Need to buy a new lawnmower

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MikeAqua

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#2997930 18-Nov-2022 12:06

johno1234:

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.

I have an ego mower (the smallest model). Nothing stops it. Wet long grass? Meh! It just powers through at a speed-over-ground that would stall a petrol push mower. So easy. No fuel oil or pull starting (high WAF for the latter).

I've got no plans to go back to petrol.

IIRC it was $899 for a mower, line trimmer, charger and battery. I also received a second battery free by redemption.

Mike

DamageInc

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#2997936 18-Nov-2022 12:11

johno1234:

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.

That sounds like i need to look at electric?

Reading comments from this thread and the attached thread, battery might be out of my price range plus my lawn might be bigger than a single charge can cope with.

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jonathan18

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#2997971 18-Nov-2022 12:30

DamageInc:

That sounds like i need to look at electric?

Reading comments from this thread and the attached thread, battery might be out of my price range plus my lawn might be bigger than a single charge can cope with.

... while noting my earlier comments that plug-in mowers just don't appear to have the torque of battery mowers, so don't buy the latter expecting the results people are talking about here when using the former.

You may have seen my own posts in the other thread about battery longevity - sure, I typically need to charge once (twice, if really long) to complete all my lawns, but I'd still never go back to petrol or plug-in mower. (And next time I'd also buy an EGO rather than Ryobi, based on the feedback on GZ!)

One thing to factor in is servicing - it's a bit like the EV vs ICE car thing, as there are few parts to service with an electric mower. Blade sharpening and occasional replacement, but that's about it. Obviously other running costs - tiny bit of power to charge the battery vs fuel - are way lower with an electric mower, so it can be worth taking these into account when thinking about cost, ie the cost of ownership over its lifetime, not just initial cost.

Gurezaemon

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#2998069 18-Nov-2022 14:23

Handsomedan:

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.

These were great for mowing VERY steep slopes - tie a rope on to the handle, and pull it up and down the slope from the top.

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Scott3

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#2998089 18-Nov-2022 15:24

On AC lawnmowers, as with many other outdoor AC tools (weed whackers etc.), market demand has basically moved these to only cheap units being built (as people with big lawns or big budgets tend to go petrol or battery.

Manufacturers could easily build a model with a steel deck, and an efficient induction motor (drawing near the 10A limit of a domestic socket) that would compete with 120 - 140cc petrol mowers for power. But what the market wants in corded is cheap, lightweight units, so we get a 1400W - 1800W universal motor, narrow track and plastic housing.

Personally would love to see it becoming standard or common to have a higher power outdoor socket on each house (say 16A or 32A?), so we can have much more powerful corded tools. In some cases like leaf blowers, they are already built for the UK market.

DamageInc:

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

Modern brush-less battery powered tools are awesome. would fully recommend.

Batman

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#2998155 18-Nov-2022 16:15

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?

i was so stupid to buy a petrol one. then i bought an electric one and it's amazing. ymmv.

DamageInc

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#2998160 18-Nov-2022 16:27

Which one did you buy?

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Batman

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#2998174 18-Nov-2022 17:34

i got sucked into buying cheap Ozito batteries and so i bought an Ozito $499 (around that price) and actually mowed the lawns after 2 years.

I found the top of the range $900 bucks petrol heavy, difficult to start, need oil change every year, air filter clean, bulky, just a pain in the butt. i'm not a green finger type person and it just sat there, perpetually out of fuel coz the fuel cap cardboard seal always dry out and the petrol dries out no matter what you do.