Ryobi RM480E Electric Riding Mower - The Good and The Bad after 5 years of ownership

My no-nonsense DIY Dad review of the Ryobi RM480E electric riding lawn mower. I've owned and operated this mower for almost 5 years - it's not perfect but it's very good in my opinion and I'll tell you why..
Check out "Part 2" - my review of the partner to this riding mower, my Ryobi 18v Push Mower - • DIY Dad Review - Ryobi...
The opinions expressed in this video are my own. I do not work for Ryobi nor am I being compensated for this video.

[@TA-vj8ex]

Thanks for your video. My mower just arrived today. It’s is still in the box. Can’t wait to unpack it use it this summer. So excited. Thanks again for your video.

[@gizmonicman9879]

Hey Dad, great review! I've owned my RM480E for about three and a half years, and my batteries gave out after about three years. What I think the primary difference is between your mower and mine is that I have three acres of grass to cut, so I'm guessing that the depth of discharge on my batteries is probably quite a bit more than yours for a typical season. That being said, I have recently replaced my four original lead-acid AGM batteries with new lithium-ion batteries. I figured that for around $600 more than the cost of exact replacement of the four original batteries (around $900--$1000) it was worth exploring the option. So, after a LOT of technical research (for which Ryobi was completely useless as an information source), I successfully installed a set of Li-ion batteries with identical capacity, with minimal modifications needed to the factory wiring harness, and no expensive blue smoke from the control electronics or motors! The factory power gauge is now a little off, as the Li-ion pack has a flatter voltage drop under load vs the lead-acid battery, but I installed a $20 LCD battery monitor that tracks battery voltage, amperage in and out of battery (non-contact Hall effect sensor ring), power usage in watts and amps, and also has a thermometer (I think). In any event, a LOT more information than the factory gauge. The new batteries are about ONE QUARTER the weight of the original batteries, too, and the battery cost includes a charger that can fully recharge the pack in about seven hours. Also, my new batteries have a 10 year factory warranty, so that's not a bad thing---beats the Ryobi battery warranty by a mile or ten. So, if anyone is interested in converting their RM480 mower to lithium-ion battery power, please let me know; I am thinking about posting a how-to video on KZbin in the near future.

[@angrygaragemechanic]

I'd be interested in seeing the video 👍

[@connerbrennan2728]

Me too!

[@walternalepa9122]

Please do post such a video! Thank you for the information.

[@DjKamiKaze09]

Make a video!

[@jfrye2475]

The system will only let you do a DOD of 30% which the battery manufacturer states should be good for 1,500 - 1,700 charges. My RM480e is 44 months old, has 312 charges, and can mow up to 2 1/2 hours still.

[@ROBMACDUI]

Thanks for the long term update! Im glad to hear that you have gotten 5yrs on the original batteries without any special care other than likely leaving it plugged in. I just purchased one and was a bit concerned about that.

[@AskDIYDad]

I have some indications that maybe one of the 4 is starting to go based on the slower response time on initial acceleration and one or two momentary issues where the system appeared to lose charge (always on initial startup after it had sat for a week or so unplugged - both solved by turning the key to off, waiting a moment, and then turning it back on, after which it mowed my entire lawn without incident)

[@ROBMACDUI]

@@AskDIYDad Definately check those batteries then. 1 bad battery can take out the remaining good ones. THeres lots of videos showing you how to pull the batteries and test them.

[@AskDIYDad]

@@ROBMACDUI Thanks for the advice! It's on my list along with taking off and cleaning the deck. Will likely do my own "winter maintenance" kinda video

[@ROBMACDUI]

@@AskDIYDad looking forward to it. I’d like to see how those batteries test after 5 years.

[@joebidendidthat5121]

I just bought a new Ryobi 40 volt self-propelled walk behind mower. Love the mower, 21”. Weighs about half of what my gas mower weighed. Gifted that beast to my son who just bought his first house. Using this for my front yard and love it. So light it really doesn’t need to be self propelled. I have lots of Ryobi 18 volt power tools and love them all. I tell the wife I’m in the tool of the month club and buy a new one every month. Just picked up a 40 bolt blower and string trimmer combo pack yesterday to share batteries with the mower. Another think I like about this mower is you can use it self-propelled with the blade off, to move the mower around the property with no danger of cutting something you did not intend. I have a new house with a half acre lot that is mostly backyard. So I am planting grass this spring very soon. Wife suggested we get this Ryobi riding mower because she said it looks fun and she said she would mow the lawn. So I’m sold for sure now.

[@AskDIYDad]

I have the dual-battery 18v push mower by Ryobi that I used for cleanup mowing around trees etc. Considered the 40v but the rider does 98% of my yard and the 18v was cross-compatible with the other tools in my garage

[@jfrye2475]

Just put my RM480e up for its fifth winter storage. I removed the deck, removed the blades, and wired brushed the underside free of any dried grass detris. Then I scrubbed the deck with hot soapy water taking care not to involve the motors and blew it dry with my cordless leafblower. Then the underside of the deck received several applications of Titeseal deck release spray, again using the leafblower to dry each coat. I then mounted a freshly sharpened set of blades and reattached the deck to the mower. Tires were pumped up and the mower was backed into its parking spot in the garage and plugged into the charger. I did see some rust pitting in two areas of the deck and will address this next fall. I haven't yet figured out what to do for that yet. One thing I will do in the future is do a better job of cleaning the deck after mowing. I will be making a long rigid plastic scraper to better reach under the deck. Oh yeah, batteries are original with 150 hours and 393 charge cycles

[@user-fk9th4sn9d]

Thank you for this excellent review. It has finally made my mind up to buy one of these.

[@jfrye2475]

Talked with a neighbor who replace the batteries in his RM480ex last summer and he told me that area ham radio operators were more than happy to take his old ones. Seems they use lead acid batteries as backup/UPS power for their installations and the old 75/100 ahr batteries are a much bigger supply than what they can usually afford. Not only are the SLA/AGM more easily recyclable than lithium, but they also have a useful second life option. Nice option to keep in mind if you have to replace the batteries in these mowers.

[@lunahawk8635]

Thanks, Dad, for the mower review! I'm a small, middle-aged female who's been considering switching from my noisy green gas hog (John Deere) to a Ryobi electric mower. I'm accustomed to working on the JD myself (it gives a sense of pride and confidence), so I was worried I'd need to learn a completely new skill set to maintain the Ryobi. Your review answered many of my questions and I also like that you give pros/cons after a longer period of use than many of the other reviewers.

[@AskDIYDad]

I'm glad you found it helpful! The mower is very easy to use and very quiet compared to a typical gas setup - it's nice not having to yell over it and actually being able to hear a regular set of earbuds instead of having to wear one of those massive noise-canceling headphone sets.

[@stevemartinetti]

Had mine 4 years now, both mowing and snow plowing in Minnesota. It’s been a great machine with zero maintenance to date, and I’m not particularly nice to my tools. Buy one you won’t regret it. Beats spending weekends repairing my garbage John Deere.

[@lunahawk8635]

@@stevemartinetti Thank you -- great to know! I'm in Iowa and was also planning to use it for snow plowing (I currently shovel a LONG farm driveway).

[@bradmanmisera2689]

@@stevemartinettihow do you store yours in winter with the cold weather in Minnesota

[@stevemartinetti]

@@bradmanmisera2689 just keep it plugged in, inside my unheated garage

[@ramonasudbeck8949]

Thank you! First time homeowner with a big ol' yard and really dont want a high maintenance machine, there's a sale on this so i think i'm gonna go for it!

[@jfrye2475]

How big is it? Just keep it plugged into the charger when not in use and it should serve you well.

[@jfrye6057]

My RM480e measures 84 dB at 8' distance with the blade motors engaged and sitting on concrete with the deck raised. The neighbor's gas riders are in the upper 90s dB. It's not silent, but noticeably quieter. The noise is different also. When mowing, it's a drone like a box fan, not a pulsating noise.

[@knightstalker1972]

Great video! The lost of power may be from one of the batteries dying. Just a thought. Also my front wheels would squeak like that. It drove me nuts

[@JULESoso]

Just found this info that a reviewer on Home Depot made regarding the squeak (which my mower also has): Squeak issue resolved FINALLY Finally found the source of the squeak. After taking the thing apart, changing the transaxle oil and lubing everything I could find, we located the source in the front axle. It can sound like it's coming from the rear when you're in motion, especially with the mower engaged. Spray Lube in here behind the rubber bumpers: A chart was included to show where to lubricate but I don't know how to insert it here.

[@jfrye2475]

A feel good moment yesterday. Family was together for Easter meal and SIL was sort of lamenting having to change fluids and filters on his CubCadet zero turn. He was saying he was having issues getting parts in the area. My feel good moment? I was able to give him a 5 quart jug of Mobil1 oil that no longer had any use in any of my all electric OPE.

[@psalm23sheepdog]

5/14/2022 - I just replaced my batteries. Cost me $720, tax included for 4 batteries from Walmart (free shipping). This is the beginning of my fifth season and I should have replaced them last fall. I mow around 3/4 of an acre. That’s about $180 for 4 full years, or $30 a month for 6 months of mowing here in Michigan. I think it’s still worth it, since I had zero other maintenance like oil, filters and belts.

[@jfrye2475]

My 52 month old RM480e just had its 400th charge cycle and passed $40 in total electrical usage. It still costs $0.24/ hr. to run on its original batteries. Will still mow for 2 hrs. if needed. Right now it's sitting in the garage plugged into the charger doing its storage thing.

[@jfrye2475]

Had a good operational cost comparison a couple of days ago. Neighbor behind me has a 42" Toro Timecutter 0turn and the neighbor next door has a Gravely 34" 0turn. All of our lawns are 10,000 sq.ft. and we all spend about a half hour mowing. The V-twin ICE engines in the Toro & Gravely burn a gallon of gas an hour when mowing. 87E10 here is $3.69/ga., so the neighbors spend a $1.85 to mow their lawns. $1.85 likely isn't a big expense to mow your lawn and most folks likely don't look at what it costs to run a lawn mower. My RM480 costs $0.06 @ my electric rate to mow the same sized lawn. Add in the cost of maintenance for an ICE mower that the RM480 doesn't have, and it's easy to see why my RM480 saved enough in 54 months to pay for a new set of 100 ahr. batteries. Oh yeah, the Toro cost $3,400 new and the Gravely cost $7,995 new. I paid $2,499 for my RM480e new.

[@randyeller8139]

I’ve been looking at these but after the price shot up to $4500 anywhere in my area that I could buy it I decided to stick with my Kobalt 21” push mower. May convert an older one to electric or try a Greenworks with removable batteries just for the reason you mentioned, the lack of pep in the long term. Would love to see your take on the Ryobi’s new Walmart cousin that Hart put out last week. ( same company owns both.)

[@AskDIYDad]

$4500!? Wow.. just due to supply/demand? That's over twice what I paid for mine 5-6 years ago. I'd love to do a review of the Hart version - if you know somebody that can set me up with a demo version let me know (wife would MURDER me if I bought a second one just to do a video)

[@bugwar5545]

Thanks for the video. Do you sharpen the blades yourself?

[@jfrye2475]

My RM480e will be 56 months old on 04/06/2023 and just passed 2,000 charge cycles. Mowing season starts soon here as the lawn is starting to green up.

[@knifetrain3118]

Great review. I’m seriously considering one in the spring. My 20 year old gas ride on has failed me for the last time! 😡 🍁

[@jfrye2475]

Keep an eye out for availability. HD has no advance notice when they show up. You literally have to check nearly every day and their e-mail notification system doesn't work. They are OOS now and shipment from China has been really slow. It took nearly all summer for the new 80 volt models to get here for sale. Hope you can get one. The five on my street have been working great.

[@jfrye2475]

Also, based on the other Ryobi riding mowers, expect a hefty price increase when/if they become available again.

[@bassthis]

get some can silicone spray --- dont use oil --- spray up the steering shaft and all the linkages and the teeth on the steering bar( located underneath ) ---- check the wheel hubs they may need some grease too

[@AskDIYDad]

thank you! I will give that a shot

[@joenapalm4841]

@@AskDIYDad Thanks for the reviews. I don’t know if you fixed the squeak but Red&Sticky on the front suspension assembly fixed it right up on mine!

[@rjazco51]

I put duct tape on the reverse buzzer . actually two pieces . you can still hear it but very low. I have had mine just one season of cutting. must have a newer model , do not have USB port .& no small space for cell phone... so far so good . thanks for the update.

[@AskDIYDad]

There is a smaller model that doesn't have the USB or cell slot I believe. Slightly smaller deck

[@TexMex421]

I have this mover but with a little less battery capacity. I bought mine used and have had it for 2 years. Working great so far.

[@jfrye6057]

My RM480e (now an RM480ex) is now five years old. It has had two failures. A battery failed the load test at 11 months due to a manufacturing defect and was replaced under warranty. The second was the charge cover door spring breaking and also replaced under warranty. After 170 hours of use, the machine costs $0.223/hour to run and has not required any other repairs or maintenance. I fully expect to get another five years (or more) of use from the mower with the new Mighty Max batteries.

[@powerbininja8270]

that was a great review sir - thank you

[@jfrye2475]

I just received a statement from Delta Q, the maker of the SC-48 chargers used with these mowers. In an answer to some questions I had about the Ryobi system, I was informed that the SC-48 chargers have an anti-sulfation cycle built into the programming that runs at the finish part of the charging cycle.

[@jfrye6057]

One thing nobody thinks or talks about is the cost of operation of mowers (and other OPE tools). Before, I just poured gas in the mower and never considered what the cost was. When I was researching buying this mower (my first rider), I looked at the cost to run a riding mower. I talked to neighbors who already owned ICE riders as well as a few landscapers who used smaller zeroturn mowers. I wanted to see if an electric rider would be too costly. I also did some calculations on electrical costs based on the $0.13/KWH I pay for electricity here. I also talked to a golf course cart master at a local club to see what costs were like. After a lot of number crunching, I came to the conclusion the electric rider would be less costly to run than a comparable ICE rider. That was when 87E10 was $2.50/gal. Back then, the RM480e cost $0.19/hr. to run and now after 46 mons. of use, it's $0.25/hr. to run due to battery aging. 87E10 is now $5.10/gal., so the cost differential is even greater. At this point in time, my RM480e is almost 20 times less costly to run than a comparable ICE rider.

[@randomvideosn0where]

If you power it from solar it would probably cost even less. No need for inverters and such, just get 48V charge controller and 4 12V solar panels hooking directly to the batteries. Solar is dang cheap!

[@bennygerow]

The dad joke got my subscribe even without the drum and cymbal sound effects

[@AskDIYDad]

I’ve always thought the dead silence before and after the punch line is part of what makes a dad joke great :)

[@jfrye2475]

Four new Mighty Max ML100-12 batteries installed today. The savings paid for them at the end of last year's mowing season. The DOD for the original Leoch LPC12-75 was 10.09% and the ML100-12 batteries should deliver a lower DOD and thus a longer lifespan due to the higher ahr. rating.

[@stevefenters9759]

Thank Dad for your direct and no-nonsense review. Looking at this unit and most interested in its towing capability. Can not find much on the web. You mentioned using a Garden Trailer a lot. Do you mind sharing what trailer you use and how much weight can the Ryobi handle? Thanks much.

[@AskDIYDad]

Man I was so close to having an answer to this question. For Halloween I was going to put together a small trailer for the kids to ride on and could have told you how it handled towing that. Unfortunately weather and time and Covid and all that and it just didn't come together. I have a 4-wheel gorilla cart.. 4 cu ft I think? I've had it loaded with dirt and with gravel and aside from a little hesitation starting the mower pulled it fine (and I'm not a small guy - so add a little north of 200# to whatever mental calculation you might be doing on that)

[@jfrye6057]

I use a 7 cu.ft Gorilla Cart dump trailer. The mower will pull it full of wet clay with ease.

[@jonathanbartsch9728]

Very helpful. Thanks so much! If you like, duct tape to quiet or a wire clipper to silence?..the beeper. Oh man for your help I’ve got to figure out the squeak for you!🤔. Did you grease inside the little tie rod things or the steering wheel shaft? Thanks again! 😊🙏

[@jfrye6057]

Silicone spray the front axle where it slides between the two guide plates. Once a year silences the squeak for the entire mowing season for me.

[@ES-iz4wf]

I have the same mower. Mine squeaked too but like Bassthis recommended spray it with silicone spray. I’m just across the river from Woodbury around Hudson/River Falls area. I keep mine plugged in all winter in an unheated shed. Have you had any battery issues since you bought it?

[@AskDIYDad]

No real battery issues though I have noticed the gauge isn’t very accurate. If I go a few mows between charging it drops from half to empty very quickly. I charge mine after most uses and leave it plugged in over the winter in my heated garage

[@churchhymnsandpsalms]

I’ve had mine one year. I love it.

[@johannkrois3735]

Hallo, I´m from Austria and looking for a mower like this to clean up the remainig areas, where I can´t go t with the traktor (maybe 6.000 m2). How long can you mow with the full baterie? How many hours did you mow with your Ryobi in this 5 years? Great video, sorry for my english, good wishes from Austria (not Australia)!

[@AskDIYDad]

Good Day Johann! My mower is the "lower capacity" version that is supposedly able to do 2 acre (about 8000 m2) on a single charge. there is an extended range version that increases that by about 50% and a new Zero-Turn version that is supposed to have about the same range. According to my meter I'm at just under 100 hours on my mower. I have a fairly small lawn and it makes quick work of it.

[@jetlei123]

Thanks for the video iwas contemplating buying one. Now I'm game

[@AskDIYDad]

Hah! Now contact Ryobi and convince them to send me a commission.. hehe

[@jetlei123]

@@AskDIYDad lol.. Ok I'll mention it in my purchase 😁

[@ernestbethel2035]

Good review. I am a year into mine and I think one of my batteries is dead. My range has been very impacted.

[@jfrye2475]

Could be. I had one fail at 11 months. Run times fell off until a cell in one battery finally failed and the charger would not charge the pack. Ryobi's troubleshooting process is to pull the battery tray per instructions in the manual. Then disconnect all battery wiring and individually charge each battery with a 12 volt automotive charger. Then put each battery to a load test. I took mine to a local battery shop for the testing. One of the batteries would not hold voltage under load and was replaced. Mower is now four years old on Aug. 6th and runs pretty much like new. My neighbor has one of these that is a couple of months newer, but has at least twice the hours on it since he plows snow in the winter. He had a battery fail like mine this summer after over 300 hours of use. New battery restored performance to like new.

[@jfrye2475]

Added comment. The charging system will not charge the battery pack if it is less than 36 volts. So if one battery is truly completely dead, the charger will do two red blinks and not charge the pack. More probable issue is one battery has developed a weak cell causing it to fail under load and yet still have enough residual voltage to allow the system to charge the pack. Eventually, the weak cell will fail completely and the charger will refuse to charge.

[@yourekiddingme100]

Hey DYI Dad, I really found your video helpful. I am in the market for a new 36-42" rider and I am still a little on the fence regarding the electric rider. Like you, I live in a northern climate zone. My concern is that my storage space is not at all heated and will fall below freezing. Do you store your rider in a heated or semi-heated space? Thanks.

[@AskDIYDad]

Over its lifetime.. both. My garage wasn’t heated until last year but is attached to my home so it did get some residual heat that way. Still, prior to last winter my garage would dip below freezing from time to time (causing me to throw out car wash soap that permanently separated etc). It’s now heated to 45 degrees in the winter - enough to prevent freeze without crushing my gas bill

[@jfrye2475]

Added thoughts on battery life of these SLA/AGM batteries. Even though Leoch states these should be good for 1,500-1,700 charge cycles at the 30% DOD, the system limits the usage to, they do age from use and the performance behavior changes. They can also fail internally from mechanical damage (i.e. vibration). At the beginning of the mowing season, they will use more charge for a given mow for the first few uses. After that they settle into a normal pattern of discharge. Winter storage seems to be different. At the beginning of storage, there are a few higher wattage charge cycles. Then the batteries get "lazy" and self discharge quicker and the charge wattage gets really low, but more often. This is why Ryobi requires having the mower plugged into the charger all the time. If the pack voltage drops below 36 volts, the charger won't charge at all. You have to pull the batteries and individually charge the batteries back up. My mower charges are averaging $0.97 total per four month winter storage period.

[@jfrye2475]

Forgot to state that as the batteries age from use the number of charge cycles increases each storage period, but the wattage per charge decreases. My mower has done the following for each four month winter storage period. I pay $0.13/KWH. 1st winter: 6 charges, 6,300 watts, avg. watts/chg 1,050, $0.82 total electric cost. 2nd winter: 9 charges, 7,288 watts, avg. watts/chg 810, $0.95 cost. 3rd winter: 49 charges, 12,290 watts, avg. watts/chg 251, $1.60 cost. 4th winter: 95 charges, 10,740 watts, avg. watts/chg 113, $1.40 cost.

[@jfrye2475]

First 33 days of fifth winter storage: 27 charges, 103 avg. charge wattage, $0.17 total cost.

[@jeremyb2829]

behind ebike Reel mower on a handle.. Or unicycle training pull a reel mowing ?

[@uf1978]

I have the exact same mower and use it weekly for the past 4 years. I have had ZERO issues with this mower and only charge it after every 3rd cutting on a 7500 sq ft lawn. I am wondering how much it would cost to replace one of the 3 motors and the batteries at some point. Im very happy with this purchase though!

[@jfrye2475]

Last time I checked on motors, the deck motors were over $215 each and the drive motor was over $400. That was pre-pandemic, so I'd bet they are much more now. 75 ahr. batteries are currently $160 each for Mighty Max units and $215 for Leoch units. From Ryobi documentation and Leoch documentation, running the batteries down by not putting them on the charger when not in use is only shortening their life span. The greater the Depth Of Discharge between charges, the fewer the charge cycles the batteries will provide. Keeping the batteries topped up like the programming in the SC-48 charger does will ensure better performance and reduced chances of sulfation, which also shortens SLA/AGM battery life. Keeping the mower on the charger whenever it's not being used does not drive up cost. The charger is not a trickle charger and only charges the pack when the pack voltage drops below 50 volts. My RM480e has had 373 charge cycles and has used $39.67 in electricity over 49 months, including 4 winter storage periods of 4 months each. Another way to look at costs is the mower has cost $0.81 per month and $0.24 per hour to run. My mower is always plugged in when not in use. I mow a 10,000 sq.ft lawn and a 16,000 sq.ft. lawn and it will still mow for the stated 2+ hours. It has saved me $495 in gas compared to my neighbor's ICE mowers of similar size. Another year or two and it will have saved enough money to replace the batteries, There are five of these mowers on our street and they are all performing like mine.

[@jfrye6057]

Mower is now 66 months old. The 60 month replacement MightyMax 100 ahr. batteries are performing perfectly. The original batteries were still running the mower, but with reduced run times, so it seemed like a good time to do a swap The new batteries cost $660 and the mower had saved $720 in gas, fluids, belts, and filters at that point. Winter storage charging is much different than the factory Leoch unit. The winter storage charging is 10 watts every 6 days for three cycles followed six days later with an average charge of 1,800 watts. Then the cycles repeat. I put the mower into storage at the beginning of December.

[@AskDIYDad]

Thanks for the update J!

[@jfrye2475]

Had my usage spreadsheet calculate the routine, or average, depth of discharge of my RM480e after 53 months of ownership and it is 10.01%. So my usage (avg. of 42 minutes per mow) is pretty low compared to the advertised 2 hr. run time limit. This should translate to good battery lifespan and may help explain why it still runs pretty much like new.

[@jfrye2475]

Been reading battery web sites about charging cycles and DOD for SLA/AGM batteries. Seems that a routine DOD of 10% will typically give five times the number of charge cycles as a routine DOD of 50%. I have observed that my mower has been doing 8-10 charges a day in winter storage for the last two winters and ran like normal last summer. Today, it will cross 1,500 charge cycles for the original set of batteries with a 146 hours of use. The Leoch documentation states these batteries should do 500-600 charges at a routine DOD of 50% and 1,500-1,700 at 30% DOD.. The Ryobi system limits the DOD to about 30%. If the battery sites are correct, My mower should hit 2,500-3,000 charges with its routine DOD of 10%.

[@jeannetteferrell3101]

I would love for you to share where you purchased this RM480E and if they will accept monthly payments. Thanks for this video. It has actually helped me decide to get it. I've had my Dad's old Sears Craftman's for several years but it's about to run its course (1993) and I think it's time to go Electric for this Senior. Thanks again for sharing the Do's, the Don'ts, and the inbetweens 😃

[@AskDIYDad]

I got mine from Home Depot - floor model.. drove it out of the store which was an interesting experience

[@jfrye2475]

The mowers were sold exclusively by Home Depot. Ryobi has a remanufactured store called Direct Tools Outlet also. HD has not listed the RM480 mowers for several months now, but the Ryobi site still lists them. Not sure if the mowers are no longer being made, hung up in the supply chain, or just out of stock. A call to Ryobi is in order I suspect. HD is currently listing the newer 80 volt lithium powered mowers at greatly increased prices.

[@PilotA51]

Good review. I've had mine for about 5 years now, bought it just before starting the 2018 season. The only costly maintenance I've had to do was replace the drive controller after it failed in 2021, which was about $500 and a 2 month wait because it was backordered. Pretty easy DIY replacement. As a bonus, the new drive controller resolved one of my complaints where reverse was just on or off, not variable like going forward. Overall, I think the mower is well worth it. I had the same squeak develop a couple months into ownership and temporarily resolved it by using silicone spray around the front axles where it rubs against the metal sleeves. I recommend using a straw on the sprayer to reach the middle by going under the rubber cylinder bumper above the axle, and slide all the way to the end of the sleeve while spraying, repeat for all 4 sides. Sometimes the squeak comes back after a few weeks and sometimes it's fine for months. I recently discovered dry graphite lubricant, so I'll give that a try this year to see if it lasts longer. I haven't paid much attention to any reduction in speed or acceleration, but the capacity has definitely degraded and the first few weeks of last season I could barely get 10 or 15 minutes out of it where originally it was good for over an hour. I'm glad I moved to a smaller property, which only takes 20-25 minutes, before it became a problem. After that early season warmup, it could do the whole yard on a charge, if only barely. I'll likely replace the batteries before starting the 2024 season if not this year. For the beeper, I covered it with a tightly folded paper towel and secured it with duct tape. That brought it down to a much more comfortable volume and it has held up great ever since.

[@jfrye2475]

Your run time degradation is likely due to one of the batteries not being able to hold its charge under load. Ryobi's troubleshooting procedure is to pull the batteries, fully charge each with an automotive type charger, load test each battery to see which one is failing. VOE.

[@jfrye2475]

I took mine to a local battery shop for the load test.

[@PilotA51]

@@jfrye2475 I just remembered a video (kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y4mYiY2Er5mdn7c) that I watched while troubleshooting the drive controller issue, where the guy had a device to prevent or even reverse the degradation. Desulfation is the process. I think I'll give that a try first. If it works as well as it sounds, that'll save a lot of money on battery replacements. Perhaps I could use it to restore the capacity of a UPS battery pack (also 12V per cell) that I recently replaced and haven't disposed of yet.

[@jfrye2475]

@@PilotA51 The tech. support at Delta Q (the maker of the SC-48 chargers these mowers use) told me the charger is programmed to do a desulfation process at the end of each charge cycle. These chargers are used by a lot of golf cart makers to extend the lifespan of batteries used in heavy duty service. I've seen a KZbin video about a desulfation device the costs $75 for a 48 volt model.

[@PilotA51]

@@jfrye2475 Maybe that's why the capacity increases so dramatically early in the season as I give it full charge cycles after it sat through the winter. I like to DIY, so I still plan to buy a tester and try desulfation on individual cells. The charger might not be able to desulfate them as well in series. I'll replace them if that doesn't work. They're 75Ah and I'm thinking of upgrading to 100Ah if multiple cells are bad.

[@jfrye2475]

Battery milestone today. My RM40e will be 57 months old in three days and after today's mow, it will have saved enough money in gas and maintenance to replace the original batteries. That is 226 mows, 151 hours of use, no maintenance costs other than a spare set of blades, and 2,082 charge cycles. Every use from now on will be just icing on the cake. I am planning on replacing the original Leoch LPC12-75 batteries with Mighty Max ML100-12 batteries so the mower will effectively become an RM480ex. That will be two of the five RMs on the street with MM replacements.

[@keithaguirre4927]

Yeah I got the squeak as well. and I lost my Mowing Backward ability. Bad switch I guess. If you know of a fix I would listen to that. Thanks for this.

[@jfrye6057]

parts can be ordered from the nearest Ryobi service center or from Gardner on line.

[@raskyr1]

Thanks for the video. I'm considering going electric on a new rider but I store my yard equipment in a shed that does not have power run to it. I assumed these had removable lithium batteries like the snowblowers and unfortunately this could be a deal breaker. :/

[@jfrye2475]

These RM480 & ZT480 mowers are powered by Sealed Lead Acid/Absorbent Glass Matt batteries (4) and weigh around 200 pounds. They are mounted on a slide out tray for service and can be individually charged outside the mower with 12 volt automotive style chargers. The supplied charger requires a 120 volt AC, 15 amp. grounded outlet. The new Ryobi 80 volt mowers have removable battery packs and the supplied charger can charge the 80 volt packs individually outside the mower, but the 40 volt packs require a regular 40 volt charger for charging outside the mower. The 80 volt mowers are $5K - $7K on sale right now. That's the price of lithium technology now.

[@igator210]

I have that front squeak too. Had it pretty much from day one. I thought it was from the wheels. If I run down the driveway, where it is smooth, it doesn't squeak. But on the lawn, over bumps, it squeaks.

[@sandrawitherspoon2319]

I sprayed wd-40 in the steering column and it helped the squeak a lot.

[@mikemannion788]

Hi, For the squeaking when going over bumps; Try lubricating the 2 front arms that connect the tires to the frame. The arms move up on down and are sandwiched between 2 metal L shaped brackets and the arms rubbing on the L brackets is the cause.

[@charleshill3789]

Very nice lawn and the mower is ok too

[@floreign]

Have you used with a front mount snow blade? I did see a video by someone, but they didn't own it for as long as you did, and wondered if you had this experience, and mostly how it affected the mower's functionality (electric Cub Cadets are very sensitive to moisture so I want to know how water exposure can affect this model.)

[@AskDIYDad]

No, but I’m tempted. I haven’t experimented with the bagger or the blade largely because of the cost of those accessories

[@ace76indc96]

We have the slow plow and we love it. Handled almost a10 in snow. I put a Power pulse on it to preserve the batteries, we'll see how well it works

[@Radio1399]

Thank you for the review. I’m in Maryland, do you think there would be any issue storing the mower in a shed and leaving it on the trickle charge for the winter?

[@AskDIYDad]

No more so than any other battery I would think? My garage is attached but was unheated until last year.. so for 3 years that is essentially what I was doing and I have seen no issues with my unit.

[@igator210]

I store mine in a shed over the winter, thus no trickle charge. I just make sure I put it away fully charge. I don't know if that will decrease the battery life over all, but so far no issues.

[@jfrye6057]

Just to clarify, this system is NOT a trickle charger. The charger only draws wall power when the batteries need charging. A four month winter storage period costs me an average of $1.19 for the winter. Letting the machine sit for over a month can damage the batteries, especially as they age from use.

[@erickmacharia1055]

Does it have a provision at the back for a striping kit?

[@AskDIYDad]

I don’t know enough about striping kits to answer that. I’d suggest visiting the Ryobi site - I believe they have an FAQ or Chat option

[@schiltz371]

Would love to know how these things are after 10 plus years. 1.I love the fact there’s no belts to mess with on the Ryobe My John Deere d110 belts after the first 5 years started becoming a continuous issue for me. They started wearing prematurely even though I greased the blade hubs. The belt tensioner is a joke on that model. The cheap belt guides didn’t last 3 years, then belts started throwing. 2. From what you said about going slower, sounds like battery or motor issues. That’s concern for me. Despite the deers many quirks, the engine did make it to 10 years before the great death plumb of smoke which much later on I was told the head gasket blew. I had know idea, just thought it was the cold morning starts. Year 11 things started failing in rapid succession like electrical issues, belts of coarse, engine just refusing to turn over. I drained the after I notice the oil level was twice as high as it should’ve been. I drained mostly dirty gasoline, so there’s no telling how much damage I’d done driving previously on diluted oil. I took for granted that since it wasn’t yet do for a oil change according to the hours that I was ok, we’ll slap me on the ass and call me Obiden if that wasn’t the case.

[@AskDIYDad]

Subscribe to my channel and I'll post another video in 4 more years :D

[@jgilliam1955]

I just bought 4 batteries. Mine has 53 hours on the meter. Bought mine in 2017. COST OF BATTERIES $1035. From Home Depot. Now I am worried about how to replace them.

[@jfrye6057]

Mine. is in the fifth season of use. 46 months, 190 mows, 350 total charges (including 4 winter storages), $0.83 per month cost for electricity. Maintenance cost of $45.84 for a set of spare, unneeded blades and two cans of deck release spray. Compared to a comparable ICE mower, I have saved enough in operational costs to pay for new batteries, but the original set is still running pretty much like new.

[@jfrye6057]

Forgot to include the 128.3 hours of run time. sorry.

[@schiltz371]

@@jgilliam1955 update. a great youtube vid and $40 for new head gasket, liquid gasket, and oil filter. the old girl runs like new minus the stupid belt system.

[@Thetimecapsuletx]

Can it mow up hills? My new place is up on a hill and this is worrying me.

[@AskDIYDad]

Up and down I don't think you would have any problem, the center of gravity is pretty high though so mowing across the grade would be sketchy (which is fairly true for any riding mower) My yard has a few small hills but nothing you have to struggle to walk up and down - when starting on a hill it's a little slower to get going initially but that's the only thing I have noticed

[@jfrye2475]

Mulch mowed today for 56 minutes, used no bars, meter showed 100% charge remaining, and it took 1860 watts to recharge the 100 ahr. batteries, which cost $0.11 at my rate. Today's 87E10 price was $3.69/gal. My neighbor's Toro Timecutter would have burned nearly a gallon of gas in that time. The lifetime Depth Of Discharge went from 10.09% to 10.0% with just one use. I expect it will continue to drop with the larger batteries. My take is that if I had spent the extra $200 to get a RM480ex when I bought this mower, I likely would not have had to replace the batteries at this point.

[@joebidendidthat5121]

Put a snow plow on it for winter… some people have done it. I’m interested in doing so when I get mine

[@jfrye6057]

My neighbor has been plowing snow with his RM480ex for four years now. He has traction issues on driveway inclines sometimes. He is fitting the mower with tractor tires, wheel spacers, and chains for winter use. He drops the mower deck for winter plowing.

[@rickcowan7527]

Thanks for review! The battery gauge on my e480 has been wonky since I bought it 3 years ago. It shows various power levels that bear no relation to how long it's been used or charged. Many other owners have noted this problem. Just took it out for first mow of the season and it's in the red although the mower has been plugged in all winter in our attached garage. Any ideas as to how I should proceed? Unreliable gauge means I can't see battery problems coming...

[@AskDIYDad]

Unfortunately (or fortunately?) I haven't had to work that problem so I'm not sure off the top of my head. Do you know if the gauge is a passive readout from some other embedded system or whether it's a self-contained unit? If it's self-contained you should be able to replace it or pull the leads from it and get a read on the batteries that way I would think.. ? Maybe some of the other commenters here will have better ideas..

[@jfrye6057]

My RM480e BLM has always been somewhat irrational. I have modified it to show volts and percentage available as well as run time hours. The hour meter has reset itself to zero once and is off by 7% anyway. I have measured a lot of usage factors for over 45 months including each charge wattage, and the BLM is not really accurate. My spreadsheet gives me the cost of each run and the cost per hour so I can see the true performance of the batteries over time. Also, the batteries get "lazy" during winter storage and it takes several mowing runs for them to return to normal depth of discharge. Mine are still able to mow for over 2 hoursw.

[@alanglinster4455]

My packed it in after the first charge. So a new gauge was fitted and it packed it in after the first charge so I just ignore it and check charge with a multimeter every now and then.

[@damnitsmatt]

I know this is the last question you probably expected from this video but… what sunglasses are those? I really like them.

[@AskDIYDad]

Haha! Those are literally just a pair of cheap $10 sunglasses I picked up at a gas station somewhere. Pretty sure they don't have a brand.. But thanks for the compliment on my economical sense of "style" - forwarding this to my wife!

[@romanticwarrior97]

Thanks for the review. I'll give you a thumbs up. Can you tell me, do you recommend this mower?

[@AskDIYDad]

I struggle with recommending.. I had nothing but good experiences but it has to fit your situation, yard, style, etc to be a good choice. If it checks all the boxes for you, then yes, there was nothing in my experience with it that would make me hesitate to buy one. They’re pricey, but at this point everything is

[@jfrye6057]

I spent $2,500 for my RM480e (75 ahr.) and it has been a great mower and yard tractor. The hour meter is now at 180 hours and has cost me just under $40 for electricity to operate it. I spent $27 for a spare set of blades and $16 for two cans of deck release spray. A set of 100 ahr. replacement batteries cost me $660. Compare the fuel and maintenance cost of a similar sized ICE mower to see an advantage of an electric rider.

[@walter24148]

Will it be alright under a tarp? I don't have a building to store a mower in...

[@AskDIYDad]

I don't see why not? There's no duct system for mice to nest in, you may get a few critters up under the plastics but it's built pretty tightly.

[@NotMuchHere]

in the fall mine's wheels bind up with leaves ... considered leaf vacuum but dont have one yet and not sure if that would work

[@AskDIYDad]

I’ve not had that issue - do you mean leaves get jammed between the body of the mower and the wheels?

[@NotMuchHere]

@@AskDIYDad yes sir ... I did not get the bagger, i suspsect that an external bagger with a gas mower/impeller would be better than simple discharge catching. ( yes in the fall it would stack up a pile of leaves in front of it and that would lock up the wheels .. i did manage to sell that thing .. so ... no longer my problem 2021 edition NC)

[@jonmcclure10]

I found out today you can not deduct from your taxes lawn care bush trimming, cutting, edging, etc., but you can deduct from your taxes the cost of a riding lawn mower, as it is considered a "capital expense" and you can write it off, so much per year based on how long you think it may last. Google it, and my accountant confirmed it today, so next late fall I plan on buying some type of ridding mower, just for the nasty leaves after my lawn care company stops cutting for the year. In Alabama, we have mostly sub-tropical weather, great place often 60's or 70's most of late fall and into winter. The issue is Alabama is 85% tree cover, billions and billions of trees, some pines, but also every type of hard wood in the tree books, mostly. My wife and I live 1,125 feet straight up on the bluff of Shades Mountain, in central Alabama, and we get the thermal winds of sometimes 70 mph, so leaves are flying. It is the late leaf season, that I am waiting for late fall. Tired of racking and blowing, my plan is to research all the ridding mowers, (gas mowers have so many moving parts and need more repair, been there, done that over the years), so EV seems to be taking over in the lawn business. Take a look at the big box stores like Home Depot and Lowes, etc. and you see EV's are now 75% of space, so they understand consumers want the easy plug-in and go and NO more oil, gas, etc. I am looking now at five models and No rush, as spring is coming and I have professional lawn care that runs until end of December. I will take care of those extra leaves and even carry on the mower a EV lawn blower, but no more rakes. Good plan! I reviewed one today that goes 12 mph, maybe time to go to worlds' fastest race track, Talladega for lawn more race one weekend.

[@heatherheinemann697]

How do I get a key for my mower. I misplaced my key. Tried finding out about where to order key, but no information.

[@AskDIYDad]

I would assume you would probably need to contact Ryobi directly for a replacement. www.ryobitools.com/help-plus

[@danwolf5033]

My yard is sloped. Does anyone have experience using this on a more hilly lawn? Also is it a smoother ride than a Briggs and Straton lawn tractor? My wife refused to use it but it finally died after 15 years.

[@AskDIYDad]

My yard has three moderate hills in it. Like any small mower where you sit above the weight they don’t feel particularly stable if you’re cutting across the hill - I find myself leaning well out of the seat to compensate but have never actually gotten close to tipping (except in my imagination) - definitely cuts faster downhill than up but has never struggled to climb the hills in my yard

[@davidvenning3608]

I want to get this but my only option for storage is a shed with no power. Do you think it would be a problem to connect the charging station to an extention chord?

[@AskDIYDad]

No.. but depending on how far you have to run the cord you’re going to want to run a heavier gauge extension cord

[@jfrye6057]

I would run nothing less than a 12 ga. extension cord to the charger. How cold or hot does your shed get? The manual states 32 degrees to 104 degrees as the storage ranger for this mower.

[@thenatemaxproject]

what is the lowest moving height??

[@jfrye6057]

1.5"

[@rwestbrook6724]

wonderful video, I own the same mower, purchased in 2017. I did not know at the time of purchase that there is 2 versions of this mower, 1st and 2nd generations, noted via the charging ports and they can not be inter changed, port configurations are different. recently I purchased a second mower, gen2 version and the difference between the two is slightly different, gen1 down hill speed is not controlled via the throttle peddle but gen2 is, acts like a regen brake system of sorts, otherwise they are very similar and both are beautiful machines. there are a few facts that I would like to share with those that are running and or possibly looking to purchase, these facts are things that I have learned and have made some costly mistakes regarding not being fully in the know regarding. now that this operator is seasoned with these machines there are a few basic things you need to know if you don't already know. first, in the spring before running the first cut you should do a basic battery equalization charge, this will wake up the batteries to the full charge balance of each separate cell, then charge again using the factory charger before heading out to the yard, it assist in battery life and performance. second, tire pressure is critical and you might find yourself checking the tires at least once a week, this will help with a flat cut from the deck, also thirdly, I have found that the deck height is adjustable so be aware of the final cut, I measure from the main frame to the bottom edge of the deck. the squeaky steering, I use lithium grease on the rack and have found this will eliminate the noise for the better part of the season. if you own one of these machines the maintenance is minimal with light maintenance regarding. you will never regret purchase and remember, it likes a well groomed yard so depending on your type of grass, you might find yourself cutting 3/4 days between cuts. just a share guy's.

[@jfrye6057]

I found out about the two gens. in a funny way. I had a battery fail the load test at 11 mos. and the first thing Ryobi customer service did was say the charger was defective and sent me a new one overnight. Well the plug didn't fit in the charging port due to the difference in the ribs down in the port. I called Ryobi again and got connected to a product engineer who told me NOT to use the new charger as the systems had changed. When I checked, the two chargers had different part numbers. He walked me through the load testing process and they overnighted a replacement battery. I now have a second gen. charger stored up in the rafters for the last five years.

[@rwestbrook6724]

@@jfrye6057you want to get ride of the gen1 charger?

[@jfrye6057]

@@rwestbrook6724 The spare charger is a gen 2 and doesn't work with my 2018 gen 1 mower. My neighbor down the street bought his RM480 two months after I got mine and his charger is a gen 2 unit.

[@rwestbrook6724]

sorry, I ment the gen2 charger. I need to read the post before I hit the enter button. goodgreif...

[@jfrye6057]

@@rwestbrook6724 There are five of these on our street of 16 homes. Mine was the first and the only gen 1 mower. The rest are later gens. The nearest neighbor and I have modified ours in different ways and trade electronics, so the spare charger is likely to go to him or one of the other neighbors if needed.

[@mikecarter4572]

I have the 75ah battery 42 in zero turn. When the time comes to replace them can I go to the 115ah battery packs like on the 54 in will be going back to the lead acid batteries

[@jfrye2475]

Highly doubt it. IIRC, the LDC-115 batteries are physically larger than the LPC12-100 batteries meaning they won't fit in the battery area. Also, the charger for the LDC12-115 batteries on the 54" mower is different than the one on the 42" mowers. The LPC12-100s are a direct swap for the LPC12-75s. You just remove the spacers between the 75 ahr. batteries and adjust the fore/aft spacers to accommodate the 100 ahr. batteries. Same charger for either set. You also can't mix ahr. batteries in a set on these 48 volt mowers.

[@mikecarter4572]

@@jfrye2475 thanks, you just saved me a lot of trouble and money. I was going for the 100ah anyway. Just asking

[@RMarkNolan]

Nice! I've got the same mower, had it for over 2 years now. I really love it. It's so easy and fun to use, I've got my 12 year old son mowing the lawns for me!

[@mysticaurora3722]

You’re sick! I will be reporting you to the authorities for child abuse!

[@nikster9892]

My garage is not heated, did you leave it on charge in under 40 degree temperatures for multiple winters? Do you feel like it affected the battery at all? I currently have mine plugged in for it’s first winter season in my garage that’s not heated.

[@AskDIYDad]

Mine lived in my unheated attached garage for the first several winters (which would drop below freezing often) - I left it on the charger, using it as a battery tender. I didn’t notice any drop in performance or longevity that I can attribute to the winters themselves.

[@jfrye2475]

My RM480e is currently spending its fifth winter in our unheated garage plugged into the charger 24/7. It has dropped below 32 degrees F on occasion with no issue with the batteries. Last summer's performance was the same as the first summer's. As the batteries age (145 hrs of use, 496 charge cycles), the usage wattage increases slightly. Right now, the batteries are self discharging enough to fall below 50 volts in a day and require a maintenance charge every day. However, the charges are small ( avg. is 98 watts and $0.006 per charge). This occurred last winter and once regular mowing resumed, the battery performance returned to normal.

[@spoton5981]

What’s the coldest your area gets? Some people have complained about the batteries not lasting past 3 years, and I wonder if that’s because they’re in severely cold areas, and didn’t keep the batteries topped off. Any opinions on that?

[@AskDIYDad]

I'm in central Minnesota. So it gets down into negative temperatures in the winter. For the first 4 years my mower was stored in an unheated, but attached garage plugged into the battery tender. For the last 2 years that same garage has been heated. I haven't ever stored it outside, so it's always had some semblance of protection. I also have a small yard compared to what it is capable of mowing and charge after most mowings, so my batteries aren't getting depleted during normal use. It's rare for the gauge to dip below half on my unit.

[@spoton5981]

@@AskDIYDad you’re a gem. Thanks for the reply. Great video

[@saimanwong609]

I live in South Florida and so I mow year round and about every 2 weeks. Weekly in rainy season. I keep the 480ex in a garage, always charged. I purchased in Sept 2018 and am about to change the batteries (so a little over 4 years and 96 hours) . I'm waiting on a single 48v 100ah LiPO battery to arrive. I have heard that charging in freezing temps reduces SLA battery life and also consuming >50% of the battery. The 50% rule, reduces how much lawn you can mow when considering purchase . 100ah was more that twice what I needed for my 1/4 acre lawn. So without knowing the 50% rule, I was adhering though occasionally I would forget to charge and then mow into the

[@jfrye2475]

Today is a bit of a milestone for my RM480e. Today will mark 1,700 charge cycles on the original batteries. After almost 55 months, the batteries are requiring 8-10 10 watt charges each day due to the pack voltage falling below 50 volts and triggering the charger to do a charge cycle. The system did this last winter, but after a few mowing runs in the spring, self discharging returned to normal of holding a charge for a week. 146 hours of run time so far and $517 of gas savings after deducting the $40.46 total cost of electricity for the period.

[@jfrye2475]

Also, the maker of SC-48 charger (Delta Q) informed me that the charger automatically does a desulfation process at the end of each charging cycle. Should give the batteries a longer life span.

[@jfrye2475]

I contacted Ryobi about the charging history of my mower in an effort to get an idea of what lifespan I might expect from these batteries. Their response was that they had no data on battery lifespan. I have read on battery web sites that the routine Depth Of Discharge is a major factor of lifespan for these batteries. The battery manufacturer (Leoch) states that a DOD of 30% should deliver 1,500-1,700 charge cycles. This is the DOD that Ryobi limits these batteries to. The documentation also states a DOD of 50% will deliver 500-600 charges.The battery web sites also state a DOD of 10% will give a charge count five times the count of 50% DOD. My RM480e has a lifetime DOD of 10%.

[@j19welch]

how do you lift the mowing deck to avoid a rock or debris in the yard?

[@AskDIYDad]

There's a handle to your left as you drive that allows you to quickly reposition the deck

[@j19welch]

@@AskDIYDad thank you kind sir

[@yan-liche6663]

Thank you for the review! Does this machine mulch the grass?

[@jfrye6057]

I only mulch mow and it does as good or better than the Honda twin blade walk behind it replaced. It leaves no clumps or streaks, unlike my neighbor's $3,400 Toro Timecutter mower. He actually has to go over the lawn with a leaf blower sometimes to break up the clumping. The mulch door/plug comes with the mower and just snaps on/off in seconds and the supplied blades are used for mulch mowing.

[@AskDIYDad]

It has a side eject and a mulching cover that will turn it from side eject into a mower. From Ryobi it ships with mulching blades. I ran mine side-eject because of the specific nature of my grass

[@kevinuznanski5327]

This is season 6 for my mower. I had to replace the batteries this year....not cheap. Runs well again. Similar squeaky steering. Does well if grass isn't too long. Blades are super lightweight and prone to damage if you hit sticks - easy to replace. Would I buy it again? Meh. Expensive to buy but I have solar so it's free to charge/operate

[@jfrye6057]

I'm curious. Were all four batteries bad? My neighbor had one fail after over 300 hours of use and replacing the one bad battery restored his mower to full run times.

[@kevinuznanski5327]

@@jfrye6057 I had 2 that were bad. Figured once I had it apart, might as well swap all 4.

[@jfrye6057]

@@kevinuznanski5327 Makes sense.

[@michaelmattson3515]

My 480 mower stops running when I engage the blades & step on the throttle. I got a part # from Ryobi for a motor regulator. I got one from a supplier and installed it. Still have the same problem. Any ideas? Thanks 🙏 Ryobi said not to store it in my shed in TX because of the heat. I don’t have room in the garage. That’s hot too.

[@AskDIYDad]

I haven't had any direct experience with that - but from some research online it looks like there are two motor regulators - one for the drive motor and one for the blade motors. Maybe the one they sent you and replaced was the wrong one? I would contact Ryobi directly at this point I think. The only time mine does what you are describing is if I put it in reverse with the blades spinning without pressing the revers mode switch.

[@jfrye6057]

There are actually three motor controllers on a RM480 mower. One for the drive motor and one each for the two deck motors. They are different part numbers as one is a master and the other is a slave. There is also a separate voltage controller on board.

[@TheThomashammer78]

how many batteries have to replaced, other people seem to have issues with batteries?

[@AskDIYDad]

I have not had to replace any batteries in the 5ish years I’ve owned it

[@ROBMACDUI]

It requires 4 12v SLA batteries. Battery life will vary dpending on how they are cared for but most can expect between 3-6 yrs before replacement with a cost of about $130-250 per 12v battery (Depending on ah rating).

[@curly437]

I went in and removed the backup beeper. easy to do behind black plastic on the left side

[@AskDIYDad]

I'm going to keep that in mind.. I do legitimately use it to determine that I'm actually in reverse (since I don't like stopping fully) but it'd be nice to throw a switch on it

[@Demothesses]

@@AskDIYDad I have the same mower as well. Instead of removing you can put heavy tape over the aperture of the speaker. You can still hear it, but it's FAR more tolerable. I used gorilla tape on mine so it wouldn't fall off.

[@pilkyish]

Great review. How much weight can it tow?

[@AskDIYDad]

I’m honestly not sure.. I’ve pulled a garden trailer full of gravel without any issue but you’d have to check with Ryobi to see how high it can go

[@pilkyish]

@@AskDIYDad thanks for your reply👍🏻

[@mghc7]

Question…so this has to be plugged in to an outlet? You don’t have batteries that plug into inside of a house like their power tools do

[@AskDIYDad]

Correct - there’s a wall mounted charger and a three-prong plug that connects in the back of the mower. Saves you having to pull a bunch of batteries out but does require that you can park it near electricity. Charger runs on standard 120v

[@mghc7]

@@AskDIYDad thank you for your reply I do appreciate that

[@HomeTheaterTurkey]

hi there, how is it with wet grass and how do you clean under from wet grass everytime ?

[@AskDIYDad]

Never had an issue with wet grass. As to cleaning - I drive the front wheels onto ramps to spray out the deck with a hose each time, and then every few mows I remove the deck for a more thorough clean out. the deck disconnects with a couple simple pins and two plugs.

[@jfrye6057]

I don't mow wet grass. It's hard on the turf and just clogs the deck. Juicy spring grass is different, you have to mow it. Normally, I mulch mow only a 1/4"-1/2" off and cut at 3 1/2" high to avoid shocking the turf. I made a deck scraper from plastic and a long handled spatula. It's narrow and long enough to reach everything under the deck. Think of it as a narrow pizza flail. During the mowing season, I drive the mower up on my car ramps and scrape things out. At the end of the year, I drop the deck, turn it over, remove the blades, scrape and wash the deck clean. I spray the deck with a deck release spray, mount a freshly sharpened set of blades, and rehang the deck for winter storage.

[@billysmether6237]

That squeak your hearing is the front wheel axle. The front main axle sits in long U shaped mounts. It moves up and down at ends (center pivot) in the U channel and there is no lubrication at the ends. Put some white grease on both sides of the U mount between it and the axle. Left front and right front sides. If this doesn't make sense have some one jump and down on a side and watch the suspension. Was driving me nuts. Took a whole summer to find it. Can't believe you got 5 years out of your batteries. Mine barely hit 3. Probably going to the Lithium batteries.

[@ricosmith9743]

I’ve had my mower almost 4yrs. Have had the squeak since the get go. It also drives me nuts. Just tried your tip putting white grease on front axle. NO MORE SQUEAK. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I’m sure my neighbors thank you too.

[@jfrye6057]

I spray mine with silicone spray and a needle tube. Once a year seems to do the trick.

[@djrizzy4903]

How does it do picking up leaves in the fall? I have a Ryobi push mower and it does not do a good job of pulling the leaves up and into the bagger.

[@jfrye2475]

I don't bag mow, so I can't directly address pickup. I mulch mow exclusively and it does grind leaves into small pieces. Oak leaves are tough and can get blown out from under the deck without being chewed up. Might be different with the bagging discharge chute mounted. The mower has extra blades designed for bagging that have larger lift wings to create more airflow to move the cuttings up into the bags. My son has the 40 volt 21" walk behind mower with the twin blades and it does a good job of picking up leaves, but he blows most of them to the curb for leaf pickup.

[@djrizzy4903]

@@jfrye2475 thanks for the info. I have the 40v 21 mower with 2 blades and just not happy with the airflow into the bagger. The mower throttles down if it does not detect a heavy load. This is to save the battery. Unfortunately I can’t force the mower blades to stay at maximum speed.

[@jfrye2475]

@@djrizzy4903 The RM480e (and the other Ryobi riders) have a separate controller (processor) for each motor on the machine. The deck motor controllers are programmed to maintain the speed of the blade they control. As a blade loads up, you can hear it speed back up if it's not completely overloaded. I have seen/heard this with dense juicy grass. Every once in a while, clippings will nearly stall a blade and the motor will get a burst of power to dislodge the clump of grass. Hopw this helps.

[@Timanator]

Cant believe you didnt talk about what cups that fit that odd shaped holder lol

[@AskDIYDad]

That’s a fair point.. haha.. it holds a standard can (pop/beer/whatever) and that’s always been good enough for me!

[@avipatel3775]

Hello, does this take a toll on your electricity bill? Trying to compare prices to see if a gas mower would be cheaper or not. Thanks.

[@AskDIYDad]

Realistically it must impact the electric bill but not so much that we’ve ever noticed.

[@avipatel3775]

@@AskDIYDad thanks

[@jfrye6057]

After 45 months of ownership and 121 hours of run time, my RM480e has cost under $31 of electricity. At $4/gal. for 87E10 gas, it's 16 times cheaper to run than a comparable ICE powered mower based on my neighbor's gas riders.

[@jfrye6057]

Update on electrical costs. I pay $0.13/KWH. AFTER 46 months and 347 charges of operation and winter storage, my RM480e has cost a total of $37.94 in electricity total. That's $0.82/month, so unless you are measuring each and every charge like I am, you won't likely notice any increase in your bill. A four month winter storage period is averaging $1.19 for the entire four months.

[@shark39]

Looked like it was picking up speed going downhill. Does it freewheel going downhill with no gearing to hold it back?

[@AskDIYDad]

Yep. The electric motor will allow the mower to freewheel and speed up downhill if you have the go pedal to the ground. I believe there's an upper limit to this effect and that if you have it only partially depressed that the motor does provide resistance and prevent this but I'm not 100% sure that I'm remembering that correctly (and we have over a foot of snow on the ground here in MN still, so I can't go test it at the moment)

[@shark39]

@@AskDIYDad thanks for the info. I've searched so many reviews and none of them covered that and yours was the first one I've seen that didn't have a perfectly flat level yard

[@jimmyrobinson3258]

Is it pretty fast and will it pull anything?

[@AskDIYDad]

Yes and yes - I pulled a garden trailer with mine and have had it loaded with everything from landscape stones to crushed rocks. No problems

[@xcalibre222]

My neighbor has one. He was complaining the batteries gave up in about 3 years. He was looking for some aftermarket batteries for it because the Ryobi ones were really pricey. I would expect to get at least 5-6 years out of a battery. I guess batteries are about the only complaint on these mowers.

[@jfrye2475]

There's more to just months when SLA/AGM batteries are concerned. The OEM batteries (Leoch LPC12s) are rated for 1,500-1,700 charge cycles at the 30% DOD that the Ryobi system limits the batteries to. Mine did 2,082 charges before performance dropped off, but didn't fail. Most users of ICE mowers don't track the cost of the gas they use and most Emower users don't track the number of charge cycles and the cost of the electricity they consume, so they don't know the true cost of mowing. I tracked the electric consumption of my RM480e from day one as a hobby, and in month 53, the gas and maintenance savings of $685 had reached the point where a new set of 100 ahr. batteries was paid for. I replaced the OEM batteries with Mighty Max ML100-12 batteries in month 57. One reason for the longevity of my batteries is that the lifetime DOD was 10.09%. The new 100 ahr. batteries are already driving the DOD down. One thing my tracking showed was as the batteries aged, they required more frequent charging , especially during winter storage. Less cost, but more and shorter charge cycles, because the aging batteries were self discharging faster than when new. All in all, my initial due diligence research prior to buying the RM480e was correct and it has been economically justified.

[@JULESoso]

I'm coming up with the challenge of needing the batteries replaced. From the research that I have done, it doesn't look like it is an easy process ( and very costly, too). I'm a senior woman with limited mobility, so not an option for me to DIY. Service centers are few and Home Depot, from what others have written is not helpful. Have you replace your batteries yet? What is your experience with the batteries. Got my mower Aug. 2017. This year the batteries are discharging quickly and end in the red zone before I realize it. So what I understand about all of that, I'm mostly out of luck for getting them to charge to 100% any more. Any information/suggestions would be appreciated.

[@jfrye6057]

First of all, The battery manufacturer states these batteries should be good for 1,500-1,700 charges the way the Ryobi system manages them. It only takes one of the four batteries to fail to bring things to a halt, so testing them is the key step to do first. One weak or failed cell in one battery can cause what you describe. Have you located the closest Ryobi service center to you? My batteries have had 350 charges over 47 months and work pretty much like new. One battery was replaced at 11 months due to a weak cell. I did the testing and change myself even though the nearest service center is a mile and a half away. Do you have a neighbor who could help you with the process? It's a bit involved, but anyone with the manual and some basic tools can do it. I took my batteries to a local battery shop for testing as I didn't have the test tool for that.

[@jfrye6057]

You don't really need a dolly to support the battery tray when its pulled out as shown in the owner's manual. My neighbor pulls his out just far enough to clear the mower frame and supports the outer end on a support to hold that end up. I pulled the tray, which slides on nylon slides, charged the batteries with a 12 volt automotive charger, and took them to a local battery shop for load testing. They even took my failed battery in for recycling. The shop could have also done the charging, but it would have taken longer. Note that load testing of these deep cycle batteries is different than CCA tests for car starter batteries.Once you've done it, it's not that bad of a task, just a bit time consuming.

[@jfrye6057]

BTW, I'm 75 and can do this battery maintenance.

[@jfrye2475]

Julie: At the age of your batteries, I'm suspicious you may only need to replace one. My neighbor has one of these with over 300 hours on it and he just had to replace one battery that would not hold under a load test. I'm guessing you don't have anywhere near that much use on yours even though you bought it in 2017. Mine has 130 hours of run time. We bought ours in late 2018 and both have replaced one of the four batteries in our mowers. How many hours are on your hour meter and did it ever reset on its own? Mine has done that once and my neighbor's has done it twice. Has the mower always been plugged into the charger when not in use including all winter?

[@triprovoked508]

I've had mine for about 4 years. So nice not dealing with gas and oil. Could never go back to petro.

[@AskDIYDad]

Agreed. Cost of entry is pretty high but it's been nice not smelling of gasoline/oil after mowing or knowing that if I accidentally left it in the backyard working on landscaping, I'm not going to tick off my neighbors firing it up after dark to drive back to the front.

[@xxrecreateno1usmcxx]

Where do you store this? Would storing this in the shed in the winter ruin the batteries?

[@AskDIYDad]

Depending on climate…? I stored mine on the charger all winter letting it work like a battery tender. That worked for me.. but There are a few others on here that reply to the comments on this video that might be able to give you a more informed answer..

[@jfrye2475]

Ryobi says to store the mower plugged into the charger as the charger monitors the charge level and only charges (& uses electricity) when the pack voltage falls below 49-50 volts. Ryobi also specifies 32 degrees F as a minimum temperature, but since the pack is kept fully charged by the system, it can survive short sub freezing temps during storage (mine has n my unheated garage).

[@kingkon164]

How low does it cut?

[@AskDIYDad]

With the deck in it's lowest position the blade is 2" from my garage floor - so depending on the firmness of your soil, about that. If you are on soft ground and the mower can sink in a bit, potentially a little lower Highest position puts the blade about 5 1/4" from my garage floor.

[@cottontop9276]

How fast will it go, top speed?

[@AskDIYDad]

According to google - 8mph forward, 3mph reverse

[@VanillaGorilla502]

I might of missed it in the video. But how long do you get on a charge?

[@AskDIYDad]

Depends on use but the average rating on the lower capacity model (which mine is) seems to be that there is enough charge to cut about 2 acres. I cut 1/3 acre and the gauge doesn’t usually move much off full.

[@jfrye6057]

I also have the 75 ahr. RM480e model. I have actually mowed a few times for over two hours before the system shut the deck motors off. Two acres seems a stretch as turning at the end of a pass eats up time. The over two hour mows I did were a tad over 26,000 sq.ft. of lawn. Lots of tuning and mowing around obstacles.

[@jfrye6057]

Today, I mowed a third of an acre, used one bar on the BLM, used 4% of the charge, and used 1.3 volts by the meter. The mower has almost 130 hours of run time and nearly 350 charge cycles on the batteries

[@justinf1997]

Good video! I wanted to add something about that squeaking in the steering. Mine developed that as well as having the steering wheel flop about a good bit. I found out the little plastic bushing that goes around the steering shaft and into the frame piece had worked its way out. I pressed it back in and it has been fine ever since. You have to take off the steering column cover but it's not hard at all to get to. Hope this helps!

[@NeoNoggie]

oh shoot I've been having this problem and havent really tried to troubleshoot it because I am lazy; gonna check this out tomorrow and see if thats it!

[@wyawn]

How much does this mower weigh?

[@jfrye6057]

The RM480e weighs 600 pounds and the RM480ex weighs 700 pounds.

[@silaslongshot941]

Sounds like your battery bank has at least one 'tired' battery. You'll have to pull out your battery tray and separately test all 4 to find the one that's pulling all the rest down. Or just wait another season and replace all of 'em.

[@jfrye6057]

Yes, one of the four batteries with one failing cell can bring things to a halt. I know of two RM480s having this issue being restored to running like new by replacing the one bad battery. Pull the battery tray per the instructions in the manual, fully charge them with a 12 volt automotive style charger, and load test them. I took mine to a local battery shop to be tested with a commercial battery tester. No charge and the tests took only minutes.

[@cra2cra226]

It has two pedals? I had a ride-on that only had the accelerator. If you took your foot off slowly, it decelerated. If you took your foot all the way off, it stopped. No mixing up pedals for the little 'uns. I wonder why they felt they needed two on this one.

[@AskDIYDad]

I suspect it's a safety thing primarily. In order to put it into reverse from forward you have to depress the brake, and the brake has a "parking brake" locking feature that allows you to lock the wheels and avoid the thing rolling. Neither of those you would have with a single-pedal layout.

[@jfrye6057]

If I take my foot off of the accelerator, the mower will stop. I can modulate the speed as slow as needed. It will creep so slowly, I can count the tire lugs as the wheels rotate. The brakes work very well if going down hill and also as a parking brake on inclines. Doesn't your car have at least two pedals? The two pedals on my mower work just like on my car, no real learning curve.

[@sohrubjoshi5189]

How is it if you’ve an uneven yard ?

[@jfrye6057]

Define "rough". The seat is sprung, but the operator's weight will have an effect on the ride. I weigh 230 pounds and the springs can bottom out on really rough surfaces.

[@joanbarber5384]

You can cover thing that makes a beep with duct tape to lower the sound. Saw it on a video today. Lol