Electric Lawnmowers - Its Upgrade Time What Should I Choose?

hamez on 20/05/2023 - 14:33
Last edited 20/05/2023 - 17:58 by 1 other user

Gidday Cheapies.

We are looking to replace our petrol mower with a battery-powered electric mower. We have approximately 300m2 of lawn (probably less).

I’m wanting a battery mower. I use DeWalt power tools so was looking at their mower, however, they don't exactly have great reviews.
I’m now looking at choosing between Ego and Ryobi. I do have the option to go to Makita. They often have some good deals through The ToolShed.

My questions for the group:

  • Are you using an electric mower?
  • If so, what mower model are you using and would you buy it again or not and why?
  • What lessons have you learned from having a battery mower?

Reference the models of mower I am considering:

Ryobi
https://www.bunnings.co.nz/ryobi-36v-hp-46cm-6-0ah-brushless…

EGO
https://www.mitre10.co.nz/shop/ego-cordless-lawn-mower-kit-4…

Other factors

  • Today Mitre 10 has 10x Airpoints dollars (we also use a airpoints CC for purchases)
  • Ryobi appears to have a 6-year warranty
  • EGO has a 5-year warranty on tools and a 3-year warranty on the batteries.

Thanks

Edit:

Also considering AEG:
https://www.bunnings.co.nz/aeg-2-x-18v-36v-6-0ah-18-fusion-l…

General Discussion AEG EGO Lawn Mower RYOBI

Comments

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  • Gamzallup on 23/05/2023 - 09:37
    +2

    We have Ozito 36v brushless electric mower for over 1 year it has been great and fawless for our section 350m2 of grass. You will just need to make sure grass isn't left to high when you mow it. More than enough battery capacity to use on top of our 36v brushless ozito liner trimmer in one charge. Ryobi 36v will be a great choice, but it's going to cost more to buy.

    This one:
    https://ozito.com.au/products/pxc-2-x-18v-self-propelled-bru…

    I just realised NZ is out of stock. Only get the one above when it becomes in stock. Prior to this i bought the plastic one it's rubbish and returned to bunnings.

  • Niceone44 on 20/05/2023 - 17:57
    +1

    Thanks to Tmurder91, NZ Consumer review here if useful:
    https://www.cheapies.nz/comment/151196/redir

  • aih-lun on 20/05/2023 - 21:45
    +1

    Few months ago just switched from petrol to battery powered.
    I ended up going with Makita.
    Bought the Mower and Line Trimmer Combo:
    https://www.mitre10.co.nz/shop/makita-cordless-lawn-mower-li…
    And also purchased the Blower Kit:
    https://www.mitre10.co.nz/shop/makita-cordless-blower-kit-18…

    I have a few AEG power tool, but not alot, and I know Makita makes good Power Tools, so the plan is to move to Makita on future Power Tools purchases.

    It has been good so far, I have a 350m section (not sure size if you minus house and concert), but 2 Makita battery get the Job done for me.
    But i've found a few things that affect Battery usage:
    1. Mulch or Catch, 2. Grass length 3. How short you want to cut the grass too.
    On my first use the 2 batteies didn't last as I was Mulching + Had long grass + Cutting the grass to almost the shortest setting.

  • Wakrak on 20/05/2023 - 21:51
    +1

    Another brand to consider is Bosch. Can sometimes be had at a decent price on Amazon AU
    https://www.cheapies.nz/node/35450

  • Madao on 21/05/2023 - 08:25
    +1

    Have been using a Ryobi for the past three years or so. Works great for the space I’ve got but need to stay on top of it, doesn’t go so well if the grass is too thick or damp

    • hamez on 21/05/2023 - 10:40

      How has the plastic chassis been? I went and had a look at a few models at Bunnings and noticed. Plastic won't rust I'm worried it'll get brittle or break.

      • Madao on 21/05/2023 - 11:02

        There was a plastic “flap” that ran along the ground behind the back wheels that broke. Not sure what it was for, didn’t do anything and just seemed bad design. Other than that it’s all good.

  • Stoffel on 21/05/2023 - 08:40
    +1

    I've gone Makita. What swing it was that Bunnings and Mitre 10 both stock their products and that means I've been able to use price beat on everything I've bought so far. I bought the DLM464PT2 mower combo and have the line trimmer, edger and blower. Happy with everything.

  • kinetic9 on 21/05/2023 - 09:06
    +1

    Would love to know if anyone has used the GreenWorks mowers from TradeTested?

    Also recommend getting a higher voltage one than 18v, unless you keep on top of mowing regularly. My old Ryobi 18v is fine but struggles when the grass is damp, which has been a lot of the time this year..

    • quasar on 21/05/2023 - 16:15
      +1

      I have the 40V Greenworks mower, works very well. I've never had an 18V mower so I can't compare, but I do sometimes mow when the grass is still damp. If it's both damp and long then it struggles a bit.

      • kinetic9 on 21/05/2023 - 19:03
        +1

        Hey thanks. I also found that Solo NZ is selling 40V Powerworks tools, from some brief googling it looks like they’re made by same group who own Greenworks. The batteries and mower look identical except for colour, I wonder if they are interchangeable.

        https://solonz.co.nz/collections/powerworks?keyword_k=&gclid…

        • quasar on 21/05/2023 - 19:11
          +1

          Yer it does look similar, I can't say for certain though if it's the same. I know Amazon also sells the Greenworks gear, I think the batteries are a bit cheaper on there. That said I bought my mower November 2019 and I'm still using the original battery, there hasn't been much degradation.

          • kinetic9 on 21/05/2023 - 19:23
            +1

            @quasar: Good to know on the battery degradation! My ryobi is an older brushed model, definitely feels like it drains the battery quicker now than when I got it 5 years ago. Going to hopefully upgrade this year

    • hamez on 28/05/2023 - 11:01
      +1

      I'm currently doing research and I'm leaning towards GreenWorks. They offer a similar warranty but with cheaper and higher voltage systems. Although I'm tempted by Costco's 80V system, the fact that it's only available in Auckland is a deal breaker for me.

      • kinetic9 on 29/05/2023 - 07:36
        +1

        They seem to have a decent range in the US that we don’t get here unfortunately. The Costco model does sound good, if only it was easily purchasable online.

        The price is pretty good though for a 40v mower with a full steel deck and can side discharge.

        I’m considering the Powerworks one as for the same price you get a seemingly identical mower, but get a 5ah instead of 4ah battery with the GreenWorks. Their shop is also local to me so I can go pick it up. I’m probably not going to upgrade until spring though.

  • txf on 21/05/2023 - 09:20
    +1

    I have been using my STIHL battery powered mower for almost 6 years, it's been working great, usually one charge is enough for an area of 250sqm.

    • hamez on 28/05/2023 - 10:52

      What model mower have you got?

  • scott on 21/05/2023 - 11:19
    +1

    If you are Auckland based (or visit Auckland a bit), I would get the below mower from costco ($60 membership required). Note costco NZ doesn't have products on it's website, but a few were in stock and priced at $999.99 yesterday (kit with 80V max / 72v nominal, 4Ah battery & Charger).

    https://www.costco.com.au/BBQs-Outdoor-Living/Lawn-Garden/La…

    For a similar price to the Ryobi & Ego in the initial post, you get a wider cut path (51 cm vs 46cm & 42cm), a steel deck (vs plastic), and a larger capacity battery (288Wh vs 216Wh & 262Wh - Assuming 50.4V nominal for the evo).

    Downside of this is that you are essentially buying into an orphan system in NZ. Costco also has a Blower / Linetrimmer + 2x 2Ah battery + Charger kit on the same system for $799.

    If you wanted any tools beyond that, on the same battery system you would need to import them yourself. A chore, but can actaully be OK value. For example the 10 inch brushless pole saw is $204 delivered to NZ via amazon AU. Ryobi 36v polesaw is $379 at bunnings (shorter 200mm bar, and no mention of brush-less). As another example an 80v 18 inch greenworks pro chainsaw would be $527, delivered via amazon USA, comparable price to the $499 ryobi 36v 18 inch chainsaw from Bunnings.

    The likes of Ryobi does have some cool skins in it's 36v ecosystem, like the $199, 300W pure sine inverter battery topper (run something like a dermal, or hot glue gun anywhere.

    On OP's questions
    - Yes I have an electric mower.
    - $229 Ozito 1500W 360mm Lawn Mower. (Corded). Yes I would buy it again. It's cheap and goes hard.
    - N/A. It's not a battery mower.

  • KevlarCoated on 23/05/2023 - 06:58
    +1

    Do you need other outdoors tools? Id suggest that outdoor tools generally shouldnt be the same battery ecosystem as your indoor tools. If you just need a mower then lots of good options have been posted. I also needed a hedge trimmer and while most ecosystems have some sort of hedge trimmer Stihl and Husqvarna are the only ones that have pole hedge trimmers with the motor at the head (rather than the ego which is a much heavier multi tool with the motor in the base.)
    Also note that the base ego doesnt have great suction for picking up stuff like leaves on your lawn, it works fine but I found it super annoying trying to use it to pick up leaves (in Canada this was a big issue), the higher end Egos come with their high lift blades which fix that issue.
    I bought Husqvarna and it works well but one thing I loved about the Ego was how easily it folded up for storage, the Husqvarna is just more hassle to fold with having to do undo a couple of bolts.

  • kaminokyoku on 20/05/2023 - 14:45

    500m2 of lawn, personally I guess too big for electric ones

    • Avantime on 20/05/2023 - 15:09

      Yeah far too big unless you go for a robot, in which case they mow and recharge on their own.

      • hamez on 20/05/2023 - 15:31

        I measured, 300m2 my driveway was included in my initial estimate.

  • i like stuff2 on 21/05/2023 - 07:39

    I have been using Ozito Battery lawn mower for about 3 months now
    https://www.bunnings.co.nz/ozito-pxc-36v-2-x-18v-370mm-cordl…

    The batteries supplied with the mower are enough for my 200m2 lawn
    I do have extra batteries in case it dies mid mow but it hasn't been an issue so far

    Happy with my decision, I have no issues at all

    EDIT: It was stalled a couple of times when the grass is high but so did my petrol mower. Tbh I am more motivated to mow my lawn after buying a battery mower- chuck the batteries in and off you go. No as loud either.

  • Huntakillaz on 21/05/2023 - 16:33

    If you have powertools try stick to the ones that use the same battery shared among them all

    Tools & Stuff youtube channel is a West Aucklander who mainly does makita but also just good knowledge about tools in generalin NZ
    https://www.youtube.com/@ToolsAndStuffOFFICIAL

    Are you using an electric mower?
    Not yet

    If so, what mower model are you using and would you buy it again or not and why?
    Would buy into Makita since have many tools already

    What lessons have you learned from having a battery mower?
    Lessons from petrol,
    buy into a supported eco system or where lots of other ppl have so you can get spares or off brand compatible parts easy yrs down the line still
    didn't do this on a petrol line trimmer and 2yrs the company stop supporting the product and couldn't get spares locally and getting it from overseas almost cost the price of a new timmer

    • scott on 22/05/2023 - 12:38
      +2

      On the option to run a common battery between your outdoor power equipment & your power tools, this is worth evaluating.

      Typically these run 2x battery systems. I.e. put two matching 18V Drill batteries into your lawnmower. A single battery of this size isn't really enough for anything more than a very small, cheap mower.

      The plus side is you end up with lots of drill batteries (which is great), With the downside being that you need to juggle & charge lots of smaller batteries, and have them paired. (Your typical 18V 5Ah battery is 90Wh) The GreenWorks pro I referenced above has a 288Wh battery.

      Of course there are a few exceptions like the Makita 40V system which has big single battery mowers, and your standard construction type tools. That said, while physically compatible, generally it would be cumbersome to run the 40V, 4Ah battery that comes bundled with mowers on your drill as it weighs a full kilogram. (the system also has 2Ah batteries which at 690g are still heavy, but a little more manageable.

      Should note enough people go for different battery eco-system for their outdoor power equipment for many dedicated (or near dedicated) outdoor power equipment product lines exist. Ryobi 40v, Ego, Sthill (mutiple lines), Greenworks / Greenworks Pro etc.

  • DeonC on 29/05/2023 - 08:10

    I also have an Ozito. Cant find it on Bunnings, probably discontinued. 4,5 years old now, and still going strong. First property was +-850m2 and batteries just didn't make it all the way. As I have other Ozito Battery tools. I already had some spare batteries. So pop in another set, and good to go again..

    My model is all plastic = no rust and light to carry.
    Battery is quieter than Petrol
    Battery needs no servicing (except sharpening the blade)

  • L3tstaxth1s on 29/05/2023 - 09:06

    Black and Decker battery powered mower. Lessons learned - great for a small lawn like ours, takes 2 batteries which last around 20 min so always keep a spare battery lying around. This is not an issue if you are planning on being in the Black and Decker ecosystem for other tools.

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