Thank you so much for your "hard knocks video" - this is what consumers like to see - good old work being done with them. Purchased mine today, will get it shipped in 2 weeks! Keep these videos coming!!
Hi Carlo, Thanks for your comments! much appreciated ! I just posted another video on the battery replacement as well I talk about the desulfation tools I use to extend battery life.
What a handy, practical and versatile lawn mower. My wife got rid of the grass and now we have gardens but when we get an acreage this mower will be a great investment.
Awesome review, thanks for sharing. I want to buy one of these so I don't have to go get fresh ethanol free gas every so often, I can cut early in the morning cuz it gets hot fast here in the San Antonio summer time, much quieter so it won't bother the neighbors early, much less maintenance with my bad back, no belts or pulleys etc. It's the last yard tool I'd like to get changed over to electric power. I don't have a really big front or rear lawn but it would be nice to have with my bad back. I really appreciate how you waited a couple years to review this, showed it actually mowing thick tall grass and let us see how fast & powerful it is.
Hey Jet Engine, thanks for your reply , I appreciate it , I would also like to mention I installed a pulse tech de-sulphator to keep the batteries from dying a slow sulphation death. Many car batteries die not because they are old but because one side of the plates in each cell get coated in this white paste called sulphate crystals. ( Lead acid batteries do not like to be left in a state of discharge).... A de-sulphator kinda continuously kicks the crystals back off the plate and back into the acid with a higher voltage pulse that gets driven back into the battery. Its not a gimmick I have them installed on my of grid battery bank, and I know they work. My entire off grid farm runs on Lead acid in the evenings. You can buy them on amazon if you are interested.
@@solarbrianyvonne Yes, thank you. I would also like to get solar cells on the house and garage someday soon because of the hot climate here and the high electric bills due to using the A/C so much. In the 23yrs I've lived here in San Antonio, those bureaucrat *#&%er's have raised our property taxes by 3 times what it used to be in 1997!!! And they're not elected, you can't get rid of them, AND THEY KNOW THIS!!! Sorry; I get so upset over them getting away with this BS every year taxes go up. I'll look into that de-sulphator, thanks again. Take care and GOD Bless you and your Family.
Good to hear, you wont be disappointed if you look after the batteries properly. My 6 tips to keep it in top shape. 1. keep the blades sharp. I sharpen and balance my blades every 10 hours. Dull blades uses way more power and have to tear the grass rather than cut the grass. 2. don't cut in road gear , the faster you go while cutting the more power you draw per minute from the batteries and it negatively affects the battery C rating. 3. install a powerpulse to continuously desulfate the batteries. Sulfation will be your biggest enemy. 4. keep the deck clean, the more junk you have stuck to the bottom of the deck the more energy needed to throw the clippings out . 5. NEVER leave the unit in a discharged state, always... I repeat! ALWAYS charge up the batteries immediately after you cut , this will prevent battery degradation. 6. At night and over the winter season or off season if you have one, keep the unit plugged in 24/7, 365 ... these batteries will perform the best when they are kept in a floating voltage. All the best to you my friend !
@@solarbrianyvonne Great, thank you. Did you install the powerpulse on the easily accessible wires under the seat or get down to actual battery terminals? I read these do work, but modern batteries are not likely to suffer from sulfation like days of yore but rather on some calcium type buildup.
Good to hear that they hold up well. I have been wanting one of these since I saw them come out. I love the aspect of having an added battery-bank sitting in the garage... and being able to pull the large cart around in silence. My entire property has a deep ditch surrounding it. I was wondering if this would be decent on the mild slope. Best review I have seen yet of this mower.
Thanks for your videos!!! Wanted to ask if you could do videos on how you solar power the mower and which solar panels are best for the mower. Thanks again!!!
Hi Joe Our whole farm is solar wind powered. house, shop tools, fridge , freezer water pumps you name it its running on solar power so all we do is plug the mower into the off grid farm system and it charges it up normally on 110v AC if you are interested please watch the off grid homestead video on our channel it will explain how it all works.
Thanks for your great videos. I'm considering one of the mowers but not sure if it can drive through wet grass or water puddles in paddock - seems like no one covers this. Have you tried this? Is the motors waterproof?
Hi Christo Wet grass and shallow water puddles is no problem. the motor is not water proof but it is water resistant . I wash my mower once a week for 4 years during the summer with a 1500 PSI pressure washer and if the motor wasn't at least water resistant It would have quit years ago.
Hi Brian, great to see another Ryobi ride on fan. Thanks for the video. I have the same mower and I saw you tow that very large instrument. I’m considering the Cyclone Rake for my property and the company claims it’s too heavy for the Ryobi which I kind of disagree with and I’m discussing with them as they have no direct experience of our mower model. Out of interest and by means of comparison how much did your instrument way and do you have any other experiences towing?
Hi Andrew The farm implement I am pulling is a grain auger, it weighs about the same as a small compact car 1000 LBS and has a downward force on the tongue of 90 LBS and requires at least 300 LBS of horizontal force to get it moving, ( it takes all the muscle of 2 grown adults to push it in a grass field ) its a beast ! and I affectionately call it the man killer because it almost kills me every time i have to move it by hand Lol . I do pull a large grass lawn rake tongue weight of 10 LBS and a pull force of 75 LBS and other things like a small land leveler for my gravel driveway ,( its like a small snow plow but for gravel) tongue weight of 10 LBS and a pull force of about 300 LBS . I will proudly admit I push my Ryoby mower way , way past its initial design , it was never meant to be used on a farm, cutting road ditches and 4 acres of grass, pulling grain augers around a farm but it handles it with ease . I would estimate that if the tongue weight of the Cyclone doesn't exceed 50 LBS and the pull force required doesn't exceed 100 LBS I personally would not hesitate at all to pull it around the yard with my Ryobi electric.
@@solarbrianyvonne That's amazing! I think the tongue weight on the Rake is 85-95lbs and total pull weight is 200lbs when empty, somewhat equivelent to your auger. Given I have some inclines in the yard, I am going to call it a no as I think it would kill the mower going up the hill and I would only be able to use it downhill. Thanks for your detailed advice, and I will say I have ordered a PowerPulse as many commenters have based on your video and experiences.
I have had this mower for 5 years now, and I love it. However, I noticed that I had never seen it charged up to 100% (with that blue bar showing at the far right). It only ever seemed to get to a maximum of 70%, until I pulled out the batteries for the first time, and charged them individually with a Schumacher DC1281 charger. I bought the charger because my batteries seemed unable to charge up to more than 2 bars from empty this spring, leaving me unable to mow more than about 1/5th of an acre, and I wanted to see what the Schumacher could do. The Schumacher is able to charge them to 100%, but it's a pain in the butt to pull the battery tray out, and hook it up to each one individually, as the Schumacher is a 12v charger, and the batteries in serial are 48v. Is there any reason to suspect that the charger that came with the mower is defective? Is there an alternative, better charger that could replace the Ryobi charger?
I would test your batteries with a good tester the you can figure out if you have a bad cell or not. First get a handle on your cell's condition then you can make a better informed decision about replacing the charger. Yes there are better battery chargers out there Pulse Tech is one of my favorite . they have several that can charge 2 , 4 or 6 batteries at the same time.
When you plug in the charger does the green charge light indicator on the charge port still blink on your mower it didn't look like it was on the video
Nice one! I take it by the angle of those solar panels that you fairly north in Saskatchewan or something. How big an area can you generally mow in one charge and have you noticed much of a shrinkage of that area due to battery capacity reduction? I am in New Zealand and have just under a hectare. It is a bit rough in some areas, which slows me down; but I would love to go electric!
Hi Pat ! We mow about 4 acres of grass plus all the other yard duties I make the mower perform each week , Yes we live in Northern Saskatchewan our panels are at 15 degrees off the horizon for the winter sun. ( good observation) FYI The mower uses AGM cells, not lithium. We mow about 1 hour at at time which brings the mower down to 50% of total capacity, then I charge it back up immediately. This 50% usage is a more gentile way of lengthening your battery life expectancy, you will get more than 2x the life expectancy when you are gentle with them. ( Gentle 6-7 years... full discharge 2-3 years.) We are now on year 5 with the original set and there is a reduction of capacity as there should be with any FLA or AGM battery, but the batteries are still performing extremely well and still lasting as expected. The only change I can see is that in the beginning year 1-3 the batteries were taken down to 50% to accomplish 1 hour of work, now year 4 and 5 the batteries are taken down to 60% for the same mowing time, next year I expect them to go down to 75% discharge to achieve the same mowing performance. Living off grid you end up being forced to learn allot about batteries and battery cycles and how to get the most out of your investment . Hope this answers your questions.
@@solarbrianyvonne Thanks for that reply. Yeah, I am set off off grid as well and quite familiar with all of the challenges. That is why I was curious how many acres you are getting on a charge. I am currently kicking around if I buy one or build one based on LiFePO4 for my property!
@@solarbrianyvonne if I had to say I think its a nice unit, for what there’re asking for it I would defiantly pay, its he worlds forts interchangeable battery powered mower that is a rid on zero turn if I ad to say anything the future s already here.
Hello Brian and Yvonne. I'm really interested in buying one of these. By my reckoning, you've had this machine for almost three years. Could you say how long you operate it each week, on average, during the spring/summer/fall? Have you had to change the batteries since you bought it? Thanks for your help.
Hi Peter . We have had it for 4 summers now, on Year 3 the batteries started to lose capacity and my cut time went down from 2 hours to 1 hour, I purchased the powerpulse to desulfate the batteries and our capacity went back up to almost 2 hours. Super awesome ! please view the battery video I made. I have put out a video on changing the batteries but have not needed to change them yet, that video was published to show the process, and to talk about the desulfator the original batteries are still working great. I cut 1 hour per day 6 days a week all spring and summer, fall tends to slow down a bit so I would estimate 3 hours per week. That said I use the mower for lots of hauling and pulling things around the yard every day! I never discharge the batteries past 50% and always charge them back up immediately, and keep it plugged in 24/7 . FYI a 50% discharge cycle will keep the batteries healthy and happy, AGM batteries are top notch quality and will give you the power when needed but just like abusing your cell phone battery will only tolerate abuse for a short time and then eventually be unusable. After 4 years of use I still think its the best mower ever! (besides sheep of course )
@@solarbrianyvonne Hello Brian and Yvonne, Thanks very much for your detailed reply! The battery issue was the one major question for me in deciding on a new mower. I have seen your battery-changing video, and while it's a little daunting, you break the process down into simple phases. But . . . following your advice, I'd plan to keep the batteries well charged. One further question, if you don't mind. When you say you never discharge the batteries beyond 50%, is this the reason that you limit your mowing to an hour at a time? Thanks, Peter Baxter PS: I showed your video to my wife who spontaneously commented on how well it's done: clear and to the point!
@@peterbaxter5703 Hi Peter Indeed the 1 hour cut time correlates with the 50% discharge rate. Thank you Peter and Peter's Wife! As you know we live off grid going on 8 years now, we have learned a tremendous amount about lead batteries (FLA)'s during that time, made lots of mistakes and ruined batteries and made many changes to how we treat the average battery, excessive heat, cold and sulfation are the enemy... although there are new advances every month with the new battery technology, it takes decades before we see them implemented on the store shelves that would be affordable to the average family. FYI Batteries are rated via depth of discharge. You may get 300 cycles from a FLA battery when pushed to 100% discharge, and if you cycle once per day that would give you about 2.5 years of usable battery life... But if you only take the battery down to 50% something special happens, you will often get more than double the life expectancy, like 700 cycles. Its complicated and lots of chemistry and maths going on not to mention plate thickness, but suffice it to say they will last much longer if you keep the tank half full so to speak. I plan to put out another video about tips to get the most out of the mower, one tip is to keep the blades sharp, I sharpen and balance the blades every 5 hours, sharp blades cut grass efficiently, dull blades are forced to plow through the grass tearing it in half using blunt force, dull blades use way more energy and cut down on our cut time significantly.
Hi Brian, Just out of interest do you know how many watts per hour, or more specifically kWh it takes to recharge the mower when it gets down to the 50% battery level? I'm currently building an off grid property, like the look of this mower but finding it hard to find the right info in regards to the recharging power required etc. as im currently working out my overall solar requirements. I'm guessing that you also try to get most of its recharge done during the daylight hours, where as on grid people hook it up over night?
Hi Brenton Yes I have done this calculation years ago, and yes I mow in the morning and by lunch time I have it plugged in to recharge. The charging cycle takes 4 or 5 hours so I always do that in the daytime. The mower consumes approximately 300 watts while being charged in bulk mode and 100 watts in in its finishing cycle . Once it is charged up I leave it plugged in 24 /7 to keep the batteries in float charge mode. Depending on which mower you buy ( the 75 or the 100 ) the battery capacity is : 100 AH @ 48 volts = 4.8 Kw total stored capacity @ C20 discharge . 50% of that would be 2.4 Kw respectively 75 Ah @ 48 volts = 3.6 Kw total stored capacity @ C20 discharge . 50 % of that would be 1.3 Kw respectively You have to add in 20% losses during the charging cycle so you would be looking at : Full charge would consume: on the 100... 4.8.Kw + 20% losses = 5.7 Kw power consumed on the 75.... 3.6 Kw + 20% losses = 4.3 Kw power consumed 50% charge would consume: on the 100.... 4.8 Kw @ 50% discharge 4.8 Kw / 2 = 2.4 kw + 20 % losses = 2.8Kw power consumed on the 75.... 3.6Kw @ 50 % discharge 3.6Kw / 2 = 1.8 Kw + 20% losses = 2.2 Kw power consumed
@@solarbrianyvonne This is outstanding information! thank you so very much for all the detail and writing it all down... I really appreciate it! I knew building off grid out in the countryside was going to have its challenges but I didn't think these days it would be so hard to find this info from the companies directly. Again really appreciate you taking the time to write all that down! Makes it much easier for the decision making and planning for the solar capabilities of my property. Thanks and keep up the great work on the videos. - Brenton
@@brentonwells6551 I will give you a big hint on calculating your off grid system. OVERSIZE IT . If you need 4 Kw install 6 Kw if you need 6 Kw install 8Kw Originally we calculated we needed 3 Kw solar and 1 Kw wind... 2 upgrades and 9 years later we now have 8 Kw solar and 1 Kw wind... The reason... its the 5 cloudy days in a row that are going to make you pull out your hair ! LOl
@@solarbrianyvonne haha darn those cloudy days! Yeah great advise.. even though I'm currently living in Canada I'll be building my property back home in Australia in the beautiful sunshine coast hinterland. So definitely not as much cloud (and certainly no snow) to contend with like here. But yep absolutely we were planning on going one step higher in our install than what we need. again thanks for your advice.. it's always far easier discussing these things with people already living off grid who understand the reality of it all! I really appreciate your advice :)
Question? I just ordered one of these, do you think it’s worth getting an extended warranty, it seems pretty straight forward to access and replace things on it? Thanks, 👍🏾👊🏾✌🏾🇳🇬🇺🇸
The warranty is a limited 3 year, we are already on the end of year 4 with no problems . Like in any industry the batteries are considered a consumable so they are not going to be replaced for free , there may be a pro-rated on them but i would not hold my breath, however the electronics are another story and should be covered. Its up to you if you want buy the extended warranty.
I found someone selling one the 480e for 600 but he says the batteries last about 25min of run time. Do I assume the batteries are going on this. Do you you think 600 is a good price even if the batteries are no longer good
totally ! The batteries may not be bad, just sulphated ... at 100 hours on the run meter ya the batteries are getting near end of life but at 50 hours there is lots of life left in them.
The mower says 94hrs on it so it must be the batteries. Do you think it's still worth 600.. I've see batteries going for 640 for 4 shipped and that for the 100ah around 160 each
Really good actually , the Lead batteries are mounted low on the chassis provides good stability and the added weight of the lead batteries helps with traction. I cover show this in my ryobi mower video if you have time to take a look.
@@tonybasa7491 Hi Tony, we are on year 5 and going strong with not a single problem. the batteries are down in Ah but that is to be expected after 4 solid years of cutting and dragging stuff around the yard. I think if people don't treat the batteries gently you could have problems but for us we have had great success.
@@solarbrianyvonne I want to buy the same model but home depot site is saying it’s for flat terrain. I have a sloped front lawn and just curious if this baby can do it. Your video is the only thing I found so far with a slope ride. Thanks
This is your most popular video. I like to watch the most popular to see what people have had good luck with... Thanks for showing.... TTYL....
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you so much for your "hard knocks video" - this is what consumers like to see - good old work being done with them. Purchased mine today, will get it shipped in 2 weeks! Keep these videos coming!!
Hi Carlo, Thanks for your comments! much appreciated ! I just posted another video on the battery replacement as well I talk about the desulfation tools I use to extend battery life.
What a handy, practical and versatile lawn mower. My wife got rid of the grass and now we have gardens but when we get an acreage this mower will be a great investment.
acreages are lots of work but you get to be outdoors and do really cool stuff like sun powered lawn mowers!
Awesome review, thanks for sharing. I want to buy one of these so I don't have to go get fresh ethanol free gas every so often, I can cut early in the morning cuz it gets hot fast here in the San Antonio summer time, much quieter so it won't bother the neighbors early, much less maintenance with my bad back, no belts or pulleys etc. It's the last yard tool I'd like to get changed over to electric power. I don't have a really big front or rear lawn but it would be nice to have with my bad back. I really appreciate how you waited a couple years to review this, showed it actually mowing thick tall grass and let us see how fast & powerful it is.
Hey Jet Engine, thanks for your reply , I appreciate it , I would also like to mention I installed a pulse tech de-sulphator to keep the batteries from dying a slow sulphation death. Many car batteries die not because they are old but because one side of the plates in each cell get coated in this white paste called sulphate crystals. ( Lead acid batteries do not like to be left in a state of discharge).... A de-sulphator kinda continuously kicks the crystals back off the plate and back into the acid with a higher voltage pulse that gets driven back into the battery. Its not a gimmick I have them installed on my of grid battery bank, and I know they work. My entire off grid farm runs on Lead acid in the evenings. You can buy them on amazon if you are interested.
@@solarbrianyvonne Yes, thank you. I would also like to get solar cells on the house and garage someday soon because of the hot climate here and the high electric bills due to using the A/C so much. In the 23yrs I've lived here in San Antonio, those bureaucrat *#&%er's have raised our property taxes by 3 times what it used to be in 1997!!! And they're not elected, you can't get rid of them, AND THEY KNOW THIS!!! Sorry; I get so upset over them getting away with this BS every year taxes go up. I'll look into that de-sulphator, thanks again. Take care and GOD Bless you and your Family.
I bought one in part due to this video. 10 hours on it now, very happy with it! Thanks for the video
Good to hear, you wont be disappointed if you look after the batteries properly.
My 6 tips to keep it in top shape.
1. keep the blades sharp. I sharpen and balance my blades every 10 hours. Dull blades uses way more power and have to tear the grass rather than cut the grass.
2. don't cut in road gear , the faster you go while cutting the more power you draw per minute from the batteries and it negatively affects the battery C rating.
3. install a powerpulse to continuously desulfate the batteries. Sulfation will be your biggest enemy.
4. keep the deck clean, the more junk you have stuck to the bottom of the deck the more energy needed to throw the clippings out .
5. NEVER leave the unit in a discharged state, always... I repeat! ALWAYS charge up the batteries immediately after you cut , this will prevent battery degradation.
6. At night and over the winter season or off season if you have one, keep the unit plugged in 24/7, 365 ... these batteries will perform the best when they are kept in a floating voltage.
All the best to you my friend !
@@solarbrianyvonne Great, thank you. Did you install the powerpulse on the easily accessible wires under the seat or get down to actual battery terminals? I read these do work, but modern batteries are not likely to suffer from sulfation like days of yore but rather on some calcium type buildup.
@@adamhulu6171 Hi Adam
I installed it on the batteries, in my battery replacement video, take a look.
Thanks for the review. Well done. Seems like a great machine. New subscriber.
Thanks for the sub and stopping in !
Seeing the towing power is REALLY impressive.
Hi Glenn Yes the electric motor is got lots of torque
Great review! Thank you very Much ⚡️😎⚡️
Glad you liked it! thanks for dropping in!
Great feedback. Thanks for sharing...
Glad it was helpful!
Good to hear that they hold up well. I have been wanting one of these since I saw them come out. I love the aspect of having an added battery-bank sitting in the garage... and being able to pull the large cart around in silence.
My entire property has a deep ditch surrounding it. I was wondering if this would be decent on the mild slope.
Best review I have seen yet of this mower.
thanks , I bought a de-sulfator for the batteries just to keep them in top shape, got it from powerpulse .
@@solarbrianyvonne Great tip! Thanks again...
Two hours is pretty good for something that is that powerful. Good machine... Thanks... TTYL...
thanks for stopping in
Mine should finally be here this week.
Awesome !
Thanks for your videos!!! Wanted to ask if you could do videos on how you solar power the mower and which solar panels are best for the mower. Thanks again!!!
Hi Joe
Our whole farm is solar wind powered. house, shop tools, fridge , freezer water pumps you name it its running on solar power so all we do is plug the mower into the off grid farm system and it charges it up normally on 110v AC
if you are interested please watch the off grid homestead video on our channel it will explain how it all works.
I'm sold. Now, if only I could find one to buy :( Living on the Oregon Coast - can't seem to find one anywhere.
thanks for stopping in
Thanks for your great videos. I'm considering one of the mowers but not sure if it can drive through wet grass or water puddles in paddock - seems like no one covers this. Have you tried this? Is the motors waterproof?
Hi Christo
Wet grass and shallow water puddles is no problem. the motor is not water proof but it is water resistant . I wash my mower once a week for 4 years during the summer with a 1500 PSI pressure washer and if the motor wasn't at least water resistant It would have quit years ago.
Hi Brian, great to see another Ryobi ride on fan. Thanks for the video. I have the same mower and I saw you tow that very large instrument. I’m considering the Cyclone Rake for my property and the company claims it’s too heavy for the Ryobi which I kind of disagree with and I’m discussing with them as they have no direct experience of our mower model. Out of interest and by means of comparison how much did your instrument way and do you have any other experiences towing?
Hi Andrew
The farm implement I am pulling is a grain auger, it weighs about the same as a small compact car 1000 LBS and has a downward force on the tongue of 90 LBS and requires at least 300 LBS of horizontal force to get it moving, ( it takes all the muscle of 2 grown adults to push it in a grass field ) its a beast ! and I affectionately call it the man killer because it almost kills me every time i have to move it by hand Lol .
I do pull a large grass lawn rake tongue weight of 10 LBS and a pull force of 75 LBS and other things like a small land leveler for my gravel driveway ,( its like a small snow plow but for gravel) tongue weight of 10 LBS and a pull force of about 300 LBS .
I will proudly admit I push my Ryoby mower way , way past its initial design , it was never meant to be used on a farm, cutting road ditches and 4 acres of grass, pulling grain augers around a farm but it handles it with ease .
I would estimate that if the tongue weight of the Cyclone doesn't exceed 50 LBS and the pull force required doesn't exceed 100 LBS I personally would not hesitate at all to pull it around the yard with my Ryobi electric.
@@solarbrianyvonne That's amazing! I think the tongue weight on the Rake is 85-95lbs and total pull weight is 200lbs when empty, somewhat equivelent to your auger. Given I have some inclines in the yard, I am going to call it a no as I think it would kill the mower going up the hill and I would only be able to use it downhill. Thanks for your detailed advice, and I will say I have ordered a PowerPulse as many commenters have based on your video and experiences.
Nice
Thanks
I have had this mower for 5 years now, and I love it. However, I noticed that I had never seen it charged up to 100% (with that blue bar showing at the far right). It only ever seemed to get to a maximum of 70%, until I pulled out the batteries for the first time, and charged them individually with a Schumacher DC1281 charger. I bought the charger because my batteries seemed unable to charge up to more than 2 bars from empty this spring, leaving me unable to mow more than about 1/5th of an acre, and I wanted to see what the Schumacher could do. The Schumacher is able to charge them to 100%, but it's a pain in the butt to pull the battery tray out, and hook it up to each one individually, as the Schumacher is a 12v charger, and the batteries in serial are 48v. Is there any reason to suspect that the charger that came with the mower is defective? Is there an alternative, better charger that could replace the Ryobi charger?
I would test your batteries with a good tester the you can figure out if you have a bad cell or not.
First get a handle on your cell's condition then you can make a better informed decision about replacing the charger.
Yes there are better battery chargers out there Pulse Tech is one of my favorite . they have several that can charge 2 , 4 or 6 batteries at the same time.
When you plug in the charger does the green charge light indicator on the charge port still blink on your mower it didn't look like it was on the video
Yes it does but I have abandoned the original charger in favor of a better one that has a built in pulse technology.
@@solarbrianyvonne Thanks do you have a link to that charger or a model/part number - thanks again for the great videos
Nice one! I take it by the angle of those solar panels that you fairly north in Saskatchewan or something. How big an area can you generally mow in one charge and have you noticed much of a shrinkage of that area due to battery capacity reduction? I am in New Zealand and have just under a hectare. It is a bit rough in some areas, which slows me down; but I would love to go electric!
Hi Pat ! We mow about 4 acres of grass plus all the other yard duties I make the mower perform each week , Yes we live in Northern Saskatchewan our panels are at 15 degrees off the horizon for the winter sun. ( good observation) FYI The mower uses AGM cells, not lithium.
We mow about 1 hour at at time which brings the mower down to 50% of total capacity, then I charge it back up immediately. This 50% usage is a more gentile way of lengthening your battery life expectancy, you will get more than 2x the life expectancy when you are gentle with them. ( Gentle 6-7 years... full discharge 2-3 years.) We are now on year 5 with the original set and there is a reduction of capacity as there should be with any FLA or AGM battery, but the batteries are still performing extremely well and still lasting as expected. The only change I can see is that in the beginning year 1-3 the batteries were taken down to 50% to accomplish 1 hour of work, now year 4 and 5 the batteries are taken down to 60% for the same mowing time, next year I expect them to go down to 75% discharge to achieve the same mowing performance.
Living off grid you end up being forced to learn allot about batteries and battery cycles and how to get the most out of your investment .
Hope this answers your questions.
@@solarbrianyvonne Thanks for that reply. Yeah, I am set off off grid as well and quite familiar with all of the challenges. That is why I was curious how many acres you are getting on a charge. I am currently kicking around if I buy one or build one based on LiFePO4 for my property!
Ego power plus just came out with a riding mower of their own with interchangeable battery’s, its also a zero turn
I just saw that in my feed, looks like a cool unit !
@@solarbrianyvonne if I had to say I think its a nice unit, for what there’re asking for it I would defiantly pay, its he worlds forts interchangeable battery powered mower that is a rid on zero turn if I ad to say anything the future s already here.
Hello Brian and Yvonne. I'm really interested in buying one of these. By my reckoning, you've had this machine for almost three years. Could you say how long you operate it each week, on average, during the spring/summer/fall? Have you had to change the batteries since you bought it? Thanks for your help.
Hi Peter . We have had it for 4 summers now, on Year 3 the batteries started to lose capacity and my cut time went down from 2 hours to 1 hour, I purchased the powerpulse to desulfate the batteries and our capacity went back up to almost 2 hours. Super awesome ! please view the battery video I made.
I have put out a video on changing the batteries but have not needed to change them yet, that video was published to show the process, and to talk about the desulfator the original batteries are still working great.
I cut 1 hour per day 6 days a week all spring and summer, fall tends to slow down a bit so I would estimate 3 hours per week. That said I use the mower for lots of hauling and pulling things around the yard every day!
I never discharge the batteries past 50% and always charge them back up immediately, and keep it plugged in 24/7 . FYI a 50% discharge cycle will keep the batteries healthy and happy, AGM batteries are top notch quality and will give you the power when needed but just like abusing your cell phone battery will only tolerate abuse for a short time and then eventually be unusable.
After 4 years of use I still think its the best mower ever! (besides sheep of course )
@@solarbrianyvonne Hello Brian and Yvonne,
Thanks very much for your detailed reply! The battery issue was the one major question for me in deciding on a new mower. I have seen your battery-changing video, and while it's a little daunting, you break the process down into simple phases. But . . . following your advice, I'd plan to keep the batteries well charged.
One further question, if you don't mind. When you say you never discharge the batteries beyond 50%, is this the reason that you limit your mowing to an hour at a time?
Thanks,
Peter Baxter
PS: I showed your video to my wife who spontaneously commented on how well it's done: clear and to the point!
@@peterbaxter5703 Hi Peter
Indeed the 1 hour cut time correlates with the 50% discharge rate.
Thank you Peter and Peter's Wife!
As you know we live off grid going on 8 years now, we have learned a tremendous amount about lead batteries (FLA)'s during that time, made lots of mistakes and ruined batteries and made many changes to how we treat the average battery, excessive heat, cold and sulfation are the enemy... although there are new advances every month with the new battery technology, it takes decades before we see them implemented on the store shelves that would be affordable to the average family.
FYI Batteries are rated via depth of discharge. You may get 300 cycles from a FLA battery when pushed to 100% discharge, and if you cycle once per day that would give you about 2.5 years of usable battery life... But if you only take the battery down to 50% something special happens, you will often get more than double the life expectancy, like 700 cycles. Its complicated and lots of chemistry and maths going on not to mention plate thickness, but suffice it to say they will last much longer if you keep the tank half full so to speak. I plan to put out another video about tips to get the most out of the mower, one tip is to keep the blades sharp, I sharpen and balance the blades every 5 hours, sharp blades cut grass efficiently, dull blades are forced to plow through the grass tearing it in half using blunt force, dull blades use way more energy and cut down on our cut time significantly.
Thanks once more for your generous reply. I think we'll be heading down the Ryobi path.
Hi Brian, Just out of interest do you know how many watts per hour, or more specifically kWh it takes to recharge the mower when it gets down to the 50% battery level? I'm currently building an off grid property, like the look of this mower but finding it hard to find the right info in regards to the recharging power required etc. as im currently working out my overall solar requirements. I'm guessing that you also try to get most of its recharge done during the daylight hours, where as on grid people hook it up over night?
Hi Brenton
Yes I have done this calculation years ago, and yes I mow in the morning and by lunch time I have it plugged in to recharge. The charging cycle takes 4 or 5 hours so I always do that in the daytime. The mower consumes approximately 300 watts while being charged in bulk mode and 100 watts in in its finishing cycle . Once it is charged up I leave it plugged in 24 /7 to keep the batteries in float charge mode.
Depending on which mower you buy ( the 75 or the 100 ) the battery capacity is :
100 AH @ 48 volts = 4.8 Kw total stored capacity @ C20 discharge .
50% of that would be 2.4 Kw respectively
75 Ah @ 48 volts = 3.6 Kw total stored capacity @ C20 discharge .
50 % of that would be 1.3 Kw respectively
You have to add in 20% losses during the charging cycle so you would be looking at :
Full charge would consume:
on the 100... 4.8.Kw + 20% losses = 5.7 Kw power consumed
on the 75.... 3.6 Kw + 20% losses = 4.3 Kw power consumed
50% charge would consume:
on the 100.... 4.8 Kw @ 50% discharge 4.8 Kw / 2 = 2.4 kw + 20 % losses = 2.8Kw power consumed
on the 75.... 3.6Kw @ 50 % discharge 3.6Kw / 2 = 1.8 Kw + 20% losses = 2.2 Kw power consumed
@@solarbrianyvonne This is outstanding information! thank you so very much for all the detail and writing it all down... I really appreciate it! I knew building off grid out in the countryside was going to have its challenges but I didn't think these days it would be so hard to find this info from the companies directly. Again really appreciate you taking the time to write all that down! Makes it much easier for the decision making and planning for the solar capabilities of my property. Thanks and keep up the great work on the videos. - Brenton
@@brentonwells6551 I will give you a big hint on calculating your off grid system. OVERSIZE IT . If you need 4 Kw install 6 Kw if you need 6 Kw install 8Kw
Originally we calculated we needed 3 Kw solar and 1 Kw wind... 2 upgrades and 9 years later we now have 8 Kw solar and 1 Kw wind... The reason... its the 5 cloudy days in a row that are going to make you pull out your hair ! LOl
@@solarbrianyvonne haha darn those cloudy days! Yeah great advise.. even though I'm currently living in Canada I'll be building my property back home in Australia in the beautiful sunshine coast hinterland. So definitely not as much cloud (and certainly no snow) to contend with like here. But yep absolutely we were planning on going one step higher in our install than what we need. again thanks for your advice.. it's always far easier discussing these things with people already living off grid who understand the reality of it all! I really appreciate your advice :)
Question? I just ordered one of these, do you think it’s worth getting an extended warranty, it seems pretty straight forward to access and replace things on it? Thanks, 👍🏾👊🏾✌🏾🇳🇬🇺🇸
The warranty is a limited 3 year, we are already on the end of year 4 with no problems .
Like in any industry the batteries are considered a consumable so they are not going to be replaced for free , there may be a pro-rated on them but i would not hold my breath, however the electronics are another story and should be covered. Its up to you if you want buy the extended warranty.
Off Grid with Brian & Yvonne Thank You So much for the response, 👍🏾👊🏾✌🏾🇳🇬🇺🇸
I found someone selling one the 480e for 600 but he says the batteries last about 25min of run time. Do I assume the batteries are going on this. Do you you think 600 is a good price even if the batteries are no longer good
totally ! The batteries may not be bad, just sulphated ... at 100 hours on the run meter ya the batteries are getting near end of life but at 50 hours there is lots of life left in them.
The mower says 94hrs on it so it must be the batteries. Do you think it's still worth 600.. I've see batteries going for 640 for 4 shipped and that for the 100ah around 160 each
Hello, could you please tell me the exact model that you own?
RM480e
Hi Brian, how is the Ryobi on hills and slopes ?
Cheers,
Martin
Really good actually , the Lead batteries are mounted low on the chassis provides good stability and the added weight of the lead batteries helps with traction. I cover show this in my ryobi mower video if you have time to take a look.
@@solarbrianyvonne how is it holding up after 2 years? I’ve seen people having issues and more issues when calling customer support.😣
@@tonybasa7491 Hi Tony, we are on year 5 and going strong with not a single problem. the batteries are down in Ah but that is to be expected after 4 solid years of cutting and dragging stuff around the yard. I think if people don't treat the batteries gently you could have problems but for us we have had great success.
@@solarbrianyvonne thank you Brian / Yvonne🙏🏼 I also really appreciate the tutorial videos you publish👍
What kind of sales you got for this beauty?
None ! its not a sponsored video and I am not connected to ryobi in any way.
I am also not monetized and receive no money from any of my videos.
@@solarbrianyvonne I want to buy the same model but home depot site is saying it’s for flat terrain. I have a sloped front lawn and just curious if this baby can do it. Your video is the only thing I found so far with a slope ride. Thanks
Why did you say it's quiet? It sound like a million killer bees attacking.
Yes you are correct, I should have said its quieter than a gas engine
USB charger on a mower? Now you’re pushing it.
Ya I know , I have never used the USB outlet but im sure some have.