EricL
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Posts posted by EricL
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On 1/25/2023 at 11:25 AM, jamis said:
My mower is in its fifth winter storage and has 145 hours of use with a total of 447 charges including winter storage. As the batteries have aged, they self discharge faster than when they were new. This winter, they are doing an average of 97 watts per day to maintain the packs in charges of 10-20 watts per charge. The batteries have always used more and more charges each winter storage as they have aged. This is the reason Ryobi states to always have the mower on the charger when not in use. If the pack voltage falls below 36 volts, the charger logic will not charge the pack. When spring comes and regular mowing resumes, the batteries have always resumed their ability to hold a charge for a week or more. By then, they are being subjected to the routine DOD and behave like they originally did.
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.
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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!
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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.
Ryobi battery riding lawn mower
in Ryobi
Posted