Hart 80 volt 30 inch deck riding mower

[dadohead]

For years at Deere, another staff engineer and myself always pushed to develop a small yard mower like this. My mom and my MIL both wanted to keep active outside later in life (alone) and mow themselves. Riders were mainly gone and replaced by lawn tractors... not the right machine for their yards! So I bought them electric start walk-behinds (money was not the issue).

Deere was 'all in' testing electric lawn tractors then. Marketing test groups were ambivalent (double the cost of gas.) We thought a platform like that Husqvarna (maybe even smaller) was the ticket. Inside, we called it the "geezer mower". Would have been the cheapest 'concept' ever done... just ship a few production units over from Europe and put them in customers hands for evaluation! THAT would be the platform to electrify someday we thought.

At a product event we saw the VP responsible for new product development and went over to him. We got about 2 minutes to discuss the Geezer. He quickly shot it down. "If it is so good how come Husqvarna doesn't bring it over?"

We wanted to say "because their leadership is dumb?"

 

[grsthegreat]

You're right... no small riders in the US anymore. There are in Europe though! Check out the Husqvarna R 213C:

View attachment 1056814

Husqvarna R 213C Rider

Efficient Rider with 94 cm Combi cutting deck, offering first-class BioClip® and rear ejection cutting. Suitable for home- and landowners who require high efficiency

www.husqvarna.com

37" articulated rider. I've seen these at dealerships in France. They look like fabulous mowers for a small yard.

They sell those here in usa also, but there not big sellers. My local kubota dealer sells them

 

[grsthegreat]

Every stupid battery powered electric piece of lawn or yard work equipment i have purchased has never lasted more than 2 to 3 seasons. Than batteries are shot and either cant be located, or have been improved and dont fit. Never again. My stihl string trimmer is 20 years old still works. Replaced carb with chinese ebay one years ago. Thats all. My stihl farm boss chainsaw is 30 years old, and i only replaced bar and of course chains. Still working after 30 years. Wifes mantis is over 20 years still working. My huskvarna lawn tractor is every part of 20 years old, still going strong but has had 3 deck replacements (rocky ground).

Its gas or nothing for me.

 

[dadohead]

They sell those here in usa also, but there not big sellers. My local kubota dealer sells them

I don't think they sell the small deck though (30-37")?

Maybe Mr Big was right all along.... a lawn tractor is not the greatest platform to replace a rider in a small yard though.

 

[2manyrocks]

I briefly owned a 30" rear engine gas rider, but ended up selling it pretty quickly because it didn't have the same traction on the steepest part of my yard as a ZTR, plus the 30 cutting width and not being a ZTR meant more time mowing for me. It might be fine for a small yard that doesn't have much of a slope. But I'd want to know how the electric versions fare on slopes before spending $3500 on one.

IDK, US consumers are odd when it comes to lawn mowers. My impression is that it took years for ZTRs to catch on here. Seemed like Dixon was one of the few companies that made a ZTR, and then finally other companies starting making them.

 

[dadohead]

Funny you mention slopes... in general, ZTR's are not ideal on slopes because they are tractively steered. Break traction and it's a roller coaster to the bottom! Definitely a learning curve and more tailored to a pro cutter.

It's been well documented for years, consumer mowers are sold on: price, HP, and width of cut. They run around and shop on those 3 things.... manufacturers know it and play the spec game.

 

[2manyrocks]

The painful thing is I bought that rider for around $500 in 2016 with practically zero hours, and now it retails for $1900+ I don't think I lost any money on it when I resold it, but thinking about that mower reminds me of how inflation has gotten out of control.

 

[dadohead]

The painful thing is I bought that rider for around $500 in 2016 with practically zero hours, and now it retails for $1900+ I don't think I lost any money on it when I resold it, but thinking about that mower reminds me of how inflation has gotten out of control.

That AND you got a smok'in deal @ $500!

 

[Richard001]

I have a similar Husqvarna Rider 15.5/hp. I can say how good it is since I've only been using it for over 21 years. It does have one of those unreliable Kohler engines, but it jus keeps ongoing. Best cutting mower I've ever seen, and a near zero turn; actually it's a 4" turning cirlce.
The articulating mowers are made in both USA and Sweden. The Swedish ones are supposedly better, but I cannot attest to that rumor.
Here's a current picture of mine:
View attachment 1057302

That is good looking machine. I notice that it has two blades. The fact that the HD mower that someone suggested has only one, 30" blade. I'm not to keen on that.

 

[Richard001]

Every stupid battery powered electric piece of lawn or yard work equipment i have purchased has never lasted more than 2 to 3 seasons. Than batteries are shot and either cant be located, or have been improved and dont fit. Never again. My stihl string trimmer is 20 years old still works. Replaced carb with chinese ebay one years ago. Thats all. My stihl farm boss chainsaw is 30 years old, and i only replaced bar and of course chains. Still working after 30 years. Wifes mantis is over 20 years still working. My huskvarna lawn tractor is every part of 20 years old, still going strong but has had 3 deck replacements (rocky ground).

aborted

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Its gas or nothing for me.