What will you do for Earth Day?
Remove a weekly fossil fuel burner from your life?
After looking high and low (and even demoing a friends DR Neuton), i finally took the plung and bought an electric walk-behind (push) mower.
i had $51 worth of credit at Home Depot, so i strolled in last night and found a nice Ryobi RY14110 Self-Propelled 48V electric lawn mower. I triple checked all the details that have kept me from converting for years:
After looking high and low (and even demoing a friends DR Neuton), i finally took the plung and bought an electric walk-behind (push) mower.
i had $51 worth of credit at Home Depot, so i strolled in last night and found a nice Ryobi RY14110 Self-Propelled 48V electric lawn mower. I triple checked all the details that have kept me from converting for years:- Battery capacity
- Weight
- Ease of use
- Warranty
- Design
- Blade
- Discharge
- Body material
The Ryobi actually seemed to impress me on nearly all of the above. It's sleek and sharp looking, weighty (90 lbs?), has a 48V removable rechargeable battery, 90 day return policy at Home Depot, 3 year Warranty and a 20" blade - all for $399.
So i picked it up, loaded it in the jeep and brought it home. It was pretty much pre-assembled in the box and only required some plastic removal and unfolding of handles. I plugged the mower into the 110 outlet and let it charge overnight.
This morning (yup, Earth Day 2010), i got up and put the screws to it at 7am. She starts easy (hold a start button down and pull back the bail, then release start button) and is really quite quiet. I started out slow, pushing on the thinly grown flats of the lower yard, then tackled the 25% grade hill with thicker 3-4 inch grass. The Ryobi rolled right along and kept spewing grass out the side without grumbling.
On the steepest part of the hill, i pulled the drive bail and the back wheels kicked in and steadly guided me and the mower along the bank, cutting as we went.
About 70% of the way through the whole lawn, i checked the battery (with onboard light button) and saw that i was down to 25% or less, so i picked up the walking pace. Over the next 10 minutes, i could hear the blades slow and the motor start working less and less...power was running out. I got all but the 800 sq.ft behind the house done - and considering i used the self-propel for at least 30% of the lawn, i am duly impressed. Nice job Ryobi!
I wiped her down, put the clippings into the Compost stack and came inside to check on spare batteries. The DR Neuton's are $129 and, since i didnt complete our 3/4 acre lawn on one charge, i know a second battery will be needed.
So, i get onto Ryobi Tools Support Page and am forced to call the Toll Free line (877-545-4110). A very nice woman answers and i explain that i bought this mower and would like a second battery. She gives me Ryobi Part# 36601250G and says it is $59. Alright! Now that's affordable.
While i've only got one mowing in, i already think this puppy will work - even considering the steep hill, thick grass and larger than recommended lawn. Thanks Ryobi, and there's a sweet personal contribution from the Butcher's on Earth Day...recycle the gas cans and sell the Cub Cadet gas guzzler.
So i picked it up, loaded it in the jeep and brought it home. It was pretty much pre-assembled in the box and only required some plastic removal and unfolding of handles. I plugged the mower into the 110 outlet and let it charge overnight.
This morning (yup, Earth Day 2010), i got up and put the screws to it at 7am. She starts easy (hold a start button down and pull back the bail, then release start button) and is really quite quiet. I started out slow, pushing on the thinly grown flats of the lower yard, then tackled the 25% grade hill with thicker 3-4 inch grass. The Ryobi rolled right along and kept spewing grass out the side without grumbling.
On the steepest part of the hill, i pulled the drive bail and the back wheels kicked in and steadly guided me and the mower along the bank, cutting as we went.
About 70% of the way through the whole lawn, i checked the battery (with onboard light button) and saw that i was down to 25% or less, so i picked up the walking pace. Over the next 10 minutes, i could hear the blades slow and the motor start working less and less...power was running out. I got all but the 800 sq.ft behind the house done - and considering i used the self-propel for at least 30% of the lawn, i am duly impressed. Nice job Ryobi!
I wiped her down, put the clippings into the Compost stack and came inside to check on spare batteries. The DR Neuton's are $129 and, since i didnt complete our 3/4 acre lawn on one charge, i know a second battery will be needed.
So, i get onto Ryobi Tools Support Page and am forced to call the Toll Free line (877-545-4110). A very nice woman answers and i explain that i bought this mower and would like a second battery. She gives me Ryobi Part# 36601250G and says it is $59. Alright! Now that's affordable.
While i've only got one mowing in, i already think this puppy will work - even considering the steep hill, thick grass and larger than recommended lawn. Thanks Ryobi, and there's a sweet personal contribution from the Butcher's on Earth Day...recycle the gas cans and sell the Cub Cadet gas guzzler.
Labels: 48v, earth day, electric lawn mower, ryobi, steve butcher
posted by Steve Butcher @ 12:23 PM
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