Any recommendations for a cordless lawn mower?

[PaulMarcel]

My gas lawn mower does a -cha-ching!- usage-fee every summer it seems; it's getting old.

I've been interested in getting a cordless lawn mower; any opinions on them? Underpowered? Low run-time? Outstanding and quiet? Any personal recommendations would be appreciated as well.

 

[pixelated]

I bought a Husqvarna a couple of months ago, pleased with it. It folds easily to store compactly, good battery life, very easy to set the cut height, cuts well, very quiet compared to a gas mower.
I already had one Husky battery for a chainsaw, not getting yet another battery platform was part of my decision making.

 

[waho6o9]

I like the EGO lawn mower from Lowes.  It works well and has a lot less maintenance than the old gas powered Honda lawn mower.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/EGO-POWER-...ower-6-Ah-Battery-Charger-Included/5013742993

 

[Chainring]

My girlfriend got tired of waiting on mowers (okay, me) to get to a point where there weren't complaints of batteries frying and other various failures. Get this, she didn't want to spend a ton, either. She has Festool gear. What?

She purchased some cheapie Earthworks dual battery powered jobbie that came with batteries and the dual port charger. I'll be damned if that thing hasn't been a really decent unit. Granted, we're on the normal suburban postage stamp sized lot, so not a huge workout. Still, one battery bar to do the lawn. I'd say that's okay.

edit: Greenworks, not Earthworks.

 

[squall_line]

not getting yet another battery platform was part of my decision making.

This is part of what has me holding off on replacing our old honda self-propelled gasser.  I already have Makita 18V LXT batteries for my leaf blower and trimmer, but I don't know that the Makita self-propelled (we have just enough elevation to make it worth it) is worth getting at this point compared to a lot of alternatives.

 

[Bob Wolfe]

I have the Makita self propelled. Runs on two 18 volt batteries. I also have the hedge trimmer and grass whip.

I was using the Makita platform for many tools when my old mower died. Didn’t want two battery platforms so got the Makita. I own  4  5 AH and 3 3AH batteries and generally cut my grass with one pair of 5’s and about .5 of another set.

Most electric mowers are not designed to hog off long heavy  grass. For usual mowing the Makita works fine

 

[woodbutcherbower]

I don’t know if you have G-tech over the pond - but avoid it like the plague. It’s gutless, the run time is pathetic, and it’s crazy-heavy.

 

[bobtskutter]

Anything with a Petrol engine.

 

[woodwise]

We went with the high end Ryobi and neighbor bought the Dewalt. I am not opposed to cordless tools and we have a very modest yard. Overall the experience is much like the early electric cars, it will do the job if you baby it but you find the limits really quick.

It runs the blade slower than a gas unit, so you have to work at the tools pace. If you take your time and are careful not to overload the mower I can finish the yard on 1 of their 6Ah 40v batteries (usually change half way through to not fully exhaust the battery).

There are a few observations:
1) Quality of cut - Not nearly as good as my Honda. The electric will not cut as low... Composite body + thin blade on the electric seems to flex causing an uneven cut (if you are detail oriented).
Overall just meh:/
2) Speed. You need to work slower than gas. Electric has probably added 30% more time to the job.  I fell for the video reviews raving about electric... Yes, you can push it through thicker, or wet grass, for about a minute. The electric overheats quickly and gets SO MUCH grass stuck underneath its unbelievable.
3) Will not reliably pick up leaves - Previously, I would cut with the bagging attachment to clean the yard in the fall. With the electric, most leaves are left untouched with some cut into pieces and only part of those going in the bag.

I am back to using the Honda on the weekly while the electric sits in the garage... The neighbor likes his Dewalt and though it does cut lower than mine it leaves lines in his yard and he does not seem to be able to cut the yard in one go. He now mows the front one day and the back another.

Electric is usable, but frustrations currently out-weigh the benefits.

 

[Sparktrician]

I, too, have almost 20 years as a Honda mower user.  Ear plugs are a far sight less spendy than a $1,000 EGO mower. 

 

[Duckler]

A few years ago I looked at a robot lawnmower. It works like those robot vacuums. I imagine that the tech has improved since then.
Some things to know about them:
[list type=decimal]
[*]some kind of wires need to be put down to establish boundaries and perimeter. The machine "lives" in a little dog-house enclosure where it docks for charging

[*]it runs almost every day because it trims a very small amount of grass each time it runs
[*]
it probably CAN'T do a full week's cut on most yard's in one pass

[/list]
I guess one could call it a CNC for your grass/yard.
Surely someone on this Forum has more recent knowledge.

 

[bobtskutter]

They also can't tell if there's dog poo on your lawn and they kill hedgehogs.

(Hedgehogs are an endangered animal in the UK).

Bob

 

[guybo]

Hi, I hear that maracopa co. has 150$ trade-in for old gas mowers to battery op. You may opt for a cryobi that way you can cut and water at the same time  [big grin]

 

[Tom the Remodeler]

Hi Paul,

I grew tired of turning wrenches on my riding mower and downsized to a Makita 36V (2x 18V) self propelled mower and I'll never go back, either to a riding mower or to petrol.

Most of my property gets lots of direct sunlight, so I err on the side of cutting the grass rather long, 3-1/2" to 4". The Makita has no issues cutting rather thick grass, though I do make sure I wait until the dew has evaporated.

No fumes, much less noisy than petrol, and I never have to change the oil. I'm positively impatient to replace my two stage, tracked Honda snow blower with cordless once a suitable product is developed.

My lawn is close to an acre, so it takes ~8 5.0Ah batteries to mow the whole lawn. Usually, six batteries are enough, with four in the mower and two on the charger. Hot weather does decrease battery life, but at that point I don't want to be out in the heat either so if/when I find myself getting ahead of the charger, it's a good excuse to retreat to my air conditioned shop for a bit to cool down and let the batteries catch up.

I purchased this mower when I was exclusively on the Makita 18V platform, now that I have some 40V XGT tools I'll probably buy a XGT mower the next time around.

 

[twistsol1]

I have a Ryobi 40v mower and it is meh, but the bulk of our lawn is done with a gas powered rider.

My brother in law has an EGO mower and I look at his mower with the same envy he looks at all of my Festools. It is a solid, well built mower that performs well.

 

[mikeomalley]

Went with robot mower earlier this year and would never go back to ride on. Way cheaper than gas even though I’ve got one of the cheaper models (don’t judge me!) most work was the perimeter cable. And while not perfect gets stuck once in a while but saves a ton of work on 10.000sf.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[WastedP]

I switched from a very reliable Honda-powered Husqvarna to the first Makita 2x LXT brushless mower.  I didn't have to change the way I mowed, except I no longer need to wear earplugs and I don't huff gas fumes anymore.  It is faster to grab another set of batteries than it is to fuel up a mower.  I seldom need to switch batteries while mowing, because a pair of 5.0 Ah batteries will do the whole yard on a city lot.  Over the years, the only downside I can see is that it doesn't have the vac power to pick up leaves and debris.

I did some garden work a few years back for a commercial flower garden.  She had an EGO riding mower that was great.  I could mow about two acres on a charge, and the batteries would recharge in about 45 minutes.  It was impressive.

 

[rst]

My Milwaukee is to be delivered tomorrow.  I’ve been waiting for a good bare tool sale.  Acme had down to $700.00 and pulled the trigger.  I wanted bare as I already have at least 15 batteries including two 12 amp, two 9s, 6 & 8 high output and two of the new flat cell 6s.  I have been using the Milwaukee 18v hedge, string trimmers, hatchet chain saw and the 10’ extendable chain saw.  In the past all stuff was Stihl and Toro, the only gas mix Stihl I kept is my blower, mostly for dry snow.

 

[doozer_diy]

I have the Milwaukee. Very satisfied with it. Takes a beat to get used to as you can't feather the first part of the throttle. So the eclectic motor pulls away a touch a first. You should be very happy with it. Its a nice quiet mow until the neighbors landscapers arrive, leaf blowers and the whole nine yards.  [big grin]

 

[Kev]

How much grass to you need to mow? Catch, mulch, throw? Is it flat, is it even ground? Is the grass thick, how long do you let it get between mows?

A lot of the latest generation self propelled battery mowers from Stihl, Ego, Dewalt, Makita, etc can do a decent job on a regularly well maintained small to medium suburban lawn. Any incumbent battery system could drive your decision in that respect.

I haven't found a battery mower robust enough for the rough scrubbiness I encounter at my place. A trial is the best way to make a decision on whether a battery mower will meet your needs.