Battery mower passes the test

THE INNOVATIVE EGO Power+ system was introduced in South Africa last year by specialist equipment supplier, Smith Power Equipment, following the signing of an exclusive distribution agreement with EGO in December 2017.

Powered by an industryleading 56V Arc Lithium battery, the EGO Power+ system delivers petrol-matching power, but without any of the downsides of petrol-powered units. It’s simpler, cleaner and quieter, and with less vibration, making it more comfortable to use. With lower running and maintenance costs, customers are assured of greater savings compared with petrol-powered units.

To validate these attributes Allyn Hane was asked to put the EGO+ mower through its paces. There were three issues Hane cared about: the machine’s quality of cut in normal conditions; the quality of cut in thick turf; and how the machine cuts when the battery gets low.

When it comes to the quality of cut in normal conditions, Hane found that the EGO+ surprisingly cut very well. “I haveused other cordless mowers beforebut they haven’t been as good as this.It does perform similar to my gaspoweredmower – the only difference isthat it’s not as propelled,” he says.

One of the appealing features of themower to Hane was the lightweightnature of the machine. “I thoughtthe weight of the machine would bea drawback because a lightweightmower tends to hop when you hitbumps and this creates an unevencut,” he says.

“With the EGO+, the battery ispretty lightweight, but it’s actually theheaviest part of the mower and theypositioned it at the front end of themachine. This helps keep the frontwheels on the ground, which reducesthe wheel hops.”

Another design innovation ofinterest was the machine heightadjustment feature when cutting.With conventional mowers, wheelheight adjustment is a commonproblem for many – they adjust eachwheel separately and often times oneof the wheels is higher than the other.“With the EGO+, it is one easy motion– you can raise or lower the height ofthe entire machine in one go, resultingin good consistency,” he says.

THICK TURF AND LOW BATTERYCONDITIONS

To test the machine’s capabilityin thick turf conditions, Hane letthe grass grow for 15 days withoutmowing it. This grass is usually cutevery five to seven days, and within15 days it had grown double itsnormal height.

“The mower cut through the longgrass efficiently without boggingdown. I mulched without any cramping.The machine passed the biggest test by proving its cutting prowess inovergrown turf. It did a very good job ofpowering through it – I give it an A+ onthis one,” he says.

When it comes to its performancewhen the battery is low, after 40minutes of run time, Hane left thebattery in the mower for a week.However, when deployed to work withonly 10 minutes of battery life left, themachine powered through the lawnwithout losing any performance. Hanesays if a battery-powered mowercan get to the end of its battery lifewithout losing performance, then it’s anabsolute gem.

“If it is going to lose performance,say in the last 10 minutes of batterylife, then it’s really a downside. Withthis mower, the performance is thesame from full charge to completelyflat. It just completely shuts off whenthe battery dies,” he says. So, whatdoes that mean? “It means I can getan hour of peak performance withno lagging at the end. It goes all theway and then dies. Bear in mind itonly takes 30 minutes to fully charge,which is a plus.”

In conclusion, Hane says themower revolutionises the gardeningequipment industry. It is the singlebiggest advancement in technologysince petrol-powered mowers arrivedon the scene over a century ago.“I would say if Tesla had to moveinto the lawn mower business, this isthe sort of machine they would lookingat,” concludes Hane.

Watch Allyn Hane’s review here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAkU6hj8Ed0