As you know (if you read G Style Magazine regularly that is) I’ve been in the midst reviewing the Troy-Bilt TB30 E Ride-On Mower. This mowing season I’ve exclusively used this as my primary way to cut the grass on my front and backyard. This is probably about the half-way point and honestly I don’t really want to give this mower back! Yes you hear that Troy-Bilt, I don’t want to give it up haha!
What I Like Most…
The things that impresses me most with the TB30 E, is the ease of use. As mentioned in my first cut review, I declined to have the gentleman who dropped off the mower show me how to use it. It was something I wanted to see if I could figure it out myself as someone who maybe might be buying their first ride-on mower would end up doing. The Troy-Bilt TB30 is very approachable in its operation. Then when you factor in that this is an all-electric machine, many of the repair/maintenance item you may have with a gas-powered one aren’t present. From the time you sit down on the TB30 E, you can learn and be ready to get cutting in 30-60 seconds really. It is all very easy to use.
The next thing I like with this mower is the operation time. Troy-Bilt claims on a charge that you should be able to mow for about an hour or up to an acre on a full charge. Now while this is dependent on the amount and size grass accumulation you need to work through; with a maintained yard and weekly or bi-weekly cuts this proves true. The combination of yards is about just under a half an acre. From a full 100% charged battery, when I’m down with the cutting, I have roughly 50% left. On many of my completed cuts I’ve been anywhere from 48%-51% remaining power, so this has been pretty accurate so far. When you combine this with the being able to simply plug it in to charger after, I’ve never had the feeling that I wouldn’t have enough power to finish a cut. And when it comes to power fade, so far I’ve experienced none. I’ve taken the mower down to its last bit of juice and up until the moment when it had no power, it cut just the same as if it was 100%.
Some Struggles as Well
So while I generally love this mower, there have been a few struggles while using this mower. I will admit though, that many of these aren’t exclusively the fault of Troy-Bilt or the mower, but something to think about if you find yourself in the same situations. My first struggle is because of my home. My home lacks any external outlets and my shed doesn’t have power. Ideally you would finish your cutting, drive it back to your shed and plug it in there for charging. If you have power to your storage location, you might just plug it into an external outlet that could be on your home. However if you like this as well like I do, you’ll find that you’ll be running a line power cable from the inside of your home to the location of the mower and powering it this way. I tend to finish my cutting and if the weather is good, I plug it up just outside my deck for a few hours to charge back to 100% and then drive it back into my shed. But if the weather isn’t good, you’ll have to return it back to the shed uncharged, which could make for less time to mower before you need to charger it on that next cutting session. Again this isn’t the fault of the TB30 E, but something you should think about based on the layout of your home. While an all electric mower is great, this isn’t an issue you would face with a gas-powered model.
Another issue is traction. Have some slopes in your cutting area? I find this can become problematic on hill inclines on soft areas. Experience a lot of rain, then this definitely can become a challenge. At certain angles I found myself sliding as the back wheel became stuck at some points that were softer than the rest of the grass. Which brought me to another challenge, this mower is heavy! Don’t find yourself on the slant section of your yards and have to push this thing up the hill some because of a sliding wheel. Talk about a workout! I would love to see more traction in the tires in an event like this one, but again never the fault of the TB30 E. This is an observation for anyone who might be think of leveling up from a push mower to a ride on. While you definitely will be able to push that push mower up a soft patch of grass/muddy area, a ride-on could be a whole different story.
Overall Opinion, Experience, and What’s next
My mowing season this year has been a wonderful experience! Despite a few challenges, the Troy-Bilt TB30 E has cut my cutting time in half and made it super easy to do. Operation is easy to grasp and without the hassle of gas-powered equalivent, this makes the TB30 E a no fuss, no mess kind of experience. One I’m not looking forward to ending.
Next on the agenda as we head into the fall (Jeez summer already almost over!), is to truly test out the mulching capabilities of the TB30 E. Any ride-on mower I would want to give my seal of approval on would have to effectively be able to mulch those fall leaves as they drop. I’m definitely not looking forward to racking, scooping, air blowing the amounts that fall from the trees by my home. Being able to mulch them as they fall, will be the icy on the cake. So stay tuned for next and last review post as we revisit the TB30 E during the fall and end of the cutting season. Will it be just as useful mulching some grass.