So an update: I was looking at a Husq rancher 450 and almost got it until I spotted the 350i battery pack version. I watched a review of a guy who has a channel on tools and he thought he would do one where it's gas vs battery. It was a Stihl gas vs a Husq 350i and the 350i blew it away. It cut a 12 inch log in half the time. The battery lasts roughly 50 minutes.
Here's a video review of the Husq 350i.... As for a mower, goodness it depends on your yard. Some of the guys here are using robot mowers but you need to PM them for more specifics like yard dimensions because I can't think of any robot mower that can mow even my maintained back yard. I'd love to use one because it grows fast when it rains a lot like it has these past 2 months and I can't always mow on the weekends. It would be nice if a Roomba-style mower just did its thing while I was at work.
Im in north Texas and have combination of Bermuda and st Augustine. 1/4 acre lot. Some inclines. I bought an ego lawn mower about 2 months ago so far so good. compared to my Honda self propelled gas mower (which still works) pros of ego 1. Not have to deal with gas 2. Less loud. Basically sounds like a loud fan. No motor sound. 3. Lighter. On level ground you don’t even really need the self propel 4. Push a button to start. Cons: 1. The self propel mechanism is not as fluid as gas mower. Slight delay to start and stop. It works well enough though 2. While being light is a net plus, being lighter does cause it to bump around more if ground is not level 3. With the st Augustine, it doesn’t give quite as crisp and even of a mow as the gas mower. Basically look like a day old mow. No noticeable difference with the Bermuda. The 7.5 battery is enough to finish the yard, with about 25% capacity left. The bundle also came with a 5.0 battery as a backup which I don’t need for the mower but do use with the ego leaf blower that I bought (which works great ) I can use either one and i generally choose the electric. It’s nice not having to fool around filling it up with gas, etc. Next purchase will be EGO weed trimmer / edger
I bought an Ego early last year, one of their better ones, along with a bunch of their other tools. In general I like them and have been pleased with all of the other tools, but the mowers just won't work for me. On the one I bought, the electric motor died within 6 months. Ego had me take it to Lowes for warranty. That was a whole cluster. Lowes took my mower and had me sign drop-off paperwork, eventually lost it and claimed I had picked it up, and told me they actually don't handle Ego warranty despite what Ego customer support told me. They ended up replacing my mower because they couldn't produce the one I left with them nor any paperwork proving I had picked it back up. The replacement mower also died within 6 months. Electric motor again. It's still sitting in my garage at this point, and I'm trying to decide whether I want to buy a motor and DIY the repair and keep it as a backup, or just sell it as is and be done with it. I'm sure they are fine in northern grass but they cannot handle Florida St Augustine in the rainy season even after a week's worth of growth at max height with the diverter installed. I've gone back to a Toro gas powered with a Briggs and Stratton engine. Deck is bigger and it handles anything I throw at it.
I walk thru Stetson’s campus and they have a robo lawn mower. I know nothing about it but it seems to keep a small area well manicured all the time.
Similar experience when I had Kobalt. Lowes told me they dont handle the warranty but when I called Kobalt they said just take it back to Lowes. I did and they in fact exchanged a failed piece of equipment very easily once I called them on it. Ego equipment seems better to me but their warranty process is not as simple. Cutting as we speak. Put a tent out for the pups so they can be outside for a few minutes. We are a bit extra with our dogs...
Thanks for the info. I wouldn’t have considered a cordless electric mower on our St Augustine lawn in Florida (had a Hustler ZTR) but this much smaller Bermuda lawn we have in north GA is not nearly the challenge.
I have a Greenworks 80v electric mower so it seems to have plenty of power. Purposely chose it over 40v models. Also bought an 80v weed trimmer. Having multiple batteries is nice as I don’t make it through mowing on a single charge. I wouldn’t go back to dealing with gas again though unless absolutely necessary.
8 acres of bahia. any suggestions other than my bush hog and a 60 inch zero turn? i’m considering goats and cows this time of year here in central florida.
I used push mowers until I purchased my current self-propelled Honda six years ago. Mowing the yard with those mowers provided a good workout especially going up sloped areas of the yard. As I was approaching 70 I decided that maybe a self-propelled mower would be the wiser choice even at over $100 more than a similar push mower.
I just realized I used the wrong term. It should have said “reel.” I don’t know how you pushed one. At 200 pounds the only way I could get it through the grass was to mow every three days.
We rented out 5 acres of pastures to a friend who raised a several calf’s each each year for butchering. We got a half cow and our property stayed mowed(eaten) and he got free pastures as long as he kept up the fencing.
One of my former neighbors actually had a reel mower. I think he may have used it a few times before turning to a power mower. It's been four or five years since he moved and if I recall it sat on the side of the house rusting away before he finally disposed of it. Both of my current next door neighbors use lawn services.
Even the ones with self-propulsion are a slog on grass that's even a tiny bit wet and lengthy. Cant imagine just straight up pushing one. I would surrender to the robots at that point lol.
