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Ego T6 Electric Lawn Tractor Review – Gas landscaping isn't worth it anymore

16 points by VHRanger 2y ago

NorbitG 2y ago
This post feels like an advertisement to me. Also, the guy starts the article off commenting how the entire thing is made of plastic, then goes on to say how he feels it's going to last forever. Sounds like he's just coping with his poor financial choices.
buildsjets 2y ago
If I were to buy that John Deere, I would expect a 20-30 year lifespan with just normal maintenance. If I were to buy that Ego T6, I expect that it would be unserviceable e-waste within 5 years, or less.
- VHRanger 2y ago
  Hi, author here. I'm curious __how__ you think the tractor would become e-waste? I've seen plenty of 30 year old battery power tools. The battery (what transforms things into e-waste generally) is a separate component from the tool. Phones are a separate class of device, they can also become e-waste because of the ever increasing amount of bloat in common apps.
- Kon-Peki 2y ago
  The S-series lawn tractors that you'll see at Home Depot and Lowes are noticeably less-well-built than the X-series lawn tractors that you see at the more specialized places as well as the actual John Deere dealers. They cost about $500 more, but feel like you are getting far more than $500 worth of value out for that cash. For starters, the engine will be a Kawasaki and the transmission will be Kanzaki, both made in Japan and both fully capable of lasting forever with normal maintenance.
- toomuchtodo 2y ago
  There are Teslas with hundreds of thousands of miles on them. Same concept. Batteries, electric motors, handful of moving parts, very little to fail.
  - buildsjets 2y ago
    Are there any 20 year old Teslas out there? No? Your analogy has no value.
    - toomuchtodo 2y ago
      Perhaps a better example. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BFsWmV6eyk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BFsWmV6eyk
aaron695 2y ago
[dead]
m463 2y ago
comments seem negative. I switched to electric yard stuff and am super happy with it. No more mixing various ratios of gas and oil, then storing the flammable and aromatic gas in the garage. Electric chainsaw, weedeater, hedge trimmer - all low maintenance, easy to use, lots quieter. The batteries are shared with all my other tools.
- LarsAlereon 2y ago
  Bingo. Lawn equipment is about the worst potential application for internal combustion engines.
- bastawhiz 2y ago
  +1 to that. No issues here except a hedge trimmer that had an issue with a mechanical component/hinge. And all the machines use the same batteries as my other Milwaukee power tools.
- aaron695 2y ago
  [dead]
euroderf 2y ago
I wonder if it has the sheer oomph to use a plow attachment to turn over high-clay soil.
- VHRanger 2y ago
  No, it's a lawn tractor. I don't think the "small tractor" category has good electric options at the moment. Solectrac made inroads, but are now basically dead: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTDxMZfj6yk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTDxMZfj6yk The issue with Solectrac I see are twofold: 1. Non hot-swappable batteries. Means you have to stop work to recharge, instead of charging and working in parallel and swapping batteries (like you can do on the T6) 2. Hydrostatic transmission for appendages. I understand why they did this - to leverage existing engineering on front loaders, etc. But if you're designing an electric tractor from scratch if would make more sense to have brushless motors right around the connection to the appendage (or even in the appendage and simply connecting wiring when you switch the tool). Overall I think lawn tractors are there for electric, but not for the one step bigger there (small excavators, small tractors, etc.)
perilunar 2y ago
They really should standardise on battery sizes for small vehicles. The Gogoro battery swap system [1] used in Taiwan and China for e-scooters seems cool, and would probably be a good fit for ride-on mowers and mobility scooters also. 1. https://www.gogoro.com/gogoro-network/ https://www.gogoro.com/gogoro-network/

16 points by VHRanger 2y ago

This post feels like an advertisement to me. Also, the guy starts the article off commenting how the entire thing is made of plastic, then goes on to say how he feels it's going to last forever. Sounds like he's just coping with his poor financial choices.

buildsjets 2y ago

If I were to buy that John Deere, I would expect a 20-30 year lifespan with just normal maintenance. If I were to buy that Ego T6, I expect that it would be unserviceable e-waste within 5 years, or less.

VHRanger 2y ago
Hi, author here. I'm curious __how__ you think the tractor would become e-waste? I've seen plenty of 30 year old battery power tools. The battery (what transforms things into e-waste generally) is a separate component from the tool. Phones are a separate class of device, they can also become e-waste because of the ever increasing amount of bloat in common apps.
Kon-Peki 2y ago
The S-series lawn tractors that you'll see at Home Depot and Lowes are noticeably less-well-built than the X-series lawn tractors that you see at the more specialized places as well as the actual John Deere dealers. They cost about $500 more, but feel like you are getting far more than $500 worth of value out for that cash. For starters, the engine will be a Kawasaki and the transmission will be Kanzaki, both made in Japan and both fully capable of lasting forever with normal maintenance.
toomuchtodo 2y ago
There are Teslas with hundreds of thousands of miles on them. Same concept. Batteries, electric motors, handful of moving parts, very little to fail.
- buildsjets 2y ago
  Are there any 20 year old Teslas out there? No? Your analogy has no value.
  - toomuchtodo 2y ago
    Perhaps a better example. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BFsWmV6eyk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BFsWmV6eyk

aaron695 2y ago

[dead]

m463 2y ago

comments seem negative. I switched to electric yard stuff and am super happy with it. No more mixing various ratios of gas and oil, then storing the flammable and aromatic gas in the garage. Electric chainsaw, weedeater, hedge trimmer - all low maintenance, easy to use, lots quieter. The batteries are shared with all my other tools.

LarsAlereon 2y ago
Bingo. Lawn equipment is about the worst potential application for internal combustion engines.
bastawhiz 2y ago
+1 to that. No issues here except a hedge trimmer that had an issue with a mechanical component/hinge. And all the machines use the same batteries as my other Milwaukee power tools.
aaron695 2y ago
[dead]

euroderf 2y ago

I wonder if it has the sheer oomph to use a plow attachment to turn over high-clay soil.

VHRanger 2y ago
No, it's a lawn tractor. I don't think the "small tractor" category has good electric options at the moment. Solectrac made inroads, but are now basically dead: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTDxMZfj6yk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTDxMZfj6yk The issue with Solectrac I see are twofold: 1. Non hot-swappable batteries. Means you have to stop work to recharge, instead of charging and working in parallel and swapping batteries (like you can do on the T6) 2. Hydrostatic transmission for appendages. I understand why they did this - to leverage existing engineering on front loaders, etc. But if you're designing an electric tractor from scratch if would make more sense to have brushless motors right around the connection to the appendage (or even in the appendage and simply connecting wiring when you switch the tool). Overall I think lawn tractors are there for electric, but not for the one step bigger there (small excavators, small tractors, etc.)

perilunar 2y ago

They really should standardise on battery sizes for small vehicles. The Gogoro battery swap system [1] used in Taiwan and China for e-scooters seems cool, and would probably be a good fit for ride-on mowers and mobility scooters also. 1. https://www.gogoro.com/gogoro-network/ https://www.gogoro.com/gogoro-network/