One of the more popular types of lawnmowers is the electric mower. It started with smaller lawnmowers, but now you can also purchase bigger sit on electric lawnmowers. Electric lawnmowers come with many benefits, i.e., no fuel use and way less maintenance. Still, there is one thing that bothers owners about electric lawnmowers, how long does my battery last, and how long it takes to recharge the battery. If you are also worried about the charging time of a lawnmower, we have got you covered. The article will include everything about charging a lawnmower battery.
How long does it take to charge a lawnmower?
Charging times for electric lawnmowers depend significantly upon the battery type, battery type, and charger type. Many small electric lawnmowers with fast charging take about 100 minutes to charge and will operate for half an hour and up. With fast charging, large sit-on lawnmowers can be charged in 3 to 4 hours. Cub Cadets XT1 LT42E, a heavy sit-on lawnmower, will take 4 hours to get fully charged and has a 1.5 hour operating time. But the Weibang iON 81 RC, also a bigger sit-on mower, takes 12 hours to charge and runs for almost 3 hours. Twelve hours charging time means that you can only use it once a day, where 4 hours means you can use it, recharge, and use it again.
Now, let’s take a look at the batteries’ types and see how charging time will be different.
Contents
Analyzing Lithium-ion batteries charging times
Lithium-ion batteries are used in lawnmower mostly. When we talk about a battery’s charging time, there are no general rules; many mechanisms are involved. Lithium-ion batteries are also used in mobile phones, but some phones get charged up in an hour, some take 2 hours. Did you ever wonder why? It depends on the charger, to be more exact, on the voltage and amps level.
In extremely fundamental terms, the charge and release of a lithium-ion battery are moderately simple to clarify. When the lithium-particle cell or battery is releasing, it gives current to an external circuit. While charging, the battery stores the ions; voltage allows the charger’s full current to flow into the battery until the power supply reaches its pre-set voltage. Different lawnmowers with different battery sizes will have other charging times; some will use fast charging technology, reducing the charging time significantly. Below there are some lawnmowers and their charging times:
Mower | Company | Battery type | Charging time | Cutting Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Self-Propelled Commercial Mower | LEO | Lithium-Ion | 2 hours | 50 minutes |
Big sit on mower | Cub Cadet | Lithium-Ion | 4 hours | 1.5 hours |
Big sit on mower | Weibang | Lithium-Ion | 12 hours | 2.5 hours |
Smaller sit on mower | Cub Cadet | Lithium-Ion | 4 hours | 1 hour |
Light Mower | Sun-Joe | Lithium-Ion | 1.5 – 2 hours | 45 minutes |
Push mower | Snapper | Lithium-Ion | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
The charging time is different and dependent upon the size of the mower. IOC 81 RC from Weibang takes 12 hours to charge the battery; iOC 81 RC is a heavy-duty lawnmower, and the battery used is almost of weight 15 kg with no memory effect. The battery memory effect reduces the longevity of a rechargeable battery’s charge due to incomplete discharge in previous uses.
The Snapper lawnmower is only taking 30 minutes to charge for a quick 25 minutes use, the mower is conspicuously lightweight, and the battery size is small, resulting in much lower charging time.
There is another type of battery, which was used in some older lawnmower types: Lead Acid batteries.
Lead-Acid battery
Lead-acid batteries are one of the oldest types of batteries; the problem with lead-acid batteries is that they cannot go to the full capacity level once they are discharged. The charge time is often between 12 and 16 hours for smaller ones and up to 36–48 hours for large stationary batteries. With higher charge currents and multi-stage charge methods, the charge time can be reduced to 8–10 hours without a full topping charge. Lead-acid batteries usually take more time to charge compared to other battery systems.
Precautions for Lithium-Ion battery
● Current charge
The current level for the Lithium-ion battery should not be high. The high current will affect the battery in negative ways. Even if your battery is capable of high current charging, you should typically use a low current charger for better health and longer battery life.
● Temperature
The temperature of the place where the battery is placed when it is being charged is essential. Your battery should not be charged when it is placed where the temperature is above 45 degrees.
● Discharge current
Release current insurance is needed to forestall harm or blast because of short-circuits. There will be a breaking point for the specific battery pack, which should not be surpassed. Considering the battery’s enormous energy, surpassing the cutoff point can make the battery catching fire, or even explode.
Typically battery packs have a charge/release of the executives’ hardware to guarantee that the current ability isn’t surpassed. However, it is, in every case, best not to over-stress them.
Lead-Acid battery charging time
The use of lead-acid is reduced in today’s world due to many factors. Taking a longer time to charge is one of them. You cannot fast charge a lawnmower battery, so it is rarely used in a modern electric lawnmower.
When used in consumer mowers, lead-acid batteries usually are off the shelf 12 Volt 75-100AH AGM or FLA batteries. In the mower, multiple batteries are wired together to give a higher voltage. The batteries are generally replaced as a set.
Lead-acid batteries should not be fully discharged. It is better to start charging at 30% and leave it on the charger until fully charged. Often the battery will take almost a day to reach its maximum capacity.
Comparing Lithium-Ion and Lead Acid battery
Lithium-Ion | Lead Acid |
|---|---|
Lithium is a premium battery technology with a longer lifespan and higher efficiency. Still, you’ll pay more money for the boost in performance. | Lead-acid is a tried-and-true technology that costs less but requires regular maintenance and doesn’t last as long. |
The lawnmower battery will get charged up in an hour if the charging is good; it will not take more than 3 hours in any case except if the battery is damaged. | The Lead-Acid battery will take a lot of time to charge up to maximum capacity. |
Lithium-ion batteries can explode at high temperatures, but modern lawnmowers are well designed, and the batteries do not heat up and rarely explode. | Lead Acid batteries are old, and the charging time is too long; they produce a specific gas, which can even cause an explosion over time. |
Batteries of an electric mower
The battery is one of the main factors on which the performance of a cordless mower depends. A quality battery will enhance the lawnmower’s performance; below are some good batteries commonly used in modern cordless lawnmowers.
Name | Voltage | Weight | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
Weize 12V 35 AH Rechargeable Battery | 12 Volts | 25 pounds | Lead Acid |
Mighty Battery | 12 Volts | 23 pounds | Lithium-Ion |
Chrome Battery | 12 volts | 21 pounds | Lead Acid |
How to keep your lawnmower batteries in good health
● Do not Over-charge
Overcharging the battery will reduce its lifespan and decrease its charge carrying capacity; the battery may start behaving abnormally if subjected to over-charging frequently. Better chargers have a special mode to deal with this problem. In that case, it is not possible to overcharge.
● Use the correct charger
It is always good to use the original charger to charge the batteries. The duplicate charger may affect the battery because of variation in the voltage and current levels, which duplicate charger may have.
● Remove the battery and then charge in an empty room.
Depending on the lawnmower, it is not always necessary to remove the batteries before charging. Still, if it is possible, it can be a good idea to do this as lithium-ion batteries can explode, and if that happens, they can damage the mower.
● Always read the instruction manual.
The companies who make batteries know well more than all of us; read the instructions and follow them when you charge the battery.
● Defected battery
If the battery is defective, it will always take a long time to charge and less time to discharge regardless of the type and charger being used. In this case, the owner needs to replace it.
The battery of a gas-powered lawnmower
Gas and electric lawnmowers are the rotational kinds that need an engine to turn its sharp edge and cut the grass. An inner burning motor that runs utilizing fuel controls gas lawnmowers. The two-chamber ignition motor runs by consuming a combination of gas and oil, while a 4-chamber engine consumes fuel to turn its engine.
Gas-powered lawn mowers that use electric motors are usually powered by a rechargeable battery that gets charged up when the engine runs like a vehicle’s batteries. The battery type and voltage level depend upon the size of the lawnmower. For heavy-duty lawn-tractors, a bigger battery is required. For more information, see your mower user manual.
Final Remarks:
The charging time is subjective to the charger quality and the type of battery. However, a quality charger and a lithium-ion battery will only take 60 to 90 minutes to get fully charged upon 10 amps setting. Lead Acid, being an old type of batteries, used for heavy-duty tasks, will take hours to reach maximum charging capacity. There are more sub-types of lithium-ion batteries, but most of them work on the basic principle described above. If the battery is old or damaged, it will take a long time; charging time is moot.