Saltex Preview: John Deere

By Alistair October 16, 2019 18:12 Updated

John Deere is launching its first commercial electric battery powered walk-behind rotary mower at Saltex 2019 at the NEC in October.

The new PRO 43B not only produces zero emissions, but also offers intuitive handling, fast charging and a high level of operator comfort. It is designed to enable professional users to easily cut smaller grass areas and clean up edges in public spaces, without the disturbance and nuisance caused by noise and fumes.

Built around an aluminium mower deck with steel reinforcement and alloy wheels for extra durability and reliability, the PRO 43B has shown impressive cutting and bagging performance in pre-production field tests, says John Deere, with no compromise in performance compared with petrol engine driven mowers.

The 36V mower’s new Powerhead carries two rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and switches automatically to the second battery when the first one is empty. Charging capacity is 6Ah as standard, with a full electric charge taking two hours 20 minutes and providing up to 500m2 mowing capacity. A spring-loaded battery release system adds to the ease of operation.

Cutting width of the PRO 43B is 43cm and there is a choice of seven cutting heights from 22 to 80mm, easily set by a central lever. The mower comes with a 45-litre capacity grass bagger that features a simple TurboStar ‘bag full’ indicator flag, and a height adjustable handlebar that can be folded for storage. Overall weight with an empty bagger is 32kg.

The new John Deere PRO 43B commercial battery mower will be sold with a two-year warranty (one year on the batteries), and will be available from UK and Irish dealers in 2020.