Saturday, February 24, 2007
New Batteries in Lawn-Boy 10122
In 1998 I got a Lawn-Boy 10122 24-volt cordless electric lawnmower. It hasn't been holding a charge, so I decided to replace its batteries. I'm posting this in case other people have similar mowers and want advice.
I think this is a great mower, but the manufacturer no longer makes or supports it. (It was also marketed under the Toro brand.) Its orphan status makes finding replacement batteries a challenge. After exchanging emails with the very helpful Kristi of Cell Energy Incorporated I learned that the mower takes four 6-volt, 12.0 AH (amp-hour) SLA (sealed lead-acid) batteries with F2 tabs. There's no reason to buy these batteries from Lawn-Boy; in fact, one authorized dealer had them for sale for $150 plus shipping. The total bill from CEI, including shipping and Kristi's personal attention, was less than $60.
Here are the old batteries in the mower. They're the light grey items to the upper right of the photo.
Removing the old batteries required pulling four screws in the cover, pulling two screws on a strap that holds the batteries in place, disconnecting two wires from the F2 tabs, and yanking hard. (Double-sided foam tape was under the batteries.)
Here's what the new batteries look like. I first tried to secure the four together using cable ties, but the batteries wouldn't fit well in their compartment. So I used duct tape.
Note that I used the terminal connectors from the old batteries on the new ones. The new batteries don't come with the connectors.
Here are the new batteries in their compartment. While I had the batteries out, I cleaned around inside the compartment. I also made note of the motor: it's a 24V GSE CPM-053, #93-3310.
While I had the mower apart, I cleaned its underside and sharpened the blade. Both were long overdue. There's a little rust on the underside, which I'll try to fix up later this summer.
I think this is a great mower, but the manufacturer no longer makes or supports it. (It was also marketed under the Toro brand.) Its orphan status makes finding replacement batteries a challenge. After exchanging emails with the very helpful Kristi of Cell Energy Incorporated I learned that the mower takes four 6-volt, 12.0 AH (amp-hour) SLA (sealed lead-acid) batteries with F2 tabs. There's no reason to buy these batteries from Lawn-Boy; in fact, one authorized dealer had them for sale for $150 plus shipping. The total bill from CEI, including shipping and Kristi's personal attention, was less than $60.
Here are the old batteries in the mower. They're the light grey items to the upper right of the photo.Removing the old batteries required pulling four screws in the cover, pulling two screws on a strap that holds the batteries in place, disconnecting two wires from the F2 tabs, and yanking hard. (Double-sided foam tape was under the batteries.)
Here's what the new batteries look like. I first tried to secure the four together using cable ties, but the batteries wouldn't fit well in their compartment. So I used duct tape.Note that I used the terminal connectors from the old batteries on the new ones. The new batteries don't come with the connectors.
Here are the new batteries in their compartment. While I had the batteries out, I cleaned around inside the compartment. I also made note of the motor: it's a 24V GSE CPM-053, #93-3310.
While I had the mower apart, I cleaned its underside and sharpened the blade. Both were long overdue. There's a little rust on the underside, which I'll try to fix up later this summer.
