My trusty Toro has died a noble death after fighting the good fight lo these many years. I need to secure a replacement in the nearish future and it seems it might be time for an electric mower. My yard is quite small and with minimal obstructions. I can have the whole thing done in half an hour so it would seem that I’m right in the sweet spot for a battery driven mower.
Of course, there is a problem. Reliability and projected lifespan of the batteries seem to be an issue. I got fifteen years out of my last mower. One hour of maintenance once a year and the thing started on the first or second pull every time.* I understand the issues with a gasoline fueled small engine. They’re smelly, polluting and loud. Mixing the oil and fuel was annoying. The whole thing is a pain. For lack of a better term though, it’s the Devil I know. If something goes wrong, I probably know how I screwed up and how to fix it.
I’m not saying that decade and a half lifespan is a non-negotiable requirement. If it craps out in a couple of years, how is that “green”?
I was considering the DeWalt electric mower mainly because the 20v batteries it uses can do double duty in the tools I already use most every day. Reviews on this unit seem to be more mediocre than most.
What are your multi-year experiences with battery driven mowers? Any brands you trust? Any you would avoid at all costs? Should I just replace the engine of my current trusty and me done with it?
*Naturally, that doesn’t include blade sharpening. Given that blade maintenance is going to be at least as much of an issue with an electric, this part of mower ownership is a wash.
It’s four years old. It doesn’t get used as often as it should, but when it does get used it’s hard labor (including mowing overgrown aisles between long beds in farm fields.) The original battery is holding up fine. The spare battery, which is smaller, and which came a couple of years later along with a chain saw, seems to have trouble holding a charge; but I’m not sure whether the issue is the size or just something weird about that particular battery.
500 cycles would be a very reasonable expectation of modern lithium ion batteries. So if you mowed once a week every week of the year, you’d get just under 10 years out of it. 10 years not having to deal with gas and oil or keeping a fuel tank and wondering if you’ll use all the gas before winter etc.
My 36V Black & Decker is 13 years old and still going strong. I have replaced the batteries once. The only maintenance I do is sharpening the blades with an angle grinder.
There is no comparison with the constant hassle of a two-stroke engine. The other big advantage is that the electric models are much quieter than gasoline powered mowers.
I have had a small (rotary push-type) electric mower for a few years. Compared to gas units, it is maintenance-free, and starts perfectly every spring (for the last 30 years that I have had gas mowers, none of them did that in spite of being winterized properly every year). And it doesn’t leak gas in the garage.
I have several yard devices now that use rechargeable batteries, and these seem to be the Achilles heel of the electric concept. Some brands of batteries are not as compatible as advertised. 50% of the ones for my mower have been DOA or died within a year (3 of 6), and too expensive to ship back, even under warranty, due to the weight.
The batteries the mower uses can also be used with a string strimmer, but the electric trimmer is heavier than the gas model it replaced, due to the battery weight. (I haven’t comparison weighed the mowers, since the weight is less important in a wheeled vehicle compared to a hand-held one.)
All things considered, I wouldn’t return to a gas-powered system.
Get a real lawn mower.
I mean get a “reel” lawn mower.
OK. I really mean allow me to throw a reel (manual push) lawn mower into consideration. The technology has advanced considerably. My fiskars one is easier and lighter to push and maneuver than my plug-in electric. The main disadvantage is they don’t mow while going backwards.
The lawn also doesn’t have that freshly cut look when you are done. This may be good or bad depending on your preference. It is sort of like the difference between a haircut with clippers or scissors.
I have never had a lawnmower blade sharpened, but I gather I should look into that. Are there people who do this?
Back to the topic, I have an EGO lawnmower and leaf blower. I’m very happy with both. Unlike the OP, I always had trouble getting gas tools to start after about a year (probably due to lack of maintenance) So, if you’re like me and useless around small gas tools, electric is the way to go. I had a corded lawnmower for a few years. It worked fine, but I got tired of navigating the cord.
I agree. I replaced my powered mower with a manual reel mower this summer and find it easy to push and easy to use, much different from the reel mowers of my youth. It’s no harder to push than my old gas mower.
I think the main disadvantage is that they are narrower than most gas mowers and it takes many more passes to get the job done.
And you are right about the difference in the “look” of the mowed lawn. I think of it as a haggard look and I like it.
I love my Lithium Ion powered tools and the batteries for them are cheap so when a battery dies it isn’t a big deal. I also love my new Ego trimmer with the 56V battery. But that battery represents the bulk of the cost of the trimmer. A fast charger would add to that cost. A spare battery is financially out of the question. I’m hoping this lasts awhile because the trimmer is self-feeding and it has a power winder that I love. No more struggling to start a gas powered weeder or hand winding the line.
However, right now I don’t see a battery powered mower as a good dollar value over time because of the cost and reliability of the batteries. I have a Briggs & Stratton 4 stroke that I bought 25 years ago and have abused the crap out of it. It starts on the 1st or 2nd pull and it’s still running strong. It wouldn’t surprise me if it lasted another 25 years.
+1. I’m supremely happy with my EGO. There’s nothing my previous gas mowers could do that my electric can’t do better. Less vibration, and much much less noise are more than the icing on the cake, as it really makes for a much less fatiguing chore to mow.
The way it folds and stores upright also frees up a lot of ( much needed ) space in my garage too.
Go with an electric mower as others have recommended. The worse case scenario is that you may need to buy a few replacement batteries after 5 years (very rare).
If you decide to stay with gasoline, then find a pump that sells Ethanol free gas. Ethanol will cut short the life of most small engines.
I just bought a gas powered Ryobi weed whacker with a brush blade attachment. I looked long and hard at battery powered weed whackers but I need something to handle heavier brush. It seems that most battery powered machines will not handle a brush blade, hence my gas machine purchase.
One question tho, is the premixed gas the poor-starting fix it is cracked up to be? Supposedly it’s synthetic, does not contain ethanol and keeps for up to two years even after the container has been opened. Is that for real or is it marketing hype?
You never buy “spare batteries” … that’s a fool’s game. You buy a tool that comes with a battery when it’s on sale, or at an overstock auction, or on FB marketplace. Most of the time the tool is marginally priced over the battery. Then you sell the tool. So a $200 battery becomes $100 which is a lot more affordable.
And until you experience instant start, no oil, no gas, quiet mowing…you really won’t understand the attraction. It’s great, truly.
I have to say those that told me to get the cordless and not the corded were correct. I mowed last year with the corded and this year with the cordless. The cordless is far superior.
There are mail-away services for it, even, but yeah, if you have anyplace that does knife sharpening nearby they usually also can do mower blades. If not, buy a spare blade and send yours out for sharpening, and just rotate them as they need it. Typically a sharp blade will last you a season.