Has anyone tried the battery operated lawn mowers yet?

[Mac-7]

I like my 5hp Honda and have no plans to ever buy an electric mower

But knowing that assholes like biden are conspiring to take that choice away from me I dont know what the future holds

 

[HeyNorm]

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So my 12 year old Husqvarna deck was beginning to rust out and I did some research last fall, and bought an "Ego" like the one shown by RightWinger. Bought it about 6 weeks ago (shown above) and I'm very happy with it.

#1 MODEL: Mine is 21" (would have like 22" like the Husqvarna, but such is life). It's self-propelled. The upper handle green buttons engage the drive and the green dial sets speed. Took a little getting used to as I was used to that varied speed depending on how far back you pull them. You don't really have that fingertip control, but you get used to it. Dial is speed and buttons are go/no go. BTW - you don't have to have the blades running to engage propulsion like with an ICE mower.

#2 POWER: It's the 7.0 ft/lbs of torgue version so it's on the higher end of power for their walk behind series and it's pretty close to the output power of my 7.75 ft/lbs of torgue Husqvarna. The reason? I always engaged the drive on the Husqvarna. However the EGO is much lighter than the steel construction/ICE engine traditional mower. Having the self-propelled feature is not (I'm in my 60's), but with it being so light I find I rarely engage it except going upgrade. On level ground I don't find the need for it at all, it's very comfortable without the drive, but the option is there when I need it. (See battery) Construction of this model is composite deck and handles which accounts for the weight savings over steel. So with the Husqvarna I figure I was pulling some torque to drive the wheels. You can engage the blades without propulsion.

#3 NOISE: The reduction in noise over an ICE engine is wonderful. I'm mean it's not whisper silent, but I'd say it reduces the noise by at least half to my unprofessional ears. With the 7.75 Husqvarna, I'd wear foamy ear plugs and then my Bose noise reduction headset (with something to listen to while mowing). Now I just need the Bose and I run the volume at lower level and it's hardly noticeable.

#4 FUMES: Elimination of gas and oil for the ICE engine is nice. The batteries charging is so much more convenient over the ICE engine.

#5 USAGE: Power, this is where you have to do a personal evaluation. You could say I live in the suburbs on about 1/3 acre. So I'm never trying to cut heavy brush with the thing. It's a lawn mower, not a tractor or riding mower. If it's used for it's intended purpose it does just fine.

#6 BATTERY: Part of the sale price I bought it at was an advertised 2nd battery. I would not recommend an E-mower without a second battery. It came with a 7.5 amp/hr and a 5.0 amp/hr battery. Which works perfectly for me. I run the 5.0 a/h for the front and sides and then swap out for the 7.5 a/h for the big back yard and the common area behind the fence. You want two batteries on a decent size lawn because it would suck running out of juice and waiting a half to an hour for a recharge. Two swappable batteries? The way to go. Don't believe the advertising, it say the 7.5 a/h would last an hour, it lasted 45-50 minutes with no self-propulsion, usually I've been getting about 40 minutes with light propulsion used only on grades. Using lots of propulsion will definitely shorted battery run time. Front lawn is smaller so the 5.0 a/h is just fine.

#7 CLEANUP: I didn't think this would be a big deal, but it's really something I like. I keep a shop towel and a paint stirrer with the unit when not in use. After mowing take a garage broom to the top of the deck in the lawn to the side of the garage. Then flip it up, do a light scrape of any clinging clippings on the underside to remove the chunks, give it a quick wipe with the shop towel. The handle folds over and you can lift it up to store vertically, which is VERY nice roles well on the back wheels and stores that way. The garage doesn't smell of gas mower any more. And you never have to worry about gas/oil leakage if you turn it on it's side or vertical to get underneath.

#8 STUPID: See the little pouch under green start button that says "EGO"? Love it. Before I'd set my phone on the gas can in the middle of the lawn (or in the gas can shade if it was really hot) and then mow the lawn. That gave Bluetooth enough range for the headphones and I didn't have the phone in my pocket. With that little pouch, the phone slips in, stays out of the sun, and is right there with you where you work. With some things I'm easy to please. You could use it for phone, sunglasses, or even as a drink holder for those really hot days. (Stay hydrated my friend.)

#9 DISCHARGE: You can (A) mulch, (B) discharge, or (C) bag. The discharge is actually in the rear with a 90 degree deflector attachment. This is a nice design because it mean no side discharge on the deck. You can run either side of the mower close to a fence or the house instead of only one way with the traditional discharge.
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Final call, as with most things, take a serious look at your usage. This type of mower will work best on keeping a lawn mowed, not letting it over grow and have to cut back, such activity will seriously suck battery power. I mow mine pretty much every week when we have enough rain to keep it watered and growing. Another being how big a lawn do you have? I recommend 2 batteries, but if you have a tiny lawn, 1 may be just fine.

WW

10. Heat discharge, or lack there of. Nothing worse than mowing on a hot humid day with the additional heat from the ICE mower making it even worse.