Bring on the BERM please

[LouB]

I have to mow a couple of acres around our house. I do not care about making a nice lawn, The mowing is to reduce the impact of possible bushfires and to prevent regrowth of shrubs and trees. In restricted spaces I have been using a Victa 82V cordless electric mower; and have been very happy with its performance. To cope with larger areas I have had to use an ICE ride-on mower. I would definitely prefer to be driving a Battery Electric Ride-on Mower (BERM).
There are several models/brands available in US and Europe but, as far as I am aware, only one in Australia. This is the Husqvarna Battery Rider retailing at $6499. The price is a bit steep, but understandable there being no competition. One that I would like to see is the Ryobi RM480E. It looks like it could do the job for me and also complete our transition away from ICE machinery.

If you are interested, you can see it reviewed and at work in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SxtYbCB2TI

If you know of other readily available BERMs I would be very interested.

I know its not a car, but its still a sort of EV right?

Cheers
Lou

[PiMan]

Given that it's not a car, what's the practicality of importing?

[jonescg]

Oh but making your own would be a hoot!
I know Husqvarna make a very solid electric ride on mower.

[Adverse Effects]

buy a $600 quad Ebike and attach something like this 42inch Mower Deck

[dgh853]

Sally at Zeromow has one of the Mean Green electric ride-on mowers - see http://www.zeromow.com.au/equipment/ for details.

[Adverse Effects]

Cloveragri AT120A Open Bonnet Mulcher Mower-Free Spare Set Blades

[LouB]

Thank you for all the suggestions.
If I was a lot younger, I would consider making up my own electric ride-on but, tempus fugit .

I knew of Zeromow's Mean Green Machine but it had to be self-imported at considerable expense. I also queried Cub Cadet to see if they were about to import the electric RZT S 42, but answer was negative.

On a more positive note, Ryobi Australia replied that: "We will be releasing the RRM4896 48V Brushless Ride On Mower Kit at your local Bunnings in December."

No idea of retail price so far, however, going on US posted prices, it should be considerably cheaper than the Husqvarna Battery Rider.

[4Springs]

Been waiting for an electric ride-on, keeping our ageing petrol one going for 'just one more season' for the last few years.
Would like a catcher, but otherwise that Ryobi looks good.

[brendon_m]

4 x 75ah 48v included. For $3999usd ($5500aud). Seems too cheap to have a mower bolted around it

[4Springs]

4 x 75ah 48v included. For $3999usd ($5500aud). Seems too cheap to have a mower bolted around it

You mean the Ryobi? It is lead-acid. Gives better traction!

[brendon_m]

Makes more sense. It seems to be actually $3999aud not US as well so even cheaper.

[LouB]

It's also available with 100ah batteries (for US $200 more).
Brendon - where did you find the $3999 AUD price?
At that price I would snap it up today!

[LouB]

Hi 4Springs, I once believed I needed a catcher for my ride-on. At great expense, I bought the catcher kit for my then Cox Orion ride-on. Cox Australia made good mowers 30+ years ago. My present Cox (Stockman 4000 LiveAxle) is a POS. The Orion was a side discharge mower and the catcher contraption was heavy, awkward, and the feed shute would clog all the time.
These days, I just let the clippings rot in-situ. If I need it to look neater, in close to the house, I just take care to lay the clippings in windrows and rake them up for composting.
So for me, the fact that the Ryobi does not bag the clippings, is no problem.

[LouB]

Just a postscript on catcher for Ryobi 480e. There's this video showing that a grass catcher is actually available (in US at least):

Ryobi RM480e Bagger Attachment with Blade Swap
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SI4SiwKHLqg

[brendon_m]

I just googled the thing and this page came up
https://www.ryobi.com.au/battery-powered-ride-on-mower/
I thought it was US at first but it's .com.au so I'd say it's aud

[antiscab]

3 year warranty on lead acid, that's brave

[brendon_m]

Each 48V 75Ah battery included in the kit can power your mower through up to 2 acres of lawn, or 2 hours of runtime. And to make sure you can get the job completely done, this kit comes with four 75Ah batteries

Seems to have an 8 hour run time, if it takes you more than 8 hours to mow your lawn you should buy a tractor.

[LouB]

Thank you - Brendon

I'm sure that the page at: https://www.ryobi.com.au/battery-powered-ride-on-mower/ must only have been uploaded within the last 24hours, or so. I think I would have seen it had it been there before. I have registered my interest with Ryobi.com.au and await news of its public release.

[4Springs]

Just a postscript on catcher for Ryobi 480e. There's this video showing that a grass catcher is actually available (in US at least):

Ryobi RM480e Bagger Attachment with Blade Swap
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SI4SiwKHLqg

Thanks for that.
Now I look, it even says that the 'bagger' is available on the Australian Ryobi website.
Doesn't look very convenient to empty, and looks like it would clog up at the first hint of wet grass, but it is available...

Our current lawnmower (Stiga) has the grass exit backwards straight into a large catcher. It is designed so that you can empty it without getting off the mower. I'm mainly interested in the catcher for when the grass is very long, and leaving it there would kill the grass underneath it. Looking at that catcher I think I'd be emptying it far too frequently to be convenient. I'd be better going around and raking it up afterwards.

[antiscab]

Each 48V 75Ah battery included in the kit can power your mower through up to 2 acres of lawn, or 2 hours of runtime. And to make sure you can get the job completely done, this kit comes with four 75Ah batteries

Seems to have an 8 hour run time, if it takes you more than 8 hours to mow your lawn you should buy a tractor.

I took that as marketing speak for there's 4 x 12v 75ah batteries. That would be quite the swap out if they do actually supply 3 spare 48v 75ah batteries

[LouB]

Bunnings now has the Ryobi RM480e available on special order.

See:
https://www.bunnings.com.au/ryobi-38-48 ... r_p0089488

I went and ordered one today. I didn't agree to pay for delivery because the shop assistant said it would cost an extra $148 for the 'crane lift truck'. In the past I have always carted my ride-ons in a box trailer. I have ramps suitable for ride-ons and ATVs. I'm hoping that when the mower arrives, the yard staff at Bunnings will fork-lift the framed package onto my trailer. The Ryobi's weight of approx 270kg should not be any problem.

[LouB]

For anyone else interested in the Ryobi RM480E ride-on mower:

As the sales people at Bunnings could not tell me whether the AU standard 240V 10A power outlet was adequate to charge the battery, I emailed Ryobi Australia for clarification. The reply was affirmative, in that the charger has a standard 10A plug.

I was not sure before because most of the Info on the Web comes from users in the U.S.A. where 120V 15A is commonly recommended.

Charging at 240V 10A should be actually faster than the U.S. published times.

Hopefully, once I get the mower, within 10 days or so, I'll be able to test for myself and let you know how it performs on our typical scrubby Aussie block.

[LouB]

The Ryobi ride-on was delivered on 18 Dec and it's now done just over 4.5 hours mowing. So far, the experience has been mainly positive. It took some getting used to the sudden standing start acceleration, but, the very tight turning circle, almost as good as a Zero-turn mower, made up for it. Having no drive belts, makes removing the mowing deck very fast and easy. It does a good job on lawn but the blades could do with a bit more tip speed for the scrubby areas of our place. The twin blades are described as being 20 inches long but really measure just 19.25". The mower came with a mulching plug that helps re-cut clippings and prevents leaving windrows on lawn.

There has not been any problem with charging the battery from the standard 240V 10A outlet. No obvious heating of wiring, when using an extension power cord either.

In summary, I think it will do the job for us. Now I have to start cleaning and tuning our ICE mowers in preparation for sale; while there is still a market for the outdated technology, that is

[wozz]

Just received my Ryobi ride on, incredibly hard to get at the moment, though i'm lead to believe it will be easier in Summer (10 were delivered to bunnings stores around Australia, more cannot be ordered via Bunnings special orders as they're a "promotional item" - the 1 I bought was actually destined to be a display model though i was very lucky, Ryobi Australia could not tell me when more would be delivered)

Going to sell my Husqvarna 22hp Ride on, the Ryobi is amazing in comparison, especially with the tighter turning circle. My lawn is quite dry at the moment and i found the petrol mower would whip up a dust storm so i'd end up caked in dirt after mowing the yard - with the Ryobi there was virtually no dust in comparison - though it certainly does a great job of cutting the grass.. Was surprised, it's still relatively loud when blades are running, though obviously near silent without them.

Only thing I dont like so far is around really tight spots where reversing is required - You have to manually stop the blades, put it in reverse, then start the blades before driving again..
If you don't stop the blades, then they won't start again after you go back into drive, you'll have to come to a complete stop, turn them off, then back on before they'll begin again (safety 'feature').. You can use blades in reverse with a reverse button, have not tried this yet, might make the process easier!

[Bryce]

Thanks for pointing the Ryobi out Lou - just wrote it up for TheDriven. Hopefully a cut above my usual articles ....

Cheers
Bryce