Anyone have an electric lawn mower?


 
Timothy F. Lewis

Timothy F. Lewis

TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
I just found out my lawn guy died last January and I’m trying to figure out what kind of mower I should get. I’d kind of like an electric one, much less noisy, ecologically more responsible, all that jazz.
But, the question is do any of you folks have one and what do you think about them? Any ones to avoid? Does one stand out as being better than the rest? I am going to get quotes for service but, I’m pretty sure I won’t get the deal I got from my old guy so, I need to weigh the options. Let me know!
 
I have a battery-powered Echo push mower that I bought probably a decade ago but rarely use it (at the time I bought several Echo outdoor power equipment items and if I recall correctly it was enticing to buy the tool and battery bundled rather than just a spare battery). But I do regularly use a blower and trimmer and I have a combo unit for which I also have a hedge trimmer. I'm very impressed with them.

For battery push mowers, Consumer Reports rates Ryobi as the top two picks followed by a Snapper. Worx, Skill, Oregon, Black & Decker and Wen ranked low (though I didn't read why).

For battery self propelled mowers, they rate Greenworks, Ego, Ryobi as top picks. Though I suspect that some folks may not agree with CR's data.
 
I bought a Ryobi and love it. It's AWD, whisper quiet but it was not cheap. I paid like 700 at HD.
www.homedepot.com

RYOBI 40V HP Brushless Whisper Series 21. in Walk Behind Self-Propelled All Wheel Drive Mower - (2) 6.0 Ah Batteries & Charger RY401210 - The Home Depot

The RYOBI 40V HP 21 in. Whisper Series All Wheel Drive Multi-Blade Lawn Mower delivers the power of gas with cordless convenience. The premium HP brushless motor provides power, longer runtime, & a longer
www.homedepot.com


Next door neighbor bought a Hart from WM. It looks like it does a great job and alot cheaper, reviews look good.
www.protoolreviews.com

Hart 40V Brushless Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Review

If you're on the hunt for a budget-friendly battery mower, the sub-$400 Hart 40V Self-Propelled Lawn Mower should be on your list!
www.protoolreviews.com www.protoolreviews.com
 
The battery is the big item. I would think larger picture for the battery platform. Are there other tools like weed wacker, chainsaw, leaf blower that use the same battery as the mower. Some places have packages with multiple tools that sometimes make sense.
 
Yep. Battery is most important. If you're like me and have all types of battery tools (impact wrenches, grease gun, leaf blower, string trimmer, and on and on), it's always good to stay in your "eco system". For me, it's DeWalt. I rarely (maybe 3 or 4 times a season) use my walk behind Honda mower. It's a GREAT mower but......................I still have yet another piece of gas powered outdoor equipment that needs my attention every year not to mention fresh fuel and so on. So, at some point I too will be looking at an electric walk behind. But, it will likely be DeWalt.
As for Consumer's Reports. I take everything they publish with a HUGE grain of salt. REALLY HUGE. They claim they don't take ad $$$$ but what they don't disclose is who is paying off their Board of Directors.
I discovered this garbage years ago. I was looking at a new dishwasher. Oddly at the time, all the Kenmore products were made by Frigidaire. I even found 2 absolutely identical machines down to the nth degree. One Frigidaire and one branded Kenmore. CR rated the Frigidaire as "unacceptable" yet the VERY SAME Kenmore got their top ratings!
I was doing new construction at the time with my business partner. We were installing Kenmore appliances in all our new homes. I talked to our rep about this. He said "it's simple". Some of the staffers and higher ups at CR are actually big wigs with Sears. So, they always get the nod on appliances. Then and there I stopped putting any faith in CR and never will.
End of rant. Anyway pay attention to your battery ecosystem. If you don't have one yet and are planning on doing more battery equipment and tools just be sure you can use your batteries X Platform IOW, run your mower, your blower, your impact wrench, cordless vacuum, etc.
 
I subscribed to the print version of Consumer Reports faithfully back to the 70's and found them valuable. When the on line versions came out, the print versions got smaller and less detailed. You really needed both, so I opted for neither. For the times I need them, the library supplies me with either version. I now find neither to be very helpful. Most reviews are quite superficial.

Recently, my power washer died. Need to decide on gas or electric. No gas models were on the recommended list. Why? Because they had zero degree nozzles and CR deemed that unsafe. Not very helpful.
 
JSaus said:
I subscribed to the print version of Consumer Reports faithfully back to the 70's and found them valuable. When the on line versions came out, the print versions got smaller and less detailed. You really needed both, so I opted for neither. For the times I need them, the library supplies me with either version. I now find neither to be very helpful. Most reviews are quite superficial.

Recently, my power washer died. Need to decide on gas or electric. No gas models were on the recommended list. Why? Because they had zero degree nozzles and CR deemed that unsafe. Not very helpful.
Click to expand...
I bought some non descript brand gas power washer on sale at Sam's IDK maybe 6 years ago or more. Has a "Suzuki" vertical shaft engine. Was very cheap to buy. So far only complaint? Hate the hose. Stiff and unwieldly (I remember those days :D) Anyway I'll buy a Flexzilla hose for it and just continue using it til it dies then likely go buy another cheapie IIRC under $200.
 
The ONLY one you should consider is Ego. Don’t believe me? Go watch hours and hours of YouTube reviews. Everyone LOVES them. They are at the top or near in every imaginable metric. And they’ve been doing it longer than most. And can use the same batteries for snowblowers (my two coworkers both have and they are amazing!) as well as other implements. Good stuff. Damn good stuff.

I’m a Milwaukee fan. I don’t have their mower but may add one because a guy needs two battery mowers, yeah?

My dad has a DR mower and weed whacker and snowblower. You can find next to zero information on them, but the mower is good. Real good. Lasts a long time on one battery. The snowblower failed and doesn’t work anymore. The weed whacker? I don’t know, he had it in a box for over a year and I put it together last fall.
 
LMichaels said:
Yep. Battery is most important. If you're like me and have all types of battery tools (impact wrenches, grease gun, leaf blower, string trimmer, and on and on), it's always good to stay in your "eco system". For me, it's DeWalt. I rarely (maybe 3 or 4 times a season) use my walk behind Honda mower. It's a GREAT mower but......................I still have yet another piece of gas powered outdoor equipment that needs my attention every year not to mention fresh fuel and so on. So, at some point I too will be looking at an electric walk behind. But, it will likely be DeWalt.
As for Consumer's Reports. I take everything they publish with a HUGE grain of salt. REALLY HUGE. They claim they don't take ad $$$$ but what they don't disclose is who is paying off their Board of Directors.
I discovered this garbage years ago. I was looking at a new dishwasher. Oddly at the time, all the Kenmore products were made by Frigidaire. I even found 2 absolutely identical machines down to the nth degree. One Frigidaire and one branded Kenmore. CR rated the Frigidaire as "unacceptable" yet the VERY SAME Kenmore got their top ratings!
I was doing new construction at the time with my business partner. We were installing Kenmore appliances in all our new homes. I talked to our rep about this. He said "it's simple". Some of the staffers and higher ups at CR are actually big wigs with Sears. So, they always get the nod on appliances. Then and there I stopped putting any faith in CR and never will.
End of rant. Anyway pay attention to your battery ecosystem. If you don't have one yet and are planning on doing more battery equipment and tools just be sure you can use your batteries X Platform IOW, run your mower, your blower, your impact wrench, cordless vacuum, etc.
Click to expand...
That was a consideration too! I’ve got Dewalt chainsaw and pole saw with the 20volt batteries, I just don’t know anything about the mowers. I’ve liked the Dewalt tools I have but, I’m not as hard on them as I think I would be on the mower.
 
Timothy F. Lewis said:
That was a consideration too! I’ve got Dewalt chainsaw and pole saw with the 20volt batteries, I just don’t know anything about the mowers. I’ve liked the Dewalt tools I have but, I’m not as hard on them as I think I would be on the mower.
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I would have no hesitation is buying DeWalt mower. I trust the stuff they put out
 
Timothy F. Lewis said:
Well Larry, I’m more confident if you like the product! You don’t tend to mince words when you’ve used something.
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Oh, I have never used a DeWalt mower, but I had a DeWalt pole chainsaw (sold it), have DW impact wrenches, vacuum cleaner, shop fan, battery grease gun, string trimmer and blower. They get amazing power from those 20v batteries some how. I like them all. I just have had such good luck with the brand I would have no issues buying one (mower)
 
One other thing to consider on battery powered tools. This is true for all manufacturers but I will use Dewalt for an example.

Dewalt used 18volt batteries then changed to 20volt for the handheld professional type tools. The new 20volt batteries are not backwards compatible to the 18volt tools. Same deal with Craftsman 19.2 volt.

In all fairness they probably supported the battery platform for 8 to 10 years. However as a homeowner type user the battery will probably go before the tool. Or you may want to add batteries as you can never have too many.

So beware of blowout sales at big box stores. You might have to weigh a good price versus long term battery availability.
 
BPratt said:
One other thing to consider on battery powered tools. This is true for all manufacturers but I will use Dewalt for an example.

Dewalt used 18volt batteries then changed to 20volt for the handheld professional type tools. The new 20volt batteries are not backwards compatible to the 18volt tools. Same deal with Craftsman 19.2 volt.

In all fairness they probably supported the battery platform for 8 to 10 years. However as a homeowner type user the battery will probably go before the tool. Or you may want to add batteries as you can never have too many.

So beware of blowout sales at big box stores. You might have to weigh a good price versus long term battery availability.
Click to expand...
I experienced this with my Echo tools. But if memory serves, I bought those first units in 2013 and its understandable that battery and motor technology would change in that span of time.
 
LMichaels said:
I bought some non descript brand gas power washer on sale at Sam's IDK maybe 6 years ago or more. Has a "Suzuki" vertical shaft engine. Was very cheap to buy. So far only complaint? Hate the hose. Stiff and unwieldly (I remember those days :D) Anyway I'll buy a Flexzilla hose for it and just continue using it til it dies then likely go buy another cheapie IIRC under $200.
Click to expand...
I bought my gas model from Sam's maybe 20 years ago. Delta brand with Honda engine. Had been a dependable machine all those years. Started leaking this year. Decided not worth fixing. Since I do not use much any more, opted for a Greenworks 2100 psi electric at Lowe's. Seems to have adequate power, but not the water flow so it takes longer. The hose is terrible. It is a tightly coiled spring. Hopefully it relaxes over time. Having a cord as well as a hose to drag around is a bit of a pain, especially because the hose and electric outlets are in different places.
 
Is this a lawnmower thread or a power tool thread or a pressure washer thread?

Oh, sorry. Forgot where I was for a min. Its all of these 😁

I like my echo gas blower and have a battery powered blower for the back patio.
 
LMichaels said:
As for Consumer's Reports. I take everything they publish with a HUGE grain of salt...
Click to expand...
I've been a subscriber for almost 40 years and have found their ratings very helpful on numerous occasions for many product categories. Are they perfect in every review for every product category? Of course not, but if that's the measure they should have given up in 1936 and stopped trying. As for years-old rumors of payoffs and favoritism, no comment from me on that.
 
If your going to electric and I looked into it a few years ago how much are you mowing? What kind of grass are you mowing? You might not think that is important the kind of grass but I have zoysia grass in my back yard I pay a guy to do the front I do the back which is not much cause I have a pool but it is tough stuff. I ended it up buying another Honda I did have a neighbor down the street bought the Ego he also has zoysia grass a few years ago just did not do the job for him so he ended up selling it and buying another Honda.

Many factors and I am a CR subscriber also agree with Chris are they perfect no are they better than most yes IMO they are. To say everything they publish you take it with a huge grain of salt has not been my experience by the way Larry are you a subscriber just curious.
 
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