Last year, we looked at ride-on mowers and lawn tractors, and ultimately decided that the petrol and diesel models that were available at the time were not for us. It’s amazing how much can change in a year because we were recently contacted by Charlies Stores and asked if we’d like to try out and review Stiga’s newest battery-operated garden tractor. We were quick to accept the opportunity and are pleased to share our in-depth Stiga e-Ride C500 review.
In a nutshell, we were blown away by the incredible battery life, quiet operation, speed and overall performance of this ride-on mower. There’s a lot to like about it, especially if you’re an environmentally-conscious gardener. We put this machine through its paces across our smallholding, tackling our manicured front lawn and field.
In terms of running costs, the numbers are really impressive too. We recharged the battery from one bar (under 20%) and according to our Eve Energy smart plug we consumed just under 140Wh (0.14kWh) to fully recharge the battery. We recharged it on a sunny day, so our solar PV system did the job for us. But even without solar assistance, based on our current tariff, that means that a full battery recharge would cost around 2p (£0.02).
If you’d like more information about the Stiga e-Ride C500, you can visit Stiga’s official web page or visit Charlie’s Stores to see if they sell in your area.
You will need to save a whole lot on running costs to offset the +£3k additional capital to layout over the more environmentally damaging option.????
That’s true, but at some stage the price of these units will drop and I think it’s time that petrol and diesel gardening power tools are replaced with battery operated varieties. I think that an average ride-on mower for a 1000sqm cutting area will consume over 5 litres of petrol per session – that’s 150 litres over a typical lawn cutting season. Too much in my opinion. If you then have a trimmer, chainsaw and pole saw that’s also petrol, that makes things even worse.
Nice review, thank you, there isn’t much out there on electric ride on mowers so I’m sure it will be well viewed. I’m hoping to purchase one as part of a farm restructuring grant, so I certainly appreciated it.
How long, time wise, did it take you to cover the 1000m2 you cut?
Can you also tell me if your thoughts on the batteries in cold weather are your own opinion or that of the manufacturer?
Many thanks.
Morning Eddy. We’re hoping to get some good viewing numbers on this video.
In reply to your questions, it took about 10-15 to get the manicured lawn done, because of all the obstacles. The field took around 15-20 minutes. With our push mower, the manicured lawn takes 35 minutes, and the field takes over an hour. The time savings are significant.
Mulching consumes more battery than collecting the clippings.
Batteries and the cold: this is our experience and advice we’ve received from other manufacturers for other battery equipment we have, and the representative from Charlie’s Stores said it’s better to store in a ‘warm’ place over winter to protect the batteries. I will ask Stiga what their stance is and post any replies here.
Is the battery pack removable by any chance? I’m looking at the Al-Ko battery ride-on so I will ask the question of them as I would hate to compromise the batteries in a -20c cold snap as is common over here.
Because the machine we had was a loan, we didn’t want to open the battery compartment which is secured by bolts. You can definitely remove these bolts, and from photos I’ve seen on Stiga’s website, it does appear that you will be able to remove the battery pack.
Having read a bit more I don’t think there is much to worry about with Li-ion batteries in the cold, otherwise we would have a lot of new electric car owners very peed off 🙂 Although there is a drop of in performance below 0c and you probably shouldn’t charge at such low temperatures.
Lead acid on the other hand will suffer in the cold, which is why more car batteries are sold in the winter 🙂
There’s a lot more to batteries than I ever suspected, so I’m looking into this more because I really want to find out more about batteries. I agree with you about EV owners, but there are a lot of stories out there about batteries not being stable and not fully recharging when things are cold.
Not available in Canada. RYOBI sells for $4000 CDN, has a 48 volt, 75 aHR lead acid battery. That price is about $1500 CDN more than a conventional riding mower. The lead acid battery sits over the rear wheels and provides exceptional traction on my hilly half acre when pulling a loaded garden trailer. Doesn’t have a grass clippings bagger accessory. Also has a snow plow accessory. The cruise control is a handy feature. Has a USB port for powering a cell phone etc.
Very interesting Jasper. Thanks for sharing. I guess a snow plough would be standard issue for Canada.
Snow removal is a fairly regular task from December till early March. How ever a snow blower or as some call it, a snow thrower is more practical then a snow plow. One needs a lot of traction when allowing snow, especially when the temperature is close to the freezing point.
Your energy consumption is a little out; it’s got a 2kWh battery so from 20% to full would be about 1.6kWh which on something like Octopus Go in the cheap zone would be around 8p to charge and on a ‘normal’ tariff around 24p.
We bought a c500 e-ride last year but have had a very significant problem with it. The key needs the strength of Hercules to turn it on. It has been back to the dealer and it took them almost six months to source a new key assembly, but the new one is as bad as the old. Suggests a design fault to me?
Currently we are having to use an adjustable spanner to give the extra leverage needed just to turn the thing on. As it is primarily for use by my 82yr old father-in-law it is causing him considerable problems and I’m wondering how long before the key assembly gives up altogether.
The main dealer here has been fairly useless, as has tech support at Stiga in Plymouth.
That doesn’t sound at all good Keith. Are you referring to the plastic key that acts as the ignition?
Yes, the plastic key. We tried filing a couple of millimeters off the key as suggested, but unfortunately it made no difference.
I’ve just spoken to Stiga Keith, and the good news is that there’s a solution. You will need to visit your local Stiga warranty dealer to get the work carried out. A spare part will need to be ordered and fitted under warranty but Stiga have assured me that it’s quite a simple fix on the whole.
If the service dealer needs some guidance on where to find the info for the fix, they can speak to Simon Hill or Curtis Powell at Stiga, both of which are based at Plymouth.
Let us know how you come along.
That is excellent news Mars, thank you so much. We have contacted the service agent and will update you here whatever the outcome is.
Another little thing we’ve discovered, that I think is worth telling people about, is that the diagram in the manual which shows the drive disengage lever Fig 12.H, (required to push the mower along in the event of battery failure etc.), is not where it is shown in the manual. It is, in fact on the opposite side pointing in the opposite direction. There is a small lever with a red plastic grip, very difficult to get to, you need to get down on the ground and then get at it from underneath, but it does disengage the drive. When I next use the mower I’ll take a picture and post it here.
I can’t understand why such an important control if hidden away in an almost inaccessible position!
Great news Mars, the service agent contacted Curtis Powell at Stiga and using the instructions he provided a modification was made to the lock mechanism and I can now report it is easy to turn off and on, all working perfectly
The dealer also told us that he has sold two more c500 e-Rides locally (Isle of WIght) and that the ignition keys on those were normal.
Thank you so much for your help, I don’t believe without your intervention that the problem would have been solved.
That’s brilliant Keith. I’m really pleased that you’ve managed to get this matter resolved, and we’re happy that we were able to help. I must admit that the team at Stiga have always been very helpful and responsive, and I’m just glad that they had a solution and that your e-Ride is working again as it should.
If all goes according to plan, we should be getting the new Stiga Swift battery rider next week to review, which should be fun.
Ours is the same. The key became almost impossible to turn by hand. I approached our local stiga agent for warranty advice and stiga came back saying cut a couple of mm off the end of the key. This made it slightly better but still hard to turn and they must have a better solution. The front axle also seem very easy to get bent out of alignment but orne the same with the petrol version my father in law has. These are minor points really as apart from that it’s great but for such an expensive machine it’s a pitty to have these issues.
I own a Stiga C500 and I had the key problem too which much better after the replacement.
I have a more serious problem though as the mower keeps cutting out after about 30 mins of use lighting up all the warning lights. I think the battery is getting too hot. My garden does slope a bit but I wouldn’t have thought it should cause the machine to overheat.
Our garden has a considerable slope and we haven’t experienced any such problems Simon
My stiga C500 has the same key problem too. It’s been looked at by the dealer where I bought it and they managed to fix it but after a while it’s got very stiff again. Also, has anyone experienced error lights 1,2 and 5 appear?
I just had this issue with my C500 with warning lights 1,2 and 5 showing. The main controller was replaced under warranty and the software has also been updated. Hill climbing performance is not as good and it severely speed limits at times now. The conversation with stiga continues.
My advice is to avoid this mower at all costs. I’ve had the dubious “pleasure” of owning one for two years and it’s been in for warranty work about 5 times – for the key problem but much more seriously for the cutting out issue.
The dealer has replaced the main controller, updated software and is now replacing the main drive unit BUT they have told me that it won’t work as my lawn is too hilly and recommended I buy a new petrol ride on.
The advert says something like “all the power of a petrol ride on” but it’s not even close and they acknowledge that by saying I need to buy a petrol one.
Guess what they offer me on trade in – £1,000 after I paid £4,000 2 years ago!
Unless your lawn is billiard table smooth and flat I recommend you avoid this mower at all costs – I will have lost over £3,000 and I don’t feel I have any alternative but buy a new mower.
I’ve had a ton of issues with this mower. I had the key issue, which was fixed under warranty, but I now have all five lights flashing constantly, and the mower beeping, when I’m cutting, for no apparent reason. And the range? Quoted as 3500m2 which is probably okay if you havge no grass! if your grass is more than an inch long, or it’s slightly damp, I get half that range and have to take two days to cut whilst it’s charging.
I mostly like this mower even though I’ve had the issue with the key and drive unit. I cut a fairly large and rough area and it copes pretty well. There are thermal cutouts of the blades and battery occasionally but TBH I know when I’m pushing at it’s limits. The main issue I have remaining is that the drive unit now cuts power severly when climbing hills but apparently this is a parameter that can be unset in the controller. Finding a local dealer to actually do that is a challenge. My biggest gripe with this tractor is actually that the steering linkages are badly designed and I frequently knock the wheels out of alignment but this is a comon part with some of the petrol machines and not a fault of the e-machine itself.
A problematic machine, with blades often stopping for no reason. A software update meant that it slowed to 1/3 speed when going up a slope. Often fails to charge fully, despite replacing charger. Would not recommend.
Got one of these fall 2021 and it’s yet to let me down. Performs flawlessly and the running costs are indeed a welcome change.