I too have this same question. Looking at going with battery-powered handhelds and probably a 21" pusher for my start-up next spring. Was leaning towards propane for my primary mower (52" stander), but am now looking into the viability of battery-powered primary mowers as well.

Mean Green appears to offer a pretty well-rounded lineup, with 33", 48", 52", 60", and 74" models / deck size options. Initial cost looks high, but after considering the ridiculous charge / discharge cycle duty rating on their LEM batteries - 90% of life remaining at 9,000 (!!) cycles - you'd have to compare the MSRP of a Mean Green mower to the overall lifecycle costs of a gas-powered unit including fuel and maintenance to have an accurate comparison.

First impressions of the specs and overall design of their CXR-52/60 sit-down ZRT as seen in this overview video are incredibly impressive. The same holds true for their SK-48 stander.

But real-world performance is a different animal from specs on paper. Cut quality is what I'm most interested in learning more about, particularly given the 17,000 FPM blade tip speed. Anybody here cut with or see one of the Mean Green mowers in the field that can speak to cut quality?

 

Some the hh stuff like string trimmers are great for light duty. Like you said no vibration and no maint at all.

the bigger mowers, if they similar to push mowers, lack torque to cut any kind serious grass including weekly accounts Spring here.

 

the bigger mowers, if they similar to push mowers, lack torque to cut any kind serious grass including weekly accounts Spring here.

Therein lies my biggest concern, particularly given the max 17,000 FPM blade tip speed. As a personal anecdote, I was recently told by a third-party mower demo representative handling multiple brands that the battery-operated Mean Green and Greenworks machines have just as much if not more power than comparable gas machines.

I was incredibly skeptical of the claim at first, but after reading up more on Mean Green's equipment roster and seeing the innovation and quality of the design in other areas, I have an open mind on the matter and am looking for hard data to prove or disprove the claim.

I will say that I really like that Mean Green's SK-48 Stalker stand-on has a green-yellow-red light feedback mechanism to the operator regarding blade tip speed for the purpose of informing driving speed. Seems like something that could / should be adopted by all ZRT's designed for commercial use.

I'll tell you right now, if you're cutting grass with blades, you'll never do it quietly. ever. Mean green uses this as their main selling point, but you know when blades are spinning, they're loud, we all know that.

Mean Green advertises their mowers as being 1/2 the sound level of a comparable gas mower. Digging further into the topic reveals that Mean Green mowers have a max sound output of 80 db, and they claim that most gas mowers put out 95-100 db by way of comparison.

I haven't yet done extensive research on that claim, but this past thread would seem to support it. If true, that would mean a comparable gas mower is approximately 300% louder than a Mean Green mower - since 6 db represents the threshold at which noise doubles (98 db - 80 db = 18 db difference).

I haven't heard any of the Mean Green mowers in person, so I have no personal experience on the subject. But Mean Green put together a YouTube video of a side-by-side noise comparison of their walk-behind and what looks to be a 52" Exmark Turf Tracer - you be the judge.

 

I'll tell you right now, if you're cutting grass with blades, you'll never do it quietly. ever. Mean green uses this as their main selling point, but you know when blades are spinning, they're loud, we all know that.

 

They are allot quieter. The engine constitutes a significant amount of a mowers noise level.

 

They significantly quieter. Municipal uses them in noise sensitive area here

 

Curious to see how this develops over time. I think the technology is there... the batteries are likely still the big ticket item. Wouldn't be surprised if each battery is somewhere around 1000-1500 bucks. Imagine having to replace that at some interval? Or have spare sets to get you through the day?

 

Wouldn't be surprised if each battery is somewhere around 1000-1500 bucks.

Haha, the batteries are more like 4-6k.
However, after a year of running a CXR-60, SK-48, and a WB-33, I'll be damned if I ever change oil or rebuild another carb on a mower ever again.

 

This question is for those of you who own or have used a Mean Green mower? I'm convinced they are built well and the batteries will last but I need to be confident that the cut quality is at least equal to or close to my turf tracer. Mean Green never talks about baffles, suction, airflow, tip speed, clipping dispersement, deck depth, blades etc. It looks like their blades are not high lift so I'm wondering if the air flow allows the grass blades to stand up straight before it is cut. A professional should leave the customers lawn clump free and flat or not be in business. I expect to do some double cutting in the spring but not all year long. The videos on line show the mean green machines mostly cutting very short grass or wet grass leaving a horrible looking cut. I would like to switch to electric for long term health reasons. I have a little ringing in one ear and it would be better not to inhale exhaust fumes if there is another option. If I get one it would be the stand on 48. Any information would be helpful. I cut cool season grasses in the Midwest. Thanks

 

it's easy to be battery operated when you're running small lawns. I'd say one could push mower and string trim and blow on all battery very easily, when it comes to doing leaf cleanups, trimming taller grass, and mowing bigger areas, the battery stuff isn't even close.

 

Amen. I think the only grass catcher they offer is the Accelerator. It's a nice catcher, but you are not doing any serious cleanup with it.

 

In an industrial 60" the ztr is $25K - 7 hours of mowing
In a contractor 60" it's $21,300 - 4.5 hours of mowing.

 

Yikes

 

Yep! The dealer did say this as well: "No fuel, oil, filters, belts, or pulleys. Just charge every night and mow every day."

He seemed like a decent guy.

 

"just charge every night and mow every day"....for 4.5 hours.

 

The idea that they were no belts or Pollis is intriguing to me though LOL

 

No doubt. Would love not to invest in spare belts, oil and filters. And never buy gas again...home run! I got creamed today. Some lawns where easy 8-9" tall. Would love to see how it performs in spring conditions. And if that extra strain would turn it into 3 or 3.5 hours runtime.

 

Good point you would get shorter run times in the thick spring but may be a longer run times in the dog days of August.

 

Amen. I think the only grass catcher they offer is the Accelerator. It's a nice catcher, but you are not doing any serious cleanup with it.

This actually was pretty effective for fall clean up. Could back in trailer and dump without getting off.
I didn't leave it on when I didn't use it but I could raise it up and it didn't add much to length of mower. ‍♂

 

I wonder how well this would work with a mean green mower for fall clean ups.
https://www.cyclonerake.com/cyclone...RDPARIsAN8pHuHGJPdY7_pvLVVYRWfWy46r-mdhJ2XrC5xuuyIegZrMMtH3JShEu4IaAq29EALw_wcB

 

That’s All homeownery grade stuff I was using in like 1980

my dad went that electric route before most of everyone here was born
The stuff isn’t really new
The tech is slightly more advanced, but honestly ... not really.

just an aside “omg only 4.5 hours of mow time?”
The average crew spends 20% of their day traveling and 10% loading/unloading
So that’s 2.4 hours your mower isn’t running.

then you have to trim and blow, which is usually about 30% of your day as well
Another 2.4 hours your mower is not running
Then there’s your half hour lunch
So 4.8 plus lunch is 5.3... add that to 4.5 for a total of 9.8 hours and yes, you could make it through an industry standard day on one charge.
Are there circumstances it wouldn’t work? sure
But on average it would.
Need a deeper cell battery ?
Buy the industrial model for a few grand more.

as far as those sweeper and collectors go... like I said
Was using that crap in the 80s
They’re bic pens
Do they work?
Kinda
For the first few months
You’ll wear the crap out of them fast
They’re not repairable worth a damn
Just buy a new one
Or... you know do what everyone else does and use the proper commercial equipment that’s out there.

a grass gobbler or accelerator does a better job faster than that tow behind sweeper
That’s why I stopped using those sweepers in the 80s

they do an awesome job on pine needles and cones tho!
Just don’t hold up

 

.

 

Salesman?

 

Good to hear from you!!

I've cut a wide range of very overgrown grass that challenged my EVO 74, bogging it down:

• 30" - 40" tall, undesirable non-turfgrass type grasses that went to seed
• mixed grass species varying from 8" - 12", which in itself wouldn't bog the EVO 47, except that the weather had been extremely wet, the soil was very rich, well drained, buy the sheer biomass was so great, I might as well been churning through 12" of cow manure.

I think the issue here was that this "rear discharge, mulching" design doesn't really discharge anything out the back like traditional side discharge mowers would throw things out the side.

None of this is an issue, however, even for taller grass, so long as it is relatively sparse with lots of air spaces so it never bogs down.

And this is certainly not an issue for regularly manicured lawns mowed every week or so; my conditions are mowing a local estate whenever time allows, and often it gets way ahead of us.

No photos, I'll try to take some next time I mow anything significant.

See this electric 74" Zero-Turn mower on this link. I paid over $40,000 for mine, and I have no regrets.

That being said, I was really hoping a large commercial user with a dozen mowers might chime in with solid data to make a business case (or not, as the case may be) for a solid business case for buying one of these. Take what I'm saying with a grain of salt, as I haven't used any other Zero Turn mower this size, so arguably haven't got the best basis for comparison.

My recommendation is get your hands on a demo EVO 74 mower and try it for yourself.

Salesman?

I bought mine from this dealer, there's surely one closer to you in Kansas.:

https://www.kohlerequipment.com/locations/31494

 

Have no need for one

 

Wow, a battery thread that isn't locked yet!

 

I recently bought one of these for use on our property.
I can attest that it's quiet. I can also tell you that support from Mean Green, or DR Power, since apparently purchased them, is pretty thin. I'd avoid them if I was a pro relying on them for income.

 

What specifically happened?

 

One example: when I was considering buying the mower I contacted Mean Green's customer support to get the wheelbase dimensions so I could make sure it would fit on my trailer. I couldn't find this information in the owner's manual or anywhere else on the web. I got a reply from their customer service with the overall dimensions of the mower, not the wheelbase dimensions. When I asked again, they said they did not have that info.
Also, finding parts online is nearly impossible unless you live in Europe. They provide parts in the US only through dealers. The dealer listed nearest me doesn't seem to care much about Mean Green and doesn't stock any of their machines among the literally hundreds that they have.