How long does the battery last? I have about a 10,000 square foot lot and that requires a lot of weed eating and edging (takes like 45 minutes to an hour sometimes to edge & weed). I hate gas powered weed eaters (hate the mixing and haven't had good luck with them) and so i have this corded one with a 100 foot 12 gauge electric cord: https://www.greenworkstools.com/10-18inch-corded-string-trimmer Has lasted me 3 years and no trouble yet. I just get tired of dealing with the cord sometimes As for lawn mower, i have this space saving Toro mower that can stand vertically in the garage when i put it away. Absolutely love it https://www.toro.com/en/homeowner/w...ariable-speed-high-wheel-with-smartstow-20339
I know 2 people that have them and they both say you really have to stay on top of your yard. It does not work well with big grass. I have a ego weed eater and love it
Thanks. I suspect that a gas powered mower will have more torque to power through tall/wet grass than an electric mower. But to be fair, if I leave skip mowing for a week during summer my Honda-powered mower begins to struggle, so staying on top of the yard will likely be the same requirement. Hoping the lighter weight and easier starting/running of a non-gas mower will make having to mow every week a bit easier.
How well does the self-propelled work? On my Honda/Craftsman mower I routinely have to replace the drivewheels since the plastic "gear" portion wears down. Wish they'd press in a metal gear on both wheel and drive (motor) side.
Fyi, battery powered mowers are much lighter than gas powered ones. You might not need a self-propelled one. I transitioned to all battery powered things about a year ago. But my collection is a hodge-podge because I only bought things when they went on some crazy sale. Echo mower, EGO weed eater and blower, Kobalt attachment-capable weed eater for edging and anything else that comes up (have a corner lot so an edger is nice to have). My mower is very light. Not self propelled but so easy to push that it doesn't matter.
Hasn't failed me in 3 years. The self-propel also works when the rotor isn't spinning. These have a pretty good warranty, so I wouldn't be worried about it. I wouldn't worry about the mower not keeping up, either. It does fine. The 21" SP has a variable speed 1000W motor that'll ramp up when the mower feels bogged down. The older 20" versions are around 600-800W I think. As long as you sharpen your blade twice a season, you'll be fine. I use a dremel attachment for that and it takes me 5 minutes.
Bought a Honda HRR216 last summer for my 2000 sq ft lawn and it's been great. Excellent cut quality, not too heavy and maneuvers easily compared to the old Craftsman I was using. I'm a member of the Lawn Care Nut forum on FB (derived from the YouTube channel) and Honda HRR/HRX and Toro Timemaster/Super Recycler/Recycler are the consensus best mowers. Ego seems to be in a class of it's own for battery powered but I'd be really hesitant for St. Augustine grass. Any others and it's probably fine.
Popular Mechanics has writeups on a bunch of models in this article and others: https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/lawn-garden/g146/best-lawn-mower-reviews/
Thanks... I bought the Ego mower (Home Depot, $499 with a $5 coupon). Used it this weekend. The mow was good... I do need to get familiar with the drive control to turn the drive off to reverse direction and to avoid ramming trees. Love how it stores upright and the battery charge time (though my front and back yards didn't use the full battery). If my Echo string trimmer ever dies I will get the Ego string trimmer.
I'm in the market. I bought a CRAFTSMAN M140 160-cc 21-in Gas Push Lawn Mower with Honda Engine from Lowes. What an utter piece of crap. It has these quick release cheap ass plastic handle adjustment hinges (grey) that couldn't even handle my 130 lb son pushing down on the handle when he needed to, and one of the locking mechanisms broke. Went back to the store in a week. Next up was the 21 in. 3-in-1 Variable Speed Gas Walk Behind Self Propelled Lawn Mower with Auto Choke from Home Depot. I figured, hey, it's Honda, it's got to be good, right? Nope. On mulch setting, it bogged down and stalled on 8 day growth Texas grass at the highest wheel setting. It's going back. I don't think electric is where it's at yet. I want a mower that will last 10 years, and that I don't have to buy batteries for it every 2-3 years. I have three sons and they will all be mowing my lawn for the next 15+ years so I'm not terribly worried about comfort or frills. I'll occasionally use it to shred branches I cut down by running over them (so satisfying). I just need power and reliability. What do I get, clutchbros?
I'd have recommended the Honda, but if its not cutting it, perhaps the one a guy with a lawn mower youtube likes the best: https://www.toro.com/en/homeowner/walk-behind-mowers/timemaster-21199 Here's his youtube channel (pretty funny): https://www.youtube.com/user/LawnCareMidwest
Just buy a cheap one at Walmart and use it until it doesn’t run anymore. That’s what I’ve always done. They last for a while. No need to spend big bucks on one unless you are mowing more than the average person.
I have that Honda. I've mowed pretty tall grass and it's never stalled on me, but I usually bag when it's that tall. Alternatively you could turn it on the bag setting but leave the bag off so that it discharges out the back -- it's going to be hard to find a mower that's not 2 or 3 times the price that does better in thick St. Augustine grass. But if you want to spend more look at the Honda HRX, Toro Super Recycler or Timemaster.
Same. I don't bag and cut 6 week old growth no problem. Of course i don't use the entire cutting surface when its too tall, I use half and the mower has been doing fine over 5 years.
