The "What I did today in the garden" in the Fruit and Veg growing section, kind of got obliterated by lawnmowers, so I thought it could be moved here? I just got rid of my 12-year-old Cub Cadet riding mower, posted it on Free Cycle. I'm too old to mess with internal combustion engines. It was loud, smoky, unreliable, needed the battery to be kept on a trickle charger, and had trouble going up hill. I had to spray ether into the carburetor to get it started. It was like my old '72 Ford Maverick but without the rust. Also left my behind and legs aching. It gave me leg cramps after a while. In town I had an eGo lawn mower. Much more reliable than my prior gas powered ones, lighter, quieter, less hassle. I still have it for small spaces here. I just bought an eGo riding mower. Can't say anything about long term issues. No longer need a gas can and trip to gas station for gas. It's much quieter, more powerful, small turning radius, easily goes uphill. I like it, a pleasure to ride. I think it's safer, lower center of gravity and wider base. Much more comfortable for my achy joints. My philosophy is live and let live. Everyone has different experiences and motivations, and that's fine by me. I've sort of given up on gasoline engine powered implements, too much hassle for me in my old age. At 21 I was proud to tinker with that Ford car and keep it running. Now it's different for me. (same for mini chain saw and hedge trimmers.)
Wow! I've never seen one like that before Daniel, and I'm wondering if they're available in the UK. That machine looks like an armchair in the living room .. so comfortable. Just make sure you don't nod off when you're driving around on it, and finish up in the goldfish pond. The trouble with the lithium batteries here though seems to be the cold weather. When it warms up a bit they seem to last a little longer, but if it turns chilly they're useless. I find our cub cadet to be a nice easy lightweight, and at the moment it is behaving quite well. We have a bigger machine as well which has a high grass deck. The turn isn't so tight, and it's heavier on fuel, but it sure takes care of the long tough grass and undergrowth.
Good move Daniel I noticed many of us wanted to talk about them too Like you said, folk have different reasons for getting electric tools, great idea if you look at the price of petrol, especially as we have our own solar set up that will charge all the lawnmower, chainsaw, hedge cutter and strimmer batteries, Trouble we've found has been that the lithium batteries just won't work in low temperatures. They take forever to charge, often have to resort to taking the battery inside to warm it up before it will take a charge and even then, they don't last very long before having to charge again. They're fine if you only want to do work in temperatures above 10c/50f but that's half the year out for us in the frozen wastes of England. When the batteries are new and it's warm then they're great, but like a laptop battery, that period doesn't last very long before the battery needs replacing.
Oh, this is our petrol cutter now I've cleaned it up and sharpened the blade... Still need to fit a new drive belt. Tetters is working on that one
Oughhh !! That's the one, if I had the dough, I would've bought !! I'm drooling over that zero turn !! This is a photo off the net, of the one I got. I like the storage area in the back because if I see a branch in my way I can stop and stick it in there. It has a discharge shoot but you can remove it (which I did) and put the cover over the hole so you can mulch instead.
Now if I had one that size, I could fit it with some lead acid batteries and I'd be away I thought about doing that with the lawnmower but the voltage meant i'd have to strap 3 of them on
I've always tried to find ride-on mowers with fat tyres, because we often seem to get long wet spells and thinner tyres make ruts in the grass - or else they get stuck in the soft turf - especially on the lower end of the site. I couldn't just wait for dry weather every time as it was a camping site, and the campers like the grass short!
I might not have noticed that, because I keep mine in the garage, and that's where I charge everything too.
I'm usually pretty frugal. I had an investment come in, and decided that it was better to spend some for better comfort and convenience, at this time of my life. I might have waited longer, but this seemed like the best time to get this price. I have a helper who likes to mow, and wanted to help out with that, too.
My Cub Cadet couldn't go uphill on wet grass. I had to take it out the lower gate, then up the black top to the upper gate. I didn't like riding it on the road, not at all.
That sounds great! I'm supposed to keep my grass under four inches, for wildfire risk mitigation. Some areas get ahead of me, but I try to keep it in compliance. My neighbor mows his grass twice a week, even when it's not growing in winter or brown and dormant in summer. I don't know why. My guess is he's on weed, and I don't mean dandelions. Or his wife tells him to, to get him out of the house.
Not perfect !! If you start it up and don't let the batteries warm up for a few minutes it stalls. I figured that out pretty quick. But I love the cruise control and it's fast and comfortable to drive.
