There was a pretty long thread on this relatively recently. IMO, going electric is a no-brainer. Mine is the EGO.
I am also considering making the switch. My Google research has me leaning toward EGO.
I hesitate only because I’ve had really bad luck with lawn tool batteries, and they are outrageously expensive to replace.
Also, my Toro gas mower still runs like a top.
mmm
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.
I have a Ryobi going on 12 years, it still works fine.
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.
My recent thread on the topic.
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 a brush cutter attachment on my Ryobi 40V trimmer, and it does a superb job.
Here it is:
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.
It really isn’t that hard. Check out a Youtube video or 3 on it and consider doing it yourself. I use to maintain a 3 blade tractor and I got pretty good at sharpening. Main reason, it was almost as cheap to buy new blades as to get them sharpened so I bought an extra set and proceeded to rotate the blades every few months.
That’s a good idea if you want to spend the time selling stuff. But it doesn’t negate the fact that the batteries are very expensive.
I would say that’s true with a 2 stroke trimmer but I wouldn’t say that about a lawn mower. My gas mower starts as fast it takes to start an electric and it’s a much much better value both in initial purchase price and life of product. It will also mow all day long on a gallon of gas. You’d need multiple batteries and a fast charger to come close that kind of utility value and the batteries will never hold up over time making the cost higher.
I put up with the life span of batteries for my drills and other small tools because the batteries are cheap.
Overall when you factor in gas, noise and pollution, giving up on gas for electric is awesome. If your budget conscious go with a corded. They last as long as a gas powered one and cost even less. They have virtually no maintenance. (of course excepting blades, all mowers have blades to deal with).
Mileage varies, I suppose. I had several different gas-powered mowers over my life before I got the EGO and every time I went to start one it was a question how many yanks it would take. Sometimes one – yay! Sometimes twenty-seven wouldn’t do it and I’d have to go away and try later. Does it need the primer button? Maybe that’ll work, or maybe that’ll just flood it. And stopping the mower to get something out of the way (my mowed areas tend to be full of miscellaneous, from hoses to drainpipes to chunks fallen out of trees or dropped there by a dog to laundrybaskets etc . . .) would restart the gamble.
I’m still trying to get out of the somewhat hazardous habit of trying to hang on to a running mower with one hand while moving Object with the other. It’s electric, Thorny! Let it stop, it’ll start again, no extra work, no problem!