New Kobalt Li-Ion Lawn Mowers at Lowe's

[1 Lucky Texan]

Absolutely.

For just starting out, 6-8 extra batteries could last the mower for all my lawns for the day, plus the fact that they recharge quickly, PLUS the fact that the batteries will work with the mower, trimmer, blower and a hedge trimmer.

But the fact is, for larger properties, time is an issue. Someone can do an acre or 2 with a large zero turn and charge $60-$80 or whatever, while I'd have to charge like $300 for 2 acres because it would take me 6 hours on a push mower.

Of course it's not as time efficient as gasoline either, but I'll take the trade off any day.

Time will only improve the efficiency of these batteries, and I believe this is the future of lawn care.

yeah - got it. Even if you can afford the extra batteries, the pay-off diminishes when you are only cutting 19" wide so, you're right.

 

[BrandonG]

yeah - got it. Even if you can afford the extra batteries, the pay-off diminishes when you are only cutting 19" wide so, you're right.

However, this Mean Green Mowers from Mean Green Products | Green Industry Pros is on the market.

It's expensive...and the battery is expensive...but I guess if you had the client base for it, and had the extra money to spend, this is an option.

Battery is said to last 8 hours on a full charge, but takes a long time to re-charge it. I believe it is lead acid.

EDIT: I dug up the email I got from Mean Green with price quotes.

The CXR-60 they want $11,900 for it, plus $9,600 for the battery that lasts 6 hours, plus $495 for the battery charger.

You're looking at $22,000 for a 60" electric mower. Cost efficient or not? I wouldn't think so.

 

[MowerMike]

Finally, a promo video:

Can you find the narrative error in the video ?

Also, they don't seem to have those annoying and unnecessary safety keys you find in all the other cordless mowers. :smile:

 

[BrandonG]

No, didn't hear anything. Maybe "It chews up grass and spits it out!" When I heard that, I kept thinking it will chew up your lawn...in a bad way...LOL

I called Lowe's customer care today, to ask if my local store in MI will be getting any soon. They found out that the closest distribution center has 352 of the Twin Force model. That's the only model I asked about. So I am guessing they will be in stores soon.

 

[MowerMike]

No, didn't hear anything. Maybe "It chews up grass and spits it out!" When I heard that, I kept thinking it will chew up your lawn...in a bad way...LOL

I called Lowe's customer care today, to ask if my local store in MI will be getting any soon. They found out that the closest distribution center has 352 of the Twin Force model. That's the only model I asked about. So I am guessing they will be in stores soon.

Nope. They claim that the 20" twin blade model has 7 height adjustment positions, whereas it actually has only 5. The 19" single blade model does have 7 height adjustment positions, however. They've been available in stores down here for two months now, but our mowing season starts earlier than yours.

 

[1 Lucky Texan]

5 year guarantee

wish those batteries were compatible with my GW.

 

[MowerMike]

Kobalt Li-Ion hand held garden tools battery deal at Lowe's

Just wanted to alert y'all that Lowe's is offering a free second 40 volt 2 Ah Li-Ion battery with the purchase of any of their Kobalt hand-held cordless garden tools (string trimmer, blower, hedge trimmer etc.) through March 31st. The battery normally retails for $99.

Shop Kobalt Handheld OPE at Lowes.com!

 

[xdoomsongx]

I finally got the 20" model in from my order. I tried it for the first time this morning. Initial impressions are very good, it isn't any louder than a vacuum, and it mowed down the lawn without any problems.

Now for the problem, and it's a big one. The batteries, which I had fully charged, only lasted about 35 minutes. This is less than half of the stated run time, and judging by how much of the lawn I got mowed I am going to need at least an hour of run time (it stopped with one, yes ONE freaking strip of uncut grass in my front yard leaving me a little less than half done . I am not familiar with Lithium battery technology, so before I throw this thing back in the box and take it back ASAP, can anyone tell me if it will improve after a couple of charge/discharge cycles? If that is the case I will happily give it more time, if not, it is back to gas for me. Thanks for any feedback.

 

[MowerMike]

Now for the problem, and it's a big one. The batteries, which I had fully charged, only lasted about 35 minutes. This is less than half of the stated run time, and judging by how much of the lawn I got mowed I am going to need at least an hour of run time (it stopped with one, yes ONE freaking strip of uncut grass in my front yard leaving me a little less than half done . I am not familiar with Lithium battery technology, so before I throw this thing back in the box and take it back ASAP, can anyone tell me if it will improve after a couple of charge/discharge cycles?

AFAIK, Li-Ion battery performance does not improve after several charging cycles. How hard was your mowing ? Was the mower running at full speed the whole time ? How long did each battery last ?

 

[1 Lucky Texan]

I finally got the 20" model in from my order. I tried it for the first time this morning. Initial impressions are very good, it isn't any louder than a vacuum, and it mowed down the lawn without any problems.

Now for the problem, and it's a big one. The batteries, which I had fully charged, only lasted about 35 minutes. This is less than half of the stated run time, and judging by how much of the lawn I got mowed I am going to need at least an hour of run time (it stopped with one, yes ONE freaking strip of uncut grass in my front yard leaving me a little less than half done . I am not familiar with Lithium battery technology, so before I throw this thing back in the box and take it back ASAP, can anyone tell me if it will improve after a couple of charge/discharge cycles? If that is the case I will happily give it more time, if not, it is back to gas for me. Thanks for any feedback.

Does the Kobalt come a a 2Ah and a 4 Ah battery?

Any 'sense' or guess which battery may be discharging too quickly? There have been some reports of people getting bad batteries when buying the Greenworks mower.

Or, maybe your mower failed to switch over to the other slot?

perhaps try using and timing the small battery first, then use the large battery and time it. Indeed, you may need to try using/depleting the small batery first, put it on the charger, then use the large battery. When the large batt is depleted, the small batt may have 10-15 minutes of new energy.

But, you could have a discussion with Lowes about whether they want the entire package back, or just swap batteries if you can determine a battery is bad.

what run time does Kobalt advertise?