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Thread: Totally electric commercial contractor

  1. #106
    Senior Member steveo's Avatar
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    Default Re: Totally electric commercial contractor

    Steve as far as I can see stihl do say its for commercial use in fact all the battery gear from stihl . Up until just recently when they released a home owner range. Why did you take the tip protector off ?


    I didn't think the tip protector actually did any thing and was thinking I could cut closer to walls/fences etc. I won't be doing that again.

  2. #107
    Members Crankitup's Avatar
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    Default Re: Totally electric commercial contractor

    I was speaking to a guy who looks after the powered garden tools section at my local Bunnings recently and he said that a lot of Jim's Mowing franchises are now using AEG 58V equipment. Coulcn't find anything on Google but found a couple of articles about the UK operation -

    https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/big-s...-david-hughson

    http://www.jimsmowingfranchise.co.uk...e-competition/

    I have two 460mm chansaws - one petrol and the other a recently acquired 80V cordless Victa. After using the Victa to bring down and cut up decent sized palm trees the other day, I don't think I'll use the petrol version much from now on.

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  4. #109
    Member Matt1972's Avatar
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    Default Re: Totally electric commercial contractor

    It's interesting how fast the electric stuff is progressing. Not sure if I'm ready to replace my petrol powered equipment yet, but the reviews look good so far. I actually had an AEG rep ring me last year to do a demo. I wasn't available that day and he was supposed to ring me back and reorganize but never did. I look after 2 schools with most of the work done on the weekend, but at least 1 day a week done on a weekday. It would be good to use electric gear to reduce noise. Not sure about the husky rider for the school. I spent about 7 hrs yesterday on the hustler so a 90 minute runtime would be a problem, and that ones only residential anyway.

  5. #110
    MEMBER Fred's mowing's Avatar
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    Default Re: Totally electric commercial contractor

    Yes, Im big on converting to battery as most here would know.
    Thing is, how good is it ?
    Some applications are way more suited than others.
    Hedgecutters 100%, mowers, not even close!
    Other stuff, some where in between.

    Dissapointing that the batt gear advocates arnt painting a true pic.
    KW vs hp shows the true pic, batteries in this situ shows that they are lacking!
    But, if u don't need the hp, the batt attributes wins hands down!
    Again, horses for courses.
    Interesting position, whats your opinion ?
    Cheers Fred.

  6. #111
    Senior Member conrad's Avatar
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    Default Re: Totally electric commercial contractor

    I have to disagree - KW vs. hp is not the be all and end all. Electric vs petrol is a completely different method of operation, develops power differently, way different "power curve" etc. - the true test is in the actual work done by electric vs petrol equipment. The actual work capacity is the only way you can do a comparo especially as so many brands are trying every different option of electric gear under the sun. Lots more companies now touting their high voltage gear, others use much lower voltage. There are positives and negatives to each. With electric gear it's not so easy to do a comparison purely from the tech specs.

    Electric mowers are there now, but if you want to use them for commercial work you need to choose a commercial piece of equipment. The problem is you've really limited for choice in Australia and they are expensive still. The Husky electric ride-on... pass. The commercial grade electric ride-ons are out there, but then you're paying Walker money for a mid-mount ZTR...

    If you have gear that works fine, no point in spending all your money switching to electric. But definitely worth seriously thinking of switching over individual tools as needs be. Or if you are just sick of the noise and fumes, plus servicing costs!

  7. #112
    Members Crankitup's Avatar
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    Default Re: Totally electric commercial contractor

    I agree about the Husky ride-on I threw it up there for interest and a laugh only. Looks like a toy. Should have inserted a smiley.

    How about this for something more serious -

    Case Study: Toro Greensmaster eFlex at Eagle Rock Resort Golf Course

    30 acres of fairways and 4 acres of green.

  8. #113
    Members Crankitup's Avatar
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    Default Re: Totally electric commercial contractor

    Wish there was an edit function on this board. Forgot to add a couple of points (1) I'm sure this stuff is prohibitively expensive, even just for the 21" 53V greens mower (2) I think the fairway (triplex) mowers are probably hybrid rather than all electric. Where will it all be in 10 years though? The first carpenters to use cordless 7.2V drills rather than rely on extension cords, were laughed at by their colleagues I'm sure.

  9. #114

    Default Re: Totally electric commercial contractor

    Quote Originally Posted by Fred's mowing View Post
    Yes, Im big on converting to battery as most here would know.
    Thing is, how good is it ?
    Some applications are way more suited than others.
    Hedgecutters 100%, mowers, not even close!
    Other stuff, some where in between.

    Dissapointing that the batt gear advocates arnt painting a true pic.
    KW vs hp shows the true pic, batteries in this situ shows that they are lacking!
    But, if u don't need the hp, the batt attributes wins hands down!
    Again, horses for courses.
    Interesting position, whats your opinion ?
    Cheers Fred.
    You want mine Ferd?

  10. #115
    Member Redeye's Avatar
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    Default Re: Totally electric commercial contractor

    ask me in another 3-4 years when it might be viable lol




    http://curraronggardening.com/

    "All sin is washed away in the Holy goodness of Beer"
    Book of Redeye, Psalm 69

  11. #116
    MEMBER Fred's mowing's Avatar
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    Default Re: Totally electric commercial contractor

    Quote Originally Posted by conrad View Post
    I have to disagree - KW vs. hp is not the be all and end all. Electric vs petrol is a completely different method of operation, develops power differently, way different "power curve" etc. - the true test is in the actual work done by electric vs petrol equipment. The actual work capacity is the only way you can do a comparo especially as so many brands are trying every different option of electric gear under the sun. Lots more companies now touting their high voltage gear, others use much lower voltage. There are positives and negatives to each. With electric gear it's not so easy to do a comparison purely from the tech specs.

    Electric mowers are there now, but if you want to use them for commercial work you need to choose a commercial piece of equipment. The problem is you've really limited for choice in Australia and they are expensive still. The Husky electric ride-on... pass. The commercial grade electric ride-ons are out there, but then you're paying Walker money for a mid-mount ZTR...

    If you have gear that works fine, no point in spending all your money switching to electric. But definitely worth seriously thinking of switching over individual tools as needs be. Or if you are just sick of the noise and fumes, plus servicing costs!
    Hi Conrad, yes probably a generalisation that didn't take into account the bigger pic.
    I only have the first gen EGO mower with a 600w motor. Thats equivalent to a .8hp petrol motor.
    Yes, the tech specs arnt the be all & end all but, if the motor doesn't have much power in the first place, it doesn't really matter where the torque curve lies.
    The tech specs do however give you a good overall picture.
    Thing is, their website specs don't really tell you much & I got caught up a bit with the marketing.

    Having said that, the EGO still gets used quite regularly on our small medium inner/middle suburban lawns that are mown REGUARLY, weekly or fortnightly.
    The finish is really quite good.
    My point is, ppl considering using batt mowers may want to consider checking specs & delving a little deeper before purchasing than I did.
    The EGO first gen is NOT a mower for longer/overgrown lawns.
    Don't get me wrong, Im still an advocate for batt gear, just need to be armed with the right info.
    What are you running & what are the specs ?

    Cheers Fred

  12. #117
    Members Crankitup's Avatar
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    Default Re: Totally electric commercial contractor

    I've heard the latest generation Ego 56V mower uses a 1500W motor & the Victa 82V uses a 1200W. So yes, the way the different companies set these things up can make comparison difficult.

  13. #118
    Senior Member conrad's Avatar
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    Default Re: Totally electric commercial contractor

    Yes absolutely you need to check the specs and not just buy off the marketing hype. But a good rule of thumb is that if there isn't even a commercial warranty offered - then it's not a commercial machine. That would apply to the vast majority of electric mowers available in Australia right now.

    I use a Mean Green MGP-20 push mower. It's a 36V system with swappable 20AH battery packs that reliably provide over 2 hours of mowing time. Peak power listed on their website is 6.5HP and it has a fabricated aluminium deck. I've had this mower for a bit over 3 years now, back when I was looking at getting setup this was by far the only commercial option - nothing else even came close. It's taken a while for the big manufacturers to catch up and I'm not sure that they've managed to better it yet. The machine is bombproof and with the option of side discharge it will go through anything - was clearing a block yesterday that was filled with waist-high paspalum.

    But like I said, if you want a true commercial option it's not cheap... I had to import this one from the U.S. and for the price including shipping I could have purchased a spare mower if they had been available in Aus. If I had to buy again now I would look at the Bosch commercial and Pellenc options - they are similarly priced, about $2-3k in Aussie money I think. Anything sold at the big green shed just won't cut it as a full time commercial option. Ok as a backup or occasional use spare, but that's about it. No commercial warranty, to me it doesn't matter what the tech specs are. Same reason I am using the Husky battery line trimmer, blower etc. I did look and compare the specs on them, but if they didn't have commercial warranty I wouldn't have given them a 2nd look.

    I have a TPE with GXV160 as my backup/spare mower at the moment and it's a pig of a machine to use after the MGP-20. It's about twice as heavy, so handling it is about twice as difficult. And it's in the shop now anyway as I was using it recently and it just would start again. Never had such problems with the Mean Green, never had to do any servicing either which has saved so much time. There was only one fault and it was easily fixed by replacing a $20 relay, of which a spare was shipped to me with the mower anyway.

    Commercial electric mower options that are price comparable to petrol are going to take a fair while to come in I'd say, probably more than 3-4 years unfortunately so if you're looking to switch, don't hold your breath. It's not going to be cost effective for everyone, you've just got to do your own cost/benefit analysis and make your choice.

  14. #119
    Members Crankitup's Avatar
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    Default Re: Totally electric commercial contractor

    Victa's 82V range is rebadged Greenworks stuff, so I wonder how long it will take them to offer this dual 82V battery wielding backpack blower that Greenworks is offering in the US in a few days.

  15. #120
    Member Victoria jal2007's Avatar
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    Default Re: Totally electric commercial contractor

    Quote Originally Posted by Crankitup View Post
    I've heard the latest generation Ego 56V mower uses a 1500W motor & the Victa 82V uses a 1200W. So yes, the way the different companies set these things up can make comparison difficult.
    the plastic SP Ego used 2000W motor. I have been using it all the time now. Never used my HRX anymore. Save alot of petrol cost

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