Welcome to the Electric & Battery Operated Equipment Forum!

juliej

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  • / Welcome to the Electric & Battery Operated Equipment Forum!
Hello to all electric mower owners. I own a Recharge Mower G1, the first generation of Recharge Mower ride on electric mower. I have and mixed experiences with this mower. Some quite satisfactory and others quite frustrating. The main problem is that there is not enough information and support on maintenance and repair, a big problem for me since I have no working knowledge of mower mechanics and there is no local service provider for this mower. Having been searching the internet for information and was hoping to find other Recharge G1 owners here so that I can keep my mower running instead of relegating it to the junk yard just due to lake of knowledge and information.
 

WisJim

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Hello,
I just joined this forum and after looking around a bit I thought I would mention my interests. I have an Elec-trak E15 with front mower and an Alltrax controller that I installed to replace the erratic original control circuitry. I have a small Toro electric mower that I bought at a garage sale over 20 years ago for $5. It uses a small 12 volt battery that usually lasts up to 3 mowing seasons. It is a 16" mower but the model number isn't readable. I have been unable to find a proper fitting blade for it. Two summers ago we found a Neuton CE5 at a garage sale for $40 so have been using that more lately. The battery is on the 3rd season of use for us and working okay, but the string trimmer attachment is now running all the time that main power switch is on, not just when the attachment is switched on. Anyone have a wiring diagram of the mower circuits for the Neuton? Or should I be posting these questions in the electric equipment forum? I am interested in getting an electric chain saw to use around the place so will be watching reports on them closely.

Jim, in Western Wisconsin
 

gregsfc

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Have given up on e-power for my lawn for now, but want to keep up with the technology, and so I'm going to stay read up on it here and some technology outlets and hope that real options (not reel options) will arrive soon. I have just ordered, reluctantly, a 30" Toro TimeMaster, walk-behind with an 8 3/4 peak torque Briggs, gas mower (yuck!). If I'm going to have to push with gas and leg power, I might as well do it quickly, and so I've broken down and ordered one.

I've been waiting and waiting for e-options that work for people with significant yards. Been waiting about six years. Thought they were just around the corner about five years ago. I've been stubborn about it. When I needed a new mower, I went out and bought the cheapest high wheel I could find to mow my sort-of-rough, country, 1/2-acre lot. I ended up with a Weedeater brand 22" for around $160. It's a rough-running, smoky, machine, but it gets it done, and I figured it would last until the Li-Ion electrics arrived with 21-22 inch cuts with enough torque to get through my lawn. I knew when they arrived there would be sacrifices. Maybe have to buy a second battery or wait for a recharge to get the lawn done. I knew it would cost more than an equally-featured, gas mower; but what I didn't expect was that they wouldn't even be built by now.

I've been unpleasantly surprised at the lack of progress in this industry over the last six to eight years for people with significant lawns. And I've been frustrated lately once I learned that the industry does not report performance in the same way as the gas-mower industry for comparison. Recently I've learned that the products are not as close as I thought they were. The OEMs use marketing tricks and over report power or omit power ratings all together, reporting only volts, etc., instead of watts or amps. Deck size and voltage seem almost useless information for what consumers really need to know. One almost has to buy one and try one, or rely on other reports and take a tape measure with him or her when shopping.

I had been constantly looking at products and trying to figure out if one would work for me and my lawn. I went to an out-of-town Lowe's one day to check out a Kobalt made byGreenworks 20" deck/ 40 volt. Thought back then that it was a 20" cut, but now know that the e-machines are not using the same standards. But once there, right next to the 20", I saw a 21" deck corded mower and pulled the trigger. It was pretty cheap, or at least I thought it was as I didn't realize the cost of extension cords at the time, and I still had my smoky machine as a back up. This corded mower is actually a pretty tough character. It cuts very well; it is pretty well made, easy to push and adjust height; mulches and bags well; and it's great for a small lawn, but it is not a 21" mower and it does not draw 13 amps or produce the corresponding wattage that one would expect from 13 amps. It doesn't work well at all as a discharge. It's actually more powerful as a mulcher and that's sort of odd. Due to the narrow cutting path though, after trying a Kobalt, Corded, 13-amp, electric mower for a year and dealing with a 19.25" cut on a 1/2-acre lot with a mower rated at 13 amps that's probably more like 8 to 9 amps; and looking out there at battery powered options, with no real power ratings to gauge, and more of this "deck size" tricky stuff, instead of cutting width, I feel like there is really nothing out there close to a gas mower at any price, and that's a shame. I guess what's going on is that the OEMs are content in marketing to people with smaller lawns, and so it's really going nowhere in that regard. Yes, the products are getting better, but I don't see them getting bigger, and so for now, I've decided to make a $900 investment in to a gas choice, and I hate anything with spark plugs. I know that in concept, an electric motor could kick a ICE-motors butt with respect to torque and durability, particularly a spark-ignition motor, but it just doesn't seem to be happening. I assume costs is the biggest hindrance to market. It's hard to compete against these dirt-cheap gas, small engines and maybe that's what it is.

Unlike electric cars, which, in my opinion has some work to do only as it relates to costs but can work as a tool for transportation nearly as well as gas-powered counterparts, lawn mowers can't. With cars, there are sacrifices with respect to going electric, e.g. range and time to refuel, but if one can afford it, and one is sort of committed to it; it can work. I personally can't afford one, but at least I can look at into the market and see that they exist. I can't say the same for lawn mowers. There is even a commercial electric walk behind that is high dollar, and even that machine is 20" cut. If the automotive industry were producing electrics only for strictly urban-street travel under 45 mph, then that would be more like what's going on with lawn machines.
 

1 Lucky Texan

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the energy density of batteries is MUCH less than petroleum fuels - maybe 18-15 times less. And even the battery technologies in the research labs now are not much better.

at 1/2 acre I'd say you're wise to avoid battery tech. I suppose you COULD just get accustomed to more walking and/or mowing over a 2-day period, but, even for my small-ish yard, the battery unit is just an 'adequate' replacement. If I had fewer obstacles, I'd run corded electric.

others might argue - why grow your entire surface as a lawn? You could 'xeriscape' a large section and have less to mow.


1109dp_01+renewable_diesel_vs_electric_cars+energy_density_chart.jpg
 
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logistiker

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the energy density of batteries is MUCH less than petroleum fuels - maybe 18-15 times less. And even the battery technologies in the research labs now are not much better.

at 1/2 acre I'd say you're wise to avoid battery tech. I suppose you COULD just get accustomed to more walking and/or mowing over a 2-day period, but, even for my small-ish yard, the battery unit is just an 'adequate' replacement. If I had fewer obstacles, I'd run corded electric.

others might argue - why grow your entire surface as a lawn? You could 'xeriscape' a large section and have less to mow.

I'm not sure what you're trying to accomplish with this comment. Your profile says you have an electric mower but you're touting the energy density of petroleum as the reason why you shouldn't use battery electric mowers? I routinely mow a 1.5 acre yard with my (custom modified) Rechargemower G2. It has 3 12v 85ah SLA batteries and the run time varies based on how long/thick the grass is. Usually I get about 2 hours run time out of it. After 2 hours of mowing, I'm not finished mowing but I'd rather go do something else that doesn't require sitting while it charges like weed whacking with my battery electric Kobalt 80v string trimmer. I usually split my yard into 3 parts and mow and charge for each part over 2-3 days. It's not a big deal that it takes a couple days to do it. I wouldn't finish mowing the whole thing in a day even if I had a riding gas mower (due to several obstacles that limits the mower deck width I can use) so this is not a problem. If I want to extend the runtime (which I will do in the future), I will replace the 85ah batteries with 100ah ones and have an even longer (and more than adequate runtime.
 

1 Lucky Texan

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I'm not sure what you're trying to accomplish with this comment. Your profile says you have an electric mower but you're touting the energy density of petroleum as the reason why you shouldn't use battery electric mowers? I routinely mow a 1.5 acre yard with my (custom modified) Rechargemower G2. It has 3 12v 85ah SLA batteries and the run time varies based on how long/thick the grass is. Usually I get about 2 hours run time out of it. After 2 hours of mowing, I'm not finished mowing but I'd rather go do something else that doesn't require sitting while it charges like weed whacking with my battery electric Kobalt 80v string trimmer. I usually split my yard into 3 parts and mow and charge for each part over 2-3 days. It's not a big deal that it takes a couple days to do it. I wouldn't finish mowing the whole thing in a day even if I had a riding gas mower (due to several obstacles that limits the mower deck width I can use) so this is not a problem. If I want to extend the runtime (which I will do in the future), I will replace the 85ah batteries with 100ah ones and have an even longer (and more than adequate runtime.

Just pointing out that cordless electric mowers are not quite a good replacement for all users. I also doubt they will make any huge leap forward soon. I also think he has a fair complaint when it comes to measurement of cutting path width.


I really like mine - but would I like it for mowing 1/2 acre instead of 1/6th acre? i doubt it. If someone wants to try it - great. It's just getting close to the edge of utility at 1/2+ acre I'd think. Not everyone wants to mow in 3 sections or wait for batteries to recharge, or shell-out $$$ for more batteries or modify their equipment, etc, either. I also doubt he wants to spend $3000 for a mower either. electric OR gas.

not saying he COULDN'T make your 30" $3000 riding mower ,or my 19" $400 push mower work - but it seems something in between would serve him best. And almost everything in between is gas. there's a dozen or so 22" gassers for about what I paid for my mower, even a coupla 24" mowers for half what your mower cost.
 
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Filek

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  • / Welcome to the Electric & Battery Operated Equipment Forum!
New to the forum. I own an electric Black and Decker CM1200 that came with a lead acid 24 volt 18Ah battery. I replaced it with a 24 volt 30Ah lithium ion battery that I built. A description of the build is on the Black and Decker forum for Cmm1200.

In response to the two previous posts; I can mow 1/2 acre easily on 1 charge. Also, even though all types of gasoline have a much higher energy density than batteries, don't forget that most electric devices use 95%+ of the energy the battery supplies while internal combustion engines use something like 15% of the energy of the gas they burn! The rest goes to heat.l
 

mikehouse

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Hello all.Mike from Greensboro,N.C. here.Using a damn good Craftsman 22" self-propelled lawnmower and a Stihl FS 70 weed eater (beastly).For the past 8-9 years i've been using an electric B&D 20" hedge trimmer which is showing it's age.Looking to switch to a cordless.Would like to stay B&D,but not necessarily.Just unsure of reliability and power of cordless outdoor tools.Any help would be appreciated.Working with 1/2 acre of grass and bushes.
 

mikehouse

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80 volt huh? Thanks,worth looking into.Kobalt I believe is carried by Lowe's.Something to check out,thanks sgain.
 
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