EricL

I also am gonna part w some observations inre to my 2021 54" 48v ZT. I know I have had it easy compared to many of you. Until today. Glad I kept my 2005 50" Dixie Chopper. My Ryobi 54" ZT basically just died; on full charge, mower moves and blades briefly come on, but that is followed by a loud beep and the blades cut off. I hope it's just the batteries. I really like the mower itself, but batteries have never been up to my task (on 4 acres, ~ 3-3.25 mowable). In the best of times I got it done over 2 days. In this my 3rd season -- @ 200 hrs -- it was a struggle to mow for more than 20-30 minutes. Season 3 went from meh to $#!+ quickly. Seemed once I got past 150 hours things went downhill and fell off a cliff as I approached 200 hr. Today took the cake. Maybe that's the normal lifespan of these batteries? I have noticed that despite being fully charged, when I unplug and then plug it back in, it will often charge for hours. To Ryobi's credit, they stood behind the batteries after I complained; the new ones they sent are on a maintenance charger and I'll swap those in the spring. If u want more intel on the steps to get new batteries, lemme know. I am not swapping them now cos I don't trust the Ryobi charger to properly overwinter them (see #5). The BLM is not much use. Rather, the mower sound gives it away when I'm about to lose the blades. Sometimes its at 30%, others (like yesterday) at 60%. Today it was at 100%. I really, REALLY wanted this mower to work. But it's clearly not there yet. Not even close. I hope that maybe some day I can convert it to Lithium or swap in a longer-lasting deep-cycle SLA battery. In closing, you all have provided excellent intel thru your discussions here. Thank you. Best wishes, E

I moved my early-spring, 2021 48v ZT540e to the garage this winter, wanting it to be a bit more insulated than the wood shed used previously. I have also taken to quickly unplugging the charger then plugging it back in to initiate the topping off during the offseason, and every time it has indeed recharged upon replug. Just now I wheeled it out and engaged the blades to mulch up some leaves, and it pretty quickly went from 100% down to 95 and then 90%, with a temp of 60° here in nrn MD. The pack read 50.6v on the meter while blades were running at 90%, and jumped up to 51.7 when I turned the blades off. I am hoping this work extends the battery viability... but I know it's early and the verdict is still out. This will hopefully be season 3 w the original batteries, but I am wary.

OK, follow up... maybe I'm just paranoid. Appreciate any thoughts on what I saw in my post yesterday and now today. Again, maybe this is just the normal of dealing with battery-powered mowers. Everything identical to yesterday - 51° outside, deck at 3.5":, blade speed set to low, normal forward speed At start: 100% BLM 53.8V before key to on 53.6V when I turned on the lights 50.7V when I turned on blades on low Mowed for 50 minutes straight and finished; grass was not high or thick, unlike what I mowed yesterday. After mowing: 55% BLM 48.6V with blades still spinning 50.7V after blades off and parked Again, if this is normal, I'll just continue to read and learn from you all. Thank you!

First, I want to thank Jamis for all his input, both here and at the Home Depot thread. I wanted to ask: Would mowing with temps in the low 50s cut the battery run time significantly? I am on 4 acres in nrn MD, ~ 3.2-3.5 is mowable. I was able to mow 2 acres just now for an hour in 50-degree weather and then the blades shut off. Afterwards, I tested the battery pack back at the shed at 48.6 volts. BTW: The meter was useless; it jumped from 70% to 100% after a brief rest for me to check my work laptop, and I knew that reading wasn't right... another brief break threw off the meter even more... with the blades finally shutting off at 50% but 2 bars. Anyways, I tested and got 48.6 volts. It's typically ~ in the low 50s when I start.... next time I'll write down the exact #. If this is normal for the battery I'll live with it... really not looking forward to pulling the battery tray.