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Over the years there have been many advances in technology. And the other day I was thinking of how much gas I use every day for my mowers....and that made me wonder.....WHY HAS SOMEONE NOT COME OUT WITH A COMMERCIAL BATTERY POWERED MOWER?? For how long electric and battery operated mowers were around, you would think someone would improve it for commercial use....because lawn care professionals are the ones that use the most gas! :anyone:

Very simple answer. Who is going to push around a mower with the size and weight needed to handle the commercial needs. Second, have you priced the replacement costs of the batteries used in electric cars. Even at 1/4 the cost it would be out of line.

And then there is the Tax on the fuel more money, more money more money..:thumbdown:

I think someone needs to come out with a good self propelled one. That way, you could have enough battery to mow without having to push the weight. And lithium Ion batteries are much lighter than lead acid. That's what the Tesla uses.

They need. Is a battery start / altinator run and charge wouldnt take a very big battery to start it then the altinator can power it and run electric motors for the self propel

The simple answer is that the batteries just don't store enough energy to do the job compared to the gasoline or diesel. Here is an energy density table. Energy density - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

At a given weight, gasoline has about 65 times as much energy as the Lithium-ion rechargeables. Even considering electric motor to be 4-5 times more efficient than a gas engine, the pro mower still has to carry many batteries in his truck and swap a battery every 30 minutes. We are not there yet but I believe we will see the continued improvement in battery technology.

I think the only way an electric motor could be used in a mower would be hydro motors for the blade and hydro motors on the L & R drive wheels. This would only require One electric motor, and one hydro pump. With an extra set of quick swap batteries, one set could be in service while the other set are being charged. Here in So Cal, the EPA is restricting new things every month and are checking LS contracts with the state to see if everyone is complying. Everyone uses riders. Many use them 10 hours a day 6 days a week. Once we get to the point where we can transmit electric power in a wireless manner, the sky is the limit.

exotion said:

They need. Is a battery start / altinator run and charge wouldnt take a very big battery to start it then the altinator can power it and run electric motors for the self propel

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Please explain how the alternator can power a mower. Where does it get it's energy from?

Ariena said:

Please explain how the alternator can power a mower. Where does it get it's energy from?

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Perhaps a 10 horsepower B & S engine? LOL (only kidding)

Ariena said:

Please explain how the alternator can power a mower. Where does it get it's energy from?

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From the motor. That was the classic electric perpetual motion machine design. A motor drives the alternator which generates electricity to power the motor. All you need is an initial kick (or pull) to start the motion. You could even steal the electricity from it to power your house. :laughing:

panabiker said:

From the motor. That was the classic electric perpetual motion machine design. A motor drives the alternator which generates electricity to power the motor. All you need is an initial kick (or pull) to start the motion. You could even steal the electricity from it to power your house. :laughing:

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It can work as long as there is enough power to both charge battery and power motor How ever that is alot of moving parts and alot that can break lol

exotion said:

It can work as long as there is enough power to both charge battery and power motor How ever that is alot of moving parts and alot that can break lol

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It can't work. If it were to work you would make Bill Gates look like a pauper. It is rudimentary physics. First law of thermal dynamics: Nothing is Created or destroyed, it just changes state. You have to input X amount of energy to get X minus resistance out.
I don't understand how you can make a statement such as " It can work, as long as........". Perhaps you should enter politics.

Ariena said:

It can't work. If it were to work you would make Bill Gates look like a pauper. It is rudimentary physics. First law of thermal dynamics: Nothing is Created or destroyed, it just changes state. You have to input X amount of energy to get X minus resistance out.
I don't understand how you can make a statement such as " It can work, as long as........". Perhaps you should enter politics.

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well maybe some solar panels for a little of energy with an alternator to help?

exotion said:

well maybe some solar panels for a little of energy with an alternator to help?

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Then you might as well power the motor with the solar panels directly. But seriously, something has to power the alternator -- with the full amount of energy needed by the motor, not just a little bit of it.

panabiker said:

The simple answer is that the batteries just don't store enough energy to do the job compared to the gasoline or diesel. Here is an energy density table. Energy density - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

At a given weight, gasoline has about 65 times as much energy as the Lithium-ion rechargeables. Even considering electric motor to be 4-5 times more efficient than a gas engine, the pro mower still has to carry many batteries in his truck and swap a battery every 30 minutes. We are not there yet but I believe we will see the continued improvement in battery technology.

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I think that is a key reason -- you need lots of batteries to do a full day's work. A homeowner just needs to mow one lawn.

You would think with todays modern tech someone could figure it out. solar panels, alternator on a rwd there is alot of wasted energy in the front wheels spinning.

Oh Dear...........

Ariena said:

Oh Dear...........

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LOL (Damn near fell on the floor)

Yeah, by now, you would think someone would have smashed the law of energy conservation.

FALL 2014 UPDATE: things have changed!

Hey y'all. Just joined the forum, researching battery lawn equipment for lawn crew and hoped some of you lawn pros could weigh in.

These posts are 2 and 3 years old and almost universally dismiss battery mowers from back in the day: heavy, low power, slow charging.

But in my recent investigation Li-ion batteries seem to be on the brink of transforming cordless equipment. Specifically 40v and 56v swappable light-weight batteries in 4ah and 2ah formats, run times as much as an hour, and super-charging in as little as 30 min. Batteries and machines are light weight (60+lbs vs 90+lbs for gas), much quieter (60db vs 95+db). And of course the usual bullet points: no oil + gas + filter + spark + carburetor + prime + choke + heat + fumes + exhaust + CO2 pollution + excessive noise.

Looking purely at performance (cut quality, power, mulch + bag + chute, battery life, charge time) and for the sake of argument, ignoring cost for the moment (up to $500 for top-of-the-line battery mowers!), I've been taking a serious look at Ego (EGO Power+ - Power Beyond Belief also available at HomeDepot) and GreenWorks (sometimes rebranded as Kobalt) (Greenworks Battery Powered Lawnmowers, Strimmers, Leaf Blowers, Drills and Power Tools, Lithium-Ion 40 Volt - Greenworks also available at Lowe's).

Greenworks has been around for 3 or more years as far as I can tell, and have an impressive array of compatible battery swap tools. But despite very positive reviews on some sites and equipment review webcasts, Lowe's appears to have stopped selling the Greenworks mowers in favor of their identical Kobalt siblings. Not sure what that means.

Meanwhile, Ego has the best marks in the cordless mower world by far and has raised the bar from 40v batteries to 56v, putting their power performance on similar footing to gas mowers, in some reviewers' experience.

And of course there's B+D and Toro and other veteran lawn manufacturers with their own offerings and seasoned customer service + parts + repair that are trying to keep up with the new breed.

So ... wondering if any of you lawn pros are running battery mowers / blowers / trimmers / saws. Which? Performance? Recommendations? Should I invest in these new machines?

Very gratefully,

Luke

Certainly the technology seems to have come on leaps and bounds recently, and if it's not yet up to standard for commercial applications then I'm willing to bet that it soon will be. Most of the battery powered mowers I've looked at only fall down on one thing, price. As soon as the technology becomes more mainstream then I've no doubt the price will drop. One thing is for certain though, many of the the major manufacturers are getting in on the action, Einhell, Black & Decker, Bosch, and as you mention Greenworks to name but a few.

Interestingly I've done a lot of work in the marine industry, and I can vouch for the fact that this technology is picking up pace there too, not just coincidence I'm sure.

Thanks

LMW

@LukeMJ - I doubt that any of the pros here are using any of the products that you have listed. AFAIK, none of them are warrantied for commercial use or would be adequate for such applications. You might want wait and see how the new Greenworks 80 volt tools pan out (see my thread on this). For one thing, their top batteries have much larger capacity, as much as 3X the capacity of the largest Greenworks 40 volt battery, and they also offer backpack powerpacks for use with the handheld tools such as the trimmers. Unfortunately, they are also a lot more expensive as well.

MowerMike said:

@LukeMJ - I doubt that any of the pros here are using any of the products that you have listed. AFAIK, none of them are warrantied for commercial use or would be adequate for such applications. You might want wait and see how the new Greenworks 80 volt tools pan out (see my thread on this). For one thing, their top batteries have much larger capacity, as much as 3X the capacity of the largest Greenworks 40 volt battery, and they also offer backpack powerpacks for use with the handheld tools such as the trimmers. Unfortunately, they are also a lot more expensive as well.

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Most of your battery operated push mowers are great things for the homeowner with a small lot but when your talking about mowing for a living, you don't have the time to fool around mowing with a 19 or 21"mower with batteries no matter the capacity. They will never come up with a ZTR with enough battery capacity for commercial use because the cost alone will kill it.