An Electric Riding mower?

Husqvarna came out with an electric riding mower. I am not sure how good of a deal this is or ever will be. But lets wait and see what happens when it is released for consumer use. Wonder how expensive they will be? http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-10260660-48.html

Lawn care business tips

I know that Hustler Turf came out with an all electric zero turn mower this year. I cannot imagine that the power would hold up to constant use. Also wonder how much the batteries would cost to replace.

[turfmaster]

Looks very futuristic.
I don't know about an electric mower though especially for commercial use.
I'm suprised they they don't come out with some sort of hybrid.

Originally Posted by turfmaster

Looks very futuristic.
I don't know about an electric mower though especially for commercial use.
I'm suprised they they don't come out with some sort of hybrid.

Hybrids?

You mean like these Commercial units or like these residential units?

Or did you have something more like this in mind? Or maybe like this one?

I am glad you mentioned this. I had no idea about this until I started doing some research. Now I will have to do some more research...... Hmmmmm. Now you got me thinking.

Eli

[jeramberg]

Electric Motors- use electricity to start the engine. Those batteries can't hold a charge more than a couple hours. If you cut more than one property this could pose a serious problem unless you mounted and ran a generator on your trailer to charge the mower between homes on the route. The engine draws more charge from the battery of the electric motor when starting. If you get stuck in a back yard or need to make a fix/ repair or grab a piece of trash and the motor shuts off, then you may not have enough power to restart. So a hybrid would be a good option, but even still then you have more parts to break and wear down, and you still need gas anyway-while you may need less and be able to save room on a smaller gas tank you'll add weight for a larger battery, and an electrical plug. The ability to have a free range machine that is start-able without needing electric, is one of the most important parts of our business. Also you will need to have electric to your garage or parking space for your trailer to have adequate power to charge your machines over night. I think the cost will by far outweigh the benefit of such an endeavor

I am afraid I have to agree with you on that one. Every time you create a machine with more "options" or that has more "gadgets" you create a machine with more problems. Think about an older engine with with no electric start, no electronic ignition, no electronic spark advance, just a carburetor, magneto ignition, and then the internal components. Let me tell you, this engine will run forever if it is properly cared for. There will be few maintenance problems. If you could strip a today's engine of its electronic components and make it just a straight forward engine, there would be considerably less problems.

Back to the hybrid or electric mower. I think this is an uncalled for, stupid and completely ridiculous idea. We as a nation and as a society are getting lazy and think we need to have everything easier all the time. forget it.

More options for convenience = more options to break down....

Now if you know anything about science you will know that there is no such thing as perpetual motion (as I am sure everyone here knows). Going with a hybrid or electric mower is usually an attempt to do just that. Sure, you may have less emission here in your yard by using an electric mower, but what about the extra electricity that is required to operate or charge it? This is especially true with a rechargeable mower. Where does that electricity come from? What about the emissions from that location?

For example, one or more of those links showed a small mower with no handle bars or seat. This is a remote control mower with variable speed electric motors for drive. As a result, they need an engine to run an alternator to charge the batteries. Guess what, this is getting back to the perpetual motion thing. It takes more to keep the battery charged than it does to just drive the mower. Now of course the argument may be that the electric motors provide a versatility that can not be obtained otherwise. But that is only part of it. But it is by no means a true hybrid.