I have been running a X500 for about 12 years. No issues yet. I would love to switch to electric, and have on nearly all of my hand tools (string trimmer, hedge trimmer, edger, etc. However, all of the failures and electronic issues and lack of dealer knowledge (if there is even a local dealer) makes it feel like an ongoing experiment. So for me, I will keep running gas and doing a little service as needed. I especially like the single joystick design as I like to wave back at folks when I'm out mowing.
I love this mower, even though I bought it last August 2023 at $6999 (54 inch) and it is now $4999 at Home Depot. Home Depot leaves them out unprotected in all weather, which over time seems to fade them out and cause electronic issue, although they keep the batteries inside the store.. Ryobi repair guy came out to fix charging problems after I took delivery of assembled mower. I just finished mowing 2 1/2 acres. I like the speed, power, minimal grass clippings, low noise, and I've gotten pretty good with the joystick. No gas, no oil, no belts, no hydraulics, no spark plugs, no carburetor. It is fun to drive, and I can back it up into the garage now without playing bumper cars. At $4999 for 54" it is worth the price, IMO.
Thanks for the review. I mow 1 1/2 acres weekly cuts,10 months per year in Ga . Ethanol free gas costs is about $180 per year,yearly oil change/service is about $30 since I selfperform. 48 inch Arens zero turn. $3100 new cost in 2021,but shopped for a good deal at an independent shop. For chainsaws,weedeaters,and other OPE..i dont even look at gas power any longer. Pressure washer (which could be AC electrical) , vehicles and mower will remain gas powered for a long while yet...for multiple reasons. However the technology is getting there very quickly. I can see myself in 2030 with propane stove/grill,and my vehicles being the only gas powered thing i own.
Just got mine last week, working my way up the learning curve. Only issues so far is on wet grass slopes it can slide sideways, have to do that part by hand. Charge it up with my roof top solar just like my Tesla Model Y, will never have anything that runs on gas again.
Just got mine at Home Depot for 799. Can’t wait to use it although it didn’t come with the batteries because Home Depot said they can’t find them so I need to reach out to Ryobi to get some free batteries replaced.
High has a maximum speed of 80 mph. I had to listen to it again. I helped my boss change a broken belt on a 60 inch Gravely. I'll take the Ryobi now that I'm on my own.
Really enjoyed your review. I’ve been researching ev mowers a lot. I now have an empty nester house so I no longer need my John Deer tractor with its 54” deck. 42” would be the max I need now. Odd but there is not much choice in a 30, or 38” deck riding mower. I I find one the horse power is only around 10-11hp. Not strong enough to handle the small hills in my yard. Most of the battery powered mowers give you more power. Also I want the lithium ion batteries. The lead acid ones don’t last because of the down time in the cold winters.thanks for this review . Ryobi has a couple of units I’m considering.
Hey Let’s work on charging , battery life and power before one stick control and a computer screen. I see potential problems and long downtime due to warranty repair issues.
I javelin the 54 inch and mine will charge the 40v batteries in the mower. I have had one issue where mine would not work ryobi came to my house had to swap computer and now I need to have them come out and fix the seat. I got wheels stuck in hole and tried to rock it pretty hard and seat came out of its roller track.
So if i understand correctly the 2 40v batteries that come with it. Can't be charge while in the mower slots with the included charger? So I would have to purchase an additional charger or does one come with it for the 40v batteries. thanks
Did I hear "80MPH". Gud gawd I have danger enough at 3mph. I'm a converted Enthusiast of Electric ZTR Mower. Got a 80V elect Leaf Blower as well. Thank gawd with the ZTR LI I can pull a wagon. Yes, my learning curve just started testing. Intelligent steering turned fun chore, ZTR mowing, back into intense chore. I Love the mechanics et al except that joi stick steering. Shirely there are sensitivity adjusters? And where is that "Data Plate" with the serial number?
Home Depot appears to be closing out in store stock. Speculation is that the mowers will be online only going forward. In any case, the 30/42/54 ZT are $799/$899/$999 respectively, and the 42" tractor is also $799. You'll have to go into the store to get the price, and it may still be tagged at regular price, but will ring up at the close out deal.
@@HealthyCriticism Yep, although I'm sure they're all gone by now, unless there was some reason they couldn't sell (damage, missing parts, etc). I managed to get a 30" ZT for $799.
The biggest question should be what happens when the screen gets damged? If it's anything like other new tech, the screen is serialized to the mower, requires pairing when replacing, and is proprietary requiring shipping to a servicing location to perform.
@@TomUlcak there's a difference between getting a mower to the local small engine guy, and freight shipping your mower halfway across country because an electronic part got fried.
@@jasonwomack4064 why the exaggeration? electric ride mowers have 70% less maintenance AND just like gas mowers, you can order parts and not have to ship the whole mower for repair. Come on man, what is the hate all about? My friend who has a business landscaping and construction. He's moved completely over to electric. Why? Because, financially, it makes better sense. What you are saying is hate driven instead of logic driven.
So, you replace the screen. Big deal. I'd rather deal with that than the 70% more maintenance that a gas powered mower has. Plus, when spring time finally comes, you just slap a battery in and off you go for the first season's cutting. Gas powered? Well, clean the spark plug, the gas tank, drain the oil and any repairs that might be needed on the engine BEFORE your first cutting of the season. Plus, no buying oil, gas or spark plugs - ever. Come on, man, this is about emotion for you. Not logic.
@@TomUlcak i like electric outdoor equipment, I even have the Milwaukee mower, blower, etc. However, when you get into electronics with screens, companies love to make the replacement parts proprietary. Which means people can't buy those parts on the open market. John Deere went to this business model several years ago, and it's been a nightmare. You can't just replace the part, it requires programming/pairing to the specific equipment.
Just on battery cost alone, it will take over 18 years of gas to pay for those three batteries to be replaced. 3 X $899 = 2697 plus sales tax. 40 cuts per year X 1 gallon per cut @$3.90 per gallon x 18 years = $2808 FYI - batteries are out of stock at Home Depot - what now??? Claiming maintenance costs are more expensive on gas mowers is being disingenuous. There are costs for maintaining both, but the repair costs for battery powered mowers are being kept a secret.
Well said, not many people want to talk about long term costs. With a little common sense gas equipment will serve folks well with less cost. As far as battery powered equipment being greener than gas well that isn't quite true either.
Facts, someone with a brain. Not to mention the amount of resources and inputs needed and consumed to produce the batteries and mower is actually worse for the environment than a gas mower. People aren't educated or taught to think bigger picture .
You forgot to add the cost of the gas powered mower. Plus, you way under estimated the cost for gas and oil. Not to mention time and money for maintenance on the gas mower.
@@TomUlcak You didn't understand that my comment deals with FACTS, not pulling numbers out of the air. If it bothers you so much, you say I did the math incorrectly, be my guest, and prove me wrong. I dare you. NO maintenance costs for BO mowers were given, therefore none should be given for gas-fueled mowers. FYI - I get my gas at $3.10 per gallon, but I took my figure of $3.90 which is 8% OVER the national average, so You need to come up with true FACTS if you're that hurt. Annual maintenance from those who don't farm it out is under $100.
@@stans5270 ffs, READ my comment again. Quit your lazy thinking and use your brain. Did you forget to include the cost of the gas powered mower into your calculations? YES, you did. Now, quit deflecting.
The magic wore off during season 2 as I topped 100 hours, and completely evaporated once I approached 200 hours at the end of season 3 (2023). Ryobi sent new batteries which I'll install next spring; I don't trust the charger to overwinter the batteries, so the new ones are on a maintenance charger. If you have a large lawn to mow like I do (~3 acres), the battery tech is not there yet, sad to say.
I don't believe you. Batteries don't die after one season. The battery tech has been here for a long time now. Why are people so resistant to battery powered anything? Guess they are still addicted to oil and terrified of change.
@@TomUlcak What are you talking about? The batteries died after 3 seasons. Well, at the end of the 3rd season. I never said they died after 1 season. I loved the mower and I would not get another gas powered mower. I am hoping the batteries Ryobi sent hold up better. If they only last ~2+ seasons I will need to find Plan B. Your rant is at the wrong person. I have a battery powered push mower (48v), 80v tools inlcuding a string trimmer, leaf blower, 18" chainsaw, garden tiller, heavy duty hedge trimmer, as well as a light duty hedge trimmer and 12" Stihl, oh... and an I5. Go berate someone else.
It's enough to maintain the charge so you can listen to music and not drain battery and still charge it up a little. Unless you got a crap phone that is not efficient at all
Have you ever done a shop tour video? The hand tool need in me wants to check out all the stuff on that tool wall! Ha. :) didn’t see one in the archives. Thanks!
Had a Hustler Raptor 54" Flip Up mower we sold when we moved to a normal sized lot. With the Flip up deck, cleaning the grass from the underside and changing blades was a snap. Your review doesn't mention what it takes to do both of those tasks on this mower. Thoughts?
It would be better if you could cut grass with it then save the exact mowing route to the Ryobi app and it has an on board camera so you can go to the app and have the mower cut to the previous entered mowing route and watch it all on your solar battery powered 82" Ryobi tv.
I'll stick with my gas zero turn, I can mow as long as I want, when I want, and even though it's 16years old, I bet it will outlast these battery ones, oh when factoring in replacement batteries, gas is much cheaper to own and operate. If you got a tiny little yard, maybe,,, battery is OK. This thing is NOT for me!!
The battery situation alone would push me to ego. Ego uses standard 56v batteries right off their OPE, and it shares a charger with their regular 56v. It just has an extention attachment to plug into the mower. Plus if a battery stops working, you can just pull it out and either run on 5 if you dont need the full capacity or replace it with any standard 56v ego battery, vs the specialized 1 off 80v suitcase batteries. Ryobi made a huge blunder with these suitcase batteries, they should of went with 2.5 and 5ah batteries like greenworks and kobalt, or 60v like ego and greenworks, but they didnt want to alienate their 40v lineup, as they already had a failed 24v line of ope and didnt want to set a trend.
The 40v charges the 80v, which means its actually easy to hot swap the 40v batteries keeping the 80v topped off. Actually better than having to wait for 6 batteries to get charged.
Just got my 42 inch for 799. It didn’t come with batteries because somebody stole them Home Depot said now I have to call Ryobi to try and get them for free or else I’m returning it.
You say it done great in tall wet grass, but yet the only thing I seen you do was ride around in grass that was already cut with the mower deck 2 inches above the grass. you work or getting paid by ryobi? Lmao
@@ConcordCarpenter Seems high for an electric/battery mower. Is it because of the cross-cut blades? Where is the sound coming from to be that high? It should be a lot lower if you drive it without the blades engaged, correct?
DON'T BUY ONE!!! Ordered one from HD online. They dorked up the delivery.. no batteries... They came two weeks later with one that was sitting in the rain and sunshine for a Looonggg time. It did 1/2 a cut of my yard.. then won't go into neutral. The joystick is GARBAGE...
I have the 30 inch ryobi and wouldnt buy it again...these are regular deep cycle lead batteries, placed in series to make 48 volts ( but sacrifices amps as jts only 50 amps)... These batteries all died simultaneously at just under 2 years...$748.00 to replace (batteries warrNty is 1 year)..not worth it until they go to lithium or at least agm...
