[Ryobi battery riding lawn mower]

15 minutes ago, Moe1 said:

 

I purchased my ZT480e (42”) May 2019. No problem with it that season. I’ve flown R/C electric planes for 30 years, With Nickel Cadium, Nickle Metal Hydrate, and Poly Lithium batteries (first with brushed motors, then brushless), so the first thing I did after buying my ZT480 was scour the web sites for best methods of charging these DeepCycle SLA (sealed lead acid) batteries and found only running them down 50% doubled their life expectancy so that’s what I’ve been doing from the first time I mowed! I’d get about an hour of mowing time on 50% (which mowed my 7/8 acre yard with about twenty trees). I also followed Ryobi’s suggestion to keep it plugged in when not mowing!

     In April last year (2020) it died after pulling it out of my garage and shutting it off for a couple minutes! I spent the entire day attempting to find a “Ryobi Authorized Service Center ( none of the nine Service Centers given to me by Ryobi would work on mowers!) Finally found a small mower repair shop that not only was “authorized” but had fixed three other ZT480e’s ( all three had battery issues). Mine however showed 52 volts on my multimeter and when they Stress Tested the batteries individually, ..  all was good! Turned out both of the motor controllers were bad. Ryobi charged him $150 each (and he was reimbursed after sending the defective controllers back for confirmation they were defective. I paid nothing!

He had my mower for SIX WEEKS however. When I picked it back up, ( supposedly repaired), my mowing time had been cut in half! only 25 minutes at 50% remaining! Not a Happy Camper! He said to callRyobi!

   I emailed them. Nothing! I emailed them again! nothing! Then I received an email from Ashlyn Hogg (Associate Product Manager,Outdoor Products Division). It was more of a questionnaire asking me how I liked it, and any feed back I could give them would be helpful! I gave them plenty! Including the battery meter only reading 70% if not used within 5 to 7 days, my meter dropping to 70% after 10 minutes of mowing but then running another 40 minutes before dropping to50% remaining! I received nothing back from anyone!

     This year (April 2021), with my batteries only being two years old, my mow time is about 15 minutes! My multi-meter still shows 52 volts (after spending the night on the charger) so I decided to buy a battery tester which tests the “Remaining Life Expectancy” of the batteries ( you have to disconnect all the plugs, pull the natter tray out,and test them individually).

   Here are my results: Battery #1… 1%…”REPLACE!”   #2…. 26%…REPLACE   #3…56%…GOOD    #4…57%…GOOD

   So much for only running them down 50%! TWO YEARS (instead of 

SEVEN to EIGHT!)

     I’m now asking Ryobi for an Authorized REPAIR CENTER (within 100 miles instead of the 35 trip I had last year for service because he had no electrical experience! Only worked on gas mowers till then. Had to order the technician’s manual from Ryobi. Had to make several callls to Ryobi and have them “walk him through the procedures. (They made him do the stress test on each battery and I can’t say with any proof but I believe the Stress Test ruined my batteries(or at least drained half their Life Expectancy! Come on! One year old batteries shouldn’t mow for only 25 minutes on 50% remaining!

 I’ve emailed Ryobi and requested they look at my mower and either make it right or give me a new one! I seriously doubt I’ll ever hear from them!

 

[Ryobi battery riding lawn mower]

On 6/7/2020 at 9:37 AM, PaulNY said:

Hello, 

 

I have a Ryobi ZT480e that I bought last year. It s a fantastic mower and well worth the price. In the first year I more than paid for it in comparison to what I paid a landscaping company the year before.

 

Almost from the beginning I have had an issue with the battery. Note: I fully charged it before I used it the first time. I mow once a week and keep the mower plugged in whenever it is not in use. When I get ready to mow, I check the battery level. Since it has been charging all week, it should be at 100%. This isn't the case. The battery will show 70% charge. I discovered if I unplugged it. waited a minute, and then plugged it back in for 10 minutes the battery would then show 100% charge. I called Ryobi about the problem, but their response was that it shouldn't be happening and the representative I spoke with did not believe me. She stated they had never heard of the problem before.

 

I mow roughly  3 1/2-4 acres. I have to do it with two charges. I will mow in the morning. Plug in the mower for a few hours and then mow in the afternoon. I have been using the battery down to 10% on the morning mow (I now realize I should not do this as I read the article from mycountryacre.com about not taking the battery down to less than 20%).

 

Anyone else have a similar issue with the batteries or have suggestions? Thanks for your input. 

 

[Ryobi battery riding lawn mower]

On 6/7/2020 at 9:37 AM, PaulNY said:

Hello, 

 

I have a Ryobi ZT480e that I bought last year. It s a fantastic mower and well worth the price. In the first year I more than paid for it in comparison to what I paid a landscaping company the year before.

 

Almost from the beginning I have had an issue with the battery. Note: I fully charged it before I used it the first time. I mow once a week and keep the mower plugged in whenever it is not in use. When I get ready to mow, I check the battery level. Since it has been charging all week, it should be at 100%. This isn't the case. The battery will show 70% charge. I discovered if I unplugged it. waited a minute, and then plugged it back in for 10 minutes the battery would then show 100% charge. I called Ryobi about the problem, but their response was that it shouldn't be happening and the representative I spoke with did not believe me. She stated they had never heard of the problem before.

 

I mow roughly  3 1/2-4 acres. I have to do it with two charges. I will mow in the morning. Plug in the mower for a few hours and then mow in the afternoon. I have been using the battery down to 10% on the morning mow (I now realize I should not do this as I read the article from mycountryacre.com about not taking the battery down to less than 20%).

 

Anyone else have a similar issue with the batteries or have suggestions? Thanks for your input. 

 

On 6/7/2020 at 9:37 AM, PaulNY said:

Hello, 

 

I have a Ryobi ZT480e that I bought last year. It s a fantastic mower and well worth the price. In the first year I more than paid for it in comparison to what I paid a landscaping company the year before.

 

Almost from the beginning I have had an issue with the battery. Note: I fully charged it before I used it the first time. I mow once a week and keep the mower plugged in whenever it is not in use. When I get ready to mow, I check the battery level. Since it has been charging all week, it should be at 100%. This isn't the case. The battery will show 70% charge. I discovered if I unplugged it. waited a minute, and then plugged it back in for 10 minutes the battery would then show 100% charge. I called Ryobi about the problem, but their response was that it shouldn't be happening and the representative I spoke with did not believe me. She stated they had never heard of the problem before.

 

I mow roughly  3 1/2-4 acres. I have to do it with two charges. I will mow in the morning. Plug in the mower for a few hours and then mow in the afternoon. I have been using the battery down to 10% on the morning mow (I now realize I should not do this as I read the article from mycountryacre.com about not taking the battery down to less than 20%).

 

Anyone else have a similar issue with the batteries or have suggestions? Thanks for your input.