Ryobi 54″ Electric Zero Turn. Review
Hello Guys, I just got this a little over a week ago and have cut with it a couple times. I have a pretty irregular shaped property with multiple lawns and such that I need to mow. Sometimes I let it get pretty tall or I cut after the rain so I wasn’t sure how well this would do. I figured, at worst I would cut most of what I needed, then charge over night and hit the rest later. I really like the idea of not having to worry about maintenance like belts, and such. Also, weirdly, it seems like I will save time not having to get fuel. The mower is charged up and ready to go.
First time I have owned a zero turn so I am not sure how it compares to other, but I like it so far. I did crash it into my wife’s yucca plant. whoops. It didn’t hurt it or the mower so all is good
Overall I like it, I think it will work well for me. If you have more than 3 acres to cut, and don’t want to cut over multiple days, then maybe electric isn’t for you until they have one that is a bit bigger.
If you want to see/hear how it does I shot this video if you are interested.
jakeman
Very nice video, great job of describing the mower.
I have the 42″ version, 100ah. The 54″ wasn’t available when I bought mine in 2019. We have about 4 acres of grass to cut here, with most everything you can encounter. rocks, roots, stumps many trees, and slopes. I was very skeptical when I first looked into this mower, especially that it was a Ryobi product. After seeing every video and review I decided to take a chance. I enjoy using this mower. This mower shares the responsibility with 4 other mowers I have access to. 2 1970 Jacobsen 1450’s and 2 Simplicitys.
Ran into an issue early on with the battery indicator showing only a 70% charge after leaving the charger connected for a couple of days. It would show 100% if you disconnected the charger soon after charging. Contacted Ryobi and was told I would have to take the batteries to the nearest Ryobi authorized repair shop to be checked out. I don’ think so, contacted them again and got a different person who sent out a new charge guage. This worked for a while but is doing the same thing again, so for now I disconnect the charger after the charge is complete and it stays at 100% between cuttings.
I do not get the advertised run time with mine probably because of all the obstacles and I go pretty slow.
The blades are lightweight and will bend pretty easily.
I don’t get much in the way of grass and dust on myself vs the reg. riding mowers I have.
No gas, oil, belts and I don’t smell like exhaust fumes.
Much quieter than the gas mowers, sounds like a big vacuum cleaner.
If not careful you can tear up the lawn by being a little too aggressive in the turns. part of the reason I take it easy.
Easy height adjustment but a foot operated height adjuster would be great. I can adjust it on the fly but not the easiest. Cuts evenly with very little scalping.
comfortable than my other mowers but would like to have the adj. suspension seat like some other mowers have.
IMO the speed should start out in low with the option of choosing high. Don’t know why they designed them this way.
My real concern is how long the batteries will last because, with the amount I have to mow, I regularly run it till it shuts itself off. It’s my “go to” mower but I make sure to use the others to share the load.
capturedphotons
Very nice video, great job of describing the mower.
Yeah, I have noticed that mine seems to tear up the grass as well if I am too aggressive in the turn. I figured it was because the rear wheels are smaller. I bet they do that to reduce drag/friction and increase the battery life. I did notice the blades looked different, but when you said they are lighter weight that made sense, that is what is different about them, they are thinner. That is probably also to reduce the amount of energy required to turn them and increase the battery life. I am a little concerned about them surviving on the farm since its not uncommon for me to find pieces of wood or something form the fence with the mower. I might have to order a set of blades to keep as a back up just in case.
I think for any litium battery, don’t leave them plugged in. Charge them up and then unplug it because its hard on the batteries. This goes for your phone as well. I do not charge my phone overnight and I try and keep it between 20 80%. The battery will last a lot longer.
I am a little concerned with the battery life as well. It looks like they will be replaceable but at 200/ea it won’t be cheap if I need to. I am also worried about having them in the tractor over the winter since the cold isn’t good for them either. For my powertools I made a little heated cabinet to help keep them from freezing, but I won’t be able to do that with this.
jakeman
Yeah, I have noticed that mine seems to tear up the grass as well if I am too aggressive in the turn. I figured it was because the rear wheels are smaller. I bet they do that to reduce drag/friction and increase the battery life. I did notice the blades looked different, but when you said they are lighter weight that made sense, that is what is different about them, they are thinner. That is probably also to reduce the amount of energy required to turn them and increase the battery life. I am a little concerned about them surviving on the farm since its not uncommon for me to find pieces of wood or something form the fence with the mower. I might have to order a set of blades to keep as a back up just in case.
I think for any litium battery, don’t leave them plugged in. Charge them up and then unplug it because its hard on the batteries. This goes for your phone as well. I do not charge my phone overnight and I try and keep it between 20 80%. The battery will last a lot longer.
I am a little concerned with the battery life as well. It looks like they will be replaceable but at 200/ea it won’t be cheap if I need to. I am also worried about having them in the tractor over the winter since the cold isn’t good for them either. For my powertools I made a little heated cabinet to help keep them from freezing, but I won’t be able to do that with this.
The batteries are AGM type, not Lithium. Instructions say to leave them plugged in. That hasn’t worked for me. For all I know, when left plugged in, they may be at 100% but my gauge shows 70%.
Kept mine in an unheated garage for 2 winters. Bought the largest elec. battery blanket I could find, 72″ I think, and wrapped it around the batteries. Plugged it in during the cold snaps.
Your blades may be different since you have the 54″ deck. There are mulching blades avail. for the 42″ but they’re no heavier. I would definitely reccomend having an extra set on hand.
Batteries are supposedly tested for 1700 cycles. If true that’s a lot of mowing. Mowing twice a week for 7 months (about our season) is about 56 cycles a year. That would be 30 years! Don’t think that will happen due to age, temps, vibration, etc.
In comparison to the EGO 42″ elec. zero turn, 1 replacement lithium 10ah battery is at least 500 and it has 4!
V HP BRUSHLESS 30″ LITHIUM ELECTRIC ZERO TURN RIDING MOWER
Introducing RYOBI’s first lithium-ion battery powered zero turn riding mower, the RYOBI 80V HP 30″ Lithium Electric ZTR. HP Technology and 80V batteries combine to deliver the power equivalent of a 28 horsepower gas engine, while eliminating the hassle and maintenance of a gas mower. This rider cuts up to 1 acre per charge with the help of 4 brushless motors and (2) 80V 10Ah batteries, with a Hyper Charger that fully recharges in 1.5 hours so you’re ready for your next job. The revolutionary iDrive system uses an intuitive one-handed joystick steering to maneuver around objects more easily than a traditional ZTR. The innovative LCD screen displays runtime, battery life, and more, while the Riding Mower app allows you to monitor charge time and battery life remotely. The 12-point height adjustment allows you to select the perfect cutting height between 1.5″ and 4.5″. This mower continues to lead innovation with the compatible Bagger Boost accessory, which quickly clears the chute with the press of a button. The 30″ deck and rubber side discharge chute allow this rider to fit through a standard 36″ gate, and makes it easy to maneuver around landscaping. Designed with comfort and convenience in mind, this mower features a premium seat, a USB port to charge phones, a storage compartment, and LED headlights. Mobile Service available in select regions. If your riding mower requires attention, a certified RYOBI support technician can diagnose service right from your home. Some services may require you to bring your mower to one of the 300 service centers nationwide. Lawn maintenance will never be the same thanks to the RYOBI 80V HP Brushless 30″ Lithium Electric Zero Turn Riding Mower.
Electrify Everything: Ryobi Riding Mower
With Mother’s Day just around the corner, there’s one thought dominating the minds of suburban dads everywhere: it’s time to mow. And, thanks to companies like Ryobi, even your lawnmower is an EV!
Electric riding mowers are an often-overlooked part of the EV landscape, but they make perfect sense. From a purely environmental perspective, small engines like the ones found in generators or lawnmowers have worse emissions than cars by orders of magnitude— and that’s not just carbon emissions. Lawnmowers also produce noise pollution, which is bad for wildlife, kids, and neighbors.
Besides all that, the instant, 0 rpm torque of electric motors that makes electric cars and e-bikes so much fun also makes mowing the lawn a lot more fun than you probably remember.
The 48V Ryobi mower shown, above, uses dual spools of trimmer cord to make the equivalent of a 38″ deck, which would still be overkill for a lot of lawns— but it’s a long way off from being the company’s flagship electric riding mower.
That honor goes to the Ryobi 80V HP Lithium Electric Zero Turn riding mower. First revealed in February of this year, delivers 35 HP from its 80V electric system for, what Ryobi calls, “true gas performance” for up to 4 acres of mowing on a single charge. And that can be extended with the use of Ryobi’s modular, swappable 40V battery packs.
You can check out the 80V in the official launch video, below, then let us know how you’re planning to tackle a summer of outdoor chores in the Комментарии и мнения владельцев section at the bottom of the page. And, yes: we’ve already thought about racing these at Electrify Expo, Austin in November!
Ryobi 54″ Electric Zero Turn Mower Review
This is like the Tesla of lawnmowers; let me show you some favorite features and why we think an electric mower like this isn’t just a perfect fit for large acreage, but also it could be a good fit for small and medium-sized yards, starting with a quick unboxing and assembly the mowers delivered to me on an SS truck mine was a little sideways on the metal pallet. Still, more on that in a second assembly was actually pretty straightforward, which I always appreciate wasn’t too much required in the package also includes a wall-mountable charger hitch for the back spare keys and a few tools.
First up is to connect the main battery terminals.
Next, I attach the plush seat with two bolts in those a tight squeeze, but I finally got it in connecting the seat safety switch cable screw on the drive levers; there are a couple of bolts that allow for desire till ends that was basically it now funny enough the hardest step for me was driving the mower off the pallets since it was on there crooked. That metal base was bent and jacked up. If I went forward or backward, I was at risk of damaging my blades even with it fully raised.
So after a few failed attempts, my buddy read came over and helped me lift it up and off the pallet. Now the mower weighs about 800 pounds. It’s built like a beast; after some final unwrapping, we’re all set to go. Here are my favorite features and key specs of this lawnmower. First, the all-electric zero-turn looks and feels like the future of mowers. Second, it’s almost silent when driving around and barely quiet when cutting.
Now it’s not too quiet like it’s weak motors or anything; the very first time I turned on the blades say it kind of sounds like a hovercraft is taking off. The concept is to never again fill up tanks with smelly gas, gross fumes, no changing of belts, oil, spark plugs, filters, or any of that junk; plug it into a standard 120-volt outlet charge, then zoom off is so dang sweet. The design is awesome. I love the bright real green with matte black, and those dual LED bars up front are super slick and bright in total.
There are five high-powered brushless motors, two for the rear wheels for independent drive and that turning on a dime radius, then there are three more brushless motors for those triple cutting motors and covering that massive 54-inch wide deck. I’m coming from a push mower in my yard that used to take what felt like a really long time and hard work.
I can now do the front section in like five minutes, the side and maybe five-ish minutes in the back in like five minutes. And I’m rounding up here; it could probably be done even faster. I like to go a bit slower for that clean, thorough cut, which by the way, the mower leaves these beautiful professional pristine cuts that I’ve never been able to accomplish before. Basically, the grass cut looks amazing, and it’s quiet, clean, and super-efficient and saves me a lot of time each week. And this doesn’t even mention the effortless and fun mo and experience.
The seat
The seat is very plush and comfy, nicely bound in that seat suspension. It’s adjustable forward and backward, even includes folding armrests. There are two cupholders, two storage compartments, a USB port to charge your devices and gadgets on the go. Maybe for a Bluetooth speaker or charge your phone on the right-hand side is a nice control panel with a power switch and keen LED headlights, low-speed drive, and low-speed cut buttons, both of which can extend your battery range if you’d prefer.
I also like the LCD for battery percentage and hours meter; there’s a 12 position deck height adjustment from one and a half-inch up to four and a half inches, plus a little autostop plug comes attached. Now I’m cutting that thick Bermuda grass down here, and I like to cut it pretty low, usually around one and a half or one and three quarters. It comes out looking so nice afterward.
Speed
Now let’s talk about speed. The max speeds are rated at seven miles per hour which, in my research, a lot of top-tier commercial zero turns cap at that same speed, maybe eight miles per hour on a few, but those are even more expensive with massively loud gas engines. Now I’m not sure if you’ve ever been on a riding mower, but seven mph is actually really Zippy. It makes cutting so effortless and fun and from small yards to even those larger lines.
It rips through with cutting both myself and my friends who have tried it have been so incredibly impressed, especially since it’s electric and quiet and fast than exact in those control bars at the beginning of the season, I went over to my neighbor’s yard and here was the cutting experience. So I’ve got the zero turn to fully charged up 100%. I’m here at my buddy’s house three-quarters of an acre. We’ve got six-inch plus dead grass from wintertime. It’s the thick stuff. We’re going to do that low scalping, see how it cuts through it, and then see how long that battery lasts. Let’s get into it. And Safety First, check it out. We’re at 100% for proof battery indicator fully charged.
All right, this thing is so fast, this stuff crazy thick. It was ripping through it like butter way easier than I thought it would; well done, Ryobi, this thing is a monster. It handled it pretty well, man. That was That was impressive. That was crazy. It’s kind of hard to control when you’re just ripping the straight lines on all the bumps. But I mean, look at how this stuff is. It’s chopping through all of these deaths. And it’s going all the way down.
It’s honestly pretty quiet, especially as it’s trudging through all this thick stuff; those motors, they’re peeling through pretty good, he’s not too far away. Motors are on. That’s not very loud. Okay, so we have about three-quarters of the rear done on this massive backyard, and battery life says about 70% left. Now that is really impressive. Suppose it’s true, not sure how accurate it is. But let’s go ahead and finish it up and see what it ends up at at the end of the whole guy.
One full-charged Battery
So we just finished three-quarters of an acre. This is the scalping cut. So most of the time, the deck was down to one and three quarters; maybe two, I’ll show you, is super low. It was cutting through some thick stuff. We started 100%. And now we finished at 30% quick update better jumped back up to 40% from 30. So there you go. So again, I’m not exactly sure how accurate this thing is. But let’s give it the benefit of the doubt; it was able to do this whole thing again, mulching cut, which only happens once a year. I’m happy that the battery lasts the whole thing. Now when you’re doing an easier cut, for sure, battery life is going to last way longer.
Overall though, it’s a blast to ride super effortlessly, with great precision in the controls. It’s fast at the top speed, I grew up driving a ride on a standard mower cutting about an acre lot, and while those have some benefits, now that I’ve experienced zero-turn, it’s no wonder that these are top tier lawnmowers. Even in a smaller yard like my own, having the ability to have such precision and freedom, and maneuverability. It allows me to ride the edge super tight. And then, at the end of those cornrow lines, whip 180 degrees around, back and forth back and forth. It is so sweet and efficient.
Conclusion
Now I understand why but I’d love to see that battery warranty extended farther out. I’m not sure how many years these will last, but on the bright side, they look pretty easy to replace, and even the pricing wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be. Now the only wishlist item I could think of is I’d love to see a mulching plug for that side; you may be included with the mower or maybe an optional bagging system add-on. Now it’s not truly needed as I’ve experienced the more rips and chews through even the thick stuff. And that’s shooting out very finely cut grass.
Home Depot Buy Back
After several weeks and months, Home Depot agreed to buy the mower back. They had offered to replace the mower, but there was no way I wanted to deal with anything Ryobi again. During several weeks of conversations, the Home Depot rep tried placing the long delay on the service center. They can’t replace the batteries if Ryobi says they’re backordered and doesn’t send them any.
The Executive Escalations rep at first tried telling me I could use my extended warranty from Asurion to have them transport the mower back to Home Depot. If I did this, I would not be eligible for a refund. The closest Home Depot to the authorized service center was only 1.5 miles away. Essentially having to pay 300 (voiding my warranty refund) sounded absolutely absurd. I also had to get my trailer from our cabin if I was going to pick up the mower and drop it off myself. This was going to cause me to miss a full day of work. Long story short, I picked up the mower and dropped it off at Home Depot. They gave me a refund via two separate gift cards since it was well past their 90 day warranty. Still not sure why they couldn’t have issued just one.
Was This Just My Mower?
Certainly parts can be defective and go bad sooner than expected, but the battery is an ongoing problem with Ryobi. When I picked up the mower from the authorized service center there was another Ryobi Zero Turn in their main area when you walk-in. It didn’t look like mine, and wasn’t. When I got a chance to talk to the guy at the counter, he informed me mine was in the back with yet another. This is a relatively small repair shop and they happened to have 3 of the Ryobi Zero Turn mowers in for repair. I asked if they were all for battery degradation issues, and he said yes. He even said he’s had other owners call in, but because of the battery backorder situation he was suggesting they wait to bring them in.
How many other owners had called in? I didn’t get that number, but this is should definitely be a red flag for potential buyers as well as current owners. If you own a Ryobi Zero Turn and are coming up on the 1-year battery warranty be careful. Should you suspect any battery degradation, it’s probably worth having the mower checked.
Reviews on Home Depot’s Website
For anyone thinking this still might be an isolated situation, filter the reviews on Home Depot’s website for the 1 and 2 star reviews. You’ll come across quite a few battery issues. Ryobi seems to give a fairly generic copy and paste response to all the 1 and 2 star reviews. The email address they provide I’ve reached out to three separate times, zero response. That’s when I started calling.
Consumer Reports
At the time of this article, the Consumer Reports overall rating for the Ryobi Zero Turn mower was a mere 72 out of 100. I can only imagine this rating will decrease as people own this mower for a couple years or more. Compare this to the EGO Zero Turn which currently has an overall Consumer Reports score of 87.
Summary on the Ryobi Zero Turn Mower
There was no chance I wanted to have deal with Ryobi customer service again. A mere one-year battery warranty doesn’t show a lot of confidence. 5 months without a mower you expect to use to mow 2 acres of lawn from May to October is not acceptable. Ryobi can continue to blame it on supply chain, but when Home Depot’s website shows I could order 130 mowers…it’s not a supply chain issue, but a supply chain management issue. They clearly put priority on trying to sell more of this sub-par mowers rather than help those who unfortunately bought their product get back to being able to use them.
There should be far better products on the horizon, if not already available. I was hesitant of their lead-acid batteries, and sure enough they failed. I’m almost tempted to get rid of my Ryobi router bit set at this point because of the terrible customer service. In my experience, cellular phone companies have provided some of the worst customer service. Ryobi is probably a bit worse than some of those experiences I’ve had.
Anyone with more than an acre of lawn should certainly look elsewhere.
What’s Next?
I’ve pre-ordered a EGO 52″ Zero Turn Mower. It is currently expected to arrive in late May 2022. Stay tuned for that. Fingers cross that will be a much better ownership experience. Unlike Ryobi, EGO has a 5-year warranty on EVERYTHING – the mower, batteries, and charger. They also claim mower power then any Zero Turn Rider (ZTR) out there, gas or cordless. I should know first hand soon.
For anyone interested, I’ll leave my initial review in it’s original form below including the 3 month update. The 3 month update mentioned possible battery degradation concerns. When you end up with a product that substantially degrades below manufacturer specifications in less than a year, your opinion quickly changes. There can be headaches being an early adopter, but combined with the absolutely terrible customer service of Ryobi this is unacceptable.
Initial Review (for Reference Only)
Here it is, the Ryobi Electric Zero Turn mower. I’ve been keeping an eye on this one for over a year now, waiting to see how much it might go on sale for while trying to keep our old zero turn going. I’ve seen this on sale for anywhere between 400-600 of the retail price, but also seen the MSRP go up by 100.
Ryobi is a Home Depot exclusive. Their lineup of lawnmowers is no different. Currently, you can find their traditional electric riding mower in certain stores, but the zero turn is an online-only order. Both are available with 2 battery options, a 75Ah version and a 100Ah.
Bagger Kit
Both the Ryobi electric zero turn mower and traditional riding mowers can be purchased as a “bundle” with a bagger kit. If you need a bagger, you’ll save some money buying it in the bundle. With current pricing, you’ll pay an extra 200 for the bundle, or if you buy the bagger kit separately it will set up back 349.
The corner post of the metal shipping frame is bent in, that’s my mower on the top. There’s also a plastic corrugate trim at the bottom, that should be flat going across. on shipping damage in sections below.
Assembly
Assembly is pretty straight forward. Before you assemble however, you’ll have to remove the mower from the metal shipping frame/crate.
Once the mower is off the shipping crate, you’ll need a 12mm, 13mm, and 14mm sockets and/or wrenches. The only parts you need to install are the driver levers (handle bars), tow hitch (if desired), and the seat. You’ll also connect a wiring harness located in a panel below the seat mounting area.
Be sure to checkout Ryobi’s step-by-step video for details:
Ryobi 48V HP 54″ Zero-Turn Mower Review
Editors Note: This mower is a significant investment for users so we tested two separate units with two different editors. Wes reviewed one and is the primary editor on this review. Todd Fratzel, Editor-in-Chief, also reviewed and unit and contributed to this article. It is out hope that the perspective from two users and a full Summer of operation will give readers a great perspective on this mower.
54″ Zero Turn Electric Riding Mower
Manufacturer: Ryobi Model number: RY48140 Price: 4,599.00 Power source: 48V Battery System Weight: 796 Lbs.
The last year has brought about changes, challenges, and demand unlike ever before for high-quality and innovative outdoor power equipment solutions. In December 2020, Ryobi announced their new line of battery equipment to include an incredible new mower offering. The new 48V HP 54″ Zero Turn Electric Riding Mower Model #RY48140 is an innovative tool for demanding homeowners. This new mower is also an exceptional example of Ryobi addressing the current market demands.
This tool review will offer an initial impressions look at the Ryobi 48V HP zero-turn mower. The abbreviate version is; if Ricky Bobby from Talladega Nights designed a Power-Wheels that also cut grass, you would end up with the Ryobi 48V HP mower. Hell yeah!
Specifications
- Deck Size: 54″
- Weight: 796 Lbs.
- Cutting Height: 1.5″-4.5″
- Deck Height Positions: 12
- Deck Construction: Fabricated/ Welded Steel
- Battery System: 48V 115 Ah
- Charging: 120V Outlet
- Cutting Area Per Charge: Up to 3.5 Acres
- Replacement Batteries: Leoch Model LDC12-115
- Warranty: 3 Year Tool / 1 Year Battery
Unboxing the Ryobi RY48140
The mower was dropped shipped to my home for the review process. It comes packaged in a metal shipping crate and requires some basic assembly. Primarily the handlebars and seat. This is easily done with the provided hand tools, but an impact wrench and socket set greatly speed up the process.
The battery storage area is located under the seat. A total of four 12V batteries are used to power the mower. The batteries are connected in series with each other to provide the 115 Ah system. The batteries are lead-acid Leoch Model LDC12-115 that are commonly found in golf carts. Replacements can easily be found on Amazon as well as with power equipment shops. The battery cables must be connected during the assembly process.
There are a total of three electric motor housings on the deck assembly. Each housing has a twist-lock cable connection located on the top. This design is similar to the Ryobi 40V auger. The individual motors also resemble and sound similar to the Ryobi auger and walk-behind mowers.
The Testing Process
The last year has changed the lawn care and property maintenance world forever and my house was no exception. My home is situated on 2.3 acres that I cleared and leveled over the last few years. The lawn is maintained with a 54″ gas-powered zero-turn however, the Ryobi took over this task upon arrival. In addition, my wife has taken over the responsibility of cutting the grass. It became a welcome escape for her while working from home for the majority of the last year. The majority of the feedback on the performance of the Ryobi 48V HP zero turn will come from her firsthand experience.
Perspective such as this is applicable now more than ever. Especially when considering the number of homeowners who discovered the joys of lawn care over the last year.
Fabricated Steel Mower Deck
The 54″ cutting deck on the Ryobi is made from 10 gauge welded steel. This is an extremely desirable feature of the mower because it adds strength and durability to the machine. The majority of homeowner machines have stamped steel decks which are far more prone to bending and damage. The Ryobi deck can easily be leveled. There is a simple process for this outlined in the manual.
Cup Holders and Storage
There is an unbelievable amount of storage on this mower. The left side features two deep cup holders as well as a storage compartment with a spring-loaded lid. The right side features an additional storage compartment with a spring-loaded lid. These compartments are large enough for big phones and other devices. Or to pack a lunch.