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Winter storage

#1

C

Cornfield

Can you keep these in a cold garage, down to -10F? Will that cause battery degradation?


#2

A

alloutdoors

Can you keep these in a cold garage, down to -10F? Will that cause battery degradation?
If I were storing a small engine that could reach that temperature, I would consider doing the following:

  • Oil change
  • Fog the engine, plenty of videos out there
  • Store with a full tank of premium fuel with a stabilizer. Be sure to run the engine a while to ensure it's through the entire system.
  • Remove the battery. I would periodically put it on a trickle charge and keep it from freezing. Also, I would not store it in direct contact with a concrete floor but rather place it on a 2x8 or similar.
  • Lubricate all moving parts
  • I would put something in there to prevent mice from chewing on wires, plenty of products out there to purchase.


#3

C

Cornfield

I was asking about the electric zero turn mowers. No need for oil change or fuel stabilizer. I don’t believe you can remove the battery on them.


#4

A

alloutdoors

Oh....


#5

1

1 Lucky Texan

not sure on temps. I have read suggestions that Li-ion batts. should be long-term stored at approx. 60% charge.

I have batts. that are 8+ years old and never gave a thought to special conditions - but, they never saw temps remotely that low.

maybe check the manufacturers website?


#6

MowerMike

MowerMike

No. Lithium Ion batteries should not be exposed to temperatures below -20 degrees C, which is -4 degrees F. You will damage them.


#7

M

MParr

Lithium Ion batteries cannot handle cold weather. The best thing you can do is to keep them on charge, under climate controlled conditions, during the winter.


#8

MowerMike

MowerMike

I was asking about the electric zero turn mowers. No need for oil change or fuel stabilizer. I don’t believe you can remove the battery on them.

Many of them have removable Li-Ion batteries, including those from EGO, Greenworks and Ryobi.


#9

C

Cornfield

Many of them have removable Li-Ion batteries, including those from EGO, Greenworks and Ryobi.
How heavy are the batteries?


#10

MowerMike

MowerMike

How heavy are the batteries?

The EGO and Greenworks batteries are less than 10 lbs apiece. The Ryobi batteries are a suitcase style, but I don't think they weigh more than 20 lbs.


#11

B

bertsmobile1

Lithium Ion batteries cannot handle cold weather. The best thing you can do is to keep them on charge, under climate controlled conditions, during the winter.
And they don't like hot weather
Most go critical around 85 C when they spontaneously combust , and people bolt them onto their walls .


#12

C

Cornfield

That might work. I’ll probably wait till a second generation electric ZTR. I had an electric snowblower two years ago that didn’t do as well as I had hoped.


#13

B

bertsmobile1

That might work. I’ll probably wait till a second generation electric ZTR. I had an electric snowblower two years ago that didn’t do as well as I had hoped.
If you are looking at battery mowers because they are more convienent for you then by all means go out & buy one but don't be fooled by all of the Bull Dust about them being "green" because all they do is shift the pollution form the tailpipe to the product itself .
An e mower has about 1000 times the amount of embedded CO2 in it than a petrol powered one has and that happens before you take it out of the box and that is before we have the disposal problem which most likely will be either to stockpile them then have an unfortunate fire as currently happens to about 1/3 of the old car tyres or they will accidentially fall overboard and end up in the bottom of the oceans like we do with a lot of highly toxic products .
A complex problem can not be overcome with simple solutions .


#14

G

grikinis

Is keeping a lawnmower under a roof but with a blanket enough?


#15

Laiba_shakeel

Laiba_shakeel

lithium-ion battery in a climate-controlled storage structure, such as a shed or garage, or take it inside your house for storage. Lithium-ion batteries handle cold temperatures – down to 14 degrees Fahrenheit – better than warm temperatures. Extended time in a temperature above 85 degrees Fahrenheit can harm the battery's performance.



#16

B

bertsmobile1

lithium-ion battery in a climate-controlled storage structure, such as a shed or garage, or take it inside your house for storage. Lithium-ion batteries handle cold temperatures – down to 14 degrees Fahrenheit – better than warm temperatures. Extended time in a temperature above 85 degrees Fahrenheit can harm the battery's performance.

Umm I think you are getting your units mixed up here
Li batteries are good down to -15 C after which they freeze which destroys the separators
They will work most efficiently in the 0 to 10 C range after which their performance starts dropping off
Depending upon the exact structure & chemistry most will self ignite between 80 & 90 C
Once ignited they can not be extinguished as the residents of Cal have just found out .
They were lucky that the fire control system worked properly and only 1 pack went up although they are not releasing any more details one source says that more than a 1/2 dozen were damaged beyond repair


#17

W

whitejww

If you are worried about the battery I highly recommend taking it out and keeping on a trickle charge in a warm place. I do this at the end of the mowing season and got over 8 years on my last battery.


#18

A

adam1991

Lithium Ion batteries cannot handle cold weather. The best thing you can do is to keep them on charge, under climate controlled conditions, during the winter.
Disagree on storing them on charge.

Store them inside (or the equivalent) during winter, at about a 50% charge--off the charger.


#19

J

Jughead

From the RYOBI manual for their

40V HP Brushless Whisper Series​


Say to store at temps > 50 degrees. I sometimes cut grass at temps < 50 degrees!

I found this reading some reviews about the Ryobi 40V HP Brushless Whisper AWD self propelled mower I was considering buying:

Do Not Buy Without Reading This!!!
Unless you have a climate controlled place to store this, or live in a place that doesn't get hot or cold...DO NOT BUY THIS! It's ridiculous that they are able to sell it. Page #4 of the "Important Safety Instructions" says, plain as day, that you can't keep the batteries *or* mower in a place that gets colder than 50F or hotter than 100F.


#20

V

videobruce

The OP never mentioned just what mower and the type of battery pack in use.

Li-on packs should be kept at 40-50% charge when in storage over 3 months. They should NEVER be left fully discharged or charged and never kept attached to a charger! There are plenty of articles on all of this!


#21

B

bertsmobile1

The OP never mentioned just what mower and the type of battery pack in use.

Li-on packs should be kept at 40-50% charge when in storage over 3 months. They should NEVER be left fully discharged or charged and never kept attached to a charger! There are plenty of articles on all of this!
Depends upon the exact chemistry and there are a lot of different ones
The important thing is the battery & charger needs to be in a spot that will not catch fire & burn your house down should the battery fail & blow up
Hopefully large Li batteries will very shortly become a thing of the past as insurance for EV-s is becoming astronomical
Note Testa is now going to Li-Mn battery which is supposed to be immune to thermal run away
Toyota is currently rolling out a solid state Li battery & is also looking at Al-air battery
These are also Li-Mn-Ni batteries that do not suffer thermal run away and cost 1/3 of the same capacity Tesla Battery although Tesla is also looking at a very similar chemistry solid state battery ( because Musk refuses to pay any other company royalties )


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