Doug]

Why not gas?
My gas mower just quit. When I try to start it, the most it will do is backfire through the carburetor. I will take it in Monday to find out what's wrong. It's a Toro, self-propelled, electric start, walk behind. It has served me well, but may need replaced, so I'm exploring options.

 

[Fixer]

Picked up a Kobalt 80V last season for the same reason. Gas mower started running rough and had trouble starting. I don't have a big yard but it runs for about 3 cuts unless you are baling hay with it. it is the brushless self propelled. It has worked fantastic so far. I also got the trimmer to replace my stihl after having to replace the carb. I now have an extra battery just in case.

 

[dprimm]

OP .. where are you located? I have a spare you can borrow while yours gets looked at. I am in Avon

 

[churchmouse]

Man I see the issues and the whys in this but my man card starts to weep when people mention battery lawn mowers.....

4 cycle electric start trimmer. 4 cycle electric start self propelled all wheel drive walk behind.
Yeah we run them through the maint check list every spring and put them away properly every fall.
Regardless of how folks look at this we get years more service from doing the maint.

We have (2) 1/4 acre lots next to each other and the equipment see's double duty by comparison.

I love my battery tools. Just too convenient and they do a lot of different jobs for us. But I do not see an electric mower in my future.

Use-em if you got-em.

 

[jkaetz]

In theory with enough batteries and chargers you should be able to run forever. But yes, runtime will be your enemy. What is the long term lifetime you're expecting out of the batteries and mower? While electric motors and batteries are not new, using them in a lawn mower application is. It will be hard to get good info on how long things will really last.

 

[rkwhyte2]

Now if you had a little postage stamp lot small enough to consider using a corded electric mower and just wanted to stop fighting the cord, then battery is a solid choice. But if you have a 1/4 acre I dont think the payoff is there just yet.

This my situation to a T. It takes me all of about 10 - 15 minutes to do the mowing. I needed a new mower when I moved and this seemed like something to try. So far it has performed better than expected.

 

[Sigblitz]

A neighbor bought one at Lowes and I noticed it takes him 2 days to mow.
I had the electric weed eater and couldn't get done on one change. And after winter the batteries wouldn't work. Personally, I'm sticking with gas.

 

[Snapdragon]

I had a Kobalt from Lowe's for a season. We have about 1/4 acre and I could not get through front and back without recharging. I sold it.

 

[Mark-DuCo]

I must be doing something wrong, I have all gas equipment and haven't ever had any of the issues anybody is talking about. I have 4 acres to mow so electric isn't an option for me, but even if i had a smaller yard I would still go with gas. Being able to fill it up and go is just to convenient for me. Probably the reason all my RC vehicles are nitro too, too impatient to wait for batteries to charge, when I want to do something, I want to do it now.

 

[snorko]

I have wanted one for a while. The lack of noise and need for gasoline, oil, etc appeal to me. I have just under 0.20 acres to mow. It takes me less than 45 minutes with a gas mower. My goal actually is to get a battery powered mower, trimmer, and chain saw which have battery compatibility, then put solar on the garage roof for the chargers.

 

[KG1]

About the only thing I would consider getting one for is to do trim work that the riding mower can't get to.

 

[Sigblitz]

I had an electric mower once. It's so quiet, I had a couple people look and tell me I have to turn it on first.

 

[HoughMade]

For a small enough place, why not electric? Won't work for me as I have a lot to mow and I use the lawn tractor for a lot of things, but I love my EGO string trimmer. Pop in the battery and go. No more mix, no more hope-and-a-prayer starting.