New LT42e owner.

[Singlecoil]

Hi all, I'm new to the cub cadet pages on this site having just purchased the all electric LT42e XT1 to replace my 2008 John Deere LA145 with a 48" deck. The old deck finally rusted completely through, and as replacement decks are hard to find, I decided to trade up.
So far so good. I mow a little more than a half acre and mow a 1.5 mile nature trail. It handles both of those tasks with 35-40% battery left. Super quiet, and tows my bearcat chipper with ease.
Just the idea of not having to deal with ethanol, fuel filters, fuel treatments, oil, oil filters, air filters, belts, etc., is worth the added expense to me. Probably $180 more per year over a ten year lifespan, which you probably spend $100 of on fuel and parts for an ice engine.
Fire away if you have any questions.

 

[Richard001]

Yes, I do have questions.
I looked at the ad on the Cub Cadet website.
1. It implies that the transmission is not hydostatic, but direct driven by an electric motor. I assume that there is some gear reduction from the motor to the differential. Is that correct?
2. It also appears that the deck blades are direct driven from an electric motor, 1 each. Is that assumption also correct?
3. What is the warranty on the battery and what would a new replacement battery cost?

Richard

 

[Singlecoil]

It appears that in the rear end, there is an electric motor, then attached to that and directly in line with the rear wheels is another cylinder which would be the gear reduction. There is a forward and reverse pedal just like a hydrostatic drive. You are correct, 2 motors, one for each blade cut the grass.
I think the battery warranty is 4 years, but don't quote me on that. No idea what a replacement battery costs.
I just calculated the cost of the electricity and it costs about $1.50 to charge it from 30% to full.

 

[Singlecoil]

Here is a video I made with some owner tips. Cub Cadet LT42e Owner Tips. - YouTube

 

[tomplum]

Good job on the video. I would recommend that anyone thinking about buying one should check it out. Keep the updates coming.

 

[Singlecoil]

Thanks, Tom. It seems like there is not a lot of info out there on these units and what is out there was done by folks who received free machines.

 

[Snibes]

I've just joined the electric lawn tractor club! I've seen your video and you've done a great job! I had a question though. I coasted down a hill with mine yesterday (the power was off, not sure how that happened). At the bottom of the hill, I went to turn it back on and everything was dead. The display no longer lights up when the key is inserted and the power button does nothing. Even plugging it in, the display normally shows the battery state, it's completely dark. Have you have any experience with fuses or breakers yet?

 

[Singlecoil]

Hmmm. That’s a new one for me. I just did my first mow yesterday after storing it all winter and didn’t have any issues. Please post an update when you get it figured out. A problem I often have is my knee bumps the key and shuts the unit off occasionally.

 

[Richard001]

Here is a video I made with some owner tips. Cub Cadet LT42e Owner Tips. - YouTube

OK so you can't use water to clean the deck. One can only wonder why there are four wires to the two motors on the deck.

And what happens if the tractor sits out in the rain ?

Richard

 

[RandyT]

It appears that in the rear end, there is an electric motor, then attached to that and directly in line with the rear wheels is another cylinder which would be the gear reduction. There is a forward and reverse pedal just like a hydrostatic drive. You are correct, 2 motors, one for each blade cut the grass.
I think the battery warranty is 4 years, but don't quote me on that. No idea what a replacement battery costs.
I just calculated the cost of the electricity and it costs about $1.50 to charge it from 30% to full.

Looks like battery replacement not currently available. We discussed the Troybilt 30 inch version about 3 years ago in one of my update seminars, and at that time the replacement battery for it was $1950 for the $2500 mower.

 

[RMaxR]

Here is a video I made with some owner tips. Cub Cadet LT42e Owner Tips. - YouTube

Hav you had any issues with the speed being too fastor the pedal being "touchy" ?

 

[Singlecoil]

I haven't had any issues with the pedal being "touchy" or the speed being too fast. However, I went to move the unit today and it shuts off after 5 seconds. I called the service tech and it looks like I'm going to have to bring it in to a dealer for repair. Bummer. I have no idea why this started happening all of a sudden. No error codes, it just shuts off like the key is being turned off.

 

[Richard001]

Electronics, they work by smoke, when the smoke leaks out, they stop working.

 

[Hedgy]

I've just joined the electric lawn tractor club! I've seen your video and you've done a great job! I had a question though. I coasted down a hill with mine yesterday (the power was off, not sure how that happened). At the bottom of the hill, I went to turn it back on and everything was dead. The display no longer lights up when the key is inserted and the power button does nothing. Even plugging it in, the display normally shows the battery state, it's completely dark. Have you have any experience with fuses or breakers yet?

Were you able to diagnose this problem? I note that the manual says "Do not tow with rear wheels on the ground". I suspect that coasting down a hill with power off is much the same thing as towing, depening on what speed was achieved.

 

[Singlecoil]

And then it happened to me.
After my third mowing this season, I charged the unit as usual. When I went to put it away, it would suddenly shut off after 5 seconds no matter what I did. If I was quick, I could get the blades to kick in or get it to move before it shut off, but it still shut off after 5 seconds. After spending a few hours on the phone, it was determined that I needed to bring it in for servicing (at my expense as per the warranty). The local shop said they had been trained on the electric mowers and that they usually received parts once a week. After about a week in the shop they told me they had to have a diagnostic device shipped to them. After about two weeks, I was told that one of the batteries was dead and they they were out of stock and had to be manufactured. I called Cub Cadet directly, which is not entirely true because Cub Cadet is actually a brand owned by MTD Products. MTD told me the battery was in stock, it just had to be ordered. The local shop said my claim was showing "pending review". After several back and forths between MTD and the local shop an order was placed for the battery. Then I got an email (three weeks in the shop now) that "Your order for XXXXXX has been cancelled due to lack of inventory. No production is scheduled for this model at this time."
What? I called MTD again and am now told that they expect to receive a battery in stock in about a month, but can't give me a firm date. So now I'm back to using a push mower or have to hire the job out.
I also noticed that the 2021 version of this mower has been changed beyond the new blue colors. The charger and the control panel have been redesigned after just one year. I know there have been a lot of problems with these if you look at the reviews on home depot. At this point, I have very little faith that this mower will last long enough to justify the $4000 expense, and I am currently out of a mower for about 2 months. I can't understand why they don't have batteries in stock if they know these are prone to fail. The right thing to do if these first mowers are lemons would be to swap out the guts for the new versions under warranty, not to keep replacing parts if there is a faulty design.

 

[Bob_Bainbridge]

And then it happened to me.
After my third mowing this season, I charged the unit as usual. When I went to put it away, it would suddenly shut off after 5 seconds no matter what I did. If I was quick, I could get the blades to kick in or get it to move before it shut off, but it still shut off after 5 seconds. After spending a few hours on the phone, it was determined that I needed to bring it in for servicing (at my expense as per the warranty). The local shop said they had been trained on the electric mowers and that they usually received parts once a week. After about a week in the shop they told me they had to have a diagnostic device shipped to them. After about two weeks, I was told that one of the batteries was dead and they they were out of stock and had to be manufactured. I called Cub Cadet directly, which is not entirely true because Cub Cadet is actually a brand owned by MTD Products. MTD told me the battery was in stock, it just had to be ordered. The local shop said my claim was showing "pending review". After several back and forths between MTD and the local shop an order was placed for the battery. Then I got an email (three weeks in the shop now) that "Your order for XXXXXX has been cancelled due to lack of inventory. No production is scheduled for this model at this time."
What? I called MTD again and am now told that they expect to receive a battery in stock in about a month, but can't give me a firm date. So now I'm back to using a push mower or have to hire the job out.
I also noticed that the 2021 version of this mower has been changed beyond the new blue colors. The charger and the control panel have been redesigned after just one year. I know there have been a lot of problems with these if you look at the reviews on home depot. At this point, I have very little faith that this mower will last long enough to justify the $4000 expense, and I am currently out of a mower for about 2 months. I can't understand why they don't have batteries in stock if they know these are prone to fail. The right thing to do if these first mowers are lemons would be to swap out the guts for the new versions under warranty, not to keep replacing parts if there is a faulty design.

That sounds like a bummer. Cub Cadet won't sell too many electric mowers if they don't get their act together. I wonder if they know how many customers/potential customers read these forums and make buying decisions based on customer reviews and complaints.
Bob B.

 

[Handloader109]

Ouch. Yep, Not ready for prime time. Sorry for your issues, but I might Think about an electric mower in a decade or maybe two......

 

[Singlecoil]

So now I'm toward the end of my third season with this thing and it has been great this year. No issues at all with mowing a 3/4 mile trail every so often and the 20,000 sq. ft. lawn every 4 days or so. Nice not to have to do any maintenance other than sharpening and a little grease. Not having to buy gas and deal with gas cans/ethanol shield is super nice. I take the deck off every month or so and give it a good cleaning with a stick. At the end of the season, I clean it with soap and water, grind down any rust I see, then hit those spots with some spray paint. So far so good.

 

[Richard001]

So now I'm toward the end of my third season with this thing and it has been great this year. No issues at all with mowing a 3/4 mile trail every so often and the 20,000 sq. ft. lawn every 4 days or so. Nice not to have to do any maintenance other than sharpening and a little grease. Not having to buy gas and deal with gas cans/ethanol shield is super nice. I take the deck off every month or so and give it a good cleaning with a stick. At the end of the season, I clean it with soap and water, grind down any rust I see, then hit those spots with some spray paint. So far so good.

Please tell us how long it took to get your mower back from the shop as you posted in post #15 ?

And how was the financial aspect resolved ?

Richard

 

[Singlecoil]

Please tell us how long it took to get your mower back from the shop as you posted in post #15 ?

And how was the financial aspect resolved ?

Richard

I think it took about 6-8 weeks total to get the thing back. I had to deliver and pick up the mower to/from the shop at my own expense, but otherwise it didn't cost me anything. I received a new battery at about 26 hours total time on the machine. Since then, it has been rock solid, except for the button to engage the PTO that's a little temperamental, but that part has been redesigned on the new mowers. Overall, I'm happy with the purchase now.