Considering a battery operated lawnmower, what's a good "high voltage" system to consider for more future tools?

[Red Squirrel]

I pretty much have 18v Ryobi stuff but for a lawn mower I'd want to go with the 40v or higher. I don't have any other tools that use the higher voltage batteries so I'm basically open to any brand. I'm kind of eyeing Toro 60v but basically I just want to see what my options are so that I have batteries that can work with other tools. Ex: if I buy a snow blower or chainsaw or other tools in the future.

This is the one I'm eyeing right now but open to other options: https://www.homedepot.ca/product/to...battery-charger-included/1001588549?rrec=true

I know there's other brands too like Ego and even Ryobi does have a higher voltage system too.

Also what's the performance like compared to gas? I imagine it's not AS good but it should be half decent still right? I was pleasantly surprised by my 18v Ryobi chainsaw though I never used a gas one so hard to compare. I was going for a walk and someone had a Sunjoe mower they were mowing their lawn with and it seemed to be struggling but that's a lower end brand I think and it may have been a much lower end model too.

 

[Torn Mind]

Size of area to be mowed?

Corded electric are dead reliable until the brushes wear out, although the low-amp mowers are no longer made and hence 14 gauge or higher wire is needed for prolonged life of the motor..

Since you're looking a self-propelled, I guess its more than a little .25 acre lot you're dealing with?

The say the Ego Power+ outperforms gassers.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Self propelled is not a must (in fact I prefer it not be) but it seems most of them have that option now. Not sure if it's something you can turn on/off but either way I'm not too concerned if it can't be turned off. My lot is very small definitely under .25 acres. If I go with any system I would eventually buy more tools and batteries so not too concerned about how long a single battery goes for, but I imagine almost any of them will do my full yard in one go.

Good to hear about Ego as well. Was looking at those too.

 

[Torn Mind]

Well, my general opinion for small lot, typical suburbia is that I normally see no point in going all in with a $500+ battery mower if everything can be reached by a $200 Black and Decker corded electric mower. The corded ones are also lighter.

If you were to buy the big 21 inch Toro 60V system snowblower without a battery versus with one, the difference is $50($848 vs $898).

Also, I am quite taken aback at how bare craigslist is in Toronto....it's like the Frederick craigslist here while the DC area has loads of listings....I've snatched more than a few free mowers that needed simple repair(both gas and electrics); I wouldn't be able to do that in Toronto craigslist.
Same for extension cords. 100 ft of 14 gauge cord there would cost the same as 100 ft of 12 gauge here in the States.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I don't know how popular Craigstlist is in Canada, Kijiji is the equivalant here. Toronto is like 8 hours from here though so not like I'd buy from there anyway. I think people here in Canada are in generally less likely to sell stuff used though, the market in general is much lower. Like even ebay, it's rare I find listings for anything that is actually in Canada. By the time you factor shipping it's best to buy new. Shipping stuff within Canada is ridiculously expensive. Was looking at servers, UPSes etc and the shipping usually ends up fairly close to the 1k range for stuff of that size/weight. Can't imagine a lawnmower.

 

[drnickriviera]

I'm in the Makita ecosystem. Have self propelled 21" mower, blower, top handle chainsaw and my regular hand tools (drills, impact) We will be selling off our ego trimmer and blower when we get a Makita trimmer. Ego batteries are expensive for what you get and ours haven't lasted too long before degradation. We switched to makita because I can get empty cases from China and build my own packs with quality cells.

Makita Mower: Should be able to do .25ac with 4 5ah batteries. Blade is pretty thin to make it more efficient, so i'd be wary around sticks. Cut quality not as good as our honda, but decent. Nice and quiet, sounds like a box fan.

 

[Torn Mind]

 

[lxskllr]

Isn't your yard about 1/4ac? I'd get an old school reel mower. They're just as easy as a rotary, and just work if you don't have a lot of trees.

 

[KeithP]

I purchased my first electric mower in April 2020, a Ryobi 40v. (I also have some of their 18v stuff). I ended up returning the Ryobi because I was unhappy with two things.

First, I don't have the biggest yard, but I was unable to completely mow my yard on a single 6ah battery charge. Plus, the battery charged rather slowly.

Second, and the bigger of the two problems, its suction power seemed lacking. With grass only areas, most of the clippings seemed to end up in the bag ok. However, in areas where a lot of leaves had fallen, the mower seemed to just chop them up and redeposit them on the grass. And no, I wasn't using a mulching blade/setting. I made sure of that. Also, with my old gas mower, I would use it as a sort of sidewalk vacuum cleaner after I was finished mowing. I would go over the sidewalks to suck up any clippings that had blown on to them. The the Ryobi, even at its lowest height setting, just seemed to blow most of the clippings around and didn't really suck up anything on the sidewalk.

So then I switched to an Ego. The Ego is worth the extra money IMHO. I bought it on sale but it was still about a $150 more than the Ryobi. It was easily capable of doing my entire yard on a single charge with power to spare. Plus, it charged MUCH fast than the Ryobi. However, while it did a better job sucking up the leaves on the lawn when I mowed, it still lagged behind my gas mower in that respect.

In fairness, I had adjusted the governor on my gas mower to run it a little faster than it would normally run which is why I think it did such a good job at sucking things up off the lawn and sidewalk. I really wish these electric mowers had a high speed blade switch or something similar for when extra suction is needed.

My electric mower experience was very much a "you often regret spending too little, but rarely regret spending too much" situation.

-KeithP

 

[Red Squirrel]

Is it safe to assume all mowers are also mulchers now days or is that something I need to watch for when buying? I definitly don't want to have to bag. Especially since our dump has a tipping fee no matter what you're bringing. it's a pain trying to find a place to dump it.

But yeah if I'm going to get one I rather spend more for something good than to try out something cheaper. Was kinda eyeing the ryobi too since it's so cheap but rather go with a higher end ecosystem if I go that route. Right now it's between Toro and Ego. I think Sthil has electric stuff now too.

This is more a want than a need at this point though, so I may just keep using my gas mower for the time being but fun to shop around.

 

[bigi]

EGO 56 volts. Great tools. I've had the mower since 2015.

Still on original batteries. I've purchased 2 blowers, hedge trimmer, edge trimmer, chain saw after finding out how good this system is.

Interesting bit - the parent company of EGO is Chevron. LOL. EDIT: Chervon Group, which is a totally different animal.

Once you go Electric, game over for stinky, loud stuff.

 

[Homerboy]

Just got a Worx 40v 20" deck for $350 this spring for my 1/4 acre city lot. Works like a champ. I make it through without using half the battery charge. Pop them off and toss on the trimmer. Then when done with that, I pop them off and clean up the driveway and sidewalk with my Worx blower.

I just mowed wet grass the other day and it did a solid job never bogging down, but I will admit it didn't cut as "clean" but that's usually the result on wet grass regardless of gas or eclectic.

This is the one I got:

Profi Akku-Geräte für Heimwerker | Worx Deutschland

Offizielle Website Worx Deutschland: Garten- und Heimwerkergeräte mit Powershare-Akku-Technologie für die beste Heimpflege.

www.worx.com

Then like 2 weeks later they released this':

Profi Akku-Geräte für Heimwerker | Worx Deutschland

Offizielle Website Worx Deutschland: Garten- und Heimwerkergeräte mit Powershare-Akku-Technologie für die beste Heimpflege.

www.worx.com

But I have no need/want for self propelled.

Honestly, the electric mower is a godsend thus far. Super easy. Quiet as hell. No gas and stink to mess with. Love it.
The Worx has an actual metal deck too - make sure you don't cheap out there

 

[Red Squirrel]

Figured I'd update this. Ended up getting a Greenworks 80v Lawnmower. I don't know if it's this EXACT model but it looks like mine: https://greenworkstools.ca/collecti...wer-two-2-0-ah-batteries-and-charger-included

Actually started off with other tools. Got the snow shovel at some point, then chainsaw, leaf blower, then ended up getting the lawnmower too since all the batteries work together. Even got the two stage snow blower this winter. Also have a post hole auger, which I have not actually used yet but got when it was on sale. So far so good with all their tools. Once you get into a platform it's kinda addicting to buy all the other tools.