REVIEW: Ryobi RM480e Electric Riding Mower
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 2 май 2017
- The Ryobi RM480e is the first fully electric riding lawn mower available at retail stores nationwide! This is my very detailed review of the mower.
For more information or to buy one yourself, check out your local Home Depot or find it online: www.homedepot.com/p/Ryobi-38-i...
Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions! 
Авто/Мото
I'm planning an updated review now that I'm entering my third season with this mower. What questions would you like to have answered?
Subscribe to get notified when the video is ready!
How has the battery life held up? Did you say how big your yard was? I'm curious how the steering column has handled several seasons--I don't know how many bushings I had to replace on my old Cub Cadet, it ate those things and I was always having to practically disassemble the whole thing to get at the steering column. Thanks for the effort you put into your video, it really helps someone like me who's on the fence about getting one of these machines.
Tyrel - I finally pulled the trigger and bought HD's sale price package 480e with the bagger and bagger blades. Have you used yours with any of the accessories? The front-mount plow looks interesting, but I can't find any video or reviews, so I don't know how well it works on snow. Ditto for the de-thatch attachment in the yard. Also, I've got a few hills in my yard. Nothing crazy, but definite inclines. Any comments re. hills?
HOW IS THE CUT ? WILL IT MULCH ?
would you still recommend this mower and how is the battery holding up after the winters
I hear acres how long does it mow for before it dies how big of a yard do you need for it
Excellent review. Thanks for posting this informative video. Nicely done.
Thank you for a great review sir!
Thank you, wonderful review very comprehesive
Just reviewed your video great job I just ordered the mower after my 1999 cub cadet zero turn finally has driven me crazy... it was a good machine but when it was falling apart after all this time i figured i would look at an electric mower... we have a 16 kw PV system on our home and charge our ford fusion love the sun to make things work want to try this hope its gonna work great thanks again for the great review should have my mower in about a week can't wait
thanks a lot! just got mine today. I need all the help I can get.
Great video! Thank you very Much!⚡️😎⚡️
Just ordered one!
How do you like your mower?
Good mower, good video
Looks like a nice package. I wonder if there is a plan in place to upgrade the battery pack for new technologies. Lately I have seen some mention of solid state batteries exotic materials like graphene. Which is all academic at this point, I would be lucky to find two nickles to rub together. Thanks for the User experience with 480e.
Right now I have a electric walk behind but we have a bigger yard now so I think RIOBY TRACTOR WILL BE THE WAY TO GO
Great video. Do you know if they make a lawn striping kit for it?
Look like a consumer type riding lawn mower mend for flat terrain. I current use a commercial zero turn around $10K new and it goes 10 mph and I love to cut my lawn and my neighbors too. But they saw me with my ZTM and purchase their own now, only bigger and more expensive version then mine!
I bought this mower and really wanted to love it as I have an EV and a large PV array. Two major problems. One - the rear wheels are too small! If your lawn is like an ice rink with grass on it you'll probably not mind but if you live out in the country with a couple of acres and relatively rough terrain this mower will beat you up. The steering wheel is small also and the drive train needs some refining also.
Again, we really wanted to love this but returned it.
Thanks for your comment. I did mention all of those things in my video as well, so I agree, but in my case having an EV mower powered by my PV array was far more important than a little inconvenience.
Tyrel,
I have a PV array too and an EV so it made it even harder to send back the Ryobi. My thinking is that we will begin to see these mowers start to pop up now so I may have to wait for a better implementation. I felt the choppy ride really made it hard to mow. We also have several fruit trees to mow around that requires reverse and the delay with the jerky ride very much encumbered that. I put a review on HD website hoping they would see it as constructive and address these issues. This is so close to a very good mower and there is no reason they can't fix the tire problem and adjust the microcomputer algorithm to run this mower correctly.
The other thing is that two years ago I started restoring two 1970's era ElecTrak tractors, these are real beauties. I have all the sheet metal done and this summer (2017) I'm going to design the electronics. The Ryobi was going to be mostly for my wife as the ElecTrak's are a little large for her.
I do understand your choice to live with it and I applaud your green approach to life. We need more people like you!
rob
Thank you so much for telling this ! I do have EV and charging it from solar as well and I did convert old Yard Machine mower tractor into electric.It works fine, but Lead batteries are heavy and loosing energy through the belt system.I really wanted to buy this Ryobi,because it has 3 independent motors, way more efficient than belt systems,so less battery power needed ..but I didn't get it, because of small rear wheels.The yard Machine has big rear wheels, which is the way to go on uneven terrain..Why John Deere hasn't come up yet with electric model????!! For the same money !!It's actually much less work and parts to make electric mower vs.gasoline,thus less cost.Making EV is different story as far as cost, but lawn tractor??! come on.
I felt the same, i have 3 acres mowed it once and man i was beat up, returned it for a cub cadet
awesome video. that mower will sure last you. i have ryobi tools myself and they keep plugging along with no issues. btw what music did you use in this video.
You should see if there is a cable adjustment or a way to adjust the pedal so you do not have to press it half way before it takes off.
Curious about how it holds up over years. And I live in New England weather without a garage. I would be keeping it in a shed (below zero) without power during the winter.
Is there a bagger available for this machine? I heard you mention mulching. How well does that work?
Ryobi should make a swappable battery then you can mow endless but its still an amazing product considering this is their first attempt at a riding mower where others don't even have one. If Tesla made one i would think it would have an 8 hour run time per charge not a dream but can be reality if they did so.
I holding out for a Tesla riding mower! Zero turn no doubt! LOL!
doesnt husqvarna have a electric mower ? the rider ..... already since 2013 i think...
What do all the led indicators in the battery indicator mean? The manual does not mention it.
At $2500 it's $1500 less than the Cub cadet RZTS electric, also a 48 v SLA battery powered riding mower with which you would be paying for zero radius turning and the Cub Cadet Brand .The Cub Cadet has been available since ~2013
how do you like your mower now that you have had some time to use this electric mower?
Really nice tractor like around how much it cost
I hear acres how long does it mow for before it dies and how big of a yard do you need for this.
Could you use an arched loading ramp to get this in and out of a pickup? Do you think it'll have any problem with the incline or the deck getting hung up?
The deck doesn't go very high so it can get high-centered pretty easily. I'd be hesitant to drive it up a ramp because it might get caught at the top.
Hey Tyrel...how is the mower going a year later? The reason I ask is that this mower is being released in Australia in the next few weeks. It comes in a kit with 4 (yes 4) 48V 75aH batteries. Pretty sure they are different to the battery on your model? I am thinking of getting it but I will be one of the first in Australia if I do...which makes me a little nervous.
I plan to work on an updated review video shortly, so keep an eye out for that. Coming with 4 48V 75 Ah batteries seems a bit weird. Mine has four 12 V batteries wired in series, giving a total of 48V and 75 Ah. They also now offer a 100 Ah version here in the states.
Do you know how this would handle hills and slopes??
Have they made any improvements to these since 2017? I see the model number is still the same.
How is the battery life now that it has been about a year of ownership? And do you keep it on the charger when not in use?
For the second season, I found that I could mow about 2 hours on a charge; it could probably do 2.5 hours the first season.
I keep it on the charger all the time when I'm not using it. My understanding is that's best for lead-acid batteries.
Looks like a 12v motor, how hot does the battery cable get? 12v is pretty hard on cable, hope they will come out with 24v soon.
It looks like the motors are 48V, actually, so the amperage isn't super high and the cables don't get very hot, that I've noticed.
Here are some photos of what it looks like under the plastic covers, for those who may be interested: imgur.com/a/eKWjy
Great review.!
The item you call a DC to DC converter is actually a relay or contactor. It is driven by a 12V coil but switches a 48V circuit carrying a large current. I suspect the fuse may be protecting the contactor or the control electronics, which will probably be 12V.
Well, this is not the first fully electric riding mower available nationwide. It seems people have a short memory or neglected to do some research. If you do some digging, many electric riding mowers were available to the public that came before the Ryobi RM480e like GE Elektrak - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elec-Trak and later acquired by Wheel Horse, John Deere Electric 90, Ariens Amp, Rechargemower G1 & G2, Hustler Zero-Turn Zeon, Cub Cadet RZT S Zero Electric, Mean Green Mowers, Electric Ox and probably others I have neglected to mention. The biggest question is more like how long will it stick around? Will newer models and/or improvements be released or will the model get discontinued or the company go bankrupt like so many before it?
Husqvarna have a battery rider too (out front deck). A much nicer (an obviously more expensive) machine. Maybe not for sale in the USA?? Have been in Europe and Australia for a couple of years at least.
I've read in some reviews that it says not to mow when the grass is wet. Is this really stated that way, ie there isn't any real protection on the drive motor connections? I know it would reduce battery time and cutting performance but the same is true with any fuel source. Seems kinda silly to have a mower that can't mow in the spring.
The manual does say not to mow when it's wet, but I would imagine the manual of any non-commercial lawn mower would probably say that. There aren't any exposed electrical connectors on the mower deck or anything, so I don't think that's the concern. It's just going to clog it up pretty bad. I know this happened with my previous mower (a gas John Deere).
It looks to me that there is no belts to slip off? Thats awesome
Yeah, no belts at all! The wheels are directly driven by one motor and each blade is directly driven by its own smaller motor.
How do these go over sticks and branches?
It seems to do fine with sticks. I pick up anything thicker than a quarter inch before mowing.
Please provide an update. The good and the bad.
I will be making an updated review soon!
I dunno, my cheap little Snapper rider is 20 yrs old and runs fine but I'd like an electric except for one big concern: Battery life. Multi hundreds of dollars ($600?) to replace batteries every few years? Does anyone have an idea how long they will realistically last? I heard 5 yrs max which is unacceptable.
Do you still love it after one season
Hi Deborah. Sorry I didn't respond to your comment sooner. After two full seasons, now, I am still impressed with my Ryobi mower. The battery capacity is down a bit but it still can go about 2 hours of mowing on a charge.
@@TyrelHaveman Hi Tyrel - Did you condition the battery when you first got it (per the comments/reviews on the 480e's product page on Home Depot's website)? If not, did you tend to run it to less than 50% charge at all/some/most times the first 10 times you used it?
Are you mowing very slowly on purpose or is that about max speed?? I have a 1/2 acre. At the rate you were moving the grass would grow faster than I can cut it down!!
I was moving slowly on purpose. :)
1/2 acre....I mow 1/2 acre weekly with a scotts classic push reel. Even if it is slow in the video, that's not that much lawn.
Have you had to sharpen the blades yet? Will it be hard to get to them? I've never had a riding mower before so I don't know. great video by the way!
I haven't yet. In my previous mower, I would take out a couple pins and the mower deck would slide out the side so I could flip it over and get at the blades. I assume something similar can be done with this one. Probably the manual explains it, but I haven't looked yet.
I found instructions for removing the mower deck to sharpen/replace the blades on page 22 of the manual. It looks pretty simple. www.homedepot.com/catalog/pdfImages/5a/5a0d2e6b-3e88-4ee0-b24c-dc421d75caed.pdf
Tyrel Haveman Thanks for the info! It does look pretty easy.
Hi Tyrel. I recently received my RM480ex and removed the deck to wax it prior to first mowing. While the removal process should be easy, I found it rather difficult because there is zero lateral play in the connecting pins and it is difficult to to slip the rear pins out of the brackets because there is no slack at all. Reassembly is also difficult because pin to bracket alignment is very tight and once again there is no leeway to easily align all four pins. I would appreciate your input if I've made the process too difficult and you find a simpler way to align everything. Also reconnecting the motor connections was a real pain while lying on the ground because of the intricate alignment pattern for the plugs to properly connect. And I completely agree with you regarding the delay in the drive pedal. It's annoying for sure. Thanks for the good and accurate review!
~Dan
Good audio review. Next time get the camera off the steering wheel.
Is it eszy to drive? I imagin it is.
Being it is an electric mower.
That's Like when Craftsman Came out
With the first Line of Cordless
Powertools. I Remembet When
They first Came Out. Whst wh'er they 6 volt or 7.2 or 9.6 12 14.4 volt something like thst. Snyways
They only had nicad Batterys wich didn't
Lsst to long on a charge.
& nowo their 18 & 20 volt l.i.o.n
Wich they hold a charge for almost
6 months to a year now.
Cub Cadet has had a cordless electric ZERO TURN riding mower since 2013 for about the same price with a 42" cut width. . One thing about charging the batteries. Sealed lead acid batteries don't like to be shallow cycled. In other words it's best to run the battery all the way down before chatrging. There's even commercial grade ride on and stand on machines for a lot more. These guys have been around a number of years as well. Theirs use lithium ion batteries. '
www.cubcadet.com/equipment/cubcadet/zero-turn-riding-mowers/rzt™-s-zero
www.meangreenproducts.com
William von Rentzell You May need to do more research on the battery advice.
You did not show us how to do the break
great video! As for lithium batteries, it would have been better for capacity. They can program their charging boards to charge to only 4.05 volts or so, so that they can let it sit "fully charged" and not be damaging the batteries. you could probably get 4 times the capacity even if the lithium batteries are not charged to 4.2 volts when fully charged. but, as you show, you likely dont need that capacity as a regular home owner. Lithium perhaps only makes sense for those who would use this for acres and acres every day, discharging far down and needing to charge it fairly quickly. Would be great to see landscape companies go electric huh? Anyway, thanks for sharing your experience. If you are curious, you should check out the li-ion battery i converted for my electric push mower on my channel. It has WAY more capacity than it did before yet i could still fit another pack of batteries in it. ruclips.net/video/5IFv--VO454/видео.html
any comments on cleaning the mower....
The mower deck easily disconnects and can be pulled out the side to be cleaned. I'll include this in an updated review I'll be working on soon!
@@TyrelHaveman - I've subscribed just to see the deck removal and cleaning!
Can it get rained on?
My mower has gotten rather wet from time to time and it hasn't been an issue. In general, though, using any mower with wet grass won't work very well as it tends to get clumped up inside the mower deck.
Where are the fuses/circuit breakers?
Great question. I suspect the electronics are below the control panel on the right. The owners' manual doesn't mention anything about it. I will take a look as soon as I get a chance and wee what I can find; I'll reply again with my findings.
I've uploaded some annotated photos of the mower with the plastic covers removed. imgur.com/a/eKWjy I could only find one fuse, a little 5amp guy on a 12V wire. I'm not sure what it was for. But so far I haven't found any other protection devices. They may be built in to the controllers.
Its not the only mower out there look up green machine . The very big down side to the green machine is price. Im sure they are a lot better machine but price is way to high. What I did not like about your review is does that mower really move that slow? I did not see it in high gear or maybe it really does go that slow all the time. And again the price seem high for that mower but the green machine is way higher priced.
I was aware of Mean Green Mowers, if that's what you mean, but as you said they're expensive. In addition, I couldn't stop by The Home Depot to look at them, and they're kind of ugly.
As far as the speed, I was driving very slow in the videos, except the clip at the end. As you can see on homedepot.com, the maximum speed is 8 mph.
you didn't mow in reverse
It will mow in reverse if you press the RTO button first.