Export thread

I just saw this YouTube video of a new battery powered lawn mower sold under the Stihl brand name in Canada with limited quantities available in the USA. Official product launch will be in the Spring of 2013. It uses the either the Stihl AP 80 Li-Ion 36V-2.2Ah or Stihl AP 160 Li-Ion 36V-4.5Ah battery that work with the other Stihl electric tools such as the chain saw and blower. The cutting width is 370mm, which is approximately 14.6 inches, maximum cutting height is approximately 3 inches and run time with the AP 160 battery (AP 80 is standard) is ~40 minutes. The grass catcher capacity is 10.5 gal (1.1 bushels). One interesting feature seen in the video is what appears to be a split blade design, presumably to provide superior mulching action.

Yeah I heard about that....it seems like a good mower! I wonder if Stihl mowers are as good as their handheld equipment?? MowerMike.....are you thinking about getting one when it comes out?

lawn mower fanatic said:

Yeah I heard about that....it seems like a good mower! I wonder if Stihl mowers are as good as their handheld equipment?? MowerMike.....are you thinking about getting one when it comes out?

Click to expand...

I think these mowers have been available under the Viking brand name in Europe for some time now, and may be manufactured by the same company that makes the Bosch Rotak battery powered mowers. I would assume that their quality is better than brands like Ryobi and Greenworks. I don't expect to buy one as I already have several small battery powered mowers and I expect this one to be quite expensive, possibly over $500 with the optional 4.5Ah battery. The most I've even paid for a battery powered mower is $330, and that was for the 16" Greenworks with the Li-Ion battery.

WOW....I would think that is pretty expensive for a battery-powered mower......a lot of gas-powered mowers are the same price or LESS! (Except for some--like my Honda.)

lawn mower fanatic said:

WOW....I would think that is pretty expensive for a battery-powered mower......a lot of gas-powered mowers are the same price or LESS! (Except for some--like my Honda.)

Click to expand...

Not really. Battery powered mowers have always been more expensive than their gas powered counterparts, and this one has an Li-Ion battery instead of lead acid, which makes it even more expensive. Other brands like Ryobi and Recharge Mower have comparable pricing for their Li-Ion mowers. I got my Greenworks Li-Ion mower for a substantial discount from its normal retail price, but it still cost more than my Husqvarna 7021P gas powered mower with a Honda engine.

MowerMike said:

Not really. Battery powered mowers have always been more expensive than their gas powered counterparts, and this one has an Li-Ion battery instead of lead acid, which makes it even more expensive. Other brands like Ryobi and Recharge Mower have comparable pricing for their Li-Ion mowers. I got my Greenworks Li-Ion mower for a substantial discount from its normal retail price, but it still cost more than my Husqvarna 7021P gas powered mower with a Honda engine.

Click to expand...

I guess if you want the benefit of not needing gas or ear protection, you will pay in $$$$$.

lawn mower fanatic said:

I guess if you want the benefit of not needing gas or ear protection, you will pay in $$$$$.

Click to expand...

It's more than that. The benefit is very light weight for portability, small size for easy storage and mowing in tight areas and ease of use. Gas mowers don't always start up easily and require maintenance, but as long as the battery is charged these mowers always start and the only maintenance they require is periodic blade sharpening.

There are other small mower options out there, but electric.
The minimower; minimower.com.
Not yet convinced that the battery technology is completely reliable for mowers, but ok for now. Do hope the price goes down though.

Razarsharp said:

There are other small mower options out there, but electric.
The minimower; minimower.com.
Not yet convinced that the battery technology is completely reliable for mowers, but ok for now. Do hope the price goes down though.

Click to expand...

Well, aside from the fact that you are a shill for your product, corded electric mowers are limited to small lawns w/o a lot of obstacles. Battery technology with Li-Ion batteries is reliable, lightweight, quick charging and durable, which is the type of battery that is used in the Stihl RMA 370. The only valid drawback is cost, which is about double that of a corded electric mower. I have several corded electric lawn tools as well as battery powered ones, and it takes me about twice as long to get the job done with the corded ones.

Well, this mower is now officially available per the US Stihl website, but I'm afraid that the pricing is astronomical:

Stihl RMA 370 mower w/o battery or charger - $399.99
Stihl AP 160 Li-Ion 162 Wh battery - $199.99
Stihl AL 300 battery charger - $89.95

So, if you don't already own other Stihl KombiSystem tools with this battery and charger, The total cost of the mower will be about $690 !

To make matters worse, Stihl's estimated run time with this battery, which is the largest available, is only 25 minutes. So if you can't mow your lawn in that time then you either need to take a break and wait for the battery to recharge, or spend another $200 for an additional battery. Since this is a tiny mower with only a 14.5" cutting path, only very small yards are going to be mowable in less than 25 minutes. Meanwhile, the same size Recharge Mower model PMLI-14 Li-Ion mower retails for far less at $459, complete with battery and charger, and has a longer projected run time.

Sigh.

MowerMike said:

To make matters worse, Stihl's estimated run time with this battery, which is the largest available, is only 25 minutes. So if you can't mow your lawn in that time then you either need to take a break and wait for the battery to recharge, or spend another $200 for an additional battery. Since this is a tiny mower with only a 14.5" cutting path, only very small yards are going to be mowable in less than 25 minutes. Meanwhile, the same size Recharge Mower model PMLI-14 Li-Ion mower retails for far less at $459, complete with battery and charger, and has a longer projected run time.

Sigh.

Click to expand...

That does NOT have a long run time at all!

lawn mower fanatic said:

That does NOT have a long run time at all!

Click to expand...

Yeah, the Greenworks 20" twin blade mower I just bought will run for over an hour with the two supplied batteries and it has a much wider cut. The Stihl mower w/o batteries and charger costs as much as the Greenworks mower, complete with two batteries and charger !

MowerMike said:

Yeah, the Greenworks 20" twin blade mower I just bought will run for over an hour with the two supplied batteries and it has a much wider cut. The Stihl mower w/o batteries and charger costs as much as the Greenworks mower, complete with two batteries and charger !

Click to expand...

Maybe you are just paying for the Stihl name!

lawn mower fanatic said:

Maybe you are just paying for the Stihl name!

Click to expand...

Or perhaps better dealer service and support. I can understand this with a gas powered tool that might need service and repairs, but electric tools are pretty much maintenance free, and if the motor fails you just replace it. About the only replacement part in an electric mower is the blade. I've noticed that Stihl's other battery electric tools are also very expensive; the "occasional use" handheld blower model BGA 85 costs $299.99 w/o battery or charger.

MowerMike said:

Or perhaps better dealer service and support. I can understand this with a gas powered tool that might need service and repairs, but electric tools are pretty much maintenance free, and if the motor fails you just replace it. About the only replacement part in an electric mower is the blade. I've noticed that Stihl's other battery electric tools are also very expensive; the "occasional use" handheld blower model BGA 85 costs $299.99 w/o battery or charger.

Click to expand...

Yeah that's pretty expensive!

MowerMike said:

Yeah, the Greenworks 20" twin blade mower I just bought will run for over an hour with the two supplied batteries and it has a much wider cut. The Stihl mower w/o batteries and charger costs as much as the Greenworks mower, complete with two batteries and charger !

Click to expand...

I was checking out comments on Stihl's mower and saw you had the GW Twin Force mower. How is it? Can you use it slightly over grown grass w/o it failing? Any starting the mower problems? Does the grass catcher "leak" a lot? Thanks. --Augi

Augi said:

I was checking out comments on Stihl's mower and saw you had the GW Twin Force mower. How is it? Can you use it slightly over grown grass w/o it failing? Any starting the mower problems? Does the grass catcher "leak" a lot? Thanks. --Augi

Click to expand...

I don't know what you mean by "slightly overgrown grass", but it can certainly handle thick grass like St. Augustine w/o any problems. I don't think it would be happy trying to cut foot tall grass, but since I've never let my grass get that tall I don't know for sure. I've had no starting problems with mine, the bag seals quite well, and is great in dry and dusty conditions. I'm very satisfied with mine.

Check out this thread for more details >>> http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/elect...-blade-li-ion-battery-powered-lawn-mower.html

Does anyone actually own this mower? Lithium mower selection is pretty limited in Canada, so I might buy this since my local dealer has a promotion now if buying the mower, battery, and charger together. I've been using a manual mower for the last few years while patiently waiting for the Bosch Rotak to come to North America, but it doesn't seem like it will.

jl_78 said:

Does anyone actually own this mower? Lithium mower selection is pretty limited in Canada, so I might buy this since my local dealer has a promotion now if buying the mower, battery, and charger together. I've been using a manual mower for the last few years while patiently waiting for the Bosch Rotak to come to North America, but it doesn't seem like it will.

Click to expand...

Can't you buy Greenworks products in Canada ? They make a 16" Li-Ion battery powered mower that sells for under $300 USD including the battery and charger. That's about half the price of the Stihl mower plus battery and charger.

MowerMike said:

Can't you buy Greenworks products in Canada ? They make a 16" Li-Ion battery powered mower that sells for under $300 USD including the battery and charger. That's about half the price of the Stihl mower plus battery and charger.

Click to expand...

Actually, I just noticed Canadian Tire carries Greenworks... I originally just checked the Lowes Canada website since I thought I read it was a Lowes exclusive. Prices here are generally higher though. With the Stihl promotion, the price is the same as the 20" Greenworks model you have ($550, although Greenworks comes with 2 batteries). The 16" model is $430 here.

jl_78 said:

Actually, I just noticed Canadian Tire carries Greenworks... I originally just checked the Lowes Canada website since I thought I read it was a Lowes exclusive. Prices here are generally higher though. With the Stihl promotion, the price is the same as the 20" Greenworks model you have ($550, although Greenworks comes with 2 batteries). The 16" model is $430 here.

Click to expand...

Stihl is a bigger name and they have a reputation to uphold I would imagine the stihl is a better product. That's just my opinion I have never used any battery mower