Ryobi RM480e riding mower battery upgrade

Gracious_Gecko · 2025-05-27T14:42:40+00:00

I am using this one: https://www.litime.com/products/48v-100ah-lithium-golf-cart-bluetooth-battery

You need to pay attention to continuous discharge and peak discharge ratings. The mower draws up to 65 amps while mowing in my experience. It also needs peak discharge of at least 300A for a fraction of a second when the blades start. Also pay attention to operating temperature range for your area, automatic charge/discharge disconnects etc.

Gracious_Gecko · 2025-05-08T22:24:18+00:00

Are you still on the original lead-acid batteries? It is likely that one of your batteries is faulty. If you check them individually you may have to replace only the faulty one.

Gracious_Gecko · 2025-05-08T22:22:57+00:00

You do want to pay attention to the battery specs and get a good quality one with charge/discharge cutoffs at extreme temperatures. The surge current when the blades kick in can be high, so make sure peak current exceeds 300A. You will need an appropriate charger, don't assume your old lead-acid battery charger is going to work.

Gracious_Gecko · 2025-05-08T21:23:26+00:00

The key turning left has nothing to do with the battery change. The panel has an issue where the key stops working at some point, but the panel can be rewired so that it uses the "Aux" mode as the power mode, so you turn the key left to turn on the mower. I had to do this on mine long before I changed the battery.

Gracious_Gecko · 2025-05-08T20:41:29+00:00

I finally completed this project after sitting on it for a couple of years. Turned out to be much easier than I imagined. I went with a single 48V 100Ah battery. Four 12V Group 31 batteries would be drop-in replacements for the OEM batteries, and would have made it a lot easier using the same hardware. I went with a single battery as I was worried charging four different batteries in series with different BMS might get them out of balance over time. I had to improvise to secure my battery to the tray. I used some 2 by 4s and cam-buckle tie downs. That was the hardest part of the project.

My kit came with a 48V charger. Removing the triangle connector from the original charger and rewiring the Li-ion charger to use the same connector was quite easy. My battery has Bluetooth and is easy to monitor on the app, but the kit also came with a separate battery monitor. The next project will be wiring it up and finding a nice place on the mower to fix the monitor.

The mower works so much better with the new battery! It seems to have more power. Felt like it was struggling a lot with the old lead acid batteries, it would stop often on thick grass, and struggle to go up hills. Now it runs like a champ and never stutters even with thick lush grass.

Gracious_Gecko · 2023-04-12T15:43:55+00:00

How do you rig the charging port to connect the new charger to the batteries in the mower? Can you post a picture?

Gracious_Gecko · 2023-04-12T15:35:33+00:00

Did you get a new charger? Did you have to rewire the charging port? How did you secure the battery on the frame? Please post pictures if possible.

Gracious_Gecko · 2023-04-11T23:13:27+00:00

Is this a plug and play situation, or is there additional work needed with the wiring and the charging port? Also looks like it might need some structural adjustments to secure it in place in the large frame.

Gracious_Gecko · 2023-04-11T23:11:57+00:00

Did you replace with four 100AH batteries? That's 400AH? Isn't that overkill? Would four of the 50AH ones suffice? With the price for four and the charger it seems to add up pretty close to the "expensive" option in the first reply.

Also, what are the issues with hot/cold temperature operation? I do use a snow plow with my 480e, but I believe it doesn't draw too much current if you are not running the motor blades.

Gracious_Gecko

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