Electric ZTR

[173abn]

My brother and I went to the lawn and garden show today and were looking at an Elec.ZTR made by Hustler.called a ZEON.The price was around $5,000.00.Cuts for about 90min. which is about an acre.has a welded steel deck and tube frame,no belts,filters,fluids etc. no noise,the guy turned it on and moved it,no noise what so ever. dual elec.transmissions for true zero-degree turning and each spindel was run by an elec. motor. the batteries are warranted for 4yr. residential and 2yr. Commercial both pro rated.although it's not something I want my brother really liked it. the salesman said they coming out with another model with a differant battery concept in the near future. russ

 

[noma]

173 ABN


Then how long does it take to recharge those battery iif you didn't get all done mowing and the battery was dead? At what speed will you be mowing at ? Does it work that the faster you go the shorter the charge of the battery? I think the no noise would be very nice and no maintance to , just sharpen the blades is about it.:tongue:

 

[KennyV]

This is going on the second year, and the price is dropping on these made in Kansas mowers...
YouTube - Hustler Zeon - World's First Electric Zero-Turn Mower
:smile:KennyV

 

[LandN]

I'm guessing that would take a lot of time to be popular and/or replace the gas/oil mowers for the homeowners. but short run time for the lawn care businesses.

 

[Wayne195]

Because it's a Hustler, I think it must be pretty good, but It takes me more than 80 minutes to mow my yard so that's out! Seems this electronic craze is going really far; maybe in a few decades from now the internal combustion engine won't be used much anymore. I guess all we can do is wait and see! I'm surprised that this Hustler is'nt more expensive, but there's still that battery problem-it would probably cost half the original price of the mower to replace the battery after a few years of use!

 

[indypower]

What everyone needs to do (cars, mowers, ect.) is all get together and work on making a new longer lasting battery. This "electric craze" isn't going much farther until new batteries are invented. A little disc type watch battery will last 5 years in a watch. Use that same technogoly and expand it.

 

[173abn]

noma,don't know about the speed vs. usage rate but the salesman said it needed an overnight charge but just now looking at the book , one of the options is a quick charger.Like I said before the salesman said that Hustler is coming out with some kind of new batt. concept.It's not for me but those with small lawns it might be worth looking into.Kenny ,I think it's kinda neet it's made in Hesston,Ks.,Grasshopper is made in Moundridge.The guy said he's sold a number of them so maybe other companies will take notice and start developing their own models and the batteries will be improved. russ

 

[KennyV]

Because it's a Hustler, I think it must be pretty good,
but there's still that battery problem-it would probably cost half the original price of the mower to replace the battery after a few years of use!

Regular Deep Cycle lead acid battery, I have always got around 4 to 5 years from them and they are NOT very expensive... These are regular batterys... not the 600 volt battery packs that you find in hybrid cars...

those with small lawns it might be worth looking into...
...maybe other companies will take notice and start developing their own models and the batteries will be improved. russ

This will easily mow a one acre lawn, most are a bit smaller than an acre...
Back in the 80's I had a pair of electric riders made by John Deere, The Electric 90... They were great rider mowers, they were more expensive than gasoline mowers so at that time there was a very limited interest in electric rider mowers... gasoline was less than a dollar a gallon.

What everyone needs to do (cars, mowers, ect.) is all get together and work on making a new longer lasting battery. This "electric craze" isn't going much farther until new batteries are invented. A little disc type watch battery will last 5 years in a watch. Use that same technogoly and expand it.

There are some high energy batterys made today, the lead acid is still a very good choice where you need a lot of energy storage, good life span, a recyclable element and the weight of lead is an advantage... like a mower tractor... :smile:KennyV

 

[Ric]

Regular Deep Cycle lead acid battery, I have always got around 4 to 5 years from them and they are NOT very expensive... These are regular batterys... not the 600 volt battery packs that you find in hybrid cars...:smile:KennyV

The lifespan of a deep cycle lead acid battery will vary considerably with how it is used, how it is maintained and charged, temperature, and other factors. It can vary to extremes, I have seen deep cycle battery's killed in less than a year by overcharging. Even the so-called "dry charged" (where you add acid when you need them) have a shelf life of 18 months at most. They are not totally dry - they are actually filled with acid, the plates formed and charged, then the acid is dumped out.
There are so many variables, such as depth of discharge, maintenance, temperature, how often and how deep cycled, etc. that it is impossible to know how long they will last.
I've used deep cycle Batteries for twenty plus years with trolling motors with a single 33 amp motor and have never gone more than about 14 months on a battery without replacing it and I can tell you depending on the battery you purchase they can run from $120 each to $262 for the Optima 12V so to say they are NOT very expensive...you must have lots of money :smile: they (Batteries) are not cheap and using that Zeon isn't going to be as cheap as everyone thinks.

 

[KennyV]

The lifespan of a deep cycle lead acid battery will vary considerably with how it is used, ... I have seen deep cycle battery's killed in less than a year...
...and using that Zeon isn't going to be as cheap as everyone thinks.

I think the lifespan of a hammer will also vary considerably with how it is used... I really fail to see the significance of how that applies...

I have seen gasoline engines killed in less than 5 minutes, I don;t see how that would apply ether, because I have also used the a gas engine on a mower for over 30 years & I have used deep cycle batteries on my John Deere Electric 90's for 4 to 5 years, always. I'm sure someone could destroy them in less time... I can still buy premium deep cycle lead acid for less than $110 each, (and I only get serviceable wet cell)...

As to the cost of operation, I have not yet checked to see what "everyone thinks"... I can only go by what I know fuel and oil sells for, what different types of mowing equipment sells for, and what electricity costs... I can form a good notion what costs are, I can also go to the manufactures site and look at :
Zeon
You will note this comparison is with similar size mowers, both mowing 40 hrs per year.

I can see there will be a lot of folks that have an acre or less of lawn to mow, will be looking at these for a very affordable and QUIET means to do it... :smile:KennyV