# Ego 42 in Zero Turn Mower Released



## UltimateLawn (Sep 25, 2020)

Did anyone else see the release today of the Ego 42 in zero turn mower?

Here is the product page link...

https://egopowerplus.com/worththewait

Anyone have any thoughts to share?


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

UltimateLawn said:


> ...Anyone have any thoughts to share?


I really like my Ego stuff, but the total cost of ownership can explode when it's time to replace the batteries. I know there are reports from members of this site having battery problems shortly after the 3-year warranty is up - so that's a big concern for me.

This mower looks like it's going to use 6 of their "coming soon" 10.0 Ah batteries. There is no price on those yet, but if you compare the cost of the 5.0 Ah and the 7.5 Ah replacement batteries, it is probably safe to assume the 10.0 Ah ones will be about $450 each - or $2,700 to replace all 6. If you assume the 3-year battery warranty is the lifespan of the batteries, you're basically looking at an additional $900/year in battery costs sometime after it's 3rd birthday.

I get the appeal of not dealing with an internal combustion engine, but that's a serious cash outlay for that convenience.


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## Deltahedge (Apr 1, 2020)

I hadn't seen this yet, thanks for sharing. I have had such a great experience with EGO on everything else they make that I would have very high expectations of anything they release. I'm almost at 3 acres, so I think I have a little too much land to be able to use this, but I really look forward to the reviews.


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## Deltahedge (Apr 1, 2020)

Ware said:


> UltimateLawn said:
> 
> 
> > ...Anyone have any thoughts to share?
> ...


A lot of the appeal of using batteries is not having to mess with a 2 stroke internal combustion engine for me, which is why i love EGO for replacing my string trimmers and edgers, and blowers.

I haven't had my EGO stuff 3 years yet, hopefully they work longer than that. Only getting 3 years out of a zero turn and then paying that much to replace the batteries would be an absolute non-starter for me.


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## massgrass (Aug 17, 2017)

It would be nice if Ego had an official battery trade/recycle/reconditioning program to make the replacement battery situation a bit more cost-effective. The ZTR looks cool, but I can't imagine having to shell out the kind of $$$ that their batteries cost every few years.


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

Just skimming the specs on this thing.

2+ acres on the included batteries (4x 10Ah), with capability to expand to 3 acres. (6x 10Ah)

That's going to be more than enough to satisfy 80% of the customers for this thing. I'm guessing that most of the buyers are going to be upper middle-class homeowners on 1/2-1 acre lots with plenty of disposable income.

Buying the two extra batteries is going to make this a $6,000 machine if @Ware is in the ball park with battery pricing. Gulp.

So we're looking at $6k for a 42" residential ZTR, with durability on-par with entry-level gas powered machines. Typically at the $3k price point. And he's right about replacing those batteries. At $2,700 with an estimated life span of 5 years, assuming we're still mowing a 2 acre property, that's a big pill to swallow. And the deeper you cycle those batteries (more territory or fewer batteries) the sooner they will need to be replaced.

$5,000 Initial Purchase Price (2021)
$900 for 2 extra batteries.
$2,700 for total battery replacement at year 5. (2026)
Assume $500 for misc maintenance. Blades, etc. $50/yr 
Fuel Costs: Negligable

That's $9,100 for 10 years of useful life.

$3,000 Initial Purchase Price (2021)
$0 for 0 extra batteries.
$50 for battery replacement at year 5. (2026)
Assume $500 for misc maintenance. Blades, etc. $50/yr 
Assume another $1000 ($100/yr) for (DIY) Engine Service, Belt/Pulley replacements.
Assume 50 gallons of fuel/yr @ $3.00 gallon so $1,500

That's $6,050 for the same 10 years. You could upgrade the machine with that extra $3k and buy time, extend the life of the machine, or both.

Another ding to the eGo would be double-cutting. Up to 2 acres tells me that this machine should only be deployed to lawns that are 1 acre, max. 1.5 acres would be pushing the six-battery config. Yes, you could recharge in 2+ hours and go again, but that's a time-suck in and of itself in addition to the penalty of reducing battery life long-term due to the deep-discharging and rapid-recharge of a "hot" battery pack. Food for thought however: To have another full tank of fuel on-hand adds $2,700 to the purchase price but in theory doubles the life. For lawns over 1 acre, I would consider buying the 6 spares upfront to increase the utility of the machine. That's an $8,600 purchase upfront. For a 42" machine. Yeouch.

What happens after year 10? With the gas machine, you could just continue running it and throwing maintenance parts at it as necessary. The most likely, and most expensive replacement need is going to be the transaxles. Replacing both would cost ?1,400?. Again, DIY for the repair work. Assuming you could get another 10 years out of it, you're into it for $10,550 over 20 years. Which would be excellent for a $3k machine mowing 2 acres.

What about trying for 20 years from the EGo?

Well, at year 10 we said we'd have $9,100 into the machine. What do we need to go further? Let's assume we need to replace both sets of batteries again, oof, $5,400. Assuming the same maintenance needs as the first 10 years, we're at $5900 to extend the life of the machine another 10 years, assuming there are NO MAJOR COMPONENT FAILURES. Apples to apples, let's say it costs an additional $1,400 in repairs and we have $16,400 in this thing. ($9,100 + $5,900 + $1,400) Might as well slap a Ferarri emblem on it too. :lol:

There might be an even bigger issue here as well. What are these units worth at 10 years old? Who is going to buy a 10 year old eGo that needs $2700 in batteries at a minimum. You'd have to practically give the machine away. So at 10 years old, the machine has no residual value. Heck, I'd venture that the vast majority of them will fully depreciate by the time they reach 5 years old and need that first set of batteries replaced. If you ran it on 2 acres over 20 years, you'd be disposing of the machine, 20 sets of blades, and TWENTY-FOUR 10Ah 56V battery packs. I wonder what the environmental impact of that is vs scrapping the gas machine and the consumption of its 1,000 gallons of fuel. To be fair, the gas ZTR isn't going to be worth more than about $500 in very good condition at 10yrs old. But you'd be out $5,550 according to my made-up numbers vs. the full $9,100 for the battery mower. I really think the vast majority of these units are going to end up mowing 1/2-1 acre lots for 5-7, maybe as long as 10 years and end up getting tossed or given away. (best case)

Something monumental is going to have to happen with the cost or longevity of the battery packs for machines like this to make sense.


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## Ngilbe36 (Jul 23, 2020)

This is definitely interesting, but I agree that at least right now, the financial equation just doesnt work out. Ive got a 2010 (I think) Toro Z4200 and costs past purchase have only been for blades, gas, oil, and a couple fuel filters. Oh, and one selector switch I broke the key off in...  Its used probably 30-35 times a year on just under an acre. For someone who doesnt really care about the extra cost, it seems like a cool new toy! Time will tell. Id still like to try one though.


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## Thejarrod (Aug 5, 2018)

This feels like it's on the bleeding edge for this type of equipment. Not too different from Tesla several years ago. We have uncertainty around long term parts availability, durability and LOTS of extra costs.

If cost is in your top 10 concerns I don't think this is for you.

So who wants it? ...maybe someone who has a 1 acre lot (with maybe 30k lawn). Probably on their second or third Electric car and they want to FULLY ditch internal combustion.

I'm not that guy , but I probably have some buddies at work who would think it's cool.


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

Ngilbe36 said:


> This is definitely interesting, but I agree that at least right now, the financial equation just doesnt work out. Ive got a 2010 (I think) Toro Z4200 and costs past purchase have only been for blades, gas, oil, and a couple fuel filters. Oh, and one selector switch I broke the key off in...  Its used probably 30-35 times a year on just under an acre. For someone who doesnt really care about the extra cost, it seems like a cool new toy! Time will tell. Id still like to try one though.


At least one of my neighbors has the Ryobi battery riding mower. I watch him mow for a minute every time I see it out. It sounds just a bit off due to the lack of engine noise. I tell ya though, the real convenience of something like this has little to do with mowing. Towing a cart with a gas machine, and leaving it to idle, or starting/stopping it just to move it a few yards is a drag.

And I'm not saying that nobody should buy one of these. If you've got the cash, go for it. But I'm going to be rolling on the floor when someone boasts about how much money they are a saving not having to maintain a gas mower. Kinda like when folks get into wood-heating "to save money." :lol: (That one is more of a lifestyle choice than a financial power move.)

I am interested in what happens to all of this battery equipment and the cells at the end of it's life however. With the big shift toward battery for all things residential power equipment, we are going to see these waste streams grow in leaps and bounds. If the equipment is well-made, I could see it lasting through several battery replacements.  But at least here in the US, we all know the majority of consumers are not looking for replacement parts on a 5-10 year old purchase and are easily woo'd into buying a complete replacement units that may be largely identical in function except that the new one has an app for your smartphone. I myself fall into this category more often than I'd like to admit. Also, as far as disposing of the cells responsibly is concerned, if it's not immediately convenient to recycle, we all know where the majority are going to end up.

Maybe we will see the scrappers react as these units become available. Today, most gas-powered equipment gets run to it's first point of major failure and sold at a significant discount. Then, it serves for several more years in the hands of the handy until it has no more useful life left. At that point, it is dismantled for any usable parts and disposed of as scrap metal. Which in turn, a significant portion of the original product is processed into a wholesale raw material used to create new goods. Or it simply returns to the earth in someone's back 40. :lol:


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## hsvtoolfool (Jul 23, 2018)

I like pessimistic estimates, but assuming a 3-year life for Ego batteries (or any other brand) is unrealisic. That's the warranty period, not the expected life-span. That's like saying, "My Honda engine has a 3 year warranty, so I assume it must be replaced it every 3 years".

I was an early Ego 21" adopter. I'm on my 6th or 7th year with the original first-gen Ego 7.5ah battery. I think it's finally beginning to show its age, so I' may get a new one next Spring. Maybe I'll wait until it's clearly dead. It still gets the job done.

A pessimistic expected battery life is about 5 years for any brand. Please weigh yearly fuel costs against a 5 year battery replacements cycle. Assume other costs are either the same (like tires and blades) or negligible (like filters, oil, and "Stabil"). However, gas riders normally have a lead-acid starter battery. A cheap Wamart battery is about $50 and you're lucky to get 2 years out of them. Let's go with a better $100 battery that should last 5 years.

Regular E10 gas hovers about $2 per gallon in my area. A typical 20 hp four-stroke air cooled ZTR engine uses about 1 gallon per hour while mowing. This works out to about $2 per hour. Mowing 2 hours per week results in about $4 in weekly in fuel costs. Assuming a worst-case 32-week mow season, the result is about $125 per year in fuel, or about $625 over 5 years. Of course, you must also fetch fuel cans to/from the gas station, which both adds miles to your truck and burns gas. But let's ignore that since you fill the cans while doing other chores. So the final cost is about $725 every 5 years for fuel and battery.

The Ego 7.5 ah battery is $360 at Lowes, so assume the new 10 ah battery costs 25% more at $450. So a full set of 4 batteries will be $1,800.

So the difference is $1,800 - $725 = $,1075 savings every 5 years using a gas powered mower.

Do you use ethanol-free gas in your small engines? I did and it makes a HUGE difference in reliability. At $4 per gallon in my area, ethanol-free gas increases the 5-year cost for a gas mower to about $1,400. The savings over the Ego is now reduced to $400 per 5 years.

The rest is subjective. I will gladly spend $1,100 every 5 years to not deal with all the maintenance hassles of small engines. Other folks LOVE fiddling around with oil changes, Stabil, filters, carb tuning, and so forth. Not me. I've pulled my last starter cord, and owned my last fuel can. Good riddance!


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## LawnSolo (Jul 17, 2018)

Any early adopters?
Watching at some videos, it seems to have impressive performance besides the annoying deck rattling noise.

I'm thinking on retiring my old trusty Toro Z4200.

I have a 20k sqft lawn and I think It would suffice with the stock 4 batteries. I have been happy moving away from gas powered equipment but I'm worried about EGO support 

Another thing I wanted to do was to match it up with the Nexus inverter.


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## AndyS (Jun 13, 2020)

Thejarrod said:


> This feels like it's on the bleeding edge for this type of equipment. Not too different from Tesla several years


Where Tesla gets it right in the automotive equivalent is providing long battery warranties that not only cover failure, but also cover a battery that still operates but at a performance level below a certain threshold. It takes away the worry that reflected by the calcs in this thread.

If electric lawn equipment had the same approach then the sell would be a lot easier.


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

LawnSolo said:


> Any early adopters?
> Watching at some videos, it seems to have impressive performance besides the annoying deck rattling noise.
> 
> I'm thinking on retiring my old trusty Toro Z4200.
> ...


Deck rattling? Ugh - that would drive me crazy on a FIVE THOUSAND DOLLAR piece of equipment. And would be completely unacceptable on something gas powered at that price point.

I'd like to see it held to the fire with a $5k gas ZTR and then hear thoughts on performance.

We've been happily paying the premium to switch to battery handheld equipment for years now. Myself included. I want to see small riding lawn equipment make the leap successfully. Just not sure we're ready for entry-level quality at these price points.


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## tneicna (May 6, 2019)

There's starting to be a massive lithium supply shortage as demand outpaces supply. At work, some of the equipment we use, has lithium battery requirements that were about $80 an object 3 years ago, but the same battery packs are now $290(!!)

Of course, this is anecdotal but be very careful going forward. Until the next-gen battery techs come out (Oxygen-Li) and the other exotic metamaterials, be /very/ careful on buying large battery-powered mowers.


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