Recommendation for a New Cordless Lawn Mower?

[Deactivated] on 14/01/2018 - 10:55
Last edited 15/01/2018 - 16:17

Hello Ozbargainers

Long story short my victa mower has passed away and i'm fed up of petrol mowers, now looking for a cordless one

Can anyone give me any recommendations of what they have used and enjoyed having? So far I've looked at the following:

EGO 56V Cordless Mower (Good Reviews but I'm not a fan of the plastic build)
Ryobi 36V Cordless Mower (Another plastic one, some reviews say durability isnt great on some of the parts)
Baumr E-Force 580 (Never heard of them, their petrol mowers have bad reviews, but steel deck ftw)

My lawn is very small but i'm lazy sometimes and the grass gets tall so I need some power

Update: I went and got the Ryobi 36V from bunnings. Absolutely love it, the thing is so much lighter and effortless to start. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN MY WHOLE LIFE?? Took a couple charges to recover my lawn as it was embarrassingly tall. I reckon it would be able to do the whole yard with one battery if I mowed it once or twice a fortnight. The power is maybe 90% of my 2 stroke mower and is more than enough for the job plus the ryobi doesnt stall like the petrol one does on ridic tall grass

Home & Garden

Comments

  • quilgy on 14/01/2018 - 13:34
    +1

    I’m interested in this too. I have a corded Flymo which is fine but no catcher. Also have a tonne of the Ryobi 18V One stuff but have a couple of mates with the Ozito Power X cordless mower from Bunnings that rate it.

  • [Deactivated] on 14/01/2018 - 13:52
    +1

    I've got AEG 58v Blower/ Line trimmer so can't exactly comment on the mower itself. I will however say the batteries themselves are very good and have maintained their charge and run time. I guess it depends on how big your yard is and how rough the grass your cutting is. There are some package deals with two batteries and some with just the one.

    You'll find if you're working the machine hard you'll get about 20 minutes, whereas if it's shortish grass you could get around the hour. You'll find this is pretty similar across the entire range of battery operated mowers.

    As for them being plastic i wouldn't worry about it to much. Plastics these days are designed to take a beating, plus it makes it a little bit lighter which is always a good thing.

    • [Deactivated] on 14/01/2018 - 14:21

      Yeah I guess you are right. I haven't seen any complaints in terms of plastic deck failure so they must be pretty decent.

  • Euphemistic on 14/01/2018 - 14:08
    +1

    I have a Ryobi 36v mower. Have had it for about 2years. I works well, but to be honest does struggle in long grass especially with the smaller battery. When I say long I mean above ankle height. Our yard is around 350m2 if mowing. I can do the whole yard on the bigger battery (5ah) if I haven’t let it get too long, otherwise it will need the second battery as well. I typically mow the shortest sections with the small battery before moving to the bigger one for the tough stuff when the small one runs flat. Works for me.

    I bought it second hand and it hasn’t let me down. I really like how quiet it is and easy to start. Also like the way it stops immediately when you release the handle. My model can be a little frustrating to start, you need a definite press of the override button before pulling the handle to go, but it isn’t a big hassle because you learn to work with it.

    • [Deactivated] on 14/01/2018 - 14:15

      thanks for the reply

      right now my grass is at knee height because my victa mower has been a pain in the arse to start lol might have to go over it with a whipper snipper before i try the mower.

      on the topic of your mower I saw a vid of one of the ryobi electric mowers and the guy kept his thumb on the override button whilst mowing - is this actually necessary or can you let go of that button and just hold the lever bar?

      • Euphemistic on 14/01/2018 - 14:27
        +1

        Nah, just hold the bar once it’s going.

      • megadeth on 14/01/2018 - 15:27

        Try checking the $10 foam fuel filter and/or the spark plug… have you been changing the engine oil? 4 stroke engines are very reliable if maintained properly… My Victa from BigW is going strong since 9 years, however, I'm eying the Costco petrol lawn mower which would be an upgrade for me…

        • [Deactivated] on 14/01/2018 - 16:09

          its a 2 stroke actually had the spark and fuel tap (with the foam filter in it) replace around a year or so ago.

          no idea whats wrong with it, just wont start. Kinda fed up at this point

  • Yttrium on 14/01/2018 - 17:10
    +1

    Lawns are a heap of work for little benefit. Many people feel socially obliged to have one.

    Be brave and get rid of it.

  • Slippery Fish on 14/01/2018 - 17:11
    -1

    Petrol

    • [Deactivated] on 14/01/2018 - 23:28
      +1

      i'll use a petrol generator to charge my batteries

  • serpserpserp on 14/01/2018 - 17:13
    +1

    I find a good pair of scissors from the kids playroom a really reliable form of cutting my grass.

  • spacemansam on 14/01/2018 - 21:11
    +1

    I bought a Baumr E Force 360 (36V) - so a lot weaker than the one you listed, but I'm pretty happy with it. It works really well on our nature strip which is about 10m x 3m, easy to use, battery is great and I like how the height is easy to adjust.

  • kampua on 14/01/2018 - 23:49
    +1

    I have a 82v Victa 18" battery mower, it has a metal deck, love it.

    • esosite on 15/01/2018 - 13:48

      I'm thinking of getting this one, does it manage longer grass reasonably ok? Must have about 300m2 of grass in my new place (rental) do you think that would manage. This one looks the most sturdy with the metal base

      • [Deactivated] on 15/01/2018 - 16:24
        +1

        got the ryobi 36v today and imo metal might seem more sturdy but I found the plastics they use are very strong plus the whole mower is so darn light I can pick it up with one hand and its so much easier to maneuver when mowing

        • esosite on 15/01/2018 - 21:09

          I ended up getting the victor 82v. I agree being lighter would be nicer and the plastic is probably made to last, its a bit heavy to manoeuvre but I guess its like a regular mower. Worked through my long grass with a few charges so when its done regularly I imagine 1 charge would do the trick. now just have to think of which whipper snipper to get.

        • [Deactivated] on 16/01/2018 - 09:00
          +1

          @esosite: overall thats about the same experience I got with the ryobi - multiple charges to get through tall grass. The Victa 82V looks like a whole range of products so you could get the 82v Whipper Snipper. I Think they use the same batteries

        • Twisty on 05/03/2018 - 17:27

          @esosite:

          How long does the battery last on the Victa?

          I’m looking at a battery mower and saw the 82v metal housing of the Victa which is also brushless motor am I correct?

          It’s $499 which is $100 cheaper then the Ryobi which is only 36v

          What am I missing?

        • esosite on 05/03/2018 - 23:09

          @Twisty: Its a different amp rating I think; presumedly they are similar in terms of duration. When the lawn is decent length I can do a 600m2 block (that includes house and driveway etc) on a single charge + some whipper snippering.

          When its long it can take a full charge just for front and another for back; but it only takes 30 minutes to charge so not a big deal

        • Twisty on 05/03/2018 - 23:14

          @esosite:

          Do you recommend the Victa?

          And if yes why?

          I’m wondering why the others are $100 plus more are they any better

        • esosite on 05/03/2018 - 23:18

          @Twisty: Mmm I can't compare to the others; the victa is good; gets the job done and is a steel body so feels like a regular lawn mower. Pretty sure Ryobi is an international brand and victa only Australian; just price difference. its only 20%.

          If you need more power you can get an additional battery anyway.

          There are a bunch of videos on youtube about them

          Edit: its so easy my girlfriend can use it without a problem; just 1 button and go

        • Twisty on 06/03/2018 - 10:40

          @esosite:

          Ok thanks

          Just don’t wanna buy the wrong one as it’s a lot of $$$

          THhe Victa seems good as it’s brushless motor, 82v so more power then the others and is cheaper by $100

        • esosite on 07/03/2018 - 22:20

          @Twisty: I don't think the 82v is the same as Ryobi 18v in terms of scale (they use some amperage multiplier + advertising

        • Twisty on 07/03/2018 - 23:03

          @esosite:

          Sorry I was talking about the Ryobi 36v 5.0ah 18” Mower

  • Hiroko on 15/01/2018 - 07:41
    +2

    Have used the Ryobi 36v for 7 years.
    still works like the day i bought it with absolutely minimal maintenance.
    the 2.6ah battery that came with it lasted about 4-5 years.
    if you leave your grass too long you will need to whip it first or mow on highest setting then step down.

    • [Deactivated] on 15/01/2018 - 16:20
      +1

      thanks for the reply.

      I went and got the ryobi 36v today and love it. My whipper snipper stalled half way through trimming the grass and wouldn't restart so I just winged it and went straight in with the ryobi.

      I was surprised it could tackle knee high grass. It took a couple charges but I'm very impressed it chewed through my disaster of a garden.

      • Elppa8 on 15/01/2018 - 23:20

        What model did you end up with? Looking at the Ryobis myself but not sure whether to pay the extra $$ for the brushless motor.

        • [Deactivated] on 16/01/2018 - 09:14

          I got the The brushless motor model

          Brushless is more power efficient and durable in theory but I mainly got the brushless one for the larger battery and larger cutting width.

          I have no doubts that this model is just as powerful but it may not last as long as the brushless one.

          As for the 18v models they have the benefit of using their one+ battery range but I've read they're only good for maintenance mowing

        • Elppa8 on 16/01/2018 - 10:51

          @Sock:
          Thanks for your response, I agree performance between models could be similar as the motor power seems to be matched to the cutting width. But with the brushless model being quieter, lighter and supplied with a bigger battery with a more efficient motor I think that it is worth the extra dollars and will be the way to go.

        • Euphemistic on 16/01/2018 - 18:21

          @Sock: wow. $600! I bought mine for $250 and have seen a few advertised up to $350, bit older and not brushless though.

        • [Deactivated] on 16/01/2018 - 20:15

          @Euphemistic: lol yeah it was quite pricey but in the scheme of things lets just say this was still pretty reasonable. They have self propelled models going for $800-1000 and if you dont want to have a heart attack I recommend not looking up the price of the Bosch Professional GRA53 ;)

  • Elppa8 on 19/01/2018 - 14:02
    +1

    Picked up the brushless motor model today with the 5 amp battery and fast charger. No assembly required, just removed the mulching attachment unfold the handles and after charging the battery popped it with the red key and it was ready to go.

    On first impressions it’s thumbs up! Before purchasing I was unsure if a battery powered mower would matched the quality of cut of the Honda but those thoughts were soon dispelled after completing the mowing. My back (50 square metres) lawn is medium length buffalo and the front (90 square metres) thick medium length couch. Both lawns were fairly dry due the recent weather and the catcher was half full at the end of each lawn. After completing work the battery was showing 3 bars indicating 50-75% reserve.

    Cut quality: I tend to mow at a slow walking pace so the blades have time to cut rather than tear the grass and the cut today was on par with the Honda petrol mower. Height adjustment is coarser at 10mm increments against 6mm increments for the Honda. I cut at notch 3 and it was a little shorter than notch 6 on the Honda.

    Noise: much quieter than the petrol mower even quieter than our vacuum cleaner and the grass seems to muffle the noise a lot. It is possible to hold a conversation with someone in the vicinity of the mower.

    Grass Catching: probably a little less capacity and pickup than our other mower but adequate. I think the Honda creates more draft to throw the grass into the catcher but that could be blade design. It tended to be a little messy when removing the catcher which in itself is tricky due to the design of the mower handle which prevents easy access to the catcher. I didn’t try the mulching attachment as I have no requirement to use it.

    Ease of use: very easy to manoeuvre due to its construction compared to a metal decked petrol mower. Easy to push and the handle has two position heights with a comfortable operating position. Although it has a handle for carrying it is still to weighty to lift easily, but I am a bit of a weakling.

    Power: no problems here although I do mow regularly. A couple of times the motor surged to provide extra power as designed in some of the heavier going but never looked like cutting out and there was plenty of battery reserve left.

    Construction: the deck seems quite robust without any significant flexing. I like the sliding/folding handles which allows the mower to be stored in a very compact manner and takes only seconds to to get it up and ready to go. There is some unrestrained flexible conduit protecting the cable to the control switch which wouldn’t stay secured in the deck and flopped around until I secured it with a couple of cable ties. I can also see the “easy edge” labels on the side getting a beating from rubbing up against concrete. The start/stop handles and button worked very well and weren’t in any way uncomfortable to hold in whilst in use.

    Overall happy with the purchase and would recommend although my conditions of weed and stone free lawns regularly mowed could differ to others. As for longevity only time will tell, but with a 6 year warranty on the mower and 3 years on the battery there is an expectation that it should last a while.

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