Question for the brain trust, about cordless lawnmowers

My brother has an electric lawn mower and loves it. Toro I believe but I can ask.

I have gas and battery operated weed whackers. I do prefer the battery operated one but for heavy duty use, the metal bladed gas operated weed whacker is what I use.

For what it's worth, I have Worx weedwhacker, chainsaw, drills, leaf blower, and sawzall....I love the Worx line. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a lawn mower from them if they offer battery operated mowers.
 
Huntindave McCann said:
Carl,
That is one drawback to my personal situation.
I have cordless-- (a) chainsaw (b) hedge trimmer (c) grass trimmer (d) drill, all DeWalt, all 20 volt.
Any new lawn mower will be a new battery platform for me.
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I think the question is more that is an off brand brushless worth consideration. I'd be hesitant to "invest" a lot in an off brand battery tool because of both the motor and the battery.

I have not seen this said, but DeWalt does make a mower. That is what I'd buy were on on that platform. I have zero concern that the brushless motor wouldn't be up to task.

Like you, I have brushless string trimmer, brush cutter, leaf blower and chain saw along with an ungodly number of woodworking tools (Milwaukee). I also have gas string trimmer, blower and chainsaws (Stihl) that are higher performance than the battery yard tools.
 
tod osier said:
I think the question is more that is an off brand brushless worth consideration. I'd be hesitant to "invest" a lot in an off brand battery tool because of both the motor and the battery.
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Are you saying you consider ERGO to be an "off brand"? According to my research EGO is the number selling company, in cordless power outdoor equipment.


tod osier said:
I have not seen this said, but DeWalt does make a mower. That is what I'd buy were on on that platform. I have zero concern that the brushless motor wouldn't be up to task.
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The platform I have is 20 volt Max DeWalt. DeWalt shows 5 options for a 20volt platform in a self propelled walk behind. Four of those options, only get a 2 star rating, the last option only gets a 3 star rating. This is out of a total 426 reviews.

Conversely, the EGO has 4896 reviews, with 74% of those being a 5 star rating.

Yes the EGO is a 56 volt platform and yes, DeWalt does offer one, self propelled walk behind, in a 60 volt platform. Either choice (EGO @56 volts or DeWalt @60 volts) will require a change in the battery platform. Even at that, the DeWalt 60 volt only gets a 3 star rating.

Comparing the run time DW60Volt =38 minutes per battery; EGO56Volt = 50 minutes per battery.

Not trying to argue with you, just trying to understand your rational for considering EGO to be an off brand product.

EDIT: holy buckets I just checked price on the DeWalt 60 volt, Zoro lists it for $821.00 while Grainger lists it for $1342.00 could not find it locally. (for comparison the EGO 56Volt lists for $550.00)
Price for the 20 volt models at my local Fastenal; YIKES
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Huntindave McCann said:
Are you saying you consider ERGO to be an "off brand"? According to my research EGO is the number selling company, in cordless power outdoor equipment.




The platform I have is 20 volt Max DeWalt. DeWalt shows 5 options for a 20volt platform in a self propelled walk behind. Four of those options, only get a 2 star rating, the last option only gets a 3 star rating. This is out of a total 426 reviews.

Conversely, the EGO has 4896 reviews, with 74% of those being a 5 star rating.

Yes the EGO is a 56 volt platform and yes, DeWalt does offer one, self propelled walk behind, in a 60 volt platform. Either choice (EGO @56 volts or DeWalt @60 volts) will require a change in the battery platform. Even at that, the DeWalt 60 volt only gets a 3 star rating.

Comparing the run time DW60Volt =38 minutes per battery; EGO56Volt = 50 minutes per battery.

Not trying to argue with you, just trying to understand your rational for considering EGO to be an off brand product.

EDIT: holy buckets I just checked price on the DeWalt 60 volt, Zoro lists it for $821.00 while Grainger lists it for $1342.00 could not find it locally. (for comparison the EGO 56Volt lists for $550.00)
Price for the 20 volt models at my local Fastenal; YIKES
View attachment 57369
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Yes an "off brand" IMO, compared to DeWalt and Milwaukee in the world of battery powered tools (I'm happy to concede that MAYBE they make the absolute best battery powered mowers, but I don't care - there is zero chance I'd buy one).

There are numerous reason that similar items cost different amounts - one reason could be simply marketing or another reason could be build quality.
 
tod osier said:
There are numerous reason that similar items cost different amounts - one reason could be simply marketing or another reason could be build quality.
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One might think that the reviews would reflect "build quality" among other considerations. The reviews for the DeWalt mowers, do not seem to support a conclusion of build quality.

It was with great interest to see the transition within the machining industry concerning "sourcing" of tooling. Gone are the days when the quality of any item had any relationship to the origin of said item or even brand loyalty based on prior experience. Too many supply sources sat on their butts and got left behind by other firms in other world locations that were providing a better product at a lower cost. Yes one must do their research, hench one reason for my inquiry here on this forum.

So what criteria must be met to be considered non-off brand?
 
Huntindave McCann said:
One might think that the reviews would reflect "build quality" among other considerations. The reviews for the DeWalt mowers, do not seem to support a conclusion of build quality.

It was with great interest to see the transition within the machining industry concerning "sourcing" of tooling. Gone are the days when the quality of any item had any relationship to the origin of said item or even brand loyalty based on prior experience. Too many supply sources sat on their butts and got left behind by other firms in other world locations that were providing a better product at a lower cost. Yes one must do their research, hench one reason for my inquiry here on this forum.

So what criteria must be met to be considered non-off brand?
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Merriam-Webster - off-brand, adjective: not identified with a major brand name

Best of luck on your quest for a battery-powered mower that will handle a neglected lawn.
 
tod osier said:
Best of luck on your quest for a battery-powered mower that will handle a neglected lawn.
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Thanks I'm still undecided between battery or gasoline. Getting feedback from owners of cordless mowers was the reason for the inquiry.
"So maybe a better question is; Anyone using a cordless battery mower and how is it working out for you long term?" Next time I will try to be more clear in wording my question.
 
Huntindave McCann said:
Thanks I'm still undecided between battery or gasoline. Getting feedback from owners of cordless mowers was the reason for the inquiry.
"So maybe a better question is; Anyone using a cordless battery mower and how is it working out for you long term?" Next time I will try to be more clear in wording my question.
Click to expand...

the answer for me to that question is gas right now. I had to buy a new mower last year for our Wyoming place and did just that. I thought about the Milwaukee mower, but didn't do it and I'm glad.
 
Dave, my son has that ego model you're looking at as well as the lawn tractor style. I have ego 42" zero clearance version. Blade speed has speed control for battery life. I typically run mine at 75% blade speed and my blade is set at 2.5" blade height. Yes I can stall the blade but I'll never felt it is damaging the motor. If I do stall, I'll disengage the blades, increase to 100% and continue mowing. I've never had it stall at 100%. My son and I both have the weekwacker too. I love both of them. The next purchase will be the pole chain saw. I usually do my 2 acres with about 20% change left. Takes less than 2 hours to change to 100%. I do have 6 batteries in the zero turn.
 
Eric Patterson said:
Dave

Maybe you could hire someone to cut your grass and pay them with fish.
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Eric, I do like that idea. (y) Without hiring an actual lawn service, I can not find a local kid interested in mowing. I have a hard enough time getting my grandson to do it once in a while. (actually it's just that he has such a busy schedule.)
Right now I need to get it mowed by Wed. of this week. After Thursday, I'll be on a restricted activity level for the next 3 weeks. Then on a graduated level, increasing as time and progress continues. I'm hoping the lawn growth slows to accommodate me.
 
I do not have any skin in the game with battery powered mowers. I have a little over 1/3 of an acre total to mow in my yard. I thought that I might not be able to mow it with a battery powered mower on one charge. I did not want to wait the additional charging time to finish the yard. So I would have to get an extra battery and charger to do a quick swap out. Which then ups the mower costs to around an additional $400 - $500. So I stuck with gas powered.

But, I ran across this when I was looking at mowers and started to think about battery powered.


Anyway. last May I bought a Toro Super Recycler 21-in Gas Self-propelled Lawn Mower with 163-cc Briggs and Stratton Engine Model 21565 for $861.72 from Lowes. It mows my lawn on exactly one tank of gas. I mean exactly because when done mowing if I let it sit for an additional 3 - 5 minutes running it will run out of gas. It starts easily in one or two pulls. Aluminum deck so no rusting. Rear wheel drive. My older mowers all had front wheel drive. I like the rear wheel drive better now that I have used it.

I really like the personal pace handle bar. You just push against the bar and it goes. But you still have the safety bar you have to hold with your hands to keep the engine running. But I just have a small velcro strap the I wrap around it so it is always running. Then I just push forward on the personal pace bar and it goes forward. I let go and it stops but still runs (because of he velco strap). Has worked flawlessly so far.

I really like the Easy Stow that allows you to fold it and lift it up on its back side upright. Also makes it easier to clean the deck and change the blade. I also only do mulching so I have not used the bagger. The only weird thing is if you want to do side discharge the side discharge piece does not come in the box. When you fill out the warranty you can request for it and they will send it free. Probably to save on original packaging. I thought that was weird but it is what it is. It did arrive within a week. I have not used it either as I like the mulching. And speaking of mulching it does a excellent job with mulching with the stock blade. Even with taller grass if you have not mowed in a couple weeks. If you mow during growing season every week the mulching is so good that you have to look hard to see any clippings in the grass. I looks exactly like it was bagged. But waiting and having it grow taller still did good job mulching with very minimal if any laying on top. when I order the mower I also I did order an Oregon G3 mulching blade because they are supposed to be the best. But I have not had to use it yet because the stock one does well. I will try it at some point to see the performance between the two based on mulching and gas consumption as the Oregon G3 Gator is a lot heavier blade than the stock Toro.

I have yet to have it bog down on tall grass that would cause my old self propelled mowers to bog down. I have always bought the cheaper self propelled mowers, craftsman and troy-bilt, that were less than $400. This one will run circles around them and I have noticed that I am far less exhausted after mowing with it. I am 56 and running out of stamina as I get older :D. I push mow for the exercise. But time will tell how well the Toro lasts. My older mowers lasted 15 years. Hopefully this one will last the rest of my life.
 
I'm going to get a new mower in the next couple of years so I'm glad to read this. My lawn takes around an hour or a little less to mow. I have a Murray mower I bought in 1993 when I bought this house and it has a 5 hp Briggs. It was self-propelled until about 15 years ago when a nylon worm gear wore out and couldn't get a replacement. So I took the trans out and have just pushed it since then. So it's 31 years old. It is not rotted, starts first pull, but it is heavy. Like Linhart, I like it because it's good exercise which is why I do it but it be just about as good if I had a lighter mower.
 
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