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https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-2...-0Ah-Battery-and-Charger-RY40LM10-Y/308634192

Kinda looks like it could be a Greenworks deck (therefore Greenworks built mower), but hard to tell under all their plastic and fancifying of it.

Never liked LB/Toro Personal Pace, so I'd probably not like their similar Smart-Trek either. Interesting though as they got to be the first one to offer this feature on a battery operated push mower.

As it seems that Greenworks makes most of the steel decked cordless push mowers … including their own, Kobalt, Snapper, and thought at least one more that I can't think of right now … I would be surprised if Ryobi / Techtronic Industries was actually building this themselves.

Until I saw the GW Steel Deck mowers last Spring, the thought of purchasing a (plastic deck) cordless mower never even crossed my mind … so I think this is a good move for Ryobi considering they claim to be the largest seller of battery operated mowers.

Doug

I don’t see this new 40 volt Ryobi line competing with the 60 volt and 80 volt offerings from Greenworks and Kobalt, which are priced the same. I am also not impressed by all the high rated reviews from Home Depot Seeds members, who got the mowers for free.

I agree that Ryobi / HD is nuts pricing this in the GW / Kobalt / Snapper 60V & 80V range, I was just posting this as an FYI.

I'm already invested pretty deep in Greenwork's 40V line, so not for me … but if I were to do any kind of upgrade, I'd buy into the Kobalt 80V line now that they are including a 6Ah battery (currently $549 at Lowes or just $22 more than the Ryobi for same Ah at double the volts).

Just found GW's revised 40V SP mower on Amazon and it now comes with a 6Ah battery (just like the Ryobi) for $499.99:
https://www.amazon.com/Greenworks-B...greenworks+40v+mo,aps,173&sr=8-43-spons&psc=1
… which certainly confirms that they've priced theirs way too high. The Smart-Trak feature obviously adds cost & value, but not $128~200 worth.

Doug

That 40 volt Greenworks mower that you linked is part of a new “Elite” lineup that is different from the “G-MAX” series. Although the Elite batteries will fit and work in G-MAX tools, they will not recharge in G-MAX chargers. Instead, you need to use an Elite charger, which adds to charger clutter. I found this out when I purchased 3 ah and 6 ah Elite batteries, and they would not recharge in any of my many G-MAX chargers. I ordered an Elite charger, and will find out when I receive it if it is compatible with my G-MAX batteries.

Let's hope it is just a capacity issue in that the G-MAX charger could only handle up to 4Ah batteries so they had to come up with a new charger for the new Elite Series that can be above 4Ah.

Why they could not make the G-Max batteries interchangeable with the first gen tools & vise-versa would have me mad if I had any 1st gen stuff.

We are getting a bit off subject here !!

Doug

dougmacm said:

Let's hope it is just a capacity issue in that the G-MAX charger could only handle up to 4Ah batteries so they had to come up with a new charger for the new Elite Series that can be above 4Ah.

Click to expand...

It’s not a capacity issue. The new Elite 3 Ah battery won’t recharge in a G-MAX charger either. The G-MAX charger simply does not recognize the presence of an Elite battery when inserted in the charger. The attached photo of the label on the 3 Ah Elite battery clearly indicates that only the Elite chargers may be used.

I realize now that the elite series has both 3Ah & 6Ah batteries. My point was possibly the G-Max charger was already maxed out with the existing batteries (5Ah BAF705 largest available), and to be able to go to 6Ah they needed to design a new charger and decided to come up with a whole new ELITE Series at the same time. Some items in the ELITE Series don't really need a 6Ah battery, so they are also offering a 3Ah size. I'm guessing there is some new tech built into this battery series that is not compatible with the old charger.

According to the Greenworks Elite web site, this product line was introduced in May 2018 ... funny that the Amazon listing for this mower is the first I've heard of this. Their 82V Commercial line that was launched in April 2016 is just as obscure. It also seems strange they would develop this new series around a 40V platform rather than (60V or) 80V like Lowes has them doing with the Kobalt 80V Max line. Possibly they have a non-compete clause in their contract with Lowes and this is why the GW 80V line appears stagnant right now.

I can see why you wanted to get the 6Ah battery to try out, but assuming you already have some G-Max 4Ah batteries why the 3Ah too ??
It is crazy that Amazon has the L-600 6Ah Elite USB ported battery priced lower than both the G-Max BAF704 & BAF705 (4 & 5 Ah USB ported batteries) and I see both the L-300 & L-600 listed on e-bay at rock-bottom pricing that sure is tempting. C-220 Elite Charger is only $39.99 on amazon which is only $10 more than G-Max charger, so if you got the batteries from this ebay seller I can see why you jumped on both of them.

As I said in the Kobalt 80V Max thread I started, I'm more likely jump into this than invest anymore into the GW 40V. However if I ever do get into this Elite Series it will be with a tool, battery & charger set.

Doug

Yeah, I did buy the batteries from the eBay seller, and at that time the 6 Ah battery was only $115 and the 3 Ah battery was only $47, which is why I bought both of them. Interestingly, the eBay seller wants $100 for the C-220 charger, whereas Amazon wants only $40, go figure. As to why I would buy a 3 Ah battery when I have a bunch of G-MAX 4 Ah batteries, the reason is weight. The 3 Ah Elite battery weighs a pound less than the 4 Ah G-MAX battery, and that is noticeable when using a one hand held tool such as a leaf blower.

MowerMike said:

Yeah, I did buy the batteries from the eBay seller, and at that time the 6 Ah battery was only $115 and the 3 Ah battery was only $47, which is why I bought both of them. Interestingly, the eBay seller wants $100 for the C-220 charger, whereas Amazon wants only $40, go figure. As to why I would buy a 3 Ah battery when I have a bunch of G-MAX 4 Ah batteries, the reason is weight. The 3 Ah Elite battery weighs a pound less than the 4 Ah G-MAX battery, and that is noticeable when using a one hand held tool such as a leaf blower.

Click to expand...

That and at $47 for 3Ah I would have been tempted too especially if I were not aware at the time that I needed the charger.

All in at just over $200 for 9Ah worth of batteries and a charger you did well though !!

The brand new 2.5Ah G-Max battery I got off of ebay last Summer was $67 / shipped which I thought was a decent deal.

So how heavy is the 6Ah Elite battery compared to the 4Ah G-Max ??

Doug

dougmacm said:

So how heavy is the 6Ah Elite battery compared to the 4Ah G-Max ??

Click to expand...

A whopping 0.4 oz heavier.

dougmacm said:

Let's hope it is just a capacity issue in that the G-MAX charger could only handle up to 4Ah batteries so they had to come up with a new charger for the new Elite Series that can be above 4Ah.

Click to expand...

Just as a followup, I received the model C-220 Elite charger, and it works fine with the 3 Ah L-300 and 6 Ah L-600 Elite batteries. I was tempted to see if it would work with one my G-MAX batteries until I read the label on the back of the charger. Yikes !

that charger has a December 2017 date code on it … considering they released this Elite product line in May 2018 it's got to be from one of the earliest batches.

So maybe I'm correct in thinking there is something different about the Elite Charger … and it could be that it charges at a higher rate for these new batteries which the G-Max batteries may not be able to tolerate.

Doug

I don't think so. The outputs (40 Volts and 2.2 Amps) and the charging times for the G-MAX and Elite chargers are identical. Also, I observed that the maximum open circuit voltage achieved for the Elite batteries was about the same as the G-MAX batteries (41.0 to 41.5 volts). So, the Elite charger is not charging the batteries any faster or any higher than the G-MAX charger. There must be something else going on here that prevents interchangeability between these two systems. Maybe the thermal sensor on the Elite charger permits the Elite battery to get hotter before preventing charging to occur.

Interesting.

Doug

Update on the Greenworks Elite vs G-MAX battery/charger situation

First off, my apologies to the OP for continuing to hijack this thread, but I felt compelled to close out this mysterious issue.

To recap, I purchased a pair of Greenworks 40 volt Elite batteries and discovered that they won't recharge in my G-MAX chargers. I then purchased a new Elite charger, and the Elite batteries charge properly. There are dire warnings on the Elite charger not to charge non-Elite batteries, so I don't attempt to recharge mt G-MAX batteries in it. When the OP suggests that there might be a difference between the output specifications of the Elite and G-MAX chargers, I retrieve the manuals for the two different chargers are reply that they are the same, and that both chargers output 2.2 Amps. So, the problem is a mystery as to why the Elite batteries won't recharge in G-MAX chargers.

This mystery is now solved, due to some recent revelations that I found on Amazon. A review was posted by someone who purchased a Greenworks Elite L-600 (6ah) battery, complaining that it would not recharge in a G-MAX charger. Another person commented that they had no such problems, and that the ONLY difference was that the charger output as shown on the label was 2.2 Amps, whereas the the reviewer's label indicated that it was 2 Amps. The reviewer's charger label had a date code for year 2013, whereas the commentor's label showed 2016. So, I took another look at my G-MAX chargers, and indeed their labels showed 2 Amps rather than 2.2 Amps. These chargers had date codes from years 2012 and 2013. I had made my assertion that the output was 2.2 Amps based on a G-MAX model 29482 charger manual, but then saw that the publication date of the manual was 06-11-16, long after manufacturing dates of my G-MAX chargers ! After reviewing my OPE purchase records, I realized that this manual was from a G-MAX tool purchase that I had made in August of 2016, but had never used the charger. I found that charger and the label on the back with a date code from late 2015 showed an output of 2.2 Amps ! So I placed my Elite batteries in it, and voila, they both charged up ! I next rummaged though my collection of old manuals, and found an older G-MAX charger manual with a publication date of 12-10-12 that showed a charger output of 2 Amps. Finally, I tried recharging one of my G-MAX batteries in the new Elite C-220 charger, and it successfully did so without any drama. So, apparently, Greenworks made some sort of change to the G-MAX charger during 2015, but did not add some sort of revision letter to the part number or ever document this change. This went under the radar until something that changed with the circuitry in the new Elite batteries made them incompatible with the older generation G-MAX chargers. It now seems very possible that there is no significant difference between the Elite chargers and the newer G-MAX chargers. I still have a few days remaining on my free Amazon return window for the Elite charger I just purchased, but unfortunately like a fool I have already discarded the box and cut the warning label off the cord. Oh well, now I have a spare charger for my Elite batteries.

The attached photos show the differences between the older and newer G-MAX chargers and manual.

what advantage do Elite batteries offer? is 'regular' G-max being phased-out?

i'm confused

1 Lucky Texan said:

what advantage do Elite batteries offer? is 'regular' G-max being phased-out?

i'm confused

Click to expand...

Other than higher capacity, I don't thing there's any advantage. I think it's just some sort of marketing thing. Basically, I think Greenworks is trying to position their Elite tool lineup as their premium version of their 40 volt tools. When Greenworks first introduced the G-MAX battery line, some of their tools were designated DigiPro with premium brushless motors and digital controls. These tools were noticeably higher quality and made more sturdily. All the new Elite tools also feature brushless motors and higher capacity batteries than their regular G-MAX brethren. I also think that the Elite series are being sold more outside the USA, particularly Canada, which is why they do not currently appear on the Greenworks USA website. So, no, I don't think the G-MAX lineup is being phased out, although it's possible that it will be renamed in the future. In any event, you probably don't want to buy an Elite battery, unless you already own a G-MAX charger that is new enough to charge it.

thanx MM - I'm gonna look at the charger that came with my new mower - otherwise, I'm not gonna sweat it just now.

Yes a hijack, but a GOOD hijack !!

All 4 of my GMAX chargers are dated between 10/2015 & 12/2017 and ALL say 2.2 A output so I should be able to charge these Elite Batteries.

I just ordered one of the 6AH batteries from that seller on ebay to try it out.

I want to try and sell my 40V Snowthower and probably would be an easier sell if I can include a battery & charger.

That would have left me with only (2) 4Ah batteries and I need around 10Ah worth of batteries to cut my whole lawn with my 40V SP Mower. Guess I could have winged it using either my 2.5 or 2.0 Ah to finish up, but that's cutting it a bit close. Also need power to run the blower when I'm done cutting too.

Thanks,

Doug

Back to the TITLE subject …

After seeing that the Greenworks built SNAPPER 82V mower now has a similar "STEP SENCE" drive system …
https://www.snapper.com/na/en_us/pr...ense-automatic-drive-electric-lawn-mower.html

… I went back to the HD web site to take a closer look at the Ryobi version. They have a pic of the underside which makes it look even more like a GW built mower … blade even has similar round & half round location notches like the older style GW blades. What is different though that I just noticed today is they have no SIDE DISCHARGE door like all the other GW built steel deck mowers, so one more differentiation to hide it's roots. They claim to offer a "Side Discharge Accessory" (sold separately), so it must attach to the bag discharge area somehow like some older Rear Bagger Lawnboys had in the 80's~90's.

Doug

yeah, my 'new' steel deck GW 21" has side discharge though I don't use it.

does that Ryobi have a flat squirrel cage fan like the GWs have underneath? (I have concerns about the longevity of that gadget, plastic typically doesn't last long in Texas and being exposed to 'debris' isn't going to help, at least it rarely gets direct sunlight)

1 Lucky Texan said:

yeah, my 'new' steel deck GW 21" has side discharge though I don't use it.

does that Ryobi have a flat squirrel cage fan like the GWs have underneath? (I have concerns about the longevity of that gadget, plastic typically doesn't last long in Texas and being exposed to 'debris' isn't going to help, at least it rarely gets direct sunlight)

Click to expand...

If you go to the HD page (linked in 1st post) there is a picture of the underside. As you can see, the plastic blade mount / fan looks similar but it is definitely different.

This blade mount fan thing concerned me on my GW mowers a little too ... what concerned me more though is the diameter of the motor shaft that this plastic part mounts to (under 1", IIRC somewhere around 13/16").

The blade on these mowers is higher in relationship to the deck bottom than on any of my Lawn-Boys, and I think this is to protect the blade from hitting roots, etc. that could bend the motor shaft. I have yet to hit a fixed object with the blade of either of these mowers and I've got plenty of stumps & roots throughout my not very level lawn that I've hit in the past with the Lawn-Boys. My wife's office lawn is not much better, but has random gravel thrown in from the neighbor's gravel lot. As much as I try and avoid and/or kick the larger stones out of the yard, the blade on this mower has hit plenty of it over the past year of mowing and has the scars to prove it.

As far as my home yard, I hit a tree root hard enough years ago with an "F" engine LB that I bent the crank … which is the reason for my concern since replacing a motor shaft likely equals replacing the whole motor on one of these GW mowers !!

Doug

Among the reasons why we moved was to get away from 2 Bald Cypress trees. I hit 'knees' often and bent 2 blades on my old gasser.

A different house in the past had a lot of obstacles and I had to keep a fistful of spare flywheel keys for an old Tecumseh-powered mower I had at the time.

This new house had 2-3 old shrub/Crepe Myrtle stumps but I have removed them so, much safer for any mower now.

FYI;
I contacted Ryobi regarding their new 40v 6ah battery pack. The one that is not listed anywhere. Not of Ryobi's or Home Depots websites. The reason being Ryobi has none in their warehouse and no known date when they will be available as a separate purchase. They couldn't even give me a retail price.

BUT, I did manage to get their model number of the new 6ah pack, its; a OP40601. (yes there is a '1' in that number).

Now, not to be outdone, probably more so for their typical marketing scams, the Chinese have flooded the market with all kinds of these (supposed) 40v 6ah 3rd party packs. Starting at $77 for a 'Bonacell' labeled pack (shipped from China) thru e-bay (where else) to what may be usable/workable choices also on e-bay and Amazon for between $110 and $120 under the following names;
Amityke,
Biswaye,
Bonacell,
Epowon,
Lasica &
Powerextra

Since I don't trust their usually inflated claims, I inquired into what the actual eights of these packs are in ounces. The only answers I received so far are the Bisway is 44 ozs and the Lasica is 48 ozs.
I (unfortunately) bought one of those $77 wonders (for $68) and that weighs in at 44ozs.
Compare that with the actual weight of the Ryobi 5ah at 51ozs. That Bonacell pack uses Vanon cells (if anyone ever heard of that name).