Hart 80 volt 30 inch deck riding mower

[Gem99ultra]

That is good looking machine. I notice that it has two blades. The fact that the HD mower that someone suggested has only one, 30" blade. I'm not to keen on that.

You received incorrect info; The Husqvarna Rider 155 has 3 blades.

 

[Richard001]

Well I did it. Order the mower today, free shipping. Should be at my house in about 10 days. Sure hope I made a good choice.

 

[2manyrocks]

Did you order the Hart 30" rider?

 

[Richard001]

Yes, this one from Walmart:

 

[Richard001]

Yippy, my Hart 80V rider arrived today. The packing was overwhelming. It took me at least a half hour to just take out all of the bolts that were securing the machine.

Arrived complete and without damage. Well almost complete, the rubber handle on the deck height lever is missing.

After getting it uncrated and the steering wheel connected, I drove it around a bit. Then connected it to the charger.

After about 2 hours, I checked to see how the charging was going. Well rats, the outlet I had it plugged into has a ground fault safety and for some reason it tripped. So rest the GFI and charged a bit more.

Then the big test, does it cut grass ? Yes it does and quietly also.

So the cost, Total cost $3,797.00 includes $298.00 in taxes. Yep that's a lot of taxes. But I live in a state that is run by a bunch of Democrats and they just love to tax and spend.

 

[CH4Ohio]

How long did the battery last on the first cutting? I'm curious to know how long you can actually mow before the deck shuts off and you have to recharge. And then, how long it takes to recharge.

You probably haven't had time to run through this cycle yet, but it will be interesting to see how it performs compared to the claims in the advertisements.

Thanks.

 

[Richard001]

How long did the battery last on the first cutting? I'm curious to know how long you can actually mow before the deck shuts off and you have to recharge. And then, how long it takes to recharge.

You probably haven't had time to run through this cycle yet, but it will be interesting to see how it performs compared to the claims in the advertisements.

Thanks.

Well no, I haven't charged the battery to full and then run the mower until it is ready to stop. I only have about 45 minutes on the machine. So far, the battery charge is holding up.

BUT, I do have some first use complaints. ONE, I deliberately did NOT want a Z-turn as having driven one for a test drive on my yard, it the bucking and rough ride convinced me I don't want that.

This thing rides very rough. I'm sure that part of the rough ride is the fact that the front suspension is ridged. I was hoping that there would be a pivoting front axle, but NO. So at about 90% of the time, it is on only three wheels.

TWO, the steering is very fast acting with only one turn from lock to lock. What happens is that when one of the front wheels hits a large bump, it wants to jerk the steering wheel out of your hands.

THREE, one has to keep you foot on the go pedal. With all the bouncing, it's a little hard to do. I'm thinking that a hand squeeze throttle on the steering wheel would be great. I do miss the, "just set the throttle" and cut grass.

The grass cut looks good, no complaints there.

I will be adjusting the air pressure in the rear tires. I don't know what it is at now, but they feel hard.

So other than the items above, I still like it.

Richard

 

[ernemats]

It is about the same as my Greenworks 80 volt electric. Steering is very fast, ride is not smooth, no front suspension , one motor for each blade. I like mine a lot itis very powerful and cuts good even in thick tall grass and it goes up my hills better than my gas or diesel mowers. Mine has 4 60 volt 8 ah batteries that have to be removed to charged but it runs fine on just one battery but not near as long

 

[Richard001]

An update. I did finish cutting my lawn. The suggested tire pressure is 20 lbs. I have reduced the pressure to 8 and it the tires are still hard as rocks.

I did complain to Hart about the missing rubber or plastic handle that is suppose to be on the deck height adjustment lever. Got a response today saying that the part is on it's way.

So far, Hart has been good in responding to my request.

There is a bagger option for the mower, but it has bad reviews. So I think I will just wait until I see how well it just mulches the leaves.

Richard

 

[Richard001]

Yesterday, I mulched the leaves in my yard. Started out with a fully charged battery's. Mulched non-stop until the battery indicator showed only one green bar. I stopped and put it on the charger. The run time was just over an hour.

I have no idea if mulching is more power consuming than cutting grass. I did not use a bagger. The bagger for this mower comes with a different set of blades. I have not ordered the bagger yet. I may, but I wanted to see how the mulching works. It did a good job on that.

I'm still happy with this mower, except for the rough ride.

Richard

 

[ultrarunner]

Every stupid battery powered electric piece of lawn or yard work equipment i have purchased has never lasted more than 2 to 3 seasons. Than batteries are shot and either cant be located, or have been improved and dont fit. Never again. My stihl string trimmer is 20 years old still works. Replaced carb with chinese ebay one years ago. Thats all. My stihl farm boss chainsaw is 30 years old, and i only replaced bar and of course chains. Still working after 30 years. Wifes mantis is over 20 years still working. My huskvarna lawn tractor is every part of 20 years old, still going strong but has had 3 deck replacements (rocky ground).

Its gas or nothing for me.

I don’t want to jinx myself but all my Stihl AP batteries are still working with 6 years approaching this December…

I bought the first AP as a Christmas present to myself and once you have a battery and charger it’s not that bad to add more should the need arise.

Battery longevity and availability were top considerations.

Work bought by backup battery as I was bringing in my blower each fall for the Hospital entrance leaves because the gas units way too loud…

With managements blessings work bought my second battery…

 

[Richard001]

OK an update on my Hart mower. A few days ago, I mulched up a yard full of leaves. Then moved the mower to my garage where I have the charger, plugged it into the mower and WHAT ? The charger is flashing red.

I unplugged the charger from the mower, plugged it back in again, same result. Unplugged the charger again from the mower, then unplugged the charger from the wall outlet, waited a minute, plugged the charger back in, then plugged the charger into the mower.

Still getting flashing red on the charger. So i took the cover off of the battery compartment and pushed the test button on the batteries, there are two of them. Got a flashing E1 and something that looked like a thermometer on the display.

Checked the user manual, nothing about flashing red on the charger and no information about the battery display. After re-reading the user manual, I saw a short one line note that said that the batteries should be charged when the ambient temp is between 50 and 100 degrees F. Well I checked the thermometer on the garage wall was at 45 Degrees. So I figured that was the problem.

I waited two days and when the air temp was at 52, I plugged the charger in and sure enough, it started charging.

This was kind of a little surprise for me. So what that means is that even if the leaves are dry but the air temp is 40, forget about it.

P.S. I finally did get the rubber handle for the deck lift. So I'm happy about that.

Richard

 

[2manyrocks]

How are you supposed to maintain the batteries over the winter when temps stay below 45?

 

[Richard001]

How are you supposed to maintain the batteries over the winter when temps stay below 45?

Well they are the LI-ION type batteries, so they will hold their charge over time with very little self discharge.

But you question does bring up a conflict as here is a note from the user manual:

From the user manual:
NOTE: Charge the batteries at least once a month during storage.

As far as I know, the batteries can only be charged while in the mower. So I don't know how I can comply with this suggestion. I do plan on removing the batteries from the mower, which will be stored in a unheated shed, and store the batteries in my house basement over the winter.

 

[Richard001]

Winter has gone bye, mostly. A few days ago, I put the batteries back into the mower. I had raked some leaves from the flower garden area in my front yard and also some from along the house.

On April 12, I got the mower out and was mulching the leaves up. Was almost done when suddenly the whole machine jumped and there was a horrible noise. I quickly shut off the blades and turned off the switch.

Got off of the mower and look on the ground behind it. There was this rock:

Now I tell you this rock is NOT a rolling stone. Some one planted this in my yard with hope that it would damage my mower. Well it did. Mangled both blades and may have bent one of the motor shafts. I straightened out the blades as good as I could and ground off the big dings in the blade.

It could be that whom ever did this doesn't like my political leanings as I have a big Trump flag in my front yard.

I did also find a smaller rock in another part of my yard.

 

[dodge man]

You sure it’s not just a rock that worked its way up? I don’t live in a rocky soil area and get one every now and then.

 

[Rustyiron]

I hope you don't have a Tesla automobile.

 

[Gem99ultra]

Winter has gone bye, mostly. A few days ago, I put the batteries back into the mower. I had raked some leaves from the flower garden area in my front yard and also some from along the house.

On April 12, I got the mower out and was mulching the leaves up. Was almost done when suddenly the whole machine jumped and there was a horrible noise. I quickly shut off the blades and turned off the switch.

Got off of the mower and look on the ground behind it. There was this rock:
View attachment 3262259
View attachment 3262260
Now I tell you this rock is NOT a rolling stone. Some one planted this in my yard with hope that it would damage my mower. Well it did. Mangled both blades and may have bent one of the motor shafts. I straightened out the blades as good as I could and ground off the big dings in the blade.

It could be that whom ever did this doesn't like my political leanings as I have a big Trump flag in my front yard.

I did also find a smaller rock in another part of my yard.

Somebody with a stone-cold heart put that stone in your yard! I'm sorry that it ended up being and expensive ordeal, and I hope you eventurally learn who the culpirt is. You can then re-purpose that stone for one more good use.

 

[ultrarunner]

I wish it were not so but the reality is too often conform or suffer…

 

[2manyrocks]

Does not speak well of the person who did this.