Best GreenWorks 25022 Review
I bought my first lawn mower when I bought my first house in 2004. It was a Black and Decker MM675 with a flip-over handle. That lawn mower served me well for about 5 years and never let me down. Then, one day I used it when my lawn was too wet and the motor started to smoke as it bogged down on wet grass! I could no longer get the MM675 model, so I went to Home Depot and "upgraded" to the MM1800, the 18" corded mulching/bagging lawn mower from Black and Decker. Immediately I was dissatisfied. It didn't feel as strong as my old mower, was more unwieldy, and had this awful plastic shroud that made it hard to maneuver. Everything on it felt cheap, and two years later, it died on me while mowing grass that was not that thick.
I decided to try a GreenWorks lawn mower to leave the Black and Decker world and see what else I could find.
Bear in mind, I did not consider gas because I don't have the room to keep fuel around and I have a modest size yard. I did not want cordless battery power because I didn't want to have to keep batteries alive (some require charge/discharge cycles all winter) or buy new batteries.
Corded lawn mowers are a fine solution. Many complain about "cord management", but here's the trick. Your lawn never changes. Unless you are a professional landscaper (and if you are, buy a gas mower), then you always mow the same lawn. So the trick is to come up with a mowing pattern where you mow away from the outlet and never trip over the cord. Once you have a pattern, stick with it and you can mow quickly.
Which brings me to the GreenWorks 25022 20" electric bag/mulch/side discharge lawn mower. It costs a bit more than the Black and Decker, but what a difference. First, the deck of the lawn mower is metal, not plastic! That means it is thinner than the B&D. Also, with more metal the top is not covered in bulky plastic. I have a sewer cleanout stand-pipe in my yard. My Black and Decker MM1800 could never mow close to it so I always had to get out the weed whacker. I was amazed that the GreenWorks 25022 could mow so close that there was no need to come back for cleanup. I did it all in 1 pass.
The amazing thing is that the GreenWorks 25022 lawn mower is 20" instead of the 18" of the B&D, meaning I could mow my lawn faster with fewer passes, yet it could also get closer to things due to the smaller shroud over the blade.
Other nice features include very large rear tires, what might be the largest in the industry. They make it far easier to maneuver than models with 7" or 8" wheels. Cord management is a snap with a nice pig-tail cord that secures nicely. The B&D model didn't have a pigtail, just a plug on the device itself, and the cord was harder to keep in.
This GreenWorks 25022 also permits side-discharge. I normally just mulch, but it is nice to have that as an option in addition to bagging.
The GreenWorks lawn mower activates with a simple bar that has a 1-button safety. The safety is easy enough to use to not be obtrusive and the bar is full length so you can grab it from either side.
The height adjustment of the GreenWorks 25022 is far higher quality than the B&D height adjust. Strong metal controls with positive stops made height adjustment a snap.
For the space limited, the handle folds very easily. The middle bar doesn't even need to be unscrewed as there are folding posts to "snap" it into place, and the screws on the bottom are retained in the unit when it folds so there are no parts to lose.
I am a happy convert from Black and Decker, and recommend you give the GreenWorks 25022 lawn mower a try!
Review Update from November 2011:
When I first reviewed the GreenWorks 25022, I commented that I was just mulching. This weekend I gave the bagging feature a try because I wanted to mow up the leaves all of my yard. If you mulch those you just make a mess, so I needed to bag. The bag installed easily - just lift the spring-loaded back door, remove the mulching plug, and the bag has 2 hooked to secure it. The bag filled up quickly which was to be expected given the large number of leaves I was mowing, but it was easy to empty. One thing I quickly noticed - the bag is narrow enough to fit between the handlebars. As a result, I could pick it straight up without bending over and pulling all the way back. I spilled less clippings and got it emptied far faster. The bag is obviously well thought out and rounds out a great tool that I recommend with no reservations.
Review Update from Spring 2013:
The GreenWorks 25022 lawn mower is still going strong. Just another note - I abuse this thing. I leave it chained under my deck all year long since I don't have a garage or a tool shed. It sits in the rain, the snow, the heat, and the cold. Amazingly, every spring I plug it in, squeeze the handle, and it starts right up. Can't say that for even lots of gas lawn mowers. Still gets my recommendation!
Review Update from Spring 2014:
I tried a Black and Decker mower this year that was battery operated. It lasted 2 weeks and died when the blade hit a root and bent 90 degrees. I went back over to my GreenWorks 25022. It's started to rust a bit (yes, I still keep it outside), but I plugged it in and cut my lawn in a snap. Still a happy customer!
Rating: 5/5
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