How Long Does a Lawn Mower Battery Last (Cordless & Riding)
It’s happened again, you’ve been caught out with the lawn mower battery. Whether you’ve been cut short of finishing the whole backyard or can’t get out on a gloriously sunny day to chop them blades, it can be a highly annoying occurrence.
You might find yourself asking if it is just your lawn mowers battery or if they are all like this?
Or scratching your head, contemplating how long a battery actually lasts on a lawn mower?
Read on to find out how long lawn mower batteries last, which type of mower has the best battery type and life, and to see what brand makes the most juiced machine for your next lawn mower purchase.
Table of Contents
How long does a Lawn mower battery last?
A typical riding lawn mower battery usually lasts around 3 to 8 years depending on the care provided and usage.Cordless mowers have lithium ion batteries which usually lasts around 5-10+ years again depending on usage. As for how much you can mow on a single cordless mower battery it depends on the make and model of your mower, however this will generally be between 20-100 minutes.
Depending on luck and your level of maintenance, batteries can die on you quickly or last way past their warranty.
All lawn mowers tend to only use these two batteries. Infact, more often than not nowadays you will find that everything is being powered by lithium ion batteries instead of the more old fashioned lead acid batteries. That is not to say the lead batteries do not exist or get used but increasingly there are more and more lithium ion battery powered products on the market. This is because it is easier to implement newer technology alongside the lithium batteries.
For instance, lithium ion batteries can effectively use other technological advancements such as brushless motors (essentially a computer working out how hard the motor should work, regarding lawn mowers, brushless motors calculate the amount of power needed to cut thicker or taller grass as opposed to shorter and easier blades) so that the battery life of the machine remains functional at really high power.
Maintenance is key to batteries. Infact, what you do to the battery when it’s not being used is perhaps more important than when it’s being used. Across the market, there’s cordless mower batteries which can last for 80 mins and others that only last for 20 mins. Alternatively, there’s ride-on mowers that run across ⅓ of an acre and others that range across a 3 acres lawn. This range of chance puts many off investing in these machines because of the uncertainty of warranty. We aim to find out more in a bid to help create certainty when purchasing your next lawnmower.
You’ve opted for a fancy new cordless lawn mower to improve your garden. But now you don’t know how long you will have this piece of kit before it runs out of steam. Cordless lawn mowers, as you can imagine, do tend to have less of a lifespan than their wired counterparts.
How long is a cordless lawn mower batteries lifespan
Cordless lawn mower batteries will last you an average of 5 years. Depending on the level of care and maintenance you put into them you could get from 1 year up to 7 years out of cordless mower batteries. Cordless batteries lose around 5 percent of their capacity every year so to stop the battery dying on you it is worth knowing their average lifespan.
How to make cordless lawn mower batteries last longer
There are a number of ways to provide better care for your battery which will ultimately make it last longer and save you a trip to the shops sooner than expected for a lawn mower battery. Keeping blades on your machine sharp allows for better efficiency and motor movement, meaning the battery will be under less strain. Recharging the battery before storage and use leads to better performance. Most importantly though, check the battery when you are storing the battery and make sure it has retained charge throughout its storage period. The key to battery survival is constant charge.
On a full charge these cordless lawn mowers tend to last anywhere from 20 minutes minimum to a huge 80 minutes for some makes. They rely on anything from 18V to 60V to power the machines. This means some of the better cordless mowers combine both power with long-lasting charge, meaning you can attack that tall grass of yours with ease.We will go into this deeper further into article.
Riding lawn mower batteries
If you have a super big garden or else just want the ease of a riding lawn mower then you will be looking to opt for a riding lawn mower for all your grass cutting wishes. These beasts mean you can drive over your grass with ease, maneuverability and speed when cutting your garden area.
How long do electric riding lawn mower batteries last?
Average battery life is looking at 3-4 years. However, with good care of the battery, you can push your electric riding lawn mower to last till 8-12 years. The reason for the opportunity to have such a remarkably large difference between your standard charged mower and the riding ones is that a number of riding lawn mowers utilise lead batteries which tend to last longer than lithium batteries.
How to make a riding lawn mower battery last longer?
The best way to make sure that your battery lasts longer is again the careful maintenance of your battery throughout its lifespan. Normally you’d expect your driving lawn mower battery to sustain a charge for up to 3-4weeks, after this it will start to drain. Constant charging is a useful tip to maintain battery life even further. It is also recommended to maintain your battery level above 70% for the first 10 turns you use it.
This means during the winter, constant charging of your machine is required to make sure the battery survives. Additionally, an older battery that can only hold a charge for 1-2 weeks is probably needing changed. These types of electric batteries have a low capacity threshold and as such a small decrease in power may start to cause issues. Another crucial thing to consider is Not overcharging your lawn mower battery.
How long does a battery in a riding lawn mower last?
Taking a mammoth 10-16 hours to fully charge when first purchased, your riding lawn mower can expect to return you around 2-3 hours worth of charge which can cover about 3 acres worth of turf. Fairly impressive.
Lawn tractor batteries
Looking for that extra bit of power has landed you at the feet of a lawn tractor purchase. Providing a tad more industry than a ride-on mower, these machines have a larger engine and bigger blades.
How long does a lawn tractor battery last
Similar to their baby brother (ride on mowers), lawn tractors tend to use a 12V lead battery similar to the ones used in cars. These batteries need constant maintenance and without this will last no more than a cold winter. But provided you care for these batteries well, you can extend your lead battery life to make it last till 12 years old. When using the batteries on these machines, it’s much the same as the ride-on mowers. They need a full charge then it’s a case of around 3 acres or 2-3 hours usage time.
How to make a lawn tractor battery last longer
Maintenance, maintenance, maintenance! It’s all about looking after your battery. Monitoring its charge cycle by keeping it constantly charged up is important. So too is storing the battery, particularly during the winter months. It is recommended to store batteries in 40F-75F to allow for battery retention during their period of non-use. Slipping outside of this controlled environment could lead to a destruction of the battery.
Comparison between most popular mowers
Now we have gone over the types of lawn mower batteries and their pros and cons, it’s now time to take a look at brands. Providing different specs for differing needs, these brands range across the market. All worthy brands in their own rights, we can decipher which battery is best suited for your own garden. Anywhere from needing a lawn mower for a tiny bit of grass, up to acres upon acres of turf this list should cover what is best and why. So let’s have a look.
John Deere
This well-renowned mower brand, John Deere, have started to expand their range of battery powered mowers. They have recently started manufacturing cordless push motors for both an easy wire-free, environmentally friendly option to their traditional engine and efficiency. These batteries tend to survive around 5 years, with their ride-on lawn mowers and tractors using lead batteries, leading to an average of 3 years. This lack of longevity comes as a surprise to some as John Deere tends to be known for their functionality and sturdiness, but it seems these batteries can disappoint some. The price tag may disappoint others too.
Ryobi
Known for their dinky and economical solutions in the lawn mower world, Ryobi provides a strong option for both cordless push mowers and ride-on ones. Tending to use 4Ah or 5Ah batteries that fit well with the malleable and compact nature Ryobi are providing solid solutions for great prices. In terms of ride-on mowers, Ryobis RM480E is a brilliant shout for displaying great battery life, easily covering ¾-1 acre lawns.
Anything more than this and it may struggle, but for that limit you can definitely assume Ryobi will provide a super cheap solution. In terms of battery length Ryobis provide around 3-5 years worth of battery life and offer a versatile machine to use for that time.
Stihl
Stihl tends to have fewer electrical components than their other peers on the market. They focus on being compact, lightweight and more robust. These mowers allow the use of a 36V lithium battery number which offers just as much power as others which use a 80V battery. As always with Stihl lawn mowers they are built for efficiency and have the ability to enhance the mower through attachments. They do however, use a lithium battery in their cordless mowers so their lifespan is roughly 4-5 years and have less of an availability for ride-ons on the market. The versatility and lightweight nature of Stihls combined with the useful changeability of attachments and other batteries in place of the dead ones allows for Stihl to cement their place in the mower market.
Craftsman
Sturdy British machines known for their reliability and front wheel drives, Craftsman mowers offer a really nice middle of the ground trade off. Using 4Ah batteries, with interchangeable further batteries for prolonged usage, alongside a strong exterior and functioning cutting ability means Craftsman have sorted out cordless mowers for under 60mins but up to ⅓ of an acre which, for the price seems like a great trade off. Running on 12V lead batteries, the Craftsman ride-on mowers offer a powerful machine for a reduced price as opposed to others on the market.
Husqvarna
Looking to capitalise on past achievements within the petrol world of mowers, Husqvarna have managed to continually develop their newer eco friendly battery powered lawn mowers. With these cordless pieces of kit, Husqvarna have managed to utilise important exterior functionality such as using an App for helping with maintenance and servicing, foldable handles for easy storage and strong displays for battery life. They have managed to install a lot of new technology onto their mowers alongside improving battery technology on the interior. Usually sporting a 36V battery, safe plugs and a 20 minute mow time, these new age machines from Husqvarna provide a strong battery powered mower for the market. But cost, charge time and heaviness all detract from these lawn mowers.
Neuton
Best known for their cordless CE 5 and CE 6 models, Nueton have managed to produce two very top of the range mowers who can cut a ¼ acre and ⅓ acre respectively on their battery. Taking a whopping 12 hours to charge, and returning a mere ¼ seems like a tad of an unfair trade off for the consumer. But these numbers are super cheap and affordable whilst retaining power and silence which is what a lot of the market are after. Using a 36V interchangeable battery Nueton allows, like others previously mentioned, the user to swap out spare batteries to allow for a longer cut. But these two numbers can whack through even the toughest grass, despite their unassuming appearance.
What are some of the longest lasting lawn mower batteries
It seems that it’s unanimous across the board that 12V lead batteries are the best batteries for longevity within all the branches of lawn mowers. However, each type of lawn mower boasts a slightly different lasting battery length. The ExpertPower 12V 33Ah Deep cycle battery has been described as the best battery on the market by a number of people who note that it is a truly longlasting and sturdy battery that will fulfill the role you require, but as you can expect this comes with a price tag, that others simply do not have. It’s all down to personal preference, fast solution or longer convenience. It too is also only available as a lead battery for ride-on or tractors.
Alternatively, as a strong contender for best rechargeable battery lawn mower on the market, the Greenworks TwinForce Cordless lawn mower uses a 40V lithium ion battery system, whereby the mower uses one 4Ah battery that automatically connects with a back-up 2Ah battery for when the original battery is out of charge. This dual battery technology offers a great alternative to the cordless lithium battery in order for it to compete with the long lasting lead batteries which ride-ons or tractor mowers use.
40 volt lawn mower batteries
Expect these lithium batteries to last just as long as any other voltage of battery. The difference in volts is only to do with the power, it has no direct relation with the longevity of the battery. These 40V lithium ion batteries within lawn mowers would be expected to last around 2-3 years. This is due to the batteries using a lifetime charging cycle of 2000 or so charges, therefore it really depends on use but the average of about 2 years seems accurate.
18 volt lawn mower batteries
As just mentioned, the voltage on the battery fails to actually make a feasible difference between battery longevity. Therefore you can expect the 18V battery to last 2-3 years as well. They would provide you with about 40minutes of power also, but due to their less voltage, they would suffer from a lack in power as opposed to their 40V counterpart. Makes sense really.
There are two main ways of identifying if your battery is dead or is about to die. The first one is the more obvious check of the voltage by hooking up a meter to the battery and checking whether the battery voltage suffices. This will be anywhere from 12V+ depending on which mower you have. An easier way to check if your battery is dying is to listen out for clicking sounds when starting the mower either by pulling the rope or turning the ignition key whilst sat on the machine. If the engine doesn’t crank or makes a slow clicking sound then your battery is likely to be a goner.
Will a lawn mower run with a dead battery?
If you do hear that clicking sound and realise your battery is dead, your lawn mower will fail to run. However, all is not totally lost. After checking that the battery is definitely the culprit which has kicked the bucket (not any oil or fuel issues instead) you can try and jumpstart your lawn mower battery using the same technique you would use to jumpstart a car.
It’s happened again, you’ve been caught out with the lawn mower battery. Whether you’ve been cut short of finishing the whole backyard or can’t get out on a gloriously sunny day to chop them blades, it can be a highly annoying occurrence.
