Mowing ..

[danzvtil]

I did 60m of single sided 2m tall murraya hedge today with the 520iHT4 telescopic, it didnt even go thru 1 bar of battery! The BLi300 9ah just might be the first battery that will last me all day.
The unit also has a soft start trigger, so is all class!

[slowsnake]

Originally Posted by danzvtil

I did 60m of single sided 2m tall murraya hedge today with the 520iHT4 telescopic, it didnt even go thru 1 bar of battery! The BLi300 9ah just might be the first battery that will last me all day.
The unit also has a soft start trigger, so is all class!

I'm not into gardening at all, but your battery powered tools intrigue me, I only have a cheap Hitachi drill, and seldom used, it was cheap and nasty, but the batteries when new would last an hour of soft drilling but ended up getting 15 minutes from a recharge!
Do your batteries degrade too?..and at how many usage hours do you need to replace or chuck em out!

Regards Billy.

[danzvtil]

Originally Posted by slowsnake

I'm not into gardening at all, but your battery powered tools intrigue me, I only have a cheap Hitachi drill, and seldom used, it was cheap and nasty, but the batteries when new would last an hour of soft drilling but ended up getting 15 minutes from a recharge!
Do your batteries degrade too?..and at how many usage hours do you need to replace or chuck em out!

Regards Billy.

What you’ll find with consumer battery tools, is the standard kit contains the smallest battery available to hit a price point, and the charger supplied might not be the fast charge version for the same reason. This is why I have 8 x 1.5ah ozito PXC batteries, but only use 5.2ah with fast chargers.
My ozito batteries are up to 5 years old, and my stihl ones are 18mos old with no noticeable degradation, I do use them frequently, rotate their use, and store them fully charged. Storing them flat with infrequent use would do them no good.

[DFB FGXR6]

Working the Bush Ranger hard today!





This thing is like a tank! And I'm very surprised with how fuel efficient that Honda is.

[danzvtil]

Got an update on my broken stihl hedgers today, was told they ordered and installed the "electric module", but no dice, so have now ordered motors. Its been 7 weeks since the first one broke. I took great pride in telling him that i dont care what he does with them, im into huski now and wont go backwards
Now a report since they have had some solid use, both using the same Bli300 9AH battery.
520iHT4 telescopic-
This unit seems to NOT use as much battery as the hand held.
Super sharp and fine cut.
Metal gear box gets hot with use.

520iHD60 hand held
Goes through the battery bars quicker than the telescopic.
Cuts very fast to a high standard, even the fine stuff. I have to be careful not to gouge tight hedges where the stihl would just ride over.
I might be imagining it, but the gearbox on this must be filled with lanolin grease, it smells sheepy when it gets hot.

I have a job which is tight jap box/lilly pilly and abelia hedges, took me a solid 3.5 hrs on both machines and used 3 of the 4 bars, when the stihl gear takes 5 hrs. As long as i can keep the billable hours up, it will be great.
Had another 40 meter cypress hedge, and the cut was first class, so highly recommend these units to anyone, i am now looking at huski blowers and whippers that i might add to the collection.

[John 13]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Working the Bush Ranger hard today!

image

image

This thing is like a tank! And I'm very surprised with how fuel efficient that Honda is.

First attempt to attach images ! It may not have succeeded.
Unremarkable similarity between Sanli and Honda engine bits, muffler, carburettor pieces and etc.
Current project, Kubota engine on unknown WA made frame. Plan to remodel chassis to include a side delivery chute and new narrower front wheel assembly. Incidentally LH thread on blade shaft consequently set up to rotate blades anti-clockwise (looking from above). So far have built up and re-machined blade shaft and fitted better bearings and made up new blade bar to take off the shelf slasher blades.

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by John 13

First attempt to attach images ! It may not have succeeded.

Try using Postimage.

https://postimages.org

[Tonz]

Have an older JD ride on mower thats used in a blue moon, I need to replace the battery (over 5 years old) but was thinking of using one of these....

Automatic Smart Battery Charger Trickle 5A 6V/12V SLA AGM Car Motorcycle Caravan will it work?
There is lying in the shed a Honda brand 240v - 9v 100 mA charger but I prefer sitting on the fire pump.

[.:4:.]

My mate next door stuck his head over the fence because he had lost the bump knob for his whipper snipper. His is a battery ryobi. So i lent him my 2 stroke homelite. That part is whatever.
So my mate also has an old 2 stroke whipper snipper that he claimed didnt work and asked if id take a look at it. He isnt mechanically minded but i said yeah bring it over and id show him what i was looking at. So primer bulb and fuel lines were intact, air filter wasnt filthy, pulled the spark plug and grounded it to the block and when i gave it a rip and it had spark. So the 3 things a 2 stroke needs to work. So put fuel in it and i explained the starting procedure ie priming and choke etc, but got him to do it. Sure enough the thing started quite easily. Put some line on the spool and got him to breifly hit a test patch of longer grass to make sure it didnt bog down and need a carb adjustment. The thing ran strong.
Granted small single cylinder 2 stroke engines are pretty basic, and if you arent interested in how things operate, i can understand not bothering. I could have just winged it but if it was leaking or had no spark i didnt want to waste fuel. But a few checks and 7 or 8 minites of time spent teaching someone something, my mates response was its been sitting for years and it was that simple? My response was you should have asked years ago...

[mad2]

i got tired of our fuel version whipper snipper & bought a corded electric version, which i now prefer over ICE versions [less headaches..... for me lol].

[.:4:.]

Neither my neighbor or i can go corded, only because both places are battle axes with long driveways. My 2 stroke always starts easy, so provided it remains like that I'll stick with it. When it either craps out or becomes a pain I'll probably go battery powered makita. Main reason for makita is purely because my other battery tools are makita so i have batteries and they stay maintained as the get used and charged.

[hackney]

I now consider myself a ‘Greenie’! I just purchased a Ryobi 36v electric mower! Boy does it get along!Its got little lights as well!

[CyberWasp]

I never thought it would happen as I have always been a staunch 2stroke kind of person.
Didn't even want to know about 4stroke ect.
But gradually over time 1 by 1 all of my 2stroke tools have died or cost too much to be repaired and now I am fully converted to 18V Ryobi.
I have 2 x Hedgers, Blower, Brushless Whipper Snipper, Edger and now the final part arrived a month ago.



This one takes 2 x 18V Batteries so I load it up with 2 x 5.0A Batteries and it will do my yard twice without recharging them. I live on a 480m2 block so must have approx 110 - 140m2 to mow.

Cons -
Not as Powerful as a Petrol - but does speed up automatically when needed.
Does not like wet or super long grass.
Not built as well as the old Victa, wheels , plastic deck, clips ect.
Basically have to be more gentle I guess with it if you want it to last.
Feels like you are vacuuming the lawn instead of mowing by the sound it makes.
Narrower Track.

Pros - I use it more often as mowing is easier, so lawn looks as good as ever.
Being able to stop and start it at the push or release of a button.
No fuel or fuel mixing worries. Just recharge batteries after use so always ready.
Very light, you could easily hang it in the shed to make more space.
So much quieter.
Creates less clippings to sweep off the path.

But the Number One Pro which surprised me the most, is that I no longer get hay fever when I mow the lawn. Yes it didn't dawn on me for a few weeks.
As it is not as powerful, and there are no fumes, it does not disturb the air as much or something like that.
I dunno but would be interested if that is a side effect for anyone else that has made the change.

[Ford17]

Electric mowing is the way of the future, and many people seem to be getting on board, with largely positive reviews.

I'm still using a two stroke Victa, and my go-to phrase for justification comes from 'The Castle':

[hackney]

Originally Posted by CyberWasp

I never thought it would happen as I have always been a staunch 2stroke kind of person.
Didn't even want to know about 4stroke ect.
But gradually over time 1 by 1 all of my 2stroke tools have died or cost too much to be repaired and now I am fully converted to 18V Ryobi.
I have 2 x Hedgers, Blower, Brushless Whipper Snipper, Edger and now the final part arrived a month ago.

image

This one takes 2 x 18V Batteries so I load it up with 2 x 5.0A Batteries and it will do my yard twice without recharging them. I live on a 480m2 block so must have approx 110 - 140m2 to mow.

Cons -
Not as Powerful as a Petrol - but does speed up automatically when needed.
Does not like wet or super long grass.
Not built as well as the old Victa, wheels , plastic deck, clips ect.
Basically have to be more gentle I guess with it if you want it to last.
Feels like you are vacuuming the lawn instead of mowing by the sound it makes.
Narrower Track.

Pros - I use it more often as mowing is easier, so lawn looks as good as ever.
Being able to stop and start it at the push or release of a button.
No fuel or fuel mixing worries. Just recharge batteries after use so always ready.
Very light, you could easily hang it in the shed to make more space.
So much quieter.
Creates less clippings to sweep off the path.

But the Number One Pro which surprised me the most, is that I no longer get hay fever when I mow the lawn. Yes it didn't dawn on me for a few weeks.
As it is not as powerful, and there are no fumes, it does not disturb the air as much or something like that.
I dunno but would be interested if that is a side effect for anyone else that has made the change.

The days of 4 stroke mowers will slowly come to an end.It has already been mentioned they are on the chopping block.Still have my Honda,it mulches,but the thing is so damn heavy is the very reason I decided to switch.Paid close to $1,200 @ the time.Paid $799 for the Ryobi 36V brushless mower.Self propelled as well,comes with one battery,but I can purchase another battery @ $299.So light to push,was a bit hesitant @ first,but now I have purchased it,I am more than happy.Highly recommend them.

[.:4:.]

For domestic use, yeah i think 2 strokes days are pretty well up. So by that i mean whipper snippers and hand held stuff. Brushless electric with modern batteries is at the point now where its good and only going to get better. 4 stroke mowers i reckon will stay around longer. Yeah they use fuel, but you dont need to mix it, theyre not nearly as loud as say a 2 stroke whipper snipper and they dont pump smoke like a 2 stroke.
Commercial people i cannot see going fully battery electric untill battery technology advances to the point where you can go all day on 1 or 2 batteries. Filling a tank from a jerry takes no time flat. My 5a makita batteries from dead take 30 to 40 minutes to charge.

[CyberWasp]

There are many options now for charging also.



Just with the 18V range there is 6 and even 9amp batteries available.

The initial outlay is high but considering the batteries can support any device on the platform it averages out.

You can have a bank of all different capacity batteries to be ready at any time for any device.

[roddy1960]

G'day guys ....A bit of tech support if I may ..I have a very well used and about 29 year old Cox ride on sitting in the shed doing nothing . She's go the 10.5 hp. rear mount Briggs and Stratton I/C and has a friction drivetrain .

Umming and arring about trying to get her running again . She's got a lot of hours up but the engine was still good when I shedded her in about 2012 . Hasn't started since then unfortunately but I did drain the fuel system at the time . The real issue is the friction drive cone . It was basically stuffed and I'd adjusted it quite a few times .

Do you chaps reckon it's still possible at a decent price to get parts (aka friction clutch /cones) . Do you also reckon Cox would be the best option to source such stuff ?

I do have my Husky LTH 19530 that is nice to use but to see the old Cox in the corner of the shed occasionally fills me with desire to see if I could get it going again ... Any advice gratefully received ...Cheers...

[slowsnake]

https://www.hendersonmowers.com.au/display/27291

Check this out!

[Ben73]

My mower is the only petrol garden equipment I have left. Everything I have is electric now and I love it.

My next mower will be electric.
I’ve seen good reviews of the EGO 56v. Apparently 50-60 minute run time on a single charge.
I could do my lawn in 30 minutes easy so I guess even when the batteries lose some of their range I still should be sweet.
Although it seems quite expensive.

[PG2]

Originally Posted by roddy1960

G'day guys ....A bit of tech support if I may ..I have a very well used and about 29 year old Cox ride on sitting in the shed doing nothing . She's go the 10.5 hp. rear mount Briggs and Stratton I/C and has a friction drivetrain .

Umming and arring about trying to get her running again . She's got a lot of hours up but the engine was still good when I shedded her in about 2012 . Hasn't started since then unfortunately but I did drain the fuel system at the time . The real issue is the friction drive cone . It was basically stuffed and I'd adjusted it quite a few times .

Do you chaps reckon it's still possible at a decent price to get parts (aka friction clutch /cones) . Do you also reckon Cox would be the best option to source such stuff ?

I do have my Husky LTH 19530 that is nice to use but to see the old Cox in the corner of the shed occasionally fills me with desire to see if I could get it going again ... Any advice gratefully received ...Cheers...

I recently reconditioned my grandfather's old lawn mower.

I now relate doing up old mowers to doing up old cars - it costs a lot more than you think it will and while you are doing it makes no sense but you do it anyway.

Now that I have done it, I don't want to wreck it by mowing the lawns!!!

[hackney]

Originally Posted by Ben73

My mower is the only petrol garden equipment I have left. Everything I have is electric now and I love it.

My next mower will be electric.
I’ve seen good reviews of the EGO 56v. Apparently 50-60 minute run time on a single charge.
I could do my lawn in 30 minutes easy so I guess even when the batteries lose some of their range I still should be sweet.
Although it seems quite expensive.

Yup,I have nothing left now with a petrol motor.Bought myself a Ryobi 36v mower.Just a great thing to mow with!Nice & light,self propelled too!

[Tassie f100]

Originally Posted by roddy1960

G'day guys ....A bit of tech support if I may ..I have a very well used and about 29 year old Cox ride on sitting in the shed doing nothing . She's go the 10.5 hp. rear mount Briggs and Stratton I/C and has a friction drivetrain .

Umming and arring about trying to get her running again . She's got a lot of hours up but the engine was still good when I shedded her in about 2012 . Hasn't started since then unfortunately but I did drain the fuel system at the time . The real issue is the friction drive cone . It was basically stuffed and I'd adjusted it quite a few times .

Do you chaps reckon it's still possible at a decent price to get parts (aka friction clutch /cones) . Do you also reckon Cox would be the best option to source such stuff ?

I do have my Husky LTH 19530 that is nice to use but to see the old Cox in the corner of the shed occasionally fills me with desire to see if I could get it going again ... Any advice gratefully received ...Cheers...

If the old Cox is in fairly tidy conditionI would reckon it is well worth fixing.As slowsnake linked and on google/ ebay there seems to be either genuine or aftermarket drive cones for$140-200+ available.Even if you don’t need it you will probably sell the mower for quire a few $$$

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by Ben73

My mower is the only petrol garden equipment I have left. Everything I have is electric now and I love it.

My next mower will be electric.
I’ve seen good reviews of the EGO 56v. Apparently 50-60 minute run time on a single charge.
I could do my lawn in 30 minutes easy so I guess even when the batteries lose some of their range I still should be sweet.
Although it seems quite expensive.

I bought the EGO 47cm self propelled (coz big lawn and lazy ) mower from Total tools in the kit that comes with a 5.0 amp hour battery and charger.

40mins run time is closer to the mark for me as both front and back lawns are on a slight slope.

Wouldn't go back to petrol and pushing.

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Looking at the second pic, there is something very satisfying about doing that.

Remember this comment you posted last Autumn when I was half way through the leaves?.





It'll be a lot more satisfying when we clean up after Fridays storm

[hayseed]

Originally Posted by roddy1960

Do you chaps reckon it's still possible at a decent price to get parts (aka friction clutch /cones) . Do you also reckon Cox would be the best option to source such stuff ?

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/18115254...MAAOSwLLlgRocR

[FTE217]

I live in a very bushy gully in Syd that is high maintenance.
Well it may suit some re battery power but I really do not care I enjoy my coal powered tools - I’m soon needing to upgrade my briggsy trusty ol mower and for the money I’d spend on a high end battery one I’ll go Honda coal power self propelled to last me till I’m 6’ under.
Even my young gen neighbour who has tried to adapt to battery power I noticed gave in got a sthyl coal blower - admittedly I notice he doesn’t buy high end stuff but having a battle axe driveway and all his battery blower was not to standard.
Long live coal power for me at this stage.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ben73]

Originally Posted by GasoLane

I've bought the EGO 47cm self propelled (coz big lawn and lazy ) mower from Total tools in the kit that comes with a 5.0 amp hour battery and charger.

40mins run time is closer to the mark for me as both front and back lawns are on a slight slope.

Wouldn't go back to petrol and pushing.

That’s pretty good. I was looking at a website that said 6 minutes per amp hour so I was just going off the 10ah battery.
I think 40 minutes is good off a 5ah

I have a line trimmer with 2ah battery and I can easily do my yard twice on a single charge. Maybe even 3 times but I’ve never tried.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by Ben73

My mower is the only petrol garden equipment I have left. Everything I have is electric now and I love it.

My next mower will be electric.
I’ve seen good reviews of the EGO 56v. Apparently 50-60 minute run time on a single charge.
I could do my lawn in 30 minutes easy so I guess even when the batteries lose some of their range I still should be sweet.
Although it seems quite expensive.

If I was to go an battery powered mower, I would be strongly looking at Ego.

But, be sure to take note of the cutting heights these machines offer. A lot of these mowers are designed for the American market where they generally mow at higher settings. And while that is probably a good thing, most Aussies prefer a lower cut. My boss has a Stihl battery mower and hates it because he can't get the deck to go low enough, meaning his Kikuyu lawn just gets spongier and spongier. And because of the way the blade boss is designed, he cant back the blades down with washers either.

https://egopowerplus.com.au/power-mowers/

Your average Victa will mow down to 11mm.

Ego mowers have lowest cut heights of 20mm, 25mm or 28mm depending on model.

So if you prefer a lower cut, just be aware that you will not get that with these mowers. Stihl's are same.

Victa do make a battery mower based on their traditional steal base that will cut down to the same 11mm of the petrol version. These don't look as futuristic as an Ego, at least they cut to expectations. Victa use Briggs and Stratton branded batteries.

https://www.victa.com/au/en_au/produ...200w-skin.html

Also look into Masport's battery range, again with traditional cut heights.

https://masport.com.au/category/outd...wer-equipment/

[beardo]

Originally Posted by FTE217

I live in a very bushy gully in Syd that is high maintenance.
Well it may suit some re battery power but I really do not care I enjoy my coal powered tools - I’m soon needing to upgrade my briggsy trusty ol mower and for the money I’d spend on a high end battery one I’ll go Honda coal power self propelled to last me till I’m 6’ under.
Even my young gen neighbour who has tried to adapt to battery power I noticed gave in got a sthyl coal blower - admittedly I notice he doesn’t buy high end stuff but having a battle axe driveway and all his battery blower was not to standard.
Long live coal power for me at this stage.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We have couch grass lawns front and back and I just couldn't quite bring myself to buy a battery mower as I wasn't sure if they'd get through the thick lawn so ended up buying a new Honda. My mum still has the Honda we bought 30 years ago and I don't reckon it's ever been serviced