In Part 2 yesterday we reviewed many of the features of the 2009 Solaris lawn mower with the Terra Phase brushless motor.

Today we look at the batteries.

As mentioned previously, the batteries are placed inside the housing in the center of the mower. The battery cover has a simple locking mechanism so it remains closed when you want it closed as shown in the picture below.

The batteries are basically the same sealed lead acid batteries (standard in the industry), just in a different housing. The picture below shows the 2008 model’s battery housing on the right vs that for the 2009 Solaris on the left.

Immediately one notices that for the 2009 battery the absence of the large handle. That is because the two batteries can be recharged when they remain placed inside the battery tray which is in on top of the center of the mower. Below is a picture of the batteries in place within the battery tray. Notice the green starter key pictured in place for the mower to become operational. When not in use, you would simple pull or push (as indicated by the two sided arrow in the picture below) to loosen the starter key.

There is no longer the need to take them out of the mower, which is a very nice feature for those who use the optional Solar charging station within say a shed containing the mower or who prefer to recharge the batteries by plugging it into an electrical outlet in the garage when sufficient room to also contain the mower. 

The above picture shows the green starter key having been removed to allow the on-board recharging with the plug from the rapid charger (said to charge the batteries in 4 to 5 hours) being used to recharge the batteries with the provided battery charger which is shown in the picture below.

As one would expect, the red LED light within the battery charger seen in the lower right area within the picture below indicates charging in progress while a green LED light indicating ‘trickle charging, i.e. batteries are already fully charged and are simply receiving minimal amounts of charge as needed. 

This same approach is used with the optional Solar charging station. Pictured below is the same solar charging adapter we acquired with our 2008 model on the right with the off-board charging cradle which comes with the 2009 Solaris on the left. This off-board charging cradle sits on top of the two batteries to be used when one needs to remove the batteries from the lawn mower to recharge them either by through the optional solar panel or by plugging directly into an electrical outlet. 

Tomorrow, the Terra Phase brushless motor and it’s efficiency.