Greenworks launches new mowers

Greenworks launched its latest in battery-powered equipment with its line of Lithium Ion zero-turn mowers during an event at Mooresville Golf Club, near the company’s North American headquarters in Mooresville, N.C. 

The push for more power and longer battery life comes as a result of industry trends showing an increase in the use of battery-powered equipment. 

Juli Denike, market insights manager at Greenworks, said there has been an uptick in battery-powered equipment for the last several years. Greenworks has research that shows a 92 percent growth for battery-powered equipment. 

The two newest pieces of Greenworks equipment, the Lithium Z 82V GZ 60R Ride-On Mower and the 82V GZ 48S Stand-On Mower, were developed to be true gas replacements, said Kevin Gillis, vice president of product development at Greenworks. 

Because the industry has seen more restrictions lately in terms of emissions and noise, the company sees its battery equipment as a workaround to those problems. “500 cities have a backpack blower ban,” said Tony Marchese, director of independent retail at Greenworks. “That number is up about 250 since October.” Greenworks offers a line of several backpack blowers to fit the needs of golf course superintendents. The battery pack is located in the backpack to take the weight off the equipment. 

Both the 82V ride-on mower and 82V stand-on mower are powered by an 82-volt 13.8kW lithium-ion battery and feature three 1.5kW brushless blade motors and two 1.7kW brushless drive motors. Battery voltage can be compared to an engine’s horsepower. 

After a full charge, which takes approximately 10 hours, the ride-on ZTR is capable of up to five hours of cutting time. The stand-on will cut for six hours on a full charge which also takes 10 hours to fully charge. 

Greenworks also announced smart batteries with a GPS option will soon be available for customers. The batteries will be able to communicate diagnostics with the user through an app and intuitively adjust machine performance. 

“The battery will communicate with each part of the mower,” said Corey Fisher, engineering manager of mowers and vehicles at Greenworks. “So if one side of the mower needs more power, the battery will tell that blade to give more, not slow down.”

The GPS integration will be available as an add-on for larger products and vehicles. 

The company is also introducing a six-pack battery charger. Currently, operators can only charge up to two batteries at a time. 

Lauren Rathmell is the assistant editor of GCI’s sister publication, Lawn & Landscape.