[silvermaxd]

so no one on this board has one of these in their fleet? I really want to get one of these but until the price gets closer to a gas unit and not double I'm gonna wait. Yeah sure they save over time but I ain't got that much time.

 

[Youngandfree]

so no one on this board has one of these in their fleet? I really want to get one of these but until the price gets closer to a gas unit and not double I'm gonna wait. Yeah sure they save over time but I ain't got that much time.

Gravely is getting in on the battery power market.

https://www.gravely.com/en-us/about/blog/10/gravely-unveils-evzt

 

[silvermaxd]

Gravely is getting in on the battery power market.

https://www.gravely.com/en-us/about/blog/10/gravely-unveils-evzt

thanks for the info...I know greenworks makes one also but they too are way to high on cost

 

[Cut blow and go scape]

I looked into it and found some used that were slightly in reach price wise. One guy was gonna let me take over payments er sumthin.
I.buy a lot of slightly used stuff and take my chances. Mean green or whatever seemed to be the stongest.
Besides costs I was concerned about cutting in the rain which I do occasionally if I'm all ready out there and it starts to rain.
I know it's not much help but I hope it helps
"LET IT FLY"

 

[BC Mowing & Tilling LLC]

Wow, usually i find these threads pretty informative. I have commented as such regulary. Apparently folks misunderstand the original question here. I don't really care about your opinions on green vs gas or the very real problems with the electric grid, or wanna hear your politics. They are yours and you are rightly entitled to them just as I am to mine.

I'd be super interested in cut quality. Thats my big question. How does it cut, does it stripe? As for machine specs, here's some info I have gleaned and my thoughts.

I run Deere 930Rs which are roughly 15k mowers.
I can reasonably get 1500 hrs out of a mower over three years before it's junk. With a new 3500.00 kawasaki (blew one once under warranty) motor I could probably extend that but wheel motors and other bends breaks and failures are gonna probably double that every 1500 hrs but then downtime becomes a PITA.

Let's talk hours. 500hrs a year per machine. 31 weeks from 1 April to 1 Nov. Typically I work 26 to 28 weeks or 40 hr cycles. On the conservative end, 25x40hr weeks = 1000hrs annually per guy. So my guys generally speaking, mow half the day and trim the other half so 7hr run times should be adequate.

So for 30k I can get a mower that has a reported 8000hr battery bank. That's a really long time. It's 16 years at 500hrs a year. There are no belts pulleys, oil, filters, breather filters, to maintain. Plus I'm not dumping 5 dollar a gallon gas in it either. I spend 30 to 40k of fuel a year that could easily help offset mower cost. I'd wanna know what the electric wheel motors and blade motors cost to replace though. Also, is the blade spindle separate from the motor? Things like these would be of interest.

Ok, so far, with fuel and maintenance savings, I could actually save money if I could only get 3000 hrs out of a battery pack. The simplicity of the mechanical aspects of the machine mean I could possibly keep a machine for a very long time. Not just three years but potentially a decade or two with battery change out after 8k hrs. IM INTERESTED AT THIS POINT.

To keep from posting the bibligraphy of electric vs gas I won't go into maintenance costs and other factors. You can do your own thinking from here I expect.

I'm a little skeptical on noise reduction claims. The video I saw with running blades was almost to noisy to hear the guy talking, lol. So I don't know how much that applies. I know when I here a mower running in the distance it's the blade noise I hear not the engine. You could test engine running noise and simply say without the engine noise you drop x amount of decibels. But I'd offer that the engine noise is drowned out or mixed with blade noise and thus the claim might be in error.

And here's the kicker. They are developing an AI autonomous capability to release in 21? Sees people, trees, flower beds ect. IT MOWS BY ITS SELF LIKE A TESLA CAR DRIVES IYS SELF. Guys, in the least, this is gonna have a giant impact on LCOs. Just like truck drivers our time is drawing to an end. People don't pay us to mow because they don't wanna buy a mower. They pay us cause they don't wanna RIDE a mower.

I do know someone is still gonna need to trim and send mowers out but my thoughts are still valid to a point.

I'd be very interested in any cut experiences out there to continue my evaluations on this issue. All politics aside, this is coming and the AI side of this needs all our attention.

 

[Youngandfree]

Wow, usually i find these threads pretty informative. I have commented as such regulary. Apparently folks misunderstand the original question here. I don't really care about your opinions on green vs gas or the very real problems with the electric grid, or wanna hear your politics. They are yours and you are rightly entitled to them just as I am to mine.

I'd be super interested in cut quality. Thats my big question. How does it cut, does it stripe? As for machine specs, here's some info I have gleaned and my thoughts.

I run Deere 930Rs which are roughly 15k mowers.
I can reasonably get 1500 hrs out of a mower over three years before it's junk. With a new 3500.00 kawasaki (blew one once under warranty) motor I could probably extend that but wheel motors and other bends breaks and failures are gonna probably double that every 1500 hrs but then downtime becomes a PITA.

Let's talk hours. 500hrs a year per machine. 31 weeks from 1 April to 1 Nov. Typically I work 26 to 28 weeks or 40 hr cycles. On the conservative end, 25x40hr weeks = 1000hrs annually per guy. So my guys generally speaking, mow half the day and trim the other half so 7hr run times should be adequate.

So for 30k I can get a mower that has a reported 8000hr battery bank. That's a really long time. It's 16 years at 500hrs a year. There are no belts pulleys, oil, filters, breather filters, to maintain. Plus I'm not dumping 5 dollar a gallon gas in it either. I spend 30 to 40k of fuel a year that could easily help offset mower cost. I'd wanna know what the electric wheel motors and blade motors cost to replace though. Also, is the blade spindle separate from the motor? Things like these would be of interest.

Ok, so far, with fuel and maintenance savings, I could actually save money if I could only get 3000 hrs out of a battery pack. The simplicity of the mechanical aspects of the machine mean I could possibly keep a machine for a very long time. Not just three years but potentially a decade or two with battery change out after 8k hrs. IM INTERESTED AT THIS POINT.

To keep from posting the bibligraphy of electric vs gas I won't go into maintenance costs and other factors. You can do your own thinking from here I expect.

I'm a little skeptical on noise reduction claims. The video I saw with running blades was almost to noisy to hear the guy talking, lol. So I don't know how much that applies. I know when I here a mower running in the distance it's the blade noise I hear not the engine. You could test engine running noise and simply say without the engine noise you drop x amount of decibels. But I'd offer that the engine noise is drowned out or mixed with blade noise and thus the claim might be in error.

And here's the kicker. They are developing an AI autonomous capability to release in 21? Sees people, trees, flower beds ect. IT MOWS BY ITS SELF LIKE A TESLA CAR DRIVES IYS SELF. Guys, in the least, this is gonna have a giant impact on LCOs. Just like truck drivers our time is drawing to an end. People don't pay us to mow because they don't wanna buy a mower. They pay us cause they don't wanna RIDE a mower.

I do know someone is still gonna need to trim and send mowers out but my thoughts are still valid to a point.

I'd be very interested in any cut experiences out there to continue my evaluations on this issue. All politics aside, this is coming and the AI side of this needs all our attention.

I'm with you except the part about people not wanting to buy a mower, vs ride a mower. They don't want to do either. And aren't likely to drop $10K on any kind of mower. That would be 7 years of $50/cut x 28 weeks/year.

 

[BC Mowing & Tilling LLC]

I mainly was talking about commercial mows that run 30 to 60k a year. Cost of a mower to them is cheaper in long run if they don't have to pay a guy to ride it. Your absolutely right about home owners but there are already smaller rumba type mowers like husquavarna makes now that will eventually take a bite outta our operations. I know some guys whose operation center around providing these mowers to home owners. Kinda like rent. The come around once in a while to check on things set them up etc or respond to maint ticket when something quits. Automatic mowers, like self driving vehicles, are coming and we won't be able to resit that trend for ever.

 

[Youngandfree]

I mainly was talking about commercial mows that run 30 to 60k a year. Cost of a mower to them is cheaper in long run if they don't have to pay a guy to ride it. Your absolutely right about home owners but there are already smaller rumba type mowers like husquavarna makes now that will eventually take a bite outta our operations. I know some guys whose operation center around providing these mowers to home owners. Kinda like rent. The come around once in a while to check on things set them up etc or respond to maint ticket when something quits. Automatic mowers, like self driving vehicles, are coming and we won't be able to resit that trend for ever.

I just watched this. The built in blower is a pretty sweet option.

 

[Derwood]

Interesting reading thru this thread. It was started about 6 years ago. Not a lot of super current comments. But still interesting to see what people say “today” versus what they were saying on 2015

 

[Brucey]

And here's the kicker. They are developing an AI autonomous capability to release in 21? Sees people, trees, flower beds ect. IT MOWS BY ITS SELF LIKE A TESLA CAR DRIVES IYS SELF. Guys, in the least, this is gonna have a giant impact on LCOs. Just like truck drivers our time is drawing to an end. People don't pay us to mow because they don't wanna buy a mower. They pay us cause they don't wanna RIDE a mower.

So the closest I've seen to any autonomous mowing is the prototype Wright machine, which can basically cut a pre programmed square or rectangle shape, with no obstacles inside. If it senses something in front of it, it shuts down. The mower costs three times what a non automated one costs. The auto mowing function costs another $800 a month on top. Cheaper than a human worker if thats all you mow, but pretty much everything I do has all kinds of crap within the perimeter.

While Tesla calls it "auto pilot" that function is actually very limited, you have to keep your hands on the wheel and its vision system can't detect there's a white semi trailer sitting across the road ahead because it looks like the sky. The ones that aren't paying attention to their Tesla tend to die in horrific accidents. It can also follow road markings right into construction/barriers. Many many years away.

If I was doing large commercial I'd probably be looking for some kind of remotely operated capability like you can get in construction equipment. Instead of being on site, drive it from home in the lazyboy. No wear and tear on the back, no bee stings. The on site helper does the unloading, trimming/blowing and loading up.

Now if I was 20 and thinking of mowing for the next 30 years...there will prob be a fair bit of automation down the track.

 

[BC Mowing & Tilling LLC]

Good post! From what I can see in videos,, The MGM self driver can detect people, bushes, edges of ponds and stuff like trees. It shows it following a curved pond bank, weaving in and around a line of trees, following the line of a drive way and a guy steps on front of it and the mower stops. They be getting close and I think they will get there. Super disappointing to hear about a monthly subscription fee. Im not paying that way. Especially if a gotta dump more cash to buy it.

 

[ken777]

Wow, usually i find these threads pretty informative. I have commented as such regulary. Apparently folks misunderstand the original question here. I don't really care about your opinions on green vs gas or the very real problems with the electric grid, or wanna hear your politics. They are yours and you are rightly entitled to them just as I am to mine.

I'd be super interested in cut quality. Thats my big question. How does it cut, does it stripe? As for machine specs, here's some info I have gleaned and my thoughts.

I run Deere 930Rs which are roughly 15k mowers.
I can reasonably get 1500 hrs out of a mower over three years before it's junk. With a new 3500.00 kawasaki (blew one once under warranty) motor I could probably extend that but wheel motors and other bends breaks and failures are gonna probably double that every 1500 hrs but then downtime becomes a PITA.

Let's talk hours. 500hrs a year per machine. 31 weeks from 1 April to 1 Nov. Typically I work 26 to 28 weeks or 40 hr cycles. On the conservative end, 25x40hr weeks = 1000hrs annually per guy. So my guys generally speaking, mow half the day and trim the other half so 7hr run times should be adequate.

So for 30k I can get a mower that has a reported 8000hr battery bank. That's a really long time. It's 16 years at 500hrs a year. There are no belts pulleys, oil, filters, breather filters, to maintain. Plus I'm not dumping 5 dollar a gallon gas in it either. I spend 30 to 40k of fuel a year that could easily help offset mower cost. I'd wanna know what the electric wheel motors and blade motors cost to replace though. Also, is the blade spindle separate from the motor? Things like these would be of interest.

Ok, so far, with fuel and maintenance savings, I could actually save money if I could only get 3000 hrs out of a battery pack. The simplicity of the mechanical aspects of the machine mean I could possibly keep a machine for a very long time. Not just three years but potentially a decade or two with battery change out after 8k hrs. IM INTERESTED AT THIS POINT.

To keep from posting the bibligraphy of electric vs gas I won't go into maintenance costs and other factors. You can do your own thinking from here I expect.

I'm a little skeptical on noise reduction claims. The video I saw with running blades was almost to noisy to hear the guy talking, lol. So I don't know how much that applies. I know when I here a mower running in the distance it's the blade noise I hear not the engine. You could test engine running noise and simply say without the engine noise you drop x amount of decibels. But I'd offer that the engine noise is drowned out or mixed with blade noise and thus the claim might be in error.

And here's the kicker. They are developing an AI autonomous capability to release in 21? Sees people, trees, flower beds ect. IT MOWS BY ITS SELF LIKE A TESLA CAR DRIVES IYS SELF. Guys, in the least, this is gonna have a giant impact on LCOs. Just like truck drivers our time is drawing to an end. People don't pay us to mow because they don't wanna buy a mower. They pay us cause they don't wanna RIDE a mower.

I do know someone is still gonna need to trim and send mowers out but my thoughts are still valid to a point.

I'd be very interested in any cut experiences out there to continue my evaluations on this issue. All politics aside, this is coming and the AI side of this needs all our attention.

Mean Green states that their batteries are rated for 8000 hrs. and will outlast the mower.

BTW - Tesla's are not self driving vehicles. They are advanced driver assist.

 

[Brucey]

Good post! From what I can see in videos,, The MGM self driver can detect people, bushes, edges of ponds and stuff like trees. It shows it following a curved pond bank, weaving in and around a line of trees, following the line of a drive way and a guy steps on front of it and the mower stops. They be getting close and I think they will get there. Super disappointing to hear about a monthly subscription fee. Im not paying that way. Especially if a gotta dump more cash to buy it.

Just to update, the $800 monthly fee/subscription for the automation is now $1000 a month....

 

[njwildflowers]

so no one on this board has one of these in their fleet? I really want to get one of these but until the price gets closer to a gas unit and not double I'm gonna wait. Yeah sure they save over time but I ain't got that much time.

Hello, I have a used 48" stalker mean green mower I would like to sell. Let me know if you are interested.