Need to buy a new lawnmower

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Need to buy a new lawnmower

DamageInc

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#302369 18-Nov-2022 09:58

Morning all,

My lawnmower died the other day, new one needed.

Budget: $500-$600 max

I've seen recent posts about battery powered etc, never experienced them before myself. Is this the future? Go this way instead of the petrol mower?

Likely to go to Mitre 10 or Bunnings.

Can anyone recommend the way to go please and thank you?

Pop! OS

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#2997826 18-Nov-2022 10:15

Some questions that might aid with getting some recommendations

How big a lawn does the mower have to deal with?
How long did it take you with your old mower?
Do you have to do it all in one go, or can you pause for a 'charge break' ?

DamageInc

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#2997828 18-Nov-2022 10:20

evnafets:

Some questions that might aid with getting some recommendations

How big a lawn does the mower have to deal with?
How long did it take you with your old mower?
Do you have to do it all in one go, or can you pause for a 'charge break' ?

Good points

Lawn is 600sq/m

30-45mins to mow it

In one go would be better

Pop! OS

lurker

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#2997831 18-Nov-2022 10:34

I just bought one myself, the DeWalt battery powered one. It comes with two batteries and a charger. I already own DeWalt tools so it's handy having lots of backup batteries.

It's rated at 750m2 but that's wishful thinking, my lawns might be about 400m2 and I can get it all done in one go but the battery is down to one bar so not sure how much further it would go.

Bought it at Mitre10, same model is stocked at Bunnings so after price match it was just over $700.

One thing I love is being able to hang or stand the mower in the shed

timmmay

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#2997833 18-Nov-2022 10:35

Is it flat and easy, hill, bumpy? If it's fairly easy then a Ryobi mains mower would work, I have one and it's good. If it's a thick or difficult lawn go for petrol.

johno1234

2797 posts

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#2997834 18-Nov-2022 10:43

timmmay:

Is it flat and easy, hill, bumpy? If it's fairly easy then a Ryobi mains mower would work, I have one and it's good. If it's a thick or difficult lawn go for petrol.

Petrol because of budget? I have a battery powered mower (EGO) that is far superior to my old petrol mower when the grass gets long.

johno1234

2797 posts

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#2997835 18-Nov-2022 10:46

DamageInc:

Morning all,

My lawnmower died the other day, new one needed.

Budget: $500-$600 max

I've seen recent posts about battery powered etc, never experienced them before myself. Is this the future? Go this way instead of the petrol mower?

Likely to go to Mitre 10 or Bunnings.

Can anyone recommend the way to go please and thank you?

There's been an extensive thread on this here:

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=141&topicid=302239

DamageInc

549 posts

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#2997837 18-Nov-2022 10:48

timmmay:

Is it flat and easy, hill, bumpy? If it's fairly easy then a Ryobi mains mower would work, I have one and it's good. If it's a thick or difficult lawn go for petrol.

Fairly flat, couple bumpy bits only because of dog thinking she's a digger. There are thick patches of lawn.

Pop! OS

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DamageInc

549 posts

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#2997839 18-Nov-2022 10:51

johno1234:

DamageInc:

Morning all,

My lawnmower died the other day, new one needed.

Budget: $500-$600 max

I've seen recent posts about battery powered etc, never experienced them before myself. Is this the future? Go this way instead of the petrol mower?

Likely to go to Mitre 10 or Bunnings.

Can anyone recommend the way to go please and thank you?

There's been an extensive thread on this here:

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=141&topicid=302239

Thank you

Pop! OS

itey

476 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2997841 18-Nov-2022 10:52

Having bought a makita battery mower last summer I would never get a petrol mower again. The convenience is just unbeatable. We have about 400 sq m of lawn and if I go slow I might run out of juice before finishing, but nothing 20min on the charger whilst having lunch won't sort.

timmmay

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#2997843 18-Nov-2022 10:56

Petrol is a lot more powerful than electric, at least mains electric.

jonathan18

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#2997847 18-Nov-2022 11:05

timmmay:

Petrol is a lot more powerful than electric, at least mains electric.

If you'd used mains electric and battery electric lawn mowers it wouldn't take too long to discover one has an acceptable level of grunt while the other generally gives up pretty quickly!

I have had mains electric mowers in the past, and apart from the hassle of the cable, their general wus-yness was another reason I'd never go there again.

Handsomedan

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#2997856 18-Nov-2022 11:25

Off topic somewhat, but I miss the petrol Flymo my parents had when I was a lawnmowing teen.

I don't even think they make them anymore.

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Scott3

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#2997859 18-Nov-2022 11:27

DamageInc:

Good points

Lawn is 600sq/m

30-45mins to mow it

In one go would be better

My gut feeling is that is going to be a struggle for your $400 - $600 budget (unless you find something good used).

A person above mentioned mowing 400m^2 with Dewalt mower, and that using most of the batteries. Assumign that is the DCMW564P2-XE, and running 2x 18v, 5ah batteries, that is a $830 kit with 180Wh of battery.

Suspect you would want a bit more battery than this.

Example kits:

Approx 280Wh of battery (Im not sure if ego quotes the nominal or peak voltage).

Approx 320Ah battery (again not sure if they are quoting nominal or max voltage), Steel deck.

Are you already in battery power tool ecosystem? If you already had say 2x 4ah 18v ozito batteries, you could buy a mover kit like the below (which comes with a pair of batteries), meaning you now have two pairs, and can swap to the second pair when the first pair runs out, which would should see you through the lawn.

Have you got plans for more outdoor power equipment? If you want something like a blower, chainsaw etc, good to have it match the battery system of your mower. (the batteries are expensive).

I have small lawn, and mow it with a corded mower. works well, but would require your lawn to be reachable with say a 35m cord (the length I have, the longest "normal" style cord you can get).

johno1234

2797 posts

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#2997864 18-Nov-2022 11:34

timmmay:

Petrol is a lot more powerful than electric, at least mains electric.

Never had an AC electric mower - just DC battery powered.

If cutting grass what you want is torque and electric motors are superior to combustion engines for torque. A Tesla Model X Plaid SUV accelerates faster 0-60mph than a 911 Turbo and locomotives use electric motors. Torque is king.

I had a reasonably beefy 4 stroke mower before (2 stroke mowers have less torque than 4S) and my electric mower literally leaves it in the dust whether the grass is long or short.

DamageInc

549 posts

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#2997927 18-Nov-2022 11:56

Scott3:

DamageInc:

Good points

Lawn is 600sq/m

30-45mins to mow it

In one go would be better

My gut feeling is that is going to be a struggle for your $400 - $600 budget (unless you find something good used).

A person above mentioned mowing 400m^2 with Dewalt mower, and that using most of the batteries. Assumign that is the DCMW564P2-XE, and running 2x 18v, 5ah batteries, that is a $830 kit with 180Wh of battery.

Suspect you would want a bit more battery than this.

Example kits:

Approx 280Wh of battery (Im not sure if ego quotes the nominal or peak voltage).

Approx 320Ah battery (again not sure if they are quoting nominal or max voltage), Steel deck.

Are you already in battery power tool ecosystem? If you already had say 2x 4ah 18v ozito batteries, you could buy a mover kit like the below (which comes with a pair of batteries), meaning you now have two pairs, and can swap to the second pair when the first pair runs out, which would should see you through the lawn.

Have you got plans for more outdoor power equipment? If you want something like a blower, chainsaw etc, good to have it match the battery system of your mower. (the batteries are expensive).

I have small lawn, and mow it with a corded mower. works well, but would require your lawn to be reachable with say a 35m cord (the length I have, the longest "normal" style cord you can get).

No i have no battery powered tools, not even a drill, that's electric same as my chainsaw.

Pop! OS

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