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My new 'TESLA' lawnmower
My HONDA mower gave up the ghost after 29-years.
I took a chance on a SEARS CRAFTSMAN,Briggs & Stratton-powered mower.It broke an oil ring before it could make it to the first oil change.I considered dealing with it,then changed my mind. I considered a 'corded' electric at much lower cost,but we've got 40-acres of park land where I live, and my 'adopt-a-spot' is all the walking/cycling trails,so a battery-powered mower was the better choice. I brought home an 80-V,4Ah, brushless,Lithium ion,Kobalt mower from LOWES.($431.95 out the door).It's what I'd have paid for a HONDA-powered Husqvarna. I charged one of the batteries while I completed the simple assembly and was mowing within 30-minutes. We set an all-time record for September rainfall (over a foot) and basically wasn't dry enough to work outside the whole month.Which left grass as high as 30-inches. The 80-volter cut through it as well as the HONDA had,and with the heat index,you didn't want to mow more than 30-minutes at a time anyway,so the battery 'range' wasn't an issue at all. Since the house is on wind power-produced electricity,lawn mowing will be basically carbon-free from here on out. So far ,so good.:) |
The efficient use of space. When I was looking, gas powered wasn’t really on the radar for that reason. It uses about 2 sq feet of floor space, and the charger is on a shelf. Cutting wet grass was an unforeseen bonus, flip it on it’s side when I’m done and do a quick clean
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Broke an oil ring on a briggs? Yikes. Usually those are known for being simple and resilient towards lack of maintenance. Was that one of their newer OHV engines?
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When not used for the mower, you could use that battery in your car as a virtual alternator delete. With a stepdown voltage regulator.
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Had one for years. Black & Decker (I think) with lead-acid batteries rather than lithium. Does a half-hour or so of mowing on a charge, no hassles with starting, keeping gas around, changing oil... I just have to figure out what to do about the plastic deck that's starting to crack.
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Ohv
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I read through the warranty and it was weasel-worded enough that I figured they wouldn't honor it. |
delete
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plastic
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The Kobalt is a steel deck which I could weld on if I had to over time. |
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JJ |
mower is kaput!
The 'Tesla' mower didn't let me down, but I sure let her down.
I've used it for bush-hogging and trail-blazing through our commie 80-acres of park land. The good news is, that neighbors helped, chain-sawing small trees and invasive privit. The bad news is that some of the stumps were tall enough for the mower's blade to crash into at full-rpm. After a few years of that, I managed to reduce the motor's lower bearing to dust. The shaft wanders around and it's no longer dynamically stable. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LOWE'S does not supports parts nor service for the mower. And they no longer sell a 80-Volt mower. Of all the places locally, which sell 80-V EV mowers, I'm down to Harbor Freight as the single source. They're sold out right now. For a week. I've never experienced a hand tool or power tool from them, so I'll do the gamble. Their Li-ion pack has a higher A-H rating than KOBALT. Price is comparable with what I have. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Denton lost it's only motor repair shop over a decade ago. Dallas would be a minimum 200-miles in round-trips. When things slow down, I'll pull the damaged motor, crack it open, and see if I can press out the remains of the zorched bearing and replace. Worst-case, I'll attempt an auxiliary bearing outboard of the original location, and dedicate the motor to an EV bike project. My mad-scientist electronics wizard brother says adding a variable speed control is very easy. 555-chip, a pot., and a few other goodies on a breadboard. And sniff the solder fumes.:p |
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