Ego zero steer mower review

[FPGT72]

I agree, direct drive vs. belt drive is a non-issue. Belts work fine, most of the time.

That said, I've never kept a belt 25 years. Usually they're looking ratty enough after 10-12 years, that I just replace them to avoid the down time. I keep the old set as backup, so I can avoid downtime due to a failed belt. Still, at 10 years... who cares?

The only legitimate problem I've ever had with belts was when I went thru three OEM mule drive belts in two years on my 60" deck. Damn heavy duty aftermarket PTO clutch was locking up so fast on cold belts, it'd snap them on first engagement (cold). Went to Kevlar belts, which seem to be holding, so far.

You can't really blame the belts for that one.

Odd I had the same issue on a John Deere 110 I got for cheap fixed up and gave to my son. I bought some no name PTO off of Amazon and the belt would scream bloody murder each time you hit the switch. It did not take long for them to fail. Told him to try the same thing you did.

 

[ArlyA]

A few things I don't like.
-------------------------------------------
The deck height handle is rather forward and height setting is difficult to see. I can still adjust it on the fly and guess its height..

The most casual setting for speed and steerage is good for tight operations, but the next one up is much more sensitive. Too sensitive really and wish they were closer. It has three control settings

I did have some difficulty backing out of some deeper holes but traction is reasonably good. May reduce the rear PSI another pound.

What I like so far.
--------------------------------------------
No engine noise, easy on/off and recharging is rather quick.

Battery indicator is on the front deck and easily seen.

When plugged in, the machine knows that and won't fire drive motors.

Does a nice looking mow.

 

[WinterDeere]

I found that 11 number on the web. No idea who's right!

Time for some drag racing!

My cousins Ego 52” definitely feels slower than my Deere ZTrak. I remember commenting on it when I test drive the Ego, and I think he told me it was rated 9mph, which made sense to me at the time. The Deere is 11.something.

On thinner stamped decks, yeah… I think that will mean these mowers have a shorter overall lifespan, unless replacement decks are available at reasonable cost. I know the replacement deck for my machine is so expensive, I will probably just replace the whole machine when the original deck gets too ratty to maintain anymore.

But given the whole e-mower tech is pretty young, the mowers bought today may have other factors also limiting the product lifespan, meaning this deck was an appropriate choice. Maybe the battery tech will change, and there aren’t enough of the current iteration in the field for the OEM to bother maintaining a parts stream for the original, 15 years from today when that deck comes due for replacement.

Hard to say today, but I’m glad there’s some early adopters to push the tech forward and help us all learn.

 

[Hay Dude]

Where is Ego stuff made?
Mexico? USA? China?

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Battery tech moves fast. I'm sure the batteries won't be available, long before the deck rusts through. They probably don't consider the life of the mower much past 5 years or so. ICE engines have standard bolt patterns, making a replacement easy. Battery tech is very proprietary, which makes future maintenance and replacement options more limited. And most aftermarket batteries have terrible reviews for current battery powered equipment.

 

[ArlyA]

Battery tech moves fast. I'm sure the batteries won't be available, long before the deck rusts through. They probably don't consider the life of the mower much past 5 years or so. ICE engines have standard bolt patterns, making a replacement easy. Battery tech is very proprietary, which makes future maintenance and replacement options more limited. And most aftermarket batteries have terrible reviews for current battery powered equipment.

I can still get 14.4 batteries for my 20 plus year old deWalt tools which I have retired. Good aftermarkets ones can be found for most tools. I use them for my Makita tools.

 

[ArlyA]

Our last two mowers were Ariens and Husky rider types and both only seen very occasional under deck cleaning. Each were ran 20 or more years but neither rusted out. Different grass acidity here?

 

[5030]

Where is Ego stuff made?
Mexico? USA? China?

I believe China. I know the Li-Ion batteries are for sure as most all are today.

 

[5030]

A few things I don't like.
-------------------------------------------
The deck height handle is rather forward and height setting is difficult to see. I can still adjust it on the fly and guess its height..

The most casual setting for speed and steerage is good for tight operations, but the next one up is much more sensitive. Too sensitive really and wish they were closer. It has three control settings

I did have some difficulty backing out of some deeper holes but traction is reasonably good. May reduce the rear PSI another pound.

What I like so far.
--------------------------------------------
No engine noise, easy on/off and recharging is rather quick.

Battery indicator is on the front deck and easily seen.

When plugged in, the machine knows that and won't fire drive motors.

Does a nice looking mow.

A good looking mow all depends on a couple factors. Blade sharpness and how the underside of the deck is baffled so as to promote good grass flowthrough and to a lesser extent, blade tip speed and proper placement of the gage wheels.

I'm not one for a 'fancy' striped yard, just cut it all uniformly.

 

[WinterDeere]

Battery tech moves fast. I'm sure the batteries won't be available, long before the deck rusts through. They probably don't consider the life of the mower much past 5 years or so. ICE engines have standard bolt patterns, making a replacement easy. Battery tech is very proprietary, which makes future maintenance and replacement options more limited. And most aftermarket batteries have terrible reviews for current battery powered equipment.

I suspect a lot more thought went into developing a standardized battery platform for these $10k+ mowers, given the average lifespan of a ZT mower, than your $100 portable drills. While I think it's reasonable to believe the OEM may not offer replacement batteries by the time the mower deck reaches end of life, as I stated previously, I do believe there will be aftermarket options available for many years after the OEM has moved on to newer tech.

Our last two mowers were Ariens and Husky rider types and both only seen very occasional under deck cleaning. Each were ran 20 or more years but neither rusted out. Different grass acidity here?

Probably has more to do with usage pattern. Some have the free time and schedule flexibility to never have to mow damp grass, while some of us seem to be almost always mowing damp grass in early morning or well past sunset. Put a mower away wet 20x per year for 20 years, and it's not going to last anywhere near as long as the guy who only mows his lawn at 3pm on sunny days.