Electric mowers

[farmerjan]

Does anyone have one? Do you like it? I am looking to replace my riding mower and looking at electric ride on ones. Do not want a zero turn, I want a garden/lawn tractor type so I can pull a dump cart or the lawn sweeper behind it. Not alot to choose from and I am not in a rush.
But this is the time of year to do it. Season is pretty much over up here in Va.
Gas ride ons are in the 2-3,000 range new. Zero turns are 2,000-5,000. I found a Cub Cadet that is an electric one, 1.5 hours mow time, 4 hr recharge, that has a "hitch" to be able to pull a cart or bagger etc. Different web sites have it from 2400 to 5,000.

I don't want to deal with gas, oil, belts, spark plugs... all that.... This is not a "go green" decision.. it is a I hate to do mechanical maintenance stuff.
So looking for opinions. Walk behind or a riding one. Tell me what you like/don't like... problems or bad service or whatever...

I have a battery weed eater and really like it. They don't make a riding mower with a battery.

 

[flowerbug]

we don't have one and i'm not sure we'll ever get one but i would like to have one to replace the gas mower if it ever gives up on us. we need one that can run about 3hrs or be able to switch out battery packs to get the job done. personally though i am more interested in turning what lawn we have left into gardens and getting rid of the mower completely. i can weed whack what's left once in a while to keep the trees from taking over again.

the main reasons i dislike the mower is the noise and the stink. having to change the oil once in a while isn't much fun either as then we have the container of used oil sitting around until it gets full enough to drop off at the trash hauling cooperative's events or to take to the auto-mechanic's place.

 

[CrealCritter]

There's a video in the link also.

Electric tractors - Ideanomics increases stake in Solectrac, Inc. AGAIN | Food and Farming Technology

www.foodandfarmingtechnology.com

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[JanetMarie]

I have an electric push mower, and love it. I have two batteries so that I can have one charging while I'm mowing. It runs for 45 minuets per charge.

 

[wyoDreamer]

We have a battery push mower for the "detail" work around our place. I have a real hard time starting mechanicals with a pull cord. They hate me I swear. So DH bought this one with me in mind. The problem is that it is so light that I have a hard time keeping the front wheels on the ground while mowing. Otherwise it mows good.

DH usually mows with the zero turn, when we get behind we mow with the LS Tractor because it has POWER to get through the grass when it is too long, and I use the John Deere garden tractor with the vacuum system when it all needs a good clean-up.

Options, lots of options. lol

 

[farmerjan]

Just an update. I wound up getting a battery self propelled push type mower It's a Greenworks... I went with the 60 V line as they have alot of different things in the 60V line. They also have a couple other "lines" that are 24 V and an 80 V line... 60V was the most popular in this area and the price was good as I got it on a sale at TSC. I really like it. It won't tackle the 3 ft high "hayfield" but does good on stuff that is up to 1 ft high. The self propelled took a little bit to get used to because I would forget and try "pushing it" and then realized I didn't have to "man handle it" so much. You can set it from slow to very fast...
The push button to start is GREAT... it is quieter than the gas ones... it has plenty of cutting power. It has many height settings, side discharge or a small bagger that goes on the back...
So far I can't find anything that I don't like about it.

The riding one is next for me... they make both a zero turn and a "tractor type" mower... and they are the only one that has a small "carry stuff" cargo space behind the seat.

I got the extended warranty just to be covered if anything goes wrong... not cheap but this way I am totally covered.

Would get another in a heart beat. They make weed eaters, chain saws, snow blowers... all sorts of things.

I did not get it to be "green" and all that happy horse sh!t.... I got it because I do not want to deal with gas and oil and spark plugs and carburetors ......and pulling a starter pull with shoulders that just aren't as good as they used to be. It is heavy enough to know it is there... and you can mow just by pushing on flat or easy places, use the self propelled with an easy little lever to hold on the handle, use the self propelled without the blade turning ... and has cute headlights that really are nice when mowing in the cool of the late evening.

 

[murphysranch]

I have owned a Greenworks battery mower since 2018. Works great. But on this hilly property, we finally, last month, upgraded to the self propelled one too. Hubs needs to finish assembling it (meaning take it out of the box).

 

[flowerbug]

Just an update. I wound up getting a battery self propelled push type mower It's a Greenworks... I went with the 60 V line as they have alot of different things in the 60V line. They also have a couple other "lines" that are 24 V and an 80 V line... 60V was the most popular in this area and the price was good as I got it on a sale at TSC. I really like it. It won't tackle the 3 ft high "hayfield" but does good on stuff that is up to 1 ft high. The self propelled took a little bit to get used to because I would forget and try "pushing it" and then realized I didn't have to "man handle it" so much. You can set it from slow to very fast...
The push button to start is GREAT... it is quieter than the gas ones... it has plenty of cutting power. It has many height settings, side discharge or a small bagger that goes on the back...
So far I can't find anything that I don't like about it.

The riding one is next for me... they make both a zero turn and a "tractor type" mower... and they are the only one that has a small "carry stuff" cargo space behind the seat.

I got the extended warranty just to be covered if anything goes wrong... not cheap but this way I am totally covered.

Would get another in a heart beat. They make weed eaters, chain saws, snow blowers... all sorts of things.

I did not get it to be "green" and all that happy horse sh!t.... I got it because I do not want to deal with gas and oil and spark plugs and carburetors ......and pulling a starter pull with shoulders that just aren't as good as they used to be. It is heavy enough to know it is there... and you can mow just by pushing on flat or easy places, use the self propelled with an easy little lever to hold on the handle, use the self propelled without the blade turning ... and has cute headlights that really are nice when mowing in the cool of the late evening.

i'm just chuckling about the Push Button Start, it's 'lectric...

do you think it could be used down in a ditch and along ditch edges with some slope? i don't know how much longer our current mower is going to last but if i have to get another one i'd want it to be something else. to not have to deal with oil changes, pull cords, gasoline, air filters, etc. would be nice for Mom (i am actually the one who deals with these things) and having something self propelled would probably also be a big bonus for her. she doesn't do the ditches, i have to do those and the area to the south, but for the rest of it Mom likes to mow and i like to encourage her to keep doing as much as she can do to keep moving.

 

[farmerjan]

I find the mower to be as heavy as a gas mower... the batteries weigh quite a bit in place of the "engine"... 4-5 lbs each I guess....
The self propelled only works in forward, so up and down ditches will be as much a challenge I guess. I don't know about sideways... You ought to go to someplace like TSC or Lowes or somewhere and see if they have any on display and try pushing them around a bit.
The nice thing is the handle folds all the way over so it can be stored against a wall or something, vertically so not taking up alot of floor space... and not stick out... plus no worries of gas or oil or something leaking out either.

They are not cheap... but I feel spending the extra $100 for the self propelled one was really worth it. Plus, get the one that has the battery and charger included. They are expensive and bought as a package saves about $50-100 on separate.

Mine was around $700 ...would have to look up the ticket.... including the mower, small grass catcher, 2 batteries and charger... package deal.... and the extended 2 yr warranty... good after the normal warranty expires.... that was over $150... plus tax and all that stuff. The NON-self propelled one was about $100 cheaper.... It is fully assembled...except to fit the handle into the slots and be careful of the cable... the instructions are very good and easy to understand.... unfold handle, charge the batteries... read the directions, and go. Mine also came with an extra blade that is supposed to be for taller/thicker grass, and it is angled a little different, to be able to throw it out the side discharge better... Mine is 60V... with 2 batteries that are 4 amp maybe... there is one that is a single battery, 60V that is 5.5 amp... the 60V series will take different amps... the amps is "running time"... I have to read the booklet I got often, to make sure I understand it... It runs off one battery at a time so you can run it on one battery if the other is charging, if need be.

 

[flowerbug]

I find the mower to be as heavy as a gas mower... the batteries weigh quite a bit in place of the "engine"... 4-5 lbs each I guess....
...

thanks for the comments. i don't always need back and forth and can probably work around it somehow, but i'd surely want to try it out somehow just to see how heavy it would be to haul back from downslope for a few edges. an extra set of battery packs and a charger would always be a good thing to me, but i'd have to read up on what to do for them in the off season when i wouldn't be using the mower. we only need it Apr - Oct ish. the other issue is that we use a mulching blade and never bag or collect trimmings. that's for the worms to take care of.

on the current mower i need to get the blade sharpened or replaced - it is chewing more than cutting.