Electric Riding Mowers?

[Bill the Engineer]

What is the latest state-of-the-art for electric riding mowers (new and conversions)? All of the threads I have found are old, and the technology is advancing rapidly. In the foreseeable future, I will have 1.5 acres to keep mowed, and I really don't want to burn fossil fuels to do it!

Bill the Engineer

"It's not how fast you mow", it's how well you mow Fossil Fuel FREE!

[oil pan 4]

Did you check ecorenovator?

[Stubby79]

You just need a bigger, better battery to mow a larger area like that...that's where Leaf battery modules would come in handy. Converting a mower would be relatively easy.

I've only seen one factory built electric ride-on mower so far. It was stupidly expensive, and not remotely impressive.

[Daox]

To mow 1.5 acres in a single charge you'll need a lithium pack for sure. As it is I have a 1 acre lot and I have to mow in multiple charges, and to be kind/easy on the batteries which are lead acid. I love the mower but it certainly hasn't been the most economical machine.

EcoRider - riding lawn mower electric conversion - EcoRenovator

Tim Fulton's Simplicity Broadmoor 728

[jamesqf]

Perhaps you could reconsider the idea of mowing the whole thing? Look into prairie/grassland ornamental plantings.

[freebeard]

This one's a hybrid, but needn't be:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oBZGzPNQoE

[oil pan 4]

Has any one tried to quantity how many KwH per acre it takes to mow?
To see how doable and affordable such a rig would be.

[Frank Lee]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

Perhaps you could reconsider the idea of mowing the whole thing? Look into prairie/grassland ornamental plantings.

Put some goats out there. Then you get free milk too.

[Stubby79]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

Has any one tried to quantity how many KwH per acre it takes to mow?
To see how doable and affordable such a rig would be.

From someone like us who has already done some math:
Lawn Mowers I - John Saves Energy

My ½ acre lot with ~¼ acre of lawn requires ~0.7KWH of energy from the battery and 1KWH of electricity to recharge the battery. That’s about 10 cents per week to mow my lawn. Since solar panels provide all my electricity, my lawn mower is effectively solar powered.

So...~4kwh per acre. 6 to do his 1.5 acres. Just a rough estimate...YMMV.

That's a fair bit of juice. 60-cents per mow at our electricity rates here...but still a lot less than you'd pay in gas. You'd need roughly an 8kwh battery (as you can't drain 100% of a charge)...enough for an around-town EV!

(If i was doing it, I'd be building a multi-purpose battery)

Thinking "hybrid"...If you were generating electricity, and mowing it in an hour, you'd need an engine putting out 10hp continuously, which would chew through approximately 2.6 litres (2/3rds of a gallon) of gas an hour...at our gas rates, that's about $3.25. You guys at $2.50 or so a gallon would still be paying $1.70.

OP: How much fuel are you using to mow it at the moment?

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

Put some goats out there. Then you get free milk too.

The only problem with goats is they pull the grass entirely out, including the root. Male goats also tend to stink a lot, unless they're castrated.