Battery powered lawn mowers?

[Martin King 2Participant @martinking2]

[Martin King 2Participant @martinking2]

Hi All,

My wife is the gardener in our house and is looking to get a new lightweight cordless battery operated lawn mower similar to the Greenworks one being shown on TV at the moment.

Does anyone have any experience of these or recommendations?

i believe that battery life is the main issue but we only have a small lawn area.

looking at the twin 24V battery 48V model at around £260 or so.

cheers, Martin

[Clive Brown 1Participant @clivebrown1]

Last year I bought an Einhell cordless mower from Wickes. Great for our small lawn, (?50 sq. m), one charge finishes the job easily.

Currently on offer I see, bundled with a bare strimmer for £164. Why pay more?

The only real complaint is that the finish is not quite so good as my previous cylinder mower, but so much quicker.

Edited By Clive Brown 1 on 21/04/2023 14:25:44

[Clive FosterParticipant @clivefoster55965]

Martin

The Greenworks mowers have rather small batteries, 2 Ah in most cases. I'd be a little worried as to whether that would do a decent area per charge.

The other issue is whether batteries will still be available when you need new ones.

Lithium batteries are said to last 1,000 charge cycles but final capacity will be significantly reduced by then, to 50% or so of new. Heavy continuous loads are also said to reduce life because the battery gets hot in use. I'd be expect no more than 300 – 400 charges out of a mower before noticing reduced life.

My battery tools are all Makita 18v LXT, no mower but I do have dual battery hedge cutter and strimmer. Seem to be about as powerful as the mains powered equivalents and the 5 Ah batteries hold up pretty well. My garden is too big for a battery mower to make sense but I'd have no qualms about advising folk to buy a Makita. Be about £100 more than a Greenworks one tho'.

One reassuring thing about the LXT batteries is that there are enough Makita tools out there to make it worthwhile for folk to offer knock-off and pattern replacements. Probably not to Makita standards but it bodes well for supplies being around for years to come.

Clive

[DC31kParticipant @dc31k]

I have one. I zip tie the charger to the handle and run an extension lead to it from the house. Saves a lot of time.

[Martin King 2Participant @martinking2]

Posted by DC31k on 21/04/2023 14:42:39:

I have one. I zip tie the charger to the handle and run an extension lead to it from the house. Saves a lot of time.

😀😀😀😀😀

Martin

[Stuart BridgerParticipant @stuartbridger82290]

I have a Husqvarna, it is excellent and does a great job. Now in its 3rd season.
They are not cheap though, mine was about £100 more than a direct replacement for the worn out Honda petrol model of the same size. I did waste a bit of money on going for the powered drive. I had that on the Honda, but the Husqvarna is so much lighter you don't need it unless you have stepp slopes

Big advantage is commonality of batteries across other tools. I also run a pole hedge trimmer and chainsaw on the same battery.

[the artfull-codgerParticipant @theartfull-codger]

Had the same mower for 50 yrs suffolk colt looked after still ok but the wife wants me to get an electric one as our solar panels kick out nearly 4 kw on a sunny day,so she says it'll save paying for petrol, she's right but I love my old suffolk, not sure what is a good make.

[noel shelleyParticipant @noelshelley55608]

How many on here entered the world of the internal combustion engine by messing with the dear little suffolk engine ? Noel.

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

Gtech do a really good hoover, the design and useage is sooo easy

If their lawnmower is similar then it's worth checking out

I sold off my indestructible sebo hoover because we stopped using it, just too heavy compared to the Gtech

[David AmbroseParticipant @davidambrose86182]

If you go for Makita, it is sometimes cheaper to buy the bare mower, and buy a Makita drill, 2 off 5ah batteries and a charger from Screwfix or Toolstation. Effectively you get a free drill, although the charger will a single battery rather than a double. That’s what I did.

[lee websterParticipant @leewebster72680]

I bought an Einhell mower, long pole hedge trimmer and strimmer from Toolstation two years ago. I have also bought 2) 3 amp hour batteries and 2) 4 amp hour batteries. All excellent tools. Not the best quality, but when I see "made in china" plastered over the better known brands I don't think mine can be much worse. I mow my large lawn with either the 3ah or 4ah. I wear out before the batts do! The 2ah batts I keep for the hedge trimmer and strimmer.

[blowlampParticipant @blowlamp]

As I already have some Makita battery tools it made sense to look at their mowers when my old Hayter started playing up. Is short, I bought one from the Makita range and it has been a good buy. I'd recommend.

Martin.

[Harry WilkesParticipant @harrywilkes58467]

Posted by Ady1 on 21/04/2023 17:04:37:

Gtech do a really good hoover, the design and useage is sooo easy

If their lawnmower is similar then it's worth checking out

I sold off my indestructible sebo hoover because we stopped using it, just too heavy compared to the Gtech

Friend of mine is/was a Gtec fan being happy with their vac cleaner they ordered a Gtec lawn mower their lawn isn't that large since they moved and they were finding the petrol mower 'over the top' So having charged the battery started to mow the lawn only to find the battery went flat before the lawn was finished so not being impressed sent it back and went and purchased some petrol

H

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

Posted by Martin King 2 on 21/04/2023 14:08:39:

Hi All,

My wife is the gardener in our house and is looking to get a new lightweight cordless battery operated lawn mower similar to the Greenworks one being shown on TV at the moment.

Does anyone have any experience of these or recommendations?

i believe that battery life is the main issue but we only have a small lawn area.

looking at the twin 24V battery 48V model at around £260 or so.

cheers, Martin

It seems that most are replying by referring to the battery capacity, not the battery life.

If the batteries are Lithium ion chemistry, battery life should be good providing the battery is not continually fully charged or exhausted completely. Lithium ion phosphate chemistry batteries should exhibit an increased number of recharge cycles than Lithium ion polymer types.

I lead/acid chemistry (less likely if truly ‘lightweight ), the battery should not be deeply discharged – and most certainly not left in a discharged state (ie less than fully charged) for any longer than practical. Leaving in a discharged state means early death to lead/acid batteries.

Edited By not done it yet on 21/04/2023 18:40:02

[VicParticipant @vic]

Posted by David Ambrose on 21/04/2023 17:06:23:

If you go for Makita, it is sometimes cheaper to buy the bare mower, and buy a Makita drill, 2 off 5ah batteries and a charger from Screwfix or Toolstation. Effectively you get a free drill, although the charger will a single battery rather than a double. That’s what I did.

I already had a Makita 18V drill so I bought a bare mower and then shopped around for two batteries from the cheapest vendor. The mower works fine and I know from experience the batteries will be good.

[Clive FosterParticipant @clivefoster55965]

Battery lifetime is closely related to temperature. The hotter they run the faster the battery ages with the associated reduction in capacity.

High current draw increases the internal heating and the continuous running associated with things like lawnmowers doesn't give the battery any breaks to let it cool down.

For any given current draw a larger capacity battery should run cooler than a smaller one. So all things being equal you'd expect a bigger battery to have a longer overall lifetime than a smaller one doing the same job. But if you exploit the extra battery capacity by making the larger battery work harder, drawing a disproportionately larger current, it will get even hotter inside leading to even shorter life.

It's a balancing act really as big enough is big enough. My guess is that if the battery takes longer to charge than it does to run down odds are you are asking too much of it.

It's noticeable that 3 Ah batteries run perceptibly hotter to touch than 5 Ah ones in my twin 18 volt Makita hedge cutter and strimmer. Once, on a very hot day, I managed to get one of the 3 Ah batteries so warm that the dual fast charger refused to charge it until I'd let it cool down for maybe 10 minutes. The other battery wasn't quite so warm to the touch and did accept charge. Charging almost immediately after the strimmer stopped might not have been the best idea in the world as not only did it take longer than usual but the charged battery was still quite warm. Memory says the second one was only a minute or three behind reaching full charge despite the 10 minute cool-down wait. Makita batteries have a temperature sensor inside to help monitor charging.

That little episode convinced me that sharing the two 3 Ah batteries from my drill and driver set with the hedge cutter and trimmer might not have been the best idea in the world. So I splashed out on two new 5 Ah ones for the garden tool department. Hafta say the extra life is nice. Two and a half charges to do all my hedges, one charge to do the strimming if I don't leave it too long between goes.

Anecdotal evidence so not conclusive but it may be relevant to note that Tesla makes serious efforts to keep their car battery packs cool.

Clive

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

Anecdotal evidence so not conclusive but it may be relevant to note that Tesla makes serious efforts to keep their car battery packs cool.

More than just ‘anecdotal’, Clive. I would say well proven when one reads up on the woes of such as the nissan leaf – which eats through its battery due to a lack of battery conditioning.

[Martin King 2Participant @martinking2]

Hi All,

Will be checking out the offerings from Makita over the weekend. I already have the twin pack screwdriver and impact driver with 2 batteries so will see if they fit.

As said our lawn is really very small so should be OK.

Cheers, Martin

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

My electric bike uses Bosch 36v "professional" power tool batteries, 4 & 6 Ah. I've bought a strimmer that takes the same batteries, and I believe they also make a mower. It may be that the battery life will be reduced but sharing the cost means it probably doesn't matter. Biking, the batteries work for longer when warm and there is a little glove supplied to cover the battery in cold weather.

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

It used to be the cold that zapped all our battery power

But now it's globul warming lol

Are batteries really robust enough for our brave new eco world?

[Mike PooleParticipant @mikepoole82104]

Posted by noel shelley on 21/04/2023 15:56:04:

How many on here entered the world of the internal combustion engine by messing with the dear little suffolk engine ? Noel.

A school friend and I used to go down the scrap yard and scrounge lawnmower engines, they used to let us roam round the yard unsupervised and never charged us for the treasures we found. I still have a Suffolk engine and a Villiers two stroke with a brass flywheel. To run the Villiers I mounted it on a frame and made a petrol tank out of a 1 quart oil can with the cap from a one gallon oil can soldered onto the side. Although the cap was not vented it never gave a problem, I doubt I ran the contraption long enough for the non vented cap to starve the engine. Much more fun than a PlayStation I think. I discovered how a piston ported 2 stroke and side valve 4 stroke worked from these adventures.
Mike

[Clive HartlandParticipant @clivehartland94829]

My long time friend in Australia has a battery powered lawnmower, over the years it has slowly degraded the 2 batteries so much he cannot finish his lawn on one charge in each. His comment that the batteries are too expensive and its a race which gives out, him, or the batteries.

[Ed DuffnerParticipant @edduffner79357]

At work we always recommend to customers to buy a well known make like Makita, Hikoki, Bosch, Stihl etc where parts are readily available to make repairs if necessary, plus warranty cover. The cheaper makes like Einhell (not being negative) and similar are practically unrepairable because parts are just not available in the UK. I've lost count of the number of times a customer has come in to the shop and asked for a pair of carbon brushes for their Titan tool.

Some UK stores offer quite good warranties on the cheaper brand tools though and it's always worth asking about before you buy.

Also, some of those cheaper tools are quite well made and may last for years if looked after. Depends on the amount of use and the user.

Ed.

[Neil LickfoldParticipant @neillickfold44316]

My wife has a Stihl mower that takes the smaller size of the two battery types. We only have a small lawn, less than 100m2 area. But she does mow the neighbourers outside lawn at times too. What effects the battery life the most is the sharpness of the blade. Initially I was just resharpening the blade along the profile of the initial blade as supplied. A college suggested that I start sharpening it from the under side. So I bought a spare, and I change out the blade as it needs sharpening and clean out in that area of trapped very smeely decaying grass. Since starting on the underside, I have noticed that the blade stays sharper longer. A dull blade can mean that you get as low as 50% of the lawn mowed. She does not pick up the fallen leaves or twiggs on the ground, they just all get mulched with everything else. This year the wet summer and the warmer than usual spring, has meant we have mowed the lawns the most I have ever known.

[Author]

Posts