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Have you gone cordless / battery powered?

Started by Mick, March 23, 2017, 09:20:16 PM

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Mick

Has anyone switched from using a Petrol lawnmower to Cordless Battery powered machine? The Battery equipment certainly seems to be getting popular these days. Just wondered what you think of them.
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Marks Mowers

Looking forward to it in some respects. Absolutely sick of customers bringing back in machines that they have refilled with their crap fuel trying to blame it on us, I now empty the tank and carb in front of them and get it going straight away just as proof.

So at least it will do away with that problem.

But we're going to start having to work on a lot more ride ons and commercial gear to make up for the loss of work from it.

Mick

Kind of with you on this one, although it does give me a great deal of satisfaction when a customer has just ranted for ten minutes and then you dip your finger in the tank and say, you do realise these won't run on diesel, or water.  8)

The electric ride on will also become more common as time goes by. There's a few about I believe, although I've not experienced one yet.

And by the way, welcome to TGMF.  ;)
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Marks Mowers

Thanks Mick

Funnily enough I had a diesel filled rotary come back last week, the guy was pleasant throughout thankfully. But it is still quite satisfying after I've been apologising for their machine not working, to poor out a blue oily liquid and say, "that's not petrol you've put in your mower".

Yeah I have seen for sale a few battery ride-ons, but never one in for repair. My clientele are usually running machines which are at least 10 years old, so I hope I've got a few years yet before all I see is battery, fingers crossed anyways.

Mick

Quote from: Marks Mowers on May 04, 2017, 07:35:51 AM
Thanks Mick

Funnily enough I had a diesel filled rotary come back last week, the guy was pleasant throughout thankfully. But it is still quite satisfying after I've been apologising for their machine not working, to poor out a blue oily liquid and say, "that's not petrol you've put in your mower".

Yeah I have seen for sale a few battery ride-ons, but never one in for repair. My clientele are usually running machines which are at least 10 years old, so I hope I've got a few years yet before all I see is battery, fingers crossed anyways.

Used to like the fact that Hayter were supplying parts for some of their real old machines, imo some of the best ones they made, and worth keeping going.  Unfortunately this has changed the last couple of years, I'm guessing since Toro got involved.  Loads of parts no longer available, which is a real shame.  The pattern part companies are going to love this.   

B&S seems to have gone the same way with their engines. I now believe the Chinese are catching up, if not beating them for quality, and smooth running engines.

I also believe that the big companies think they can rely on selling on their Name. as in what they used to be, and what they used to produce.  People do wise up to this eventually and will lose respect.
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Marks Mowers

Ain't that the truth. Take the Mountfields from 20 years ago, completely different machines. And I cringe to see the union flag on the modern chinese Webb's.

But what do you recommend to people?

I can't think of a single manufacturer where the quality hasn't crashed over the last 10 years.

Apart from maybe Honda?
But then again you can't buy a genuine Honda ride on anymore.


Mick

Quote from: Marks Mowers on May 05, 2017, 07:43:35 AM

But what do you recommend to people?


A few years ago that was a relatively easy question to answer.  Now it's not so easy. ;) 
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anglefire

Any thoughts on small garden battery mowers?

Mick

Quote from: anglefire on June 02, 2017, 09:15:45 PM
Any thoughts on small garden battery mowers?

I have a small Wolf cordless mower that Came out several years ago, it's great for what I need, I just find it so convenient, and really easy to use.  No faffing about with fuel, or power leads.  Really nice.

The machines sold now are so much better though, longer battery life etc.  They are still pretty expensive though.
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anglefire

Yeah the cost is one that does seem a little high. I did see the advert for Cobra on this site - partly why I asked the question!  16" cut is about £340 from memory - which is a bit high - but only if you can't get the bits in the future like blades etc.

Mick

Quote from: anglefire on June 03, 2017, 10:24:31 AM
Yeah the cost is one that does seem a little high. I did see the advert for Cobra on this site - partly why I asked the question!  16" cut is about £340 from memory - which is a bit high - but only if you can't get the bits in the future like blades etc.

Cobra advert?  I guess that one is served up via google. Or did I add one somewhere I forgot about.  :-[ 

Cobra is a Chinese made machine, and the cheaper end of the market.  In the case of cordless machines I do still think you get what you pay for in terms of reliability.  We've had a couple of dead machines straight out of the box, and a few battery problems on the cobras.

Sold a lot of EGO and a quite a few Wolf cordless mowers both have had great feedback, the customers seem to love them, but they are pricey.  I believe EGO are going to bring out some smaller models as they are quite big machines atm, in self propelled and push. 

EGO has a range of different gear which you can swap the battery from one to another, this means you can purchase a bare bones machine without having to buy the battery and charger for each one.  I dare say other manufacturers will do the same, but I haven't researched this.
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anglefire

Thanks Mick. With that record, I think I'll steer clear.

The Ego looks interesting - though does look large. Possibly.

Still, I need to get the whole back garden sorted - we have a wall that is falling down slowly, the patio is to say the least un-even. And too high - the manhole cover is beneath the slabs!

But its not something I want to do - even if I was capable, I don't have the time - and I'm really not into gardening.


Mick

Quote from: anglefire on June 11, 2017, 06:52:56 PM

The Ego looks interesting - though does look large. Possibly.


Mark, I believe they are bringing out a smaller version of at some point, that's if they haven't already.  ;)
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Harvz

As a relatively new Pro user, I have looked at battery powered mowers and strimmers, but the problem for me was battery life. If I'm doing 6-8 jobs per day, with no way (or time) to recharge them, they simply wouldn't work for me.
There is one Garden that I do which has around 30 steps up to the back lawn, where a cordless mower would be handy (the petrol mower is just to heavy to lift all that way). In this case though, I just use an electric mower and extension cable.

Also have real concerns about battery replacement cost (batteries will die at some point after so many recharge cycles).

Mick

Battery technology is getting better every day, but the cost is still a big concern for many, atm you'll probably spend as much or more on batteries as you would on the machine itself, if you were to use them all day long. 

But there's some things to way up.  Cost of battery compared to service costs of a petrol machine, cost of fuel oil etc.  There's not a lot of maintenance to do on a cordless.

Batteries need charging, and would require a few batteries to get you through a whole days mowing, charging them on the go isn't really there yet.  You could use an inverter in your vehicle, but that would require you to leave the engine running, which isn't practical.

A power bank if there is one would have its own batteries inside it, they would cost a fortune, maybe a grand or so.

Regarding the mains electric, I think you have the best solution atm.  ;)
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