I’ve gone through thousands of hands-on reviews and rounded up the most affordable, long-lasting options for lawns of every size. Happy mowing!
FYI, prices and ratings are accurate as of time of writing.
1. BLACK+DECKER - Electric Mower with Trimmer and Edger
Top-rated: 7,705 ratings
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Corded mower, trimmer and edger combined in one compact machine.
Helpful review: "Like others, I needed to know the lowest measurement setting from the ground to the operating button with the mower attachment and trimmer in place. For some unknown reason, the community answers seemed to avoid such an easy question for those who owned one?! With that said, I just purchased my own to get that exact answer with a measuring tape.
The LOWEST MOWER HEIGHT (from ground to button pressed): 22-1/2 inches.
The HIGHEST MOWER HEIGHT (from ground to button pressed): 31-1/2 inches.
Due to my very own physical needs, the lowest height works perfectly for me! Fortunately, I did not have any of the 'troubles' that some have reported with theirs. If it works as it all did with my first use on a small yard today for even a season or two, I would definitely purchase again! Although it does kind of sound like a small shop vac in use, it is absolutely adorable and FUN for me to use. I love it!!
It does look like a toy and is nearly identical to vacuuming (with both physical motions & width). So those that are impatient, hate vacuuming or want to look 'manly', may not appreciate this trimmer/mower like I already do. Did I mention that I I love this thing! :)
However, as not to wear down the thin and very narrow plastic lip that holds the trimmer into the mower attachment, I personally won't be pressing the trimmer into the mower attachment until it "clicks" per the instructions. Instead, I simply press on the pedal and gently seat the trimmer all the way in before releasing the pedal to lock it in place. Noting again, that's just my own suggested solution to hopefully prevent that thin plastic 'lock' from wearing down so easily, or as I see that it probably could otherwise.
Further, the trimmer seems to hold in place just fine when pressing the trimmer handle down to make turns (just like placing the weight on the back wheels to turn a vacuum). To 'lift up' on the trimmer handle when mowing, is when it wants to detach from the mower --so don't do that people lol.
Just like every electric tool that I've ever owned, it does NOT come with an extension cord (and it makes me laugh that anyone would expect it to). However, since I wanted an extension cord designated just for this unit, I also purchased what did NOT work --and that was a 50 ft 16AWG Yellow HUANCHAIN brand through Amazon at the same time as well. To my disappointment (I even tried to force it further into the plug hole), that extension cord does NOT and will NOT make a tight enough contact to fit but for 'brief' contact spurts. At first, that was a big GRRR there for me because the mower kept cutting out before I realized it was that extension cord that was barely making contact. Okaaay....
Instead, though, and most fortunately for me, I ended up using my older orange extension cord (that most of us have laying around) that has a slightly narrower plug encasement that seats all the way into the plug for continuous contact well and fits perfectly tight! With my recent experience: If it feels slightly wobbly, kind of loose or pulls out too easily... just forget it and try another extension cord plug! You're welcome. Lol
Again, before getting super frustrated with the extension cord constantly coming loose from the plug (like I did with the brand new yellow one), you may want to try to find an older style or better fitting extension cord first (even if to take the trimmer to your local hardware store to try one there)!
Lastly, my reason for purchase. Living in an apartment with a small yard has became just too ridiculous annoying every year to 'wait' for yard maintenance not even mowing until the weeds are almost 18" high and allowing the clippings to just fall where they may for their tenants to just track long grass/weed clippings into our cars and apartments.
I finally had ENOUGH when a thorn weed recently caught my pant leg causing me to trip and fall! With this fun to use, light and nifty little edger/mower that I can enjoy taking care of my yard weekly and all by myself. I'm not done yet, but just after mowing the whole yard once & quickly edging to 'test' it today, my yard already looks way better than it ever has before! I'm HAPPY and very pleased with this fun little B&D trimmer/mower being my new 'toy'!
I hope my lengthy review helps answer some of the questions that I had prior to my having to purchase it to find out for myself anyway. I'm sure glad I did though! I don't enjoy raking, so to prevent that, I will just be sure to mow weekly through the growing season because I CAN now, and I'll enjoy doing so, too. Just make sure you get a tight fitting extension cord. Happy mowing the easy way!! :)" — Andrew Zuker
Get it from Amazon now: $99.99 & FREE Returns
2. Greenworks 40V - 16" Cordless Lawn Mower
Top-rated: 8,746 ratings
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Up to 45 minutes of runtime on a fully charged 4.0 Ah Battery.
Helpful review: "I have been using a Fiskars reel mower to mow my lawn and have been happy with it, but its downside is it doesn't cut well if the grass gets too tall (which happens fast in Alaska with the summer daylight).
Also, in the spring time it does nothing toward getting old, stray leaves up off the lawn. As a result, several times a year I would have to borrow a gas lawn mower to get my lawn back in shape, which could then be kept up with my reel mower. You can only borrow a mower so often before it becomes too often.
I am not an environmentalist against using gasoline, but I really don't like gas powered yard equipment. They are loud, dirty, vibrate, require a fair amount of time for maintenance, and you have to keep gas at the ready in gas cans that you can only fill at the gas station. They are a pain. Their plus side is they have power.
Because of my dislike of gas yard equipment, last year when I needed a weed-eater, I ended up getting a Greenworks lithium powered one and it has been great!
I have been so impressed with it, when I decided this year that I really need my own standard mower I looked into Greenworks. They sell other mowers with different batteries, but I highly recommend to never buy anything that isn't lithium. You'll just end up spending more when whatever inferior battery type you went with dies, and you end up buying the expensive lithium one anyway. I've learned this from personal experience on a wide range of products.
They also offer some larger sizes of lithium mower, but for my purposes, I figured the small one should be fine. I still plan to use the reel mower as my primary.
When I ordered this I was apprehensive that it might be a bit small and rinky-dink. When it arrived however, I was actually surprised at the size and quality. It certainly isn't a big mower, but I wouldn't consider it at all small either.
It is bigger than I expected a 16" mower to be. The quality also appears to be very good. The whole design seems well though out. The handle has quick releases that with a simple twist allow you to fold it up over the mower, which as a carry-handle built in at the center of gravity so you can easily pick the whole thing up to store it some where.
I was also concerned about the power of the mower when I ordered it. My lithium weed eater has tons, but this was a lawn mower I planned to use only when the grass was overgrown.
Well, the power has exceeded my expectations too. I mowed weeds in the driveway that were around 18" tall and it had no trouble. I mowed my lawn that had grown so long the grass was starting to go to seed. It didn't slow down at all. In fact, it wasn't even straining (when it does get strained, it increases the power and you hear the mower speed up). I did have to do multiple passes to get it all clean and neatly cut, but I've had to do that with a gas mower too.
I've used it to bag, which works great, and I've also used it as a mulcher without the bag and that works great too. It does not seem to have as much suction as some gas mowers, but it has enough for me.
The battery takes a while to charge when fully empty (a couple hours), but it then runs the mower for a long time. I can easily mow both my front and back lawns with charge left over on what I guess is a fairly standard city lot size.
The biggest downside I can think of in the long run is the battery will probably wear out long before a gas mower's engine would. But then I can just buy another battery for far less money than I would have spent on gas. And even if it did end up costing me a bit more, I'd happily pay it to use this mower over a noisy, vibrating, gas one.
Speaking of noisy, I didn't mention how quiet this thing is. It sounds about like a box fan set on high and it has absolutely no vibration.
So overall I am very impressed with this mower, and if you're on the fence about it, I'd recommend you get it. It isn't cheap, but neither is the cheapest gas mower when you factor in that it costs $20 every time you fill a gas can. This mower uses about 2 cents worth of electricity for a full battery charge, by my rough calculation." — Chris Gordon
Get it from Amazon now: $399.99 & FREE Returns
3. Sun Joe - 15" Electric Scarifier and Lawn Dethatcher
Top-rated: 16,591 ratings
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Detachable thatch collection bag for easy disposal.
Helpful review: "This review has two parts:
1. Product Review
2. Snow Joe Customer Service
PRODUCT REVIEW
Let's start with the challenge I had to solve for. I have an lawn that spans 2000 sq. ft. that has never been dethached in the last 7 years. The lawn health has been steadily decreasing and no amount of chemical fertilizers or weed control have been able to restore the lawn to its early glory. After giving up on the chemical treatment path, I tried aeration. Presumably it helped, but I saw no real improvement in the health of my lawn. Finally, I hit upon dethaching. My lawn has become a patchwork of living and dead grass.
I picked up the Sun Joe AJ801E for three reasons:
1. It had the highest powered motor (amp consumption) on Amazon for dethaching.
2. It had a scraper/scarifier, which presumably will allow me to more easily reseed targeted areas of my lawn.
3. My "Mow, Blow, & Go" gardener claimed that all the dethacthers for a lawn my size were rented out to golf courses.
Assembly is super easy, but I had some issues with one of the metal arms not fitting correctly into the main dethatcher. More on that later.
Product performance: I ran the Sun Joe at 0" across a small section of my lawn. In one pass across 10ft of lawn, the catch bag was full of thatch! I was shocked. Looking at the lawn, I could barely tell that the Sun Joe had actually lifted anything out, but the full bag told me otherwise. I ended up covering 200 sq. ft of my lawn, having to run multiple passes to get all the thatch. This little machine is super efficient, but I found the catch bag filling up way faster than expected. I've got another 1600 sq ft of lawn to cover, but will have to attack it one week at a time. Just covering 200 sq ft filled my yard waste bin.
Pros:
- Easy to assemble.
- Efficient in picking up thatch. May need multiple passes if your lawn has been neglected.
- Safety switch makes it impossible for my young children to accidentally turn this on.
- Dethacther and Scarifier rollers are easy to swap.
Cons:
- Small catch bag.
- Safety switch is a bit of a bear when you need to stop and empty the catch bag often.
- Assembly requires some force to get the bent metal arm into the main dethatcher or the screw holes will not line up.
- Changing the Dethatcher roller for the Scarifier requires a 10mm wrench. Not a big deal if you have a crescent wrench or socket set. It just took me by surprise, since I thought they would use sizes a little more common for the American do-it-yourselfer that has minimal tools.
SUN JOE CUSTOMER SUPPORT
All too often we hear about poor customer support. I am here to tell you that Sun Joe has top-notch customer support.
When assembling the Sun Joe, you must insert the metal poles/arms into the main unit. If you look at the product picture, I'm referring to the black metal arms that support the power switch and push point. The portion that connects to the actual unit is bent at approximately 135 degrees. You must use a bit of force to get the arms into the main unit or the screw holes will not line up.
On the unit I purchased, I was not able to push in the metal rod far enough to line up the screw holes, even after putting my weight into it. I was reluctant to use a rubber mallet for fear of bending the actual metal rod. So when I called Sun Joe, the gentleman listened to my concern. He immediately said they would ship a new one out.
Here is what totally blew me away.... Sun Joe support never questioned my ability to follow instructions, troubleshoot, or even verify that I followed the instructions correctly.
I was preparing myself to verbally defend myself, which is exactly what you need to do when calling for support from nearly any other manufacturer. Nope. Not here. Sun Joe sent a brand new unit and provided a pre-paid slip to send the old one back. They didn't even ask for any credit card information to secure a deposit!
Sure, I could have gone through Amazon to do the return process, but I wanted to give the manufacturer a chance to own the problem. No question about it, Sun Joe actually made it easier than Amazon." — Brad Nemerov
Get it from Amazon now: $199.00 & FREE Returns
4. American Lawn Mower Company - Four-Blade Reel Mower
Top-rated: 11,536 ratings
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Capable of cutting grass up to 4 inches tall.
Helpful review: "I’m not knocking people with allergies. I have food and pet allergies and they suck, and it sucks when people make light of them. But with my former gas powered mower, I was convinced I was allergic to grass. Sneezing fits galore. Every. Time. $#%^ you, cut grass.
With this mower, I might, MIGHT, sneeze ONLY once. Because there’s no gas exhaust fumes blowing up into my face, there’s no huge kick up of whatever I just mowed: dirt, grass, whatever. So my point is, you really might not be allergic to grass. You might be allergic to gas powered mowers. If I could only cure my food and pet allergies this easily...
I’ve bought this twice. They do require a bit of a learning curve, like do not go over rocks or roots, flip this over so that the rear stabilizer wheel isn’t touching the ground when going over sidewalks or driveways (and the blades won’t spin). I didn’t do that with my first one, and compromised the rear stabilizer wheel, which you need to run this. It’s expensive to replace, near $40 with taxes and shipping from the company’s website, so I just bought a new mower. I did get 4 years out of my first mower, so I got my money’s worth.
With the new mower, it seems like they've addressed that issue. The rear stabilizer wheel looks much tougher. The blades are also sharper than my previous one.
You can sharpen these with sharpening compound by removing one wheel and cranking the mechanism backwards; I’m sure there are detailed instructions out there on the vast Internets, and you can do that with ALL of these, including the wooden ones from the 50s you might find at yard sales for pennies. I anticipate, now that I know what I’m doing, the new one will last me far beyond 4 years.
Another huge plus is you save on gas here, because this requires NO gas. You also save on a gym membership, as this is quite the workout but not undoable. Like pushing baby carriages or shopping carts. And saves on time!
No more filling the tank (and spilling gas). No more checking the oil and pressing the primer and pulling the rip cord and unclogging the clumps of cut grass from the blades and cursing the stupid, much heavier gas mower for not working (and sneezing, sneezing, sneezing all the while). This takes me about the same time as the gas mower did, and I’m just mowing here, casually walking along appreciating nature.
It’s super easy to put together, no crazy hand or wrist strength required (future sharpening of the blades will require some hand and wrist strength). About the only downside is that twigs and leaves and other small objects can get caught in the blades and will stop this. Full stop. It’s more of an annoyance, as your nice momentum will come to a sudden jerking halt. But it’s part of the learning curve if you don’t want to rake your lawn every time.
Love the red color. Amazon offers these at the cheapest prices I’ve come across (remember I had to look for a replacement, was even waiting for the VINE gods to drop one, which never happened *boo*) and they often fluctuate low, even appear on Amazon’s warehouse 'used'. My second one only had a damaged box mwhahaha, love the warehouse sometimes.
So I highly recommend this. Really a beautiful piece of engineering that I wish I’d taken a chance on sooner. Take care of it a bit and it’ll take care of you." — Mike Strenton
Get it from Amazon now: $99.99 & FREE Returns
5. Gardena SILENO Minimo - Mows up to 2700 Sq. Ft.
Top-rated: 7,279 ratings
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Collision sensors ensures the mower operates safely with no accidents or damage to your garden.
Helpful review: "This is an extremely convenient little device, if like me you absolutely hate mowing, don’t mind a little setup and prep, and don’t care about a “perfect” lawn.
So let me preface this full review with: I absolutely loathe mowing. I tend to avoid it as much as possible and as such my yard frequently gets out of control very quickly in the Florida rain. That being said, this little guy is exactly what someone like me needs, something to make my yard look presentable without all the hours of manual work. And it’s probably the coolest thing I now own.
PREP AND SETUP:
I definitely suggest watching the YouTube videos from the manufacturer on how to unbox and setup the mower, the included guide was quite lengthy and a little hard to follow but after watching the videos, setup was a breeze. Unboxing everything was also easy, everything was packed and labeled nicely, and I was actually surprised with how compact the mower was.
You absolutely need to clear out your yard of any large branches or obstacles that the mower might catch on. I did see it get stuck on some branches that I missed cleaning up.
The hardest and lengthiest part of setup is definitely setting up the boundary/guide wire. This process involves outlining your yard with the included wire. These wires connect back to the base station where I’m assuming it then gets power to tell the mower where the boundary limits are. There’s also a guide wire that runs from the base station to the boundary wire where they’re spliced together with an included coupler. If you’re not familiar with cutting and joining wires this might seem a little daunting but honestly after watching the videos it was very straightforward.
The biggest thing is to absolutely make sure the wire is firmly in the ground. The instructions give 2 options: One using stakes and the other to bury the wire. I opted to use the stakes, but I made the initial mistake of not using more of them closer together and the mower got tangled in the wire, this was an easy fix by making sure about every 2 feet of wire a stake was put down to hold it down (they included a lot of stakes).
RUNNING THE MOWER:
As soon as you power on the mower you go through a simple install wizard to set your preferences and schedule. You also can override the schedule to test it out and let it run. You should definitely watch it the first time to make sure it runs smoothly but after that it’s basically set it and forget it. I don’t know if it could handle large brush, but I had mowed my lawn a few weeks prior, so it didn’t have to work very hard. I watched it go for about 30 minutes before I went back inside where I continually checked on it, it didn't get stuck and after a couple hours made it's way back to the base station to charge up for the day.
SETTING UP THE APP:
There's another review on here that mentioned not having the Bluetooth model and not being able to use the app, which got me thinking the one I had also didn't have Bluetooth. Turns out all their models have Bluetooth, you just need to have the app open and turn off the mower while it's in the station and turn it back on. It was listed as P0.2 on my phone, I renamed him to 'Fenton'. My Android phone picked it up almost immediately and I was pretty happy with the options, which allows you to better select your schedule or spot mow a specific area where you place it and of course manually start it for a set period.
CHARGING STATION COVER:
The weather is quite sporadic here in Florida, getting the charging station cover or "Garage" is a nice addition to not have to worry about it. It provides a nice little cover from the extreme heat and the Florida downpours. While the guide says the mower is built for all types of weather, I do recommend getting the cover if you'd like a little more peace of mind. Install takes all of 5 minutes and looks like it's built to last.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
The mower is insanely quiet, I only ever heard the blade when it hit a taller piece of grass. I was also very surprised with how maneuverable it is. I have very soft, leaf ridden soil and so my push mower constantly digs into the always wet soil, and it makes it pretty difficult sometimes to mow.
This little guy I guess is light enough that it hasn’t gotten stuck. All that being said, this mower is not a “do it all” type of device, at least not for my yard. I set my boundaries to basically a large open area, I’ll have to touch up the areas where I thought it wouldn’t work very well because of large brush or just obstacles that would get in the way.
I would highly recommend this mower to people with very “simple” yard layouts and those who hate mowing. For me it’s extremely convenient having a freshly kept yard without doing any of the work." — Patrick Clark
Get it from Amazon now: $649.99 & FREE Returns
6. Craftsman - 21" Gas-Powered Mower
Top-rated: 2,547 ratings
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: 21-inch cutting deck helps trim grass in one quick pass for an easier yard job.
Helpful review: "This mower was the best investment. The cutting was nice and clean looking, the maneuvering was easy, and light weight to handle made for a quick pass! When the package arrived, I was quite pleased that it didn't weigh a ton.
There were a few issues I had with how the shape of the box was in when it was finally delivered. You could tell it was roughed up from not being handled with care. There was the original tape that it was sent out with that was pulled at certain places and the top wasn't even closed. But the postal service had used shipping tape 7 times amongst the top to hold it shut (which was a bit worrisome thinking that something could have fallen out in transit).
Then when the carrier arrived, they carried it over to the designated spot asked to place it, and just tossed it down as if it wasn't their problem anymore.
By no means was the manufacturer responsible for the shape it was in when it finally arrived. I just wanted to make that clear because a lot of the time, customers review certain items received being under the impression it's the sellers fault, when it isn't!!
Now with the mower itself, when I removed it from the box, it was in pristine shape, Thank Goodness!!! Great job on the coating and color choice for it. The manuals and oil were in a sealed bag which was nice. Didn't have to worry about a mess everywhere if something spilled or leaked out. Easy to read and follow instructions.
Setup was actually pretty self explanatory! Pull this, bend here, screw this in place, and it was good to go. 20mins. And I really like how the pull cord is allowed to be pulled and in place along the side of the handle. Less back breaking bending over every time. And the gas cap has a feature in it that clicks when putting the cap on, so you're not having to use a monkey wrench to try and get it off due to accidentally putting it on to tight (which I have done in the past, accidently;).
Now for the pleasure of the performance. It took 2-3 pulls to start it for the first time, as expected. But it started up and ran so smooth! The Auto Choke feature of it is a nice touch, so no pushing a plastic bubble to prime it. The throttle/Red Handle is set at a great setting. Doesn't sound like a helicopter taking off or a motor boat on low.
I was a bit excited to be honest. It doesn't have a handle grip, but again, it was not an issue being as it was a nice smooth finish with the coating so it doesn't feel rough on the hands. The red bar that you hold down before you pull the cord is the same nice smooth finish, and there's no hand pinching when holding the two together!
With the pushing, the shells are a nice size. Not bulky and over the top, but makes great for right maneuvers when needed. We have a rough yard being out in the country, but it didn't faze it one bit. Ran over the bumps and dips as if they weren't there. Not that it's like mowing in a rock quarry or anything, but still. No hitches or stalls with the tall grass areas, which means the blade is beautifully sharp. I did choose the option of using the side chute for dispelling the grass. If I used the bag to catch it, I'd be emptying it every other row. I thought about the mulching option, but the grass was to tall for my comfort to use it at the time. But I will try it out eventually, I Promise!!!
We live on a 1 1/3 acre lot outside of town, so that gives an idea of how much I had to mow with it. About 1 whole acre of yard with this was no trouble at all. And after I was finished mowing, I left it set to do the whole, 'Cool Down' thing, as some may do just out of caution when a mower has ran for almost 4 hours with 15-minute breaks every hour, as to not overheat it to death. Tilted it back and wiped the excess grass off the blades and in the pocketed area behind the blades, as well as the top, and it was done.
I would highly recommend this product for anyone who is looking for an affordable HIGH quality mower. It really saved me a bundle. Thank you Craftsman for making yet another satisfied customer!!!" — Caleb A. Temple
Get it from Amazon now: $299.99 & FREE Returns
7. EGO Power+ - 21" Lithium-ion Cordless Mower
Top-rated: 925 ratings
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Up to 45 minutes of run time on single charge with the recommended 56V 5.0 Ah ARC Lithium battery.
Helpful review: "This is for dual battery mower with the optional high lift blade.
I have about 4500sqft of lawn and this mower is great. Previously I had a Kobalt 80V with two 2Ah batteries. Not only was the Kobalt too wimpy to blow the clippings into the back of the bag, it would often just cake them on to the bottom of the deck requiring me to constantly flip the mower over and scrape them off. The other problem was that the Kobalt had a metal deck and I was constantly fighting a rusting deck to get the mower to last 5 years.
This Ego is great. With the two 56V 5Ah batteries it has a total of 560Wh of energy. The Kobalt only had 160Wh and if you count the mandatory battery change, it was a total of 320Wh. The Ego is almost double the energy on a single charge so it has no problem mowing my entire lawn with some energy still left in reserve.
PROS:
- Plenty of power!
- Easy battery changes.
- Self propelled.
- Fills the bag From the back (high lift blade).
- Mows 4500sqft in one charge.
- Lights allow night mowing!
- Can run on one or two batteries of various capacities.
- Plastic deck never rusts!
NIT PICKS:
- Batteries are not the fuel gauge version (real bummer at this price point).
- Blade seems to oscillate in speed when just sitting there with high-lift blade.
- Front of unit sticks out which prevents getting close to edges of areas forcing you to come use the side of mower to cut close.
- Spins down slowly and gets confused if you try to start back up before the blade stops spinning.
- One charger for two batteries is annoying.
I sold the fast charger and got other EGO tools that have the slower chargers so I could get two of them. Not interested in mowing the lawn, charging one battery, then remembering to charge the second one. Also like the idea of prolonged battery longevity due to slower charging.
Even with the flaws this seems like the best mower on the market for my needs, so I give it 5 stars overall." — Jeff Carl
Get it from Amazon now: $799.00 & FREE Returns
8. WORX - 14" Cordless Mower
Top-rated: 4,337 ratings
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: A single lever lets you set the height you want to cut your lawn, depending on the season, or just your preference.
Helpful review: "If you're looking for a really quiet and super easy to use mower at a decent price, this will do the trick on a typical sized lawn (0.2-0.4 acre). If you have a bigger lawn, get more batteries or cut less grass at one time. If you're looking to go green, look around. This probably isn't the best performing environment-friendly mower out there.
After the first use on 5-7" grass, this thing performed as well as expected. It's not quite as powerful as a dinosaur guzzling mower, but keep in mind, it's also not a Tesla. However, it sure is quiet and easy to use. My wife called it my secret lawn mower because she could not hear it from inside the house.
I could also hear my son and his friends talking as they played basketball in the driveway. This thing is extremely easy to handle. Without the batteries in, it honestly feels like my kids' old toy lawn mower. No joke. With the batteries in, it's not much heavier and I could easily push it with one hand, which means ANYONE in my family can now cut the grass. We'll see if that actually happens.
Unboxing was easy and it came in two boxes, so it was in perfect condition. Assembly was a cinch and only took about 5 minutes, basically just attaching the handle bar. I wrapped the power cord around the bar a few times so it wasn't loose even though they provide clips for the cord.
To start it, you must hold in the control handle (throttle), then slide over the start switch. It will not start in the opposite order. If you even slightly let go of the handle throttle, the mower turns off so just keep a firm grip and you're good. I'm just used to my gas mower that almost turns off when I let go but reengages after pulling it back in right away. No biggie.
It can handle one entire suburbia lawn (0.25ish acre) on a full charge, though I would suggest cutting immediately after charging.
It bogged down a little in the areas with taller grass, but pretty similarly to my gas mower (YTD 17"). I walk pretty fast when mowing, so I had to slow down to normal walking speed so the mower could keep up on most of the lawn. Perhaps the turbo mode would be good for the taller grass areas (or my speed walking mode), but probably not worth switching over from eco for the occasional taller grass.
The height settings are good, but it seems to go too short on the lowest setting (1) unless you're maintaining a golf course or going on a month long vacation. I was at 5 (out of 7) and that seemed to be perfect (about 3").
Disclaimer 1: I owned a Worx trimmer/edger (same batteries) before getting this mower.
Disclaimer 2: We do not own any electric vehicles or Tesla stock. While I know fossil fuels are bad for the environment, I don't think this mower is saving the world or anything.
Disclaimer 3: I got this mower after doing enough reviews before donating my old mower to my brother." — Molly G.
Get it from Amazon now: $299.99 & FREE Returns
9. Makita - 18" Cordless Brushless Mower
Top-rated: 1,103 ratings
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Cuts over 1/3 acre in 43 minutes or less with four 18V LXT 4.0Ah batteries.
Helpful review: "Keep in mind that I just got this thing. This is not a review based upon years of experience with the mower, just a first impression review. My old mower was an awesome old school snapper and I loved it. That is what I am comparing this mower to.
The design elements of this mower are all excellent. The wheels all have sealed cartridge bearings on them. Sounds like a little thing, but it speaks to a larger thing. Everywhere you look on this machine, you see solid mechanical engineering everywhere (and I would know).
The way the bag fits, the way that the mulching plug fits, every detail is sweated on this thing. Even the drive mechanism acts like it has a differential allowing it to smoothly turn corners without fighting you, speeding up or slowing down. Little things are only little things until they become a problem and then become a big thing.
One of the things I really like is that the drive mechanism can be used with the blades stopped. This allows you to get it up a steep gravel drive without kicking gravel everywhere and taking the nice sharp edge off your blades.
Yeah, there are a few picadilloes here and there that I personally might have done differently or whatever, but most of these are simply changes that really don't make the system better, but just different. I'm talking about preference items that are just basically opinions, things like the battery cover doesn't stay up by itself while you try to get all four batteries out of it. I realize they made it want to fall down so it would keep things clean inside and also keep it from being left up.
Once I understood I could pull the batteries and line them up on the bag hatch, I realized that I agree with their design. Things like that. The 1% stuff.
This thing is heavy, and I mean HEAVY. The box says 99lbs, and about 1lb of that is packaging and containerboard. Clearly the crew that designed it went to the Harley Davidson school for Mechanical Engineers. When it finally fails, you can use it to help anchor your boat in the harbor during a hurricane.
You can carry on a conversation with your friends while mowing. Kind of strange in that way. On quiet mode, it doesn't go all beast mode when you hit some thick grass, but stays at the lower speeds. It is louder than a box fan, but it is quieter than an idling pickup. If you have chickens, they will still irritate you as you mow the grass just like they irritate you when you are walking by the pen.
I paid some seriously long green for this mower, but this thing quietly screams quality. I suspect that by the time I get my money out of it, nobody will be wanting a review of an ancient mower that time will have forgotten.
If it is like all of the other Makita tools I have (some are 20 years old, some are nearly new), I might just expire before this thing does. All I know is that this thing really impressed me coming out of the box.
Heck, yeah, I would empty the checkbook again on another one of these if I had to. I would still whine and carry on about the cost, but I would likely end up giving myself an "attaboy" later. This thing is pretty cool." — Douglas Taylor
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10. Greenworks - 14" Corded Electric Dethatcher
Top-rated: 14,876 ratings
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: 4 year warranty.
Helpful review: "Initially, I was hesitant to order this product. But most of the reviews were positive so I took the plunge and completed the purchase. The thatcher arrived on time, well packaged, all the necessary parts were present with a package of replacement tines, no damaged parts, and a set of plain - simple - easy to follow assembly instructions with pictures. I am not a "mechanical genius" and have learned over the years to read the instructions several times, study the pictures, lay out the pieces, and then take it slow and steady. Some may be able to complete the assembly in a matter of 5-10 minutes. I took my time and had it assembled and operational in about 20-30 minutes.
My yard is about 4000sq feet and I used to thatch the lawn once a year using a thatching rake. It would take several weekends for me to complete the process as I would go over the lawn two or three times. In past years, I was lazy and occasionally hired a landscaper to come in and power rake the yard. I ended up replacing sections of the turf/sod after it was torn up by the power rake.
The instructions recommend setting the tines at the highest level and then adjusting as needed. There are three settings, and it is fairly easy to set the height of the tines by using the switches located on the wheel hubs. I used the highest setting and was satisfied with the results and did not notice any damage to the turf/sod.
The instructions clearly state "do not operate" on a wet lawn. Operating the machine on a wet lawn will result in damage to the lawn, and could cause damage to the machine. Do not risk tearing up pieces of the turf and sod because you are in a hurry and cannot wait for the lawn to dry out.
Using this electric thatcher was fairly simple. I started in the backyard, moving slowly to get used to how the machine operated and traveled. It took about 45 minutes to complete the backyard, and an additional 30 minutes for the front yard. Seriously, it took longer to rake up the piles of dead grass than it took to thatch the front and back yard, and I ended up with thirteen 30-gallon bags of dead grass. I fertilized the lawn, watered it, and the outcome is fantastic.
It is a lightweight machine, lighter than a gas powered push mower. And it is easy to operate: Just press the power button, hold down the handle bar, and walk slowly behind the machine. I would say it is self propelled, but it is the action of the tines grabbing and pulling up the dead grass that propels the machine forward - so hold on to the handle, it could get away from you if you are not careful. Remember - let go of the handle and the machine stops instantly.
Maneuverability does take a little getting used to and I quickly figured out to work in straight lines. Do not turn the machine while it is operating. When reaching the edge of the lawn let go of the handle, stop the machine, and then position it for the next row. The dead grass is pushed out of the back of the machine and there were no issues with the dead grass piling up inside the machine and causing stalling or stoppage.
As the machine is electric there is the issue of the power cord getting in the way of the machine. Under no circumstances should you operate the thatcher and run over the power cord. It is something that you will get used to. It is NOT a major issue and you will quickly figure out a procedure that works for you.
If you have a large number of trees, bushes, shrubs, in your lawn you will have to maneuver around these obstacles with the cord. Again it is something that can be figured out fairly quickly. I would recommend purchasing a durable, heavy gauge, 100foot, extension cord.
I would not recommend this machine for a large lawn or area. A simple average residential lawn between 2,500 and 5,000sq feet is perfect for this machine. This recommendation is based upon the 14-inch wide path of the thatcher versus a 20-24" path for the average push mower. It would just take much longer to complete the larger area and could cause unnecessary stress and overheating for the machine." — Charles Freise
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