All New RYOBI 80v Battery Zero Turn AUSTRALIAN REVIEW

Today we check out the R80XZTR42
80V HP 42” LITHIUM ZERO TURN RIDE-ON MOWER

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[turfandtools]

I said $10, 099 for the extra battery. I meant $1, 099 🤦🏻‍♂️

[anthonypierre]

Thank you soo much for testing this in some real tall grass and not a lush green manicured lawn

[anthonymark]

Purchased a 42inch and l now have a few hours on it. I must say l absolutely love it. But a few things to be aware of:

1. On the batteries supplied, it does 2 acres on low speed with low blade speed (with well maintained grass (just below what they advertise) but for the best cut you want low speed with medium blade speed. This means 1 1/2 acres realistically as that’s what lm getting on a full charge when mowing my paddocks. As l Iive on 3 acres l need to split the mow into two mows but this works okay as l will mow our 1/2 acre around the house and 1 acre of paddock each mow, alternating the paddocks each week. When it says low battery (less than 10%) just keep mowing as the blades will stop 5-6 minutes before the battery is completely dead giving you more than enough time to get back to the shed.

2. The blade height stopper l actually use to stop the lever bouncing out and up. Paddocks are a bit rough and when the lever bounces out of its setting (which it does a lot) it always goes up not down. Not an issue once aware of it.

3. On uneven ground the machine bounces around quite a bit so unlike a steering wheel, the stick is quite a lot harder to keep the mower on a straight line when you hit bumps. Infact due to its light weight the whole front will jump and the front wheel design is not vertical like on other zero turn mowers l’ve used so they can end up in any direction causing steering issues. They should have been better designed by centring the support directly over the wheels like on other zero turn mowers. Not sure why Ryobi did this. It’s a pity as going from forward to reverser is a bit of a pain to control. Just means if close to plants or fencing you need to go really slow esp when turning to stop crashing or doing an unexpected turn over your flowers.

4. Seat comfort is great when on flat ground but when on bumpy ground, the adjustable spring in the seat is almost useless. Can’t get it to make any difference. Again have used heavier zero turn mowers and the spring seats work much better. This definitely needs fixing by Ryobi.

5. Dust and fine grass gets into all the compartments when mowing paddocks so putting food in them is a no no. At the end of the mow you have to use a high powered blower to get the dust and dry grass out of ever nook and cranny (and there’s lots). Not so much an issue with normal well maintained green grass around the house but it’s summer and grass is dry in the paddocks. Ryobi again needs to fix this issue.

6. The phone holder compartment is only for small phones. I have a Google Pixel 7 Pro with a cover and it doesn’t fit. Great idea but poorly executed and no way would I put a phone in it without a cover as the mower does bounce around a lot on uneven ground such as found in paddocks. Needs rubber padding but then no phone will fit. Again Ryobi needs to fix this.

7. As said above, cleaning definitely requires a blower (and a wash) to get all the grass and dust out of it. Seems worse than normal ride-ons

8. The app is a bit of a gimmick as everything is on the screen and you cannot use it when the mower is off. Have deleted it off my phone already. Ryobi needs to add extra features to it or just dump it altogether.

9. A big issue is aftermarket support if you have an issue. The Call centre is in an Asian country and they are appalling to deal with. They can’t understand English so trying to deal with them is terrible. It took 5 days to get a response from a technician for a mower issue. This is pretty hopeless.

So advantages over other petrol driven mowers:

1. It is overall very comfortable but as said not as comfortable as the heavier petrol zero turn mowers on bumpy ground, but definitely better that a normal home petrol ride-on. Arm rests work really well esp for resting arm whilst using the joystick. Really well done by Ryobi

2. Very quick to mow even in comparison to other zero turn mowers. The joystick controller is quicker and far more responsive to use than everything else available so that saves time. And if mowing long strips of smooth grass, max speed is really fast to mow compared to everything else l’ve used.

3. The joystick for steering is great fun and heaps better than the two sticks on other zero turns and more fun than a wheel. Takes far less effort to use, and putting it into reverse is so much easier than all other designs. And it’s also easy to adjust and control your speed with it. It only take a few mows to get used to for mowing open areas. When mowing around garden however, it takes a few mows to stop mowing your flowers. Won’t go back to anything else now lm used to it

4. Charging is dead easy and no more having to go out and buy expensive fuel. As we are on solar panels, its basically free to charge if I mow in the morning. I think one of the reviews costs it out at $5 AUS for a full charge so big savings even when you take into consideration the minimum life of 6 years for the battery (free extended warranty).

5. No more breathing in fuel fumes when mowing, and no more smelling of fuel fumes post mow. This is a big issue in itself.

6. It’s so quite even when the blades are going. In fact you could mow without hearing protection, but unlike some say, you can’t talk on the phone as people on the other end hear the whine of the blades over you talking (tried it and it doesn’t work). And if you stop for a chat with a neighbour, you don’t have to turn it off to talk, you just stop and disengage the blades and there’s no noise whatsoever.

7. There is no vibration you get from a petrol mower. With my dicky back, it’s a lot more comfortable to mow as l’m not vibrating. That in itself is great.

8. The cutting power is amazing. I used it in the paddocks with the mulcher attachment and absolutely no effort when compared to my Cox 16hp ride-on. And the cut was fantastic with the paddocks now looking manaquered. And the cut using the mulcher on normal lawn it beer than anything l’ve every used

9.. And best of all, no more servicing and having to wait 3-6 weeks to get the mower repaired (current wait time at the local mower stores in the area l live). But not sure how long Ryobi will take to come out a do a repair if ever needed, but there’s so little to go wrong on it compared to a petrol mower. Whilst Ryobi say they will come out for repairs, or pay for it to go to Ryobi if a major repair, as l live in rural Victoria, l’ll wait and see if they honour that.

Overall if you manage the mowing time when on acreage, the machine is great and mowing is so much fun on this thing. Will never go back to petrol engines. And no regrets buying this even for its price.p"

[alf]

I have got the 54' inch version arriving tomorrow morning, when it will be delivered. My property is on a slope....so we see how it goes. If it can do 3/4 of what you did in the last part of your video then I am happy. By the way..the warranty on the charger and batteries is 3 years only. The rest is warranted for 4+2 years.

[LZYEYEST]

I guess the 36v batteries are handy if you have the other Ryobi tools as you can charge them all in the mower. Saves you having to have other chargers.

[p.herron]

Hey there. How has the mower and battery held up over the years?

[covidvirus]

Reminds me of my first and last 12v ryobi cordless drill from 1991.. think I'll wait 😮

[shirleyparr]

This is a very interesting subject. Battery operated mowers are becoming popular. I’m wondering what the life of the batteries is? They would be extremely expensive to replace. I’ve had experience with replacing smaller batteries that would no longer charge and they were expensive.

[cannabiss]

I recently bought a second hand husqvarna zero turn for $2k that only had 300 hours, its an absolute beast and chews through 9 acres of paddock on one tank of gas. The new battery tech is awesome but they have a long way to go before its worthwhile imo. For anyone in the market for a ride on I highly recommend buying second hand quality brand

[chrisandshazza]

Spot on - if gardening you have the smaller batteries for other gardening tools. Lot of cash but they would be awesome

[andrewstockinger]

When mowing in grass what wasn't as tall as the mower did you find it easy to control and keep it straight and able to get back on track once you turned around. Wondering about the look for the end result. Straight lines.

[mikebast]

That video helped me a lot. I have an acre lot similar to the lot you did at the end at the Job site...its flat but not a maniucured grass ...more like a wild, natural grass with weeds that I want to keep maintained for the dogs to run around!. I was wondering how it does in a use like that! looks like it was pretty good!
Thanks! from Flagstaff, Arizona

[shaneburns]

I would prefer a bank of 36V batteries (10 off), that can be left in the Mower bank and charged as a bank, then pulled and used on my other Ryobi gear.

[TheBasher]

Is there a commercial warranty? Most offer 1 year at the minimum
Spare parts availability? Or is it like all other ryobi products that you can’t get parts for?
$1099 for the 10Ah battery is top dollar for a low end brand.
What’s the battery warranty? Mower may be 4+2 but what are the batteries. Aren’t the 18 and 36v batts only 3 year?
At least they went lithium

[MrCodeman]

How do you handle charging during the operation months. After using the mower, do you take it into the charger, and leave it. Or do you let it get to 100 percent and unplug it and leave the batteries inside the mower?

[StephenOshea]

i think its ok for home use . yet what comercial user wants a bettery machne that takes hours to recharge when you need to move onto the next big job . who wants to carry spares on charge

[warrenpitt]

Have you compared it with other ZT ride ons? greenworks, toro, ego etc

[apatriot]

I have this same mower on sale for 4k at Home Depot near me, seems worth it

[glenvincent]

Looks like it's just pushing the grass over is it actually chopping somthing.

[JoshuaKoerner]

I have the 300e 30” acid battery riding mower from Ryobi - love it. I know the kind of batteries in there means I get a significantly limited lifetime out of it, I’m hoping for another year or two. I got it lightly used so I don’t need to extract maximum value, but I don’t want it to die early either.

That said, I think these 80v machines look super interesting, but not all the way there. Namely, on price point. I think (USD) if these were $1000 cheaper to begin with, and then go on sale sometimes, sure. I think I need other things to do with these 80v batteries too. It’d be nice if there were even some kind of backpack that converted an 80v battery for 40v tool use or something.

I’ve been an early adopter before with different things and while in those cases it did work out, because I understood those markets better, I don’t understand this market well enough to know if it will.

Given you *do* understand this market better than I do, do you see a broader future for 80v tools / vehicles(?), whatever? (Consumer grade.) Do you see the prices coming down in the next 3-5 years perhaps?