Cordless mower to electric mower?

Hi,

Does anyone know if a cordless mower (24 volt Homelite) can be converted into a corded (electric plug in) mower?

Thanks,

Pat

 

Anything is possible but not necessarily practical. You would need to figure out the actual amperage draw of the motor and then find a properly sized 120 volt to 24 volt transformer plus a rectifier to convert the voltage to DC.

 

My question is why would you want to? I have had my Black & Decker battery mower for almost fifteen years and it is still going strong. I wouldn't trade it for a corded model if you paid me.

 

I finally got tired of my gas trimmer needing repair every time I needed to use it, so hung it in the shed and picked up a corded model, B&D. Furd, nice to hear a battery unit doing well, but battery powered tools haven't been as kind to me. I love them since they eliminate the cord, but for a trimmer that I can plug in to any side of my house, the majority of my trimming has been much easier.

As for power, I shopped for the biggest I could find. B&D ranged from 6 amps to 7.2. The 6 didn't look like it would scare some of my weeds so I went for the 7.2 and it has been great. Slightly heavier line as well. But convert that power to 24 volts and you would need 36 amps, if my math is correct.

The best part was the price, like $50 or $60 (can't remember) which is less than one repair on my gas machine. And it will start every time, even for the wife.

Bud

 

Why do you want to convert your battery powered mower?

I have a old Homelite 24 volt cordless with a steel deck and a pretty new Black & Decker corded model made mostly from plastic and I like the corded model much better. The cord is not much of a hassle and I love the much lighter weight. If my cordless were a modern lithium powered one I might feel differently but then it's cost would have been several hundred dollars more.

 

As to why convert?

This is an old mower that was given to me. I assume the batteries are dead; and I was not given the charger. After pricing the charger, it doesn't seem worth buying when I'm not sure of the condition of the engine or batteries.

I've had an electric mower in the past and after a few cuts I did not find the cord to be a major challenge. I also like the idea of not having the batteries on constant charge.

 

Bud, I know exactly what you mean about battery-operated tools not lasting. The ONLY battery operated items that I have been completely successful with are Sonicare toothbrushes (I'm on my second one in almost thirty years) and my lawnmower. My B & D industrial drill was great for several years but the replacement batteries have been a bitter disappointment.

Speaking of string trimmers, I have an original Weedeater model 503 (corded) that I bought while still married (over thirty years ago) and if the stupid "tap and go" head hadn't failed recently it would still be going strong. Unfortunately I can't get a replacement head.

As for the lawnmower, I can't believe it has lasted this long. It must be close to fifteen years old and still going strong. I finally got a new blade for it and man, what a difference! The underside of the plastic deck is broken in a couple of places but it still cuts the grass even when I let it go to the point of being a foot high.

Patrick, in your case I see your point. Replacement batteries will cost you anywhere from $80 to $120 depending on where you get them and if they also need to be shipped. The lack of the charger is definitely a minus. However, as far as leaving the batteries on charge at all time when not in use...I don't as a rule leave my batteries on charge more than a few days after mowing and often not even at all. I find that when I actually do mow I can get two mowings from a single charge without any problem. I often leave it in a partially discharged state (a real no-no) and it has never been a problem. As I stated before, I am really surprised it has lasted this long.

 

You're reasoning does not make sense. You want to convert a cordless mower to corded because you don't have a charger???? If someone gives you a car and it's out of gas do you convert it to steam power? Buy a new mower or get a battery and charger for the one you have unless you have a serious desire to reinvent the wheel.

 

Pilot, his reasoning DOES make sense. He was given an old mower, no cost to him. He did not get the charger. He looked into buying a charger and decided the cost was too high without knowing the condition of the batteries or the motor in the machine. He didn't state the cost of the charger but being a proprietary unit it could easily have been upwards of $50. Add in the two batteries at maybe $40 each and you could have $130 invested and find out the motor is shot. Then what?

You know, I can buy a new motor for my mower, the cost is about $175, but I can't buy the brushes. If the batteries finally crap out I'll buy a new set of batteries but if the motor goes the whole machine is junk.

Oh, I just checked and I can't even buy the charger for my mower and if I buy the batteries from E-parts the cost is about $140.

 

Thanks for all the input. Seeing how I didn't really need the mower, and the conversion looked like it would be more of a hassle than it was worth, I decided to just recycle the mower.

 

Furd, you explained how expensive it is to simply repair the mower. How does buying a AC motor, switch, rewiring the machine and possibly needing new blade attachment hardware make sense? I don't see how converting it to a totally different source of power is any less expensive or less hassle.

 

Pilot, I don't mean to be snide but did you even read the initial post? He put no parameters on how he was going to do the conversion, for all we know he WAS asking essentially what Goldstar posted in the first response.

IF he were able to get a large enough (watt rating) 120 to 25 volt transformer for a low price AND some suitable rectifier diodes (or a bridge module) for a low price then making a DC supply to take the place of the batteries might make sense. Rectifiers, especially relatively low voltage (100 or 200 PRV) are pretty cheap on the surplus market and it is possible that a suitable transformer could also be had fairly cheaply.

I'll go out on a limb and state that it IS possible to make a cheap 24 volt power supply for maybe fifty bucks, maybe less if you are lucky in finding parts. IF the rest of the mower was in decent shape, something we DON'T know, it could be possible to have a good mower for only that cost of parts for the power supply. Heck, if I could find a suitable transformer I know I could get the rectifiers for just a few bucks and under the same circumstances I would probably make the change.

I will, however, concede that changing the motor, new blade adapter, new power switch, safety deadman switch, circuit breaker, braking system and all makes no sense whatsoever.

 

This actually sounds like a fun project. I've got a 24 volt mower I'm not crazy about and a lot of spare stuff lying around. I think I have the diodes or bridge rectifiers lying around to convert AC to DC. I got excited when I found a bigish transformer in the shop but it's only 2:1. Not enough to get me down to 24 volts. Gotta do some more digging.

 

I don't know if this will work but I'll try.

Popular Science - Google Books

Well, it doesn't go to the page but I guess you can do that. It is page 110 and it is a DIY story by a guy that used an old prop pitch motor to make a battery powered mower. Pretty interesting.


I have a long term project (some 30 years so far ) to convert a Sears 26 inch riding mower to electric. Biggest hold up right now is I need to clean out the garage so I have room to work. I have a 2 hp motor for the deck and a 1/2 hp motor for motive power with a three-speed transaxle. It does move with a 24 volt battery charger and I need to buy a couple of deep cycle batteries and get the steering wheel/shaft set up and then I can take it outside for a test.