A New Ryobi Tool

[Jim Frye]

My turn to stand corrected. Here is the brand new Ryobi Zero Turn Electric riding mower. There are two models of this now. A 75 Ahr and a 100 Ahr. Both are the same, just different batteries, like the other Ryobi riders.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-42...TR75/308040422

[Jim Frye]

Yes, Direct Tools is a subsideray of Techtronics Inc. who makes Ryobi (among many others) tools and is the retail outlet for those factory reconditioned tools. The Authorized Ryobi Service Centers used to be the main retail outlets, but they may have too many refurbed tools with all of the many brands they make now and needed more selling spaces. My contact used to be a Ryobi engineer, and went to TTI when Ryobi sold the power tools line to them. Still wondering what it was you saw.

[capncarl]

Talking with the workers and person that I thought was the manager I was led to believe that direct tools was a Ryobi owned store. They didn’t know much about the mower and I couldn’t guess why the machine came to them to transfer to whomever was going to test it. Just sharing what I saw.

[Jim Frye]

Hmm. The only other brand I can think of is Weibang. They have a green rider that HD sells for $2,000, but it's not a zero turn mower. The Weibangs are cheap units. Direct Tools has no similar mower on its web site, so without a picture, we are just guessing.

[capncarl]

It looked like that in style only. This was what I call a CHEAP residential grade lawn mower, stamped 20 gauge metal deck, no roll bar and no other frilly stuff. If it had been a gasoline powered mower it wouldn’t have sold for the $2500 price that most entry level residential zero turns sell for now.
capncarl

[Jim Frye]

Ah! Did it look something like this? If so, it was likely a Mean Green mower. They are commercial grade electric riders intended for the landscapers. They are typically priced north of $10,000. I had to check with an old contact I know at Ryobi to verify they are not making a zero turn mower.

[capncarl]

Nope, not like those but like the attached photo of the red craftsman zero turn, except green, slightly smaller tires, no gas engine just a metal enclosure. It looked considerably more spartan, more so like the cheaper zero turns sold a few years ago.

[Jim Frye]

Did it look like the pictures or something different in configuration.?

[capncarl]

I asked my wife if I was correct when I said the zero turn ryobi was orange.....she asked where I got orange from?... it was green. She is a Ryobi fan and recognized the green color. It’s official, it’s green, and it was definitely a Ryobi. I stand corrected, but it was definitely zero turn.
capncarl

[Jim Frye]

This one's mine on the charger for the winter.

[Jim Frye]

Interesting. Are you sure it as a Ryobi? The Ryobi electric is not a zero turn unit and it would be hyper-green, not orange. CucCadet makes a zero turn electric and it is more of an orange color. I didn't know they were selling used RM480s yet. Did it look something like this?

[capncarl]

The guy kinda caught me off guard, I respected his answer of no. I could have dug my phone out of my pocket and might got a tiny picture of the mower as it rounded the corner but it wouldn’t have proved much, I figured if it is any good it will be in stores before long, and I don’t have a horse in this race anyway because it would have to have a battery as big as a forklift to cut my yard. My first impression was the mower is residential grade, suited for homeowners with 1/4 acre or less of smooth turf. My neighbors buy residential grade zero turns from Lowe’s and Home Depot to mow 3-4 acres of rough terrain and have to replace their mowers after several seasons. Everything falls apart with the rough service and 4 hour mow time. We have a long gras season, some of my neighbors have already mowed their yard this year and will do so every 2 weeks until late October. I purchased my Gravely commercial zero turn 11 years ago and have only had to replace one blade drive belt, and don’t see any sign of anything wearing out. i expect another 10 years or more of reliable service.

[Carlos]

Well, he couldn't stop you from taking a photo... You could have been the first Ryobi paparazzi!!

[capncarl]

I got a quick look at ryobi’s new battery zero turn mower today. It was a really quick glimpse. We were walking into the Tampa Premium Outlet Mall this morning when a man zips buy on a shiny orange zero turn. I motioned for him to stop, he did, probably because I had talked to him in the Direct Tool store yesterday and he recognized me. I asked him about the mower and he explained he was taking it to a truck to be delivered somewhere for testing, and wouldn’t or couldn’t give me any info. I asked if I could take a photo and he said no.... he had to go... and he silently zipped down the sidewalk around the corner out of sight. I can’t say much about it but it was cute, looked to be residential grade and was quiet. No idea about the batteries, width of cut or anything. I inquired in Direct Tool and they only told me what he said. They may be heading into a good residential market if they can keep the price competitive.
capncarl

[Carlos]

and taking the batteries out can damage them and be unsafe

lol!!