Replacing Batteries In Our Ryobi RM300e Riding Mower

[@lordshin909]

I used a T30 Torx with impact driver to remove all the bolts. All came off clean. No issues. My batteries died right at the one year mark. Luckily it was still under warranty. Ryobi is sending me replacement batteries. I also removed the seat to make it easier to work on the batteries. Just two bolts so why not. Hoping new batteries will last a lot longer. Otherwise, it's a great mower.

[@perrymattern8833]

I am very glad you made this video. I forgot to take pictures of the wiring before I disconnected everything, so being able to see the wiring was extremely helpful. I also had a problem with the bolts secured with loctite but was able to unscrew all of them except one on the top left of the back panel. I think the factory broke the plastic holding the inner clip, so the bolt just spun around and would not unscrew. That made it difficult to remove the shroud with the panel attached but I made it work. I bought four new batteries, had them shipped to my home, installed them, and reassembled everything. Quite a project for a 74 year old man. Hope this will not have to be done again in two years.

[@MaxTSanches]

I had the same issue when I tried to check the individual batteries. The bolts are torx 30 and they have some lock-tight. Putting back together is lots of fun trying to work out which piece of plastic goes where, and where the clips are.

[@Robert-to9zv]

Great video. I am an 85 year old man and will follow your lead in replacing my Ryobi model 300 riding mower batteries. Thanks so very much for your help!

[@Chris-Gannon]

Best of luck!

[@lynnerogers6422]

Thank you so much for posting this. I'm about to lose my mind trying to access these batteries. Thank you!!!😊

[@ursabear08]

I just replaced all 4 batteries in my rm300e today. But thankfully I watched your video first. The exchange went will and i had all the same issues you did, but thanks to you I knew what I was in for and there were no surprises. I believe you hac=ve helped a lot of people, I know you helped me..😎

[@Lkess1472]

Thank you! This was the only video that showed the same model as mine! It was very helpful.

[@lewisperrault]

You need to do yourself a favor and buy a good impact driver. A game changer the day they came out. Very good fro extracting screws. Even this seated fora long time. I took out the same screws on my 300e, and not a problem with any. As a matter of fact, I was using an electric screwdriver until I hit one of those stubborn screws. Impact took it out instantly. By the way, go lithium in a couple of years, when your new ones fail.

[@rjazco51]

When my batteries started to lose power after only 20 minutes of cutting the lawn . I went ahead and charged each one SEPARATELY. Using a 12 volt Intelligent Pulse Repair Charger (amazon $27.00). It seemed to bring back almost to new power.. Was able to cut my lawn , 35 to 40 minutes .. Giving me that extra 15 plus minutes ... Only did this so far one cutting . will update to see if it will hold the charge for more cuttings / or drain after 20 minutes of usage......

[@MrCaptainbirdman]

Can you let us know how that's going? Also maybe a helpful tutorial would be so great

[@MrCaptainbirdman]

Update: I did this and now my lawn mower is able to mow my whole front yard and back yard again in one go!! Thanks for the recommendation, this fix saved me $900 or whatever it costs to replace the battery 😀 thank u youtube commenter

[@GarrickMerrill]

I have a RM300e as well, am in the process of replacing my batteries this winter (original batteries lasted 3 years), and had the exact same issue with the plastic tearing while trying to remove the cladding bolts. Once I removed the screws they were covered in locktite, which I think is the source of the issue, way too much.

[@joanbarber5384]

You have to buy the torx bits kit. Mine came right off with the special tool.

[@Jlweber]

Getting ready to do mine this weekend. The batteries only lasted a year and a half. Fortunately I paid $360.00 for the extended warranty as the replacement batteries cost $746.00. Any you have to pay out of pocket first and then get reimbursed. Definitely would have went gas if I had to do it all over again.

[@joanbarber5384]

Same for me they said they would send me half after I send them the receipt. 790 for 4 battery’s. Too much.

[@joanbarber5384]

They told me I would get half but I had to buy the battery’s at Home Depot. And of course their out of stock.

[@freedomisfromtruth]

I did 4 x 50ah lithium update on my RM480 for under $400 with charger, of course its one year later

[@dennismood7476]

I had to replace the batteries in MY Ryobi also. The bolts used all have locktite on the threads which make their removal difficult because the torx style heads are cheap and strip easily. I had to cut some of the heads to make a square them off so I could get a pair of vice grips on them to get them out. I purchased about a dozen new bolts from the Ryobi parts warehouse to put my mower back together. One of the problems with the batteries in the Ryobi riding mowers is they are lead acid batteries which deteriorate in general but do so faster if they are run down past 50%. Next time I have this issue, I'll be switching out the lead acid batteries for Lithium Ion batteries. They last longer than lead acid and can be run down to ZERO but will charge back up to 100% and can do so MANY more times than L/A 's can. I'd need to get a different charger, power gauge, and coupling, but the extended longevity of the batteries would be worth it.

[@tjcarita]

Google info....."The lowest safe voltage for LiFePO4? LiFePO4 Battery Voltage Charts (12V, 24V & 48V) - Footprint Hero What is the minimum voltage of a 12V LiFePO4 battery? The minimum voltage of many 12V LiFePO4 batteries is around 10 volts. The battery's BMS should detect when the battery voltage falls to around 10 volts and trigger low-voltage cutoff."

[@imrikkibobbi]

Discovered after several other videos that mines also not a sliding tray and you have to remove the seat and then take out the entire plastic housing as well as remove the control panel and turn it sideways and slide it into the space under to be able to remove the housing, I just got my 4 warranty replacement batteries. Have to wait for evening or morning to do the install as it's nearing 105 here today 🥵

[@dannys813]

I took my Ryobi 300e to the shop to convert to lithium batteries. Long story short, the dealer never completed the job so I ended up having to get my mower incomplete from him. Got it home and I realize that he did not give me my metal frame to hold the batteries nor battery covers, nor more importantly there is a black box that I noticed is missing that connects to some wires that since it is missing I can't connect. On long wire says, "charging controller, and the other is a rounded black connector that does not seem to have a home. I will go back to the Ryobi mechanic, but I need to tell him specifically what is missing because it must be lying around his shop because I cant get mine to start. You are the only KZbin video that has broken down the inside of the Ryobi 300e, so please respond. Thanks

[@joezhou5426]

What a mess for you. Sorry about it

[@jeremiahharrison1088]

Thanks for the video! I bought a used one that wasn't working. I had to buy a few parts as well as two of the batteries were bad. I am waiting on some LiFePo4 replacement batteries that will be a nice upgrade to the stock ones. But I've had the project on the backburner for a little bit and this will be super helpful for me when if have to figure out how to put everything back together. It's funny to me because I had the same issue with having to break of the screws from the plastic cover on the back.

[@dennismood7476]

You can't use the same hook up for the LIFE batteries as the lead acid ones that came with the mower. There are You Tube videos of the upgrade you can access.

[@rjazco51]

I did tons of research to find the correct size battery to fit in my 300e Ryobi Amazon carries. NERMAK 12V 50Ah Lithium LiFePO4 Deep Cycle Battery, 4000+ Cycles Lithium Iron Phosphate Rechargeable Battery $160.00 as of 08/03/23 each.. They are the closest I could find SIZE WISE... hope this helps

[@JC-gi7mi]

Those bolts you sheared off look like torx not allen

[@dennismood7476]

They ARE torx. The also strip very easily because they are cheaply made.

[@matthewkurt2246]

Not only are they torx, but the mower comes with a small tool kit that includes a torx tool to remove that panel.

[@BrittneyWilson]

@@matthewkurt2246where is it stored on the mower?

[@matthewkurt2246]

@@BrittneyWilson it came inside of the crate that the mower was delivered in. Mine was inside a box that had parts inside.

[@GarrickMerrill]

I'm replacing my batteries with LiFePO4 50Ah batteries from Eco-Worthy. Hoping they'll last a lot longer than the original batteries.

[@es-er9qy]

How did this work out? I was considering trying the same scenario.

[@GarrickMerrill]

@@es-er9qy So far so good, the install was relatively easy, the real test will be once i get into mowing season

[@es-er9qy]

@@GarrickMerrill ok, thanks. From one LiFeP04 vendor I understand that their batteries could not be used in series, and lithium batteries supposedly require a different charger, so you approach would be a real game changer.

[@GarrickMerrill]

@@es-er9qy Yeah, my goal was to change as little as possible to the mower and make it just as easy to charge. Finding the Eco-Worthy batteries that were the same size as the originals and could operate in series made it easy. I did go with a different charger, but I was able to sell my original charger to cover that cost.

[@es-er9qy]

@@GarrickMerrill thank you, what charger did you buy for the lithium batteries?

[@greenwilliamd1]

My batteries stopped holding enough charge to power the blades after just 18 months... Ryobi's warranty for the Batteries is only 1 year!!!! At $160 PER battery this is unsustainable. Thanks for the video Chris, Im going back to Gas.

[@billgarrison8034]

I have figured $9 a mow with me doing the work. $749 for 4 is steep.

[@antoniodelgado1148]

Did Ryobi replace those for free? I’m having issues with mine Turing on but not having enough power to move or turn blades on.

[@larrypridgen4785]

Does anyone know the size of the original Ryobi RM300 12 volt batteries. I just bought a Ryobi RM300 mower and want to replace the 4 AGM batteries with 4 LiPo batteries but I don't want to tear it apart to measure the batteries and then have to put it back together to use and wait for the new batteries to come.

[@joanbarber5384]

You have to use special tools called torx bits.

[@luiseduardoescobarurcullu3923]

How many batteries did you end up replacing?

[@Chris-Gannon]

I replaced all 4 batteries since Ryobi sent 4. I saved them though, so I can eventually test them with a multimeter and see if any of them are still good. Its possible some didn’t fail and I can use them as backups. 👍🏻 I plan to pick up one of these multimeters eventually from Amazon or Harbor Freight. amzn.to/3NvOObO

[@freedomisfromtruth]

You would have been better off selling those as new and doing the lithium conversion and make profit. My RM480 was done with 50AH lithium from 75AH lead acid and I still have 90% after over 1/2 acre mow. The bolts heads might be torx like on the 480 and impact screw gun helps alot.

[@daniery407]

Hi Chris Thank you for the video, the one I was looking for. If it's bothersome, give me the exact number you called to replace my batteries, I already called one but they didn't give me an answer, thank you.

[@karengaytann]

I’d like to know the phone number too, I need to replace mine as well. Thanks Chris in advance!

[@Chris-Gannon]

@@daniery407 Hi guys I’m sorry but I do not recall the exact phone number I called. I’m pretty sure I called a number I found on the Ryobi website, so I recommend checking there. Cheers.

[@psycholiquid]

Bought mine in April and the batteries just went bad. Of course Ryobi covers it but I think maybe they need to do better with batteries. Mine showed full charge however would stop working as soon as I turned on the blades, then beeped 5 times. So if anyone comes here hope it helps. At the time of it going bad I only had 19 hours on them.

[@kevinchan1275]

Mine just went out, won't hold charge, i had it for two years, how did ryobi gave you a free replacement? what number did you call, i wonder if they'll do the same for me.

[@Chris-Gannon]

Hi Kevin! I think the reason they offered to replace mine was it was just under a year old when the batteries went out. I called and spoke to a service rep and they offered to replace them. Not sure of the number. It's worth a shot giving them a call I'd say.

[@mr_cold-187]

Mine started going bad in one year as well! Criminal

[@dplanet8292]

What replacement batteries did you use on your ryobi Rm300E ? looking to replace mine.

[@LesSkaNo]

12-Volt 50 Ah Sealed Lead Acid Battery for Ryobi 30 in. Riding Mower is what the guy from Customer Service told me. From Home Depot!

[@chevyseller2008]

Thanks great vid.

[@brianpaine1749]

Here is one of several informative videos about battery issues and upgrades. It’s for the larger Ryobi mower. However it’s the battery research that might be helpful. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qZOYk4eBhNJsqdE

[@es-er9qy]

These batteries make this lawnmower useless. Need a 2nd set of 4 batteries after I bought the mower in 2021, the batteries last barely 12 months. The first set was replaced under warranty, the 2nd set I need to pay out of pocket, and with the 3 year extended warranty you get 50% reimbursed. But the insurance only pays a max $500 for batteries. A $350 warranty for a max. $500 cover. Means I am on my own in the third year, and then this mower becomes completely uneconomical garbage. Does anybody have experience with lithium replacement batteries for this mower.

[@michaellayden5007]

Lithium is the way to go.