We are frequently hauling around garden soil, firewood, building materials, mulch, bags of feed, etc. There isn’t much of our property that is flat ground, so I’ve been looking into either converting a regular wheelbarrow into a battery powered version (check YouTube) or buying some sort of small elecric utility vehicle like a Llama truck. The algorithms put a video of this Mellif 40-volt battery powered wheelbarrow in my feed, and I decided to give it a try. It runs off of two 20-volt DeWalt batteries, which I already have. They make a version for Milwaukee M18 batteries too.
Key Features
- Motor & Speeds: Equipped with a 300W brushless motor, it offers three forward speeds (2.5, 3.5, and 5 km/h) and a low-speed reverse.
- Capacity & Dumping: Hauls up to 661 lbs (300 kg) and features an intelligent, spring-assisted dump lever.
- Safety & Control: Includes intelligent slope descent control for safe, automatic braking on downhills and a max climbing angle of 15°.
- Convenience: Built-in LED headlight, horn, battery level indicator, and 10-inch pneumatic anti-slip tires.
Here are some pictures from one of our initial tests hauling soil to fill up raised garden beds:
Mellif Tools is selling this wheelbarrow for DeWalt batteries and the Milwaukee battery powered version for $630 with free shipping (including returns). It currently comes with a 5-year warranty and 90 day risk-free trial. I think that’s a pretty decent price and warranty, especially compared to some other competitors. They were offering a significant discount when I bought it which brought the price down to about $535.
I did look at battery powered wheelbarrow kits on Amazon to compare it financially. When I factored in the cost of a new wheelbarrow, the motor kit, a lifepo4 or lead acid battery, and my time putting it together, it didn’t make sense to go the DIY route for me. There are lots of tutorials on YouTube though if you’re so inclined.
I really appreciate how gradual the throttle response is. Instead of an abrupt start or stop when giving it full throttle or letting off the throttle, it is nice and gradual…works great. When going up a hill it climbs well, although I haven’t put anywhere close to its rated max of 660 lbs. When going down hill it does a good job of maintaining the correct speed instead of speeding up. Also, when I let off the throttle going up or down a hill it will come to a gradual stop…very nice.
The stability and maneuverability are quite good with this design. I don’t have to lift up and balance the load on one front wheel like a traditional wheelbarrow design…just pull the throttle and walk. It’s so much easier when hauling heavy items.
I have seen YouTube videos of people building a holder or jig for moving multiple 4 x 8 ft. sheets of plywood, which is another use case for this wheelbarrow.
I think the bucket is kind of shallow. However, it does have areas at the top of the bucket to accept 1 x 2 inch wood or metal if you want add height to the bucket. I will definitely build something out of cedar on 2 sides and the back of the bucket for added hauling capacity.
It does come partially assembled, but you’ll need to put the 3 wheels on, attach the dump handle and mount the handle bars. There is a YouTube assembly video that is much better than the incomplete paper instructions, here is the link https://youtu.be/x037hYx52nc?is=tDDh9HQDA02-C6CF
My only real criticism so far is the way it was packaged for shipping. The box has no side hand cutouts for lifting, which makes an already heavy and large box very difficult to move around. Also, most of the weight of the product is in the axle and motor, which should have been strapped down to a rudimentary support built inside the box. Once the box gets compromised during shipping that whole assembly will be like a loose cannon. Fortunately, the worst that happened to our shipment was some lost nuts and bolts, but the bottom of the box was very damaged…probably from the axle and motor not being secured well enough given their weight.
Mellif product support appears to be only email based, but they were responsive in getting a new small parts box shipped to us. Unfortunately, the small parts box is shipped from China and that will take 8-15 days. I went ahead and used nuts and bolts that I keep on hand in order to get the wheelbarrow assembled while I wait on their replacement parts. They also credited me $10 back to my card for my trouble.
I suspect this will probably become our go to wheelbarrow out of the 3 we currently have. It’s ease of use on sloping ground is much needed help keeping my body from tiring out prematurely. Nobody’s getting younger, right?