no Questions?

[kozal01]

So the reason this thread peak my interest is the old lady wants to get a battery zero turn. She loves to mow the grass. I just shook my head and said, what every you want, however we're not getting rid of the John Deere mower. She is going to find out the difference between a cheap homeowner grade machine vs a well built commercial mower with a very fast blade speed.

I bet I will have a battery zero turn in the shop collecting dust before the summer is over. But it's ok...you have to let people learn these lessons, sometimes the hard way.

Ha ha! Sometimes you just have to say "yes dear"

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Apples and oranges

 

[5030]

I bet I will have a battery zero turn in the shop collecting dust before the summer is over. But it's ok...you have to let people learn these lessons, sometimes the hard way.

Be careful about where you park it as it may self combust and burn down your shop....lol I've read that once they catch on fire they are very hard to put out.

 

[tacticalturnip]

Arly, have you looked into this Exmark?

Quest V-Series

Exmark at least would give you a large dealer network, and I would think a good quality of cut.

While not electric, I think I'm about to pull the trigger on a Exmark myself.

 

[tacticalturnip]

Some of these folks have apparently not seen your lawn.

It's not exactly a sprawling green average; green as far as the eye can see. I look forward to seeing what you end up with. I like the idea of many electric items, I just don't care for the politics of it.

Make sure you post photos!

 

[shooterdon]

If you're a homeowner mowing your own property, you don't need to be able to mow all day. The batteries only need to last long enough to mow your own place, plus some added capacity for tough mowing conditions and battery aging. Then they can charge all week until its time to mow again. It's a perfect application for batteries- limited range requirement, charging is right there (if you have power in the building you park the mower in), and unlike road vehicles that have to accellerate with traffic, battery weight is not much of an issue.

It's too bad that most of the battery mowers look like they're made really cheaply. Maybe they're better up close. One of the neighbors got an Ego saw and brought it over. I thought the build quality was terrible and it didn't work all that well. Hopefully their mowers, or someone else's, are better. I'll probably be looking for a new mower in the next year or so. A battery mower would be great if it works out. Less noise, no engine maintenance, no fuel, no worry about fuel going stale over winter. I tend to be conservative with technology that I buy but as pointed out above we have been using battery tools for decades.

The "made cheaply" issue is the concern when talking about a nearly $5k investment. Like I said, I spent more than I needed to get a better quality ZT but it will be my last mower. Parts will be available and affordable. It reduced my mowing time by about 50% from the Husqvarna lawn tractor I was using so I justified pissing the money away. I had the Husqvarna for 10 years, sold it for $1000 and lost $800 on it. Spent $60 on a starter, $40 on a spindle, $25 on a switch and $20 on a battery in 10 years. Not bad.

At 73, the $5.5k Bad Boy Elite will outlast me unless I run it out of oil.

I would be worried about the cost and ability to repair an electric ZT over the long haul. A new cordless drill is less than $200 so minimal risk...battery ZT...different risk/reward.

 

[ericm979]

The build quality is what turns me off to most of the battery yard equipment.

Yea, there's a lot of cheap stuff. To be fair there's a lot of shoddily built gas equipment out there too. And some better built battery stuff.

The battery Deere ZT that someone posted earlier looks like it's well made, at least from the pics. Cub Cadet looks like they have some halfway decent battery mowers.

 

[5030]

Arly, have you looked into this Exmark?

Quest V-Series

Exmark at least would give you a large dealer network, and I would think a good quality of cut.

While not electric, I think I'm about to pull the trigger on a Exmark myself.

... and it has a fabricated not stamped sheet metal deck as well One thing it don't have is any suspension and I can tell you from a lot of experience that suspension, at least on the front axle-wheels is a Godsend. Like I said before, Home Despot sells Ego and so does Lowes I believe. My issue with that is, is there any after sale service available or replacement parts if required. 40 minute run time isn't a bunch either and I wonder how much the batteries are as there is no mention of battery cost on the website. It takes a good 2 hours here with me running the M60 Tank and my wife running her 60 inch steering wheel Cub zero turn, to mow just the farm and that don't include any of the rentals. That don't include the gas they suck down either. Both of them have gas guzzling vertical V twins. Kohler on the wife's machine and Kawasaki on mine.

 

[kozal01]

Yea, there's a lot of cheap stuff. To be fair there's a lot of shoddily built gas equipment out there too. And some better built battery stuff.

The battery Deere ZT that someone posted earlier looks like it's well made, at least from the pics. Cub Cadet looks like they have some halfway decent battery mowers.

I dont disagree, plenty of cheapo ICE stuff for sure. But for comparison sake I payed just under $4,000 (it was 10 years ago so I know it costs more now) for my 52" Exmark Quest with a heavy gauge steel fabricated deck (not the thin stamped deck), stout steel frame with good size tires and a really comfortable seat, Kawasaki 24hp engine and entry level commercial HST's. These Ego's are in the $5,000 range with cheap everything. They weight tells the story IMO, my Exmark weighs just under 800 lbs without me on it, almost double what an electric homeowner unit weighs.

 

[kozal01]

Arly, have you looked into this Exmark?

Quest V-Series

Exmark at least would give you a large dealer network, and I would think a good quality of cut.

While not electric, I think I'm about to pull the trigger on a Exmark myself.

I recently saw one of the Quest V series demo units, now that is a well built electric machine. What Exmark are you looking at out of curiosity?