New John Deere electric zero turn mower

[Smithsonite]

The GMT-400 series trucks are the last, best built, solid trucks GM ever produced. I made the mistake of selling my '94 for a brand new '07 GMT-900 series truck off the lot. Was a mistake that was! Brakes pulsated on the TEST DRIVE - 40 miles on the clock. Door trim fell off the 1st week. I couldn't even get 40k out of the lower ball joints. Got 50k out of the upper ball joints, one strut, front differentials seals, and the engine started to burn oil around then. 4x4 switch began to fail, interior had more squeaks and rattles than my '94 K1500 did with 266,000 on the clock, vents made noise with the A/C or heat on high fan, clunk in the driveline at every upshift (all this started at 2k miles). Then the hub bearings got noisy at 60k, and at 97k I was changing the rear diff oil for the 2nd time when I noticed the tips of all the spider gear teeth in the magnet. Judging by the excessive backlash, that must've happened around 50k miles as well. Then 6k miles later at 103k, 3rd and 4th gear disappeared like a light switch. Instant neutral! Fluid just as bright red as the day I flushed it through at 40k miles. Now the engine's oil pressure is slowly dropping at 126k. Has been for years.

I've got a few years on ya, but it's been proven to me time, and time again that older stuff is just built better. That's why we still drive an '86 Grand Marquis with 294k miles on it (ORIGINAL driveline front to back, along with the original electric fuel pump in the tank!), and a '93 Volvo 940 we use as a winter beater. 240k on that. Reliable as a stone ax.

 

[toolboxhero]

I wonder if the battery(s) will have a warranty and if so how long. Or will they be like belts, tires and batteries now?
What will the replacement cost of the battery(s) be? And how long are they expected to last?
Will the battery(s) be chipped or bluetooth to the mower to prevent any aftermarket batteries? You know how JD fights right to repair.
It will be interesting how big green rolls it out. I have people wanting me to work on electric push mowers and chainsaws. I tell them sorry but i don't service them. Unless they got it from a dealer it usually goes in the trash as i don't know of any nondealers who service them. The ones i did look at either had bad batteries or blown control board. I can't get parts so i quit bothering with them.

Toro has parts available for their 60 Volt MAX battery line on Toro.com. Snowblowers and mowers have all the individual parts available - hand/stick tools have replacements for the consumable parts that wear out.

 

[mechanizm]

By now, I'm sure you have heard about the battery powered zero turn mower that Deere is about to open up for pre-orders set to begin in the 2024 model production year. I can't share pics yet as Deere hasn't authorized their release. Thoughts?

Anyone who buys an EV or an ELT is a GD fool. In many areas of the country it costs about the same to charge your EV as it does to fill-up a gas car... and then there's THE BATTERY issues. I would never keep one of these potential firebombs in my garage especially when charging. Home Desperate has some of these Electric lawn tractors on display and they aren't cheap. Our lovely government has increased the cost of gasoline to boost sales of pos, EV's so we're now paying more for EVERYTHING because people are falling for this EV scam. If people start dumping their gas powered mowers for these things, there will be a lot of good deals to be had on the tried and true gasoline engine lawn tractors.

 

[mechanizm]

Li batteries are perfect for small devices but the wrong technology for anything bigger than an e-scooter

well said....

 

[mechanizm]

Keep in mind, there are areas that are not allowing gas mowers to be sold in the near future, so we need to remain optimistic about this. Otherwise, we'll get left in dinosaur land, and it will only hinder our ability to work on and sell these machines in these areas,

this is the attitude that will screw us all over. NO, you have to fight these electric everything SCAMS.

 

[mechanizm]

Definitely Li battery, but don't see what Li technology they are using listed anywhere. While there is a need/desire for maximum energy density in cars, I don't see that in a mower. I expect JD will use LFP battery technology (or something like that) where there isn't much of a fire or explosion risk, and you can keep the battery at full charge all the time without losing capacity, though your battery size/weight will go up. LFP is cheaper also.

Looks like JD is expecting owners to keep the mower plugged in when not in use (not exactly sure what they will recommend). Just guessing, but this could be to provide ongoing power/heat in cold weather to maintain battery temp above some minimum. Also allows them to avoid using 220V charging, there won't be as much need to recharge a mower in an hour or two if you tell owners to keep it plugged in all the time. But when your battery gets low, I expect you'll need to several hours to get back to mowing (700W charging system, 3.5 kw battery). I expect leaving your mower just sitting without power over a winter will be a problem.

Definitely some tradeoffs vs long, well established combustion engines for mowers and equipment, certainly price, probably low temp operation, battery life and replacement cost vs engine life likely a concern for early models, but some advantages also. The need to reduce GHG emissions is almost certainly real, will be forced to evolve and implement solutions over the next decade or two. I'm pretty hopeful battery tech, power generation continues to improve and will be more than competitive.

and how much will it cost to keep your electric pos plugged-in all year. those batteries have to drain to keep the cells from freezing. DON'T BUY THESE P'SOS!

 

[gamma_ray]

It's official. Just dropped! Model Z370R. Can purchase up to 10 year battery warranty. https://www.deere.com/en/mowers/zero-turn-mowers/z300-series/z370r-ztrak-mower/

View attachment 63397 View attachment 63398 View attachment 63399

 

[gamma_ray]

It's official. Just dropped! Model Z370R. Can purchase up to 10 year battery warranty. https://www.deere.com/en/mowers/zero-turn-mowers/z300-series/z370r-ztrak-mower/































































 With the crappy seats JD likes to put on their mowers, why not just make it remote-controlled?

 

[Deleted member 97405]

this is the attitude that will screw us all over. NO, you have to fight these electric everything SCAMS.

I will respectfully disagree with your sentiment all day. I am as conservative and GOP red as they come, but I also know that this same conversation was had when the horse was replaced by the gasoline engine. My great grandfather was one of them, and I remember him telling the stories when I was a kid. Our dealership also had the same conversation back in 1963 when Deere first introduced the 110. They never ordered one and never sold one. Guess what's in our showroom today? A 1963 110!!
I will never give up my 1964 110, Z950M or GT225, but battery powered lawn mowers are not the scam. They are tools, but just a little bigger than a drill, etc. Battery powered, self driving cars are the scam. Especially in a few years after exposure to road salt in winter or coastal salt air, and corrosion sets in. I've seen people at the chargers wasting hours just to charge their EV pos to get another 100 miles down the road, all while watching others gas and go. I've seen them come up to the cashiers and yell about how long it takes to charge a car on a roadtrip. You can't even use jaws of life on a Tesla because of where the power cables run or change a flat tire on them. That is the scam.
If we're going to label battery mowers a scam, we better throw out every battery operated drill or tool we own and go back to all plug-in tools. We also better give up our cell phone and pull out the old rotary. Trust me, I'd go back to analog days in a heartbeat if I could as well. I'd much prefer my vinyl records and 8 tracks and cassettes over an MP3 player, and tube radios had better sound than any digital equalizer will ever produce. My house is full of old tech.
The concern about battery fires is valid, but think about how many things we already own that have batteries with no widespread issues. Heck, my cell phone in my pocket is Li powered, and it's right against my leg in my pocket.
I'm not here to cause a fight, but I will not be closed-minded on this topic with regards to lawn mowers.
I also will not discuss this topic further as the feelings and sentiments are deep on either side, and we're all going to have to agree to disagree on different aspects of this topic.
Good day and peace, brother.

 

[nc10]

and how much will it cost to keep your electric pos plugged-in all year. those batteries have to drain to keep the cells from freezing. DON'T BUY THESE P'SOS!

Want to be clear, I'm just guessing JD will recommend you leave it plugged in to maintain the charge (and I speculate) not get too cold. Also thinking about how Li battery capacity is affected by cold weather. I'd expect somewhat noticeable power losses in cold weather, not much in the summer. Speculating on what the worst case would be, if it were 15% / day in cold weather, that would be ~ 0.5 kwhr/day for 200 days/year. (Completely trying to "ballpark" the magnitude of the problem). 200 X 0.5 = 100 kwh/year. So $10-$30/year depending on your utility rates. This is just speculation, will be interesting to see real world data.