View SALE Price Here
Best GreenWorks MO14B00 Review
We have a
small front yard and didn't want to spend a lot of money to keep it cut.
I had been using my GreenWorks weed trimmer to mow the lawn, but the
cut came out more uneven than we preferred. After looking around for an
inexpensive electric lawn mower we came upon this unit by the same
manufacturer as my weed trimmer. Since we were satisfied with the
GreenWorks brand, we decided to give their lawn mower a try.
The GreenWorks MO14B00 is lightweight and easy to maneuver. While the collection bag is
small, our lawn is small so it only needs to be emptied a couple of
times per lawn mowing sessions. While dealing with a 100 ' cord while
mowing is a bit of a hassle it beats shelling out a couple of hundred
dollars more a battery operated lawn mower. Also, since the GreenWorks MO14B00 has no
battery it is lighter to push around than a battery operated version.
I
have used the GreenWorks MO14B00 lawn mower seven times without issue. The lawn mower is height
adjustable and cuts the lawn evenly on each of the levels I've tried.
The biggest issue I have with the GreenWorks MO14B00 are the small wheels. Any rut
or divot in your lawn will cause the wheels to hang up a bit while
mowing. If the wheels were a little bigger, this wouldn't be an issue.
For
a small yard, I find this GreenWorks MO14B00 a practical solution for somebody on a
budget. If the wheels were a little bigger, I would give this mower a
five star rating. It gets the job done for a reasonable price.
Rating 5/5
View SALE Price Here
Best GreenWorks 25012 Review
I hear
these electric lawn mowers are good for the environment. I like
the environment, it's where all my stuff is, so that's pretty cool and
whatnot.
But I bought this GreenWorks 25012 mainly because I am lazy and hate
doing yard work. With a corded electric lawn mower, I don't have to
drive all the way to the gas station to get fuel. Then I don't have to
worry about the fuel going bad because I'm only going to use the thing
5-6 times a year. There's also no oil to change, or gaskets to go bad
because it's been sitting around too long, or air filter to forget about
cleaning or replacing. Something about spark plugs too, I don't even
know.
Go through all that hassle with a gas lawn mower and the stupid
thing still won't pull start. Normally I would just quit at this point,
but every summer I end up getting notices from the city because the
weeds in my yard are a "fire hazard" or some such nonsense. So then I
have to call my dad, who's good at this sort of thing and always has a
perfect yard. He doesn't say anything, but I feel bad about wrecking his
weekend, and I imagine he feels like a bit of a failure for raising
such a lazy son that doesn't even have any basic small-motor maintenance
skills. Honestly, who's going to be motivated to do any yard work after
all that heavy emotional stuff?
So I got this GreenWorks 25012 lawn mower
delivered to my house today and I decided to take it out back just to
see if it worked. Plugged it in, turned it on... and ended up mowing my
whole back yard like it wern't nothing at all. Took like 30 mins maybe;
a fraction of the time it would have taken to even realize that my gas
lawn mower (which has been sitting under a tree for a year because I never
bothered to put it away last summer) probably needs to be completely
rebuilt again.
Also, I'm very tall and have kind of a bad back,
and I found this GreenWorks lawn mower to be surprisingly comfortable to use. Push
mowers usually leave me hurting pretty bad. The one-lever height
adjustment also gets my fat, tired, and lazy seal of approval.
So,
yea. If you're not the kind of weirdo that enjoys screwing around with
gas-motorized junk, than a corded electric lawn mower is an alternative that
is probably even superior. I went with GreenWorks 25012 because they seem to
have a decent reputation for reliability, which is backed up by the
better-than-average warranty put on their products.
Rating 5/5
View SALE Price Here
Best GreenWorks MO40B410 Review
NOTE: This is for the 20" GreenWorks lawn mower only! Apparently Amazon merged several mower sizes into this one product.
My
wife and I wanted a lawn mower that wasn't as loud and noisy as a gas lawn mower,
didn't require burning oil, and didn't vibrate as much. This GreenWorks MO40B410
fulfilled all of our wishes. We have a 1/3 acre lot, and this lawn mower
with two batteries works just fine. The only time we need to recharge
the batteries half way through mowing is when we wait way too long
between mowings, and the motors need to do some extra work to chop down
the tall weeds. This GreenWorks MO40B410 is fairly easy to push, since it is much
lighter weight than a gas lawn mower. We also bought the electric trimmer
that uses the same battery system, so we were sure to buy that kit with
an extra charger and battery. Sometimes we use the extra battery, but
it is nice to have just in case. Overall, I would buy this GreenWorks MO40B410 lawn mower again and am
quite satisfied.
Review Update 5/17/2014
Still using this GreenWorks MO40B410 all
the time, and it still works great. I've taken to only using one
battery at a time, and keeping the other on the charger while mowing.
Not sure it makes a difference, but I like it anyway to take a little
break while mowing to switch batteries. When done mowing, I do tip the GreenWorks MO40B410 lawn mower on its side and clean the underside. Some more expensive lawn mowers
have a water hose attachment to clean the underside, but I'm not sure I
would spray water into the motor on this unit. :-) Using a stick works
just as well, and seems to keep things working better.
Review Update 9/25/2014
So,
I may have let the lawn go a little. I ignored the grass for a few
weeks thanks to overtime at work, family matters, and just generally
being lazy when I got home. The grass in the back yard made it up to a
good 8-10" tall. I thought for sure I would need a gas lawn mower to power
through that. Sure enough, my battery powered GreenWorks MO40B410 powered
through it. Sure, I had to empty the silly bag way more often than I
wanted (I never mulch), but the GreenWorks MO40B410 never stopped mowing because it
was too thick. I'm still impressed, and still happy. Only thing I'm
looking for is a grinder to sharpen the blades. Apparently a set of two
replacement blades cost less than a "jackson" on Amazon with Prime
shipping. I've found if I wait until the afternoon to mow when the
grass is more dry, there is no need to clean the underside of the lawn mower.
Still 100% satisfied with this GreenWorks MO40B410, and 100% recommended.
Rating 5/5
View SALE Price Here
Best GreenWorks 25242 Review
I really wanted to give this GreenWorks 25242 a five star rating, but some issues emerged that dropped it to only three stars.
First,
the battery I received is a dud. After charging it fully it lasts less
than 20 minutes under very light duty mowing conditions. I recharged it
several times with the same poor results, and when I checked it with my
voltmeter it shows virtually zero voltage and several ohms internal
resistance, so clearly there is something amiss with it. After charging,
all 4 battery LEDs light up, but within 5 minutes of use there are only
3, after 10 minutes only 2, after 15 only 1 and shortly thereafter it
dies and the GreenWorks 25242 stops running. I've emailed GreenWorks customer
support about this issue, so I'll have to wait for their reply to see
how they respond. I was expecting about 40 minutes run time based on the
manufacturer's specifications, and it takes me about 30 minutes to mow
my 3/16 acre lawn, including landscaped and tight areas.
Second,
the GreenWorks lawn mower website states that the blade height adjustment range is
1-1/2" to 3-1/2", which is perfect for my needs. In fact, it is only
7/8" to 2-3/4" (20cm - 70cm) as stated in the manual, which I verified
by measurement. Also, the bottom of the deck is not level, sloping
towards the front, where it sits about 1/4" lower than the rear. Since
the height adjustment does not permit independent adjustment of the
front and rear wheels, there is no way to correct thus. So, even though
there are 5 adjustment positions, only the top 2 are useful, and it
lacks a sufficiently high position for long summer cutting. Also, the
smallish wheels require high effort to push the GreenWorks 25242 through anything
but the lowest grass height, so this lawn mower is useless for any clearing
operations.
Both these issues are unfortunate, as there is
otherwise a lot of good to say about this GreenWorks lawn mower. Mulching quality is
excellent with its wavy blade and round deck shape, due to the mulch
plug and lack of a side discharge. Also, there is minimal buildup under
the deck, which simplifies cleanup. Changing from mulching to bagging is
a 10 second operation, and the bag is well made and easy to empty.
Overall quality and durability is excellent, and I cannot see any parts
falling off or failing under normal use. Many parts are common hardware
items, such as cotter pins to secure the wheels and tubing clamps (aka
P-clips) to secure the rear stone shield. Key fasteners are identified
in the parts list, such as the M10X1.25 hex nut that secures the blade.
The
battery issue is probably an isolated random problem, which hopefully
will be rectified promptly by GreenWorks. The height adjustment and high
rolling effort issues could be easily solved together by using larger
diameter wheels. Simply increasing the wheel diameter by 1 inch would
increase the maximum cutting height by 1/2 inch, which would be a
significant improvement. There appears to be ample deck clearance for
this.
Update on 4/23/2012 - I've downgraded this product to two
stars because of the major hassle I'm having getting a replacement for
the defective battery. I called GreenWorks customer support this morning
and was informed that I needed to take the battery to an authorized
service center for repair. According to the GreenWorks person, these
batteries are repairable/rebuildable and they won't simply ship me a
replacement under warranty. The closest authorized service center is
nearly a 30 miles drive from my house. I drove to the service center
with my GreenWorks 25242 battery and charger, and was informed that they did not do any
electrical repairs and could only order a replacement for me. They then
informed me that these batteries are on backorder from the Chinese
factory, and are not expected to be back in stock for several weeks or
even over a month. Also, they were not sure they could warranty it,
since the battery manufacturer, Dixie, could not cross-reference it to
the GreenWorks lawn mower model number. However, they agreed to order it for
me and try to sort out the warranty issues later. So, best case scenario
I get a replacement no cost under warranty, but still need to wait for
weeks and burn about $30 in gas driving twice to the service center.
Meanwhile, I can run my mower for about 15 minutes at a time with the
crippled battery. What a hassle.
Update on 5/3/2012 - I received a
phone message from the service center folks at Northern Tool +
Equipment that they had received the replacement GreenWorks 25242 battery and that it was
covered by the warranty, so I just needed to bring in the defective
battery for exchange. Another 60 mile round trip later and I had the
replacement battery, which fortunately is good. It had two of the four
LEDs lit and charged for about 2 hours before showing a green light on
the charger. I ran the GreenWorks 25242 lawn mower for about 20 minutes before dark, and it
had two LEDs lit when I stopped. It took less than an hour to fully
recharge, so it appears that it still had at least half of its charge
remaining, and I should be able to get about 40 minutes run time from a
full charge to empty, which is more time than I need to fully mow my
yard. The GreenWorks 25242 seems to run stronger with the new good battery and the
battery doesn't get hot the way the bad one did. So, while I'm pleased
that this has all been resolved and that I now have a fully functional
lawn mower, I still feel that the cost and inconvenience has been
unacceptable and will not revise my rating.
Update on 7/14/2012 -
I have replaced the stock 6" front wheels with 7" wheels that I bought
from Harbor Freight Tools (#98951). I've uploaded some photos at the top
of the Amazon listing that show how the mower is now level, whereas
before it tilted down towards the front and it has also gained nearly
1/2" maximum cutting height at the leading edge of the blade from 2-3/4"
to a more useful 3-1/4". Another advantage of the larger front wheels
is that they make it easier to push this nose-heavy lawn mower, especially in
thicker grass. The only quality issue to date with the GreenWorks 25242 has been tearing of the
foam grip, which I have fixed with electrical tape.
Rating 2/5
Best GreenWorks mo40l02 Review
Gave this GreenWorks mo40l02 lawn
mower a few uses before I decided I absolutely needed to write a review.
I decided to write this in the hopes that I can prevent people from
making the same poor decision I made by purchasing this lawn mower. It is
plain and simply put a deficient piece of garbage. Batteries lose their
juice way too fast to be productive at all. I have a total of three
batteries I purchased and it’s still not enough to complete my front
lawn and back without at least 3-4 charges. I’m on less than half acre
lot.
The engine constantly shuts off when mowing over longer grass. I
constantly have to restart the GreenWorks mo40l02 just to do simple mowing. I even spent
about another $100 bucks to buy the 40 volt 5.0 AH battery thinking that
would help with the torque. But sorry to say that hasn’t helped at
all. The GreenWorks mo40l02 just doesn’t have enough power to tackle my lawn. And I
have a regular lawn, not some super challenging landscape.
I think
the battery powered tech just might not be too advanced yet when it
comes to lawn mowers at least. I’m gonna cut my loss and the $500 I spent
altogether on this piece of junk. I’m going back to the power and
reliable power of a gas lawn mower.
Rating 1/5
Best GreenWorks mo40l02 Review
Bought
this lawn mower a few months ago from Menards when it is was not yet
available from Amazon. On the whole it is a great lawn mower. The motor has
plenty of power to cut even thick grass and it is really quiet. But you
will need a second battery unless you have a really small yard. I also
like that the handle folds down and locks. This makes the GreenWorks mo40l02 easy to
pick up with the folded handle and put into a vehicle for transport.
A
couple minor design issues that are annoying: The side discharge shoot
is not really held on securely and will come off if you bump into
anything with it. I know I am probably old fashioned to even use it, but
I don't like bothering with a bag and using it in mulching mode slows
it down and uses up the battery too fast. Also, the battery is very
difficult to remove from the GreenWorks mo40l02 lawn mower. You have to press on the release bar
while pulling it out, but the battery does not stick out enough to get a
good grip on it. I have found that a paint can opener provides just the
amount of extra leverage to get the battery out. Keep the paint can
opener in the spare battery compartment.
Also a peculiarity with the GreenWorks mo40l02
battery charger: I don't know if this is normal or just an issue with
the one I have, but if you have just run down the battery while mowing
and then put the battery on the charger right away, the charge light
will turn green very quickly and it will not charge. I have to let the
battery rest 10-15 min before putting it on the charger.
Rating 5/5
Best GreenWorks mo12b00 Review
I'm updating this to 5 stars because even given the issues
below, I would buy this GreenWorks mo12b00 again over any competitors I could find
in this product category of lawn mowers. I've used this for 4 years now and it still
works the same as it did new. I remarked below on poor cut quality in
some scenarios where blade speed can fall too low which is still a
problem, but this really only occurs when mulching. Cutting thick or
tall grass with the discharge open improves the pace and cut quality in
this scenario but there are limitations, mowing fields is still going to
produce a crappy cut no matter what you use.
Let's get a few
things out of the way, these do not impact the product score, as they
are common to all products in this category:
1. This is a corded lawn
mower. Dealing with the cord is sometimes a pain. If you have a lot of
trees or obstacles you may want to consider something else.
2.
Maximum power is limited to a 120V outlet and what can safely make it
out an extension cord (about 1650W, for reference 1HP is ~745W).
3.
With no batteries to wear out or engines to refuel/re oil, this is very
cheap to operate. Running this GreenWorks mo12b00 lawn mower at peak output generally costs
8-25c/hour. You also hit an advantage in purchase price as gas or
cordless lawn mowers with the same features generally cost 50-100% more.
4.
Short of hitting something, bogging down an electric motor generally
allows it to produce more power and speed back up again (unlike a
gasoline engine).
So, what's good about this GreenWorks mo12b00? Well:
1. 21"
Steel deck. The actual blade is 19.5" leaving you a little less than an
inch on either side of the deck that won't be cut. You can get a much
closer cut with this than the B&D plastic models that have a very
thick plastic housing. It's also going to survive rocks/sticks much
better than the plastic ones. Both the discharge cover and bag seem to
attach easily and solidly. It also makes it look more like a lawn mower
and less like a big kid's toy.
2. Light (<55lbs). Since you're
not carrying your power source onboard it will be lighter than any
other GreenWorks lawn mower in this size class (compare to 75-90lb for gas or battery
electric). Larger rear wheels give easy maneuverability. Single lever
height adjust works well and is spring loaded so you can raise or lower
it with one hand.
3. 3 in one operation - A lot of electric
lawn mowers whether they're cordless or corded are limited on power, most get
around this by using more efficient blade designs that generate less
lift but mulching can be slower. With a reasonably well manicured lawn
it doesn't matter much, but cut quality and performance drop off a lot
if mulching tall or really thick grass. Since this GreenWorks mo12b00 has a side
discharge that remains an option for thick grass and improves cut speed
significantly without wasting your clippings, quite a few electrics
don't have a discharge option.
The bad?
1. Wheels/axles could be shielded a little bit so the cord doesn't tend to wrap around it and go under.
2.
Mulching anything thick is slow, mowing through thick grass can take
quite a bit of time (and tends to clump the output.) I think this is
more related to the blade design, when you move fast through thick
patches it will cut but leave a few standing, if it had more lift I
think it would draw these up (and also help propel the discharge
better). Unfortunately the blade seems to have proprietary mounting
holes so that's hard to do.
Now, into the nitty-gritty:
This
GreenWorks mo12b00 lawn mower is powered by a brushed DC electric motor (Globe 7080). Brushed
DC motors are lighter and cheaper than AC synchronous motors or
induction motors. However they're generally less durable or efficient.
The
Globe 7080 has a peak efficiency (their spec) of 68%. Peak efficiency
at 3500RPM (590W output at 7.3A), Peak power at 2245RPM (860W output at
13A). Here's why that's a problem:
Lawn mowers are generally limited
(by agreement) to a maximum blade tip speed of 19000 feet per minute
(for safety of items that may be thrown from the GreenWorks mo12b00). Higher blade
speeds give more lift helping the grass get lifted into the cutting path
and making cleaner cuts. At max efficiency RPM the blade is moving
about 17,800FPM on this lawn mower. If you start cutting too fast you'll bog
it down. Because it's electric it picks up torque so it will keep
spinning but you don't hit peak power until about 11,600FPM. This is far
too slow and you'll start seeing missed cuts and ragged lines (I
noticed this in actual usage).
So since you can't really cut that
slow, maximum usable power is closer to 600-650W, or less than 1HP. By
comparison, a Honda GCV160 engine at 3600RPM (a common governor setting
for push mowers) outputs about 3425W, falling to around 2800W at
3000RPM.
Obviously there are electrical supply limitations to a lawn
mower like the GreenWorks mo12b00. It's perfectly serviceable but nothing amazing, if they
ran a brushless motor in here it would undoubtedly cost more but the
efficiency could be much higher (>85%) and could be designed for peak
power much closer to the ideal blade speed.
Rating 5/5
Best GreenWorks glm801602 Review
There are a
few reviews of the GreenWorks glm801602 that complain of failures very soon after purchase. Here is
my take. I am a former electronic tech so I know what I am talking
about. When you see the word "brushless", it means the manufacturer has
chosen a much better way of making the GreenWorks lawn mower, but there is a trade off.
Allow me to explain. Hopefully I won't bore you to tears ;-)
Motors
work (you are looking to click away right now aren't you? - hang in
there one sec :)). Motors work by using a magnetic field to make a rotor
turn. There are a number of ways to do that. The most common for DC
motors (think battery powered) is to use an outside magnetic field and a
contact called a stator which connects the outside magnetic field to
the inside field in such a way as to make sure they are always pushing
against each other and making the motor turn. This type of motor uses a
"brush" to do that "inside to outside field" connection. It rides
against the stator while the motor turns. See the image below to know
what I am referencing (this is not the motor in the GreenWorks glm801602 lawn mower, its just one
I had in my shop for educational purposes).
The thing is, those
brushes (made of graphite) will eventually wear down and the motor will
stop working. Brushless motors fix all that by using permanent magnets
on the rotor and by using a special electronic circuit to control the
outside magnetic field so that it chases the rotor around to make it
spin. No brushes to wear out and as a bonus, more control over the GreenWorks lawn mower motor
(variable speeds, load sensing torque, etc...). The trade-off is that
there is a fairly complex circuit board with a bunch of transistors in
there for the thing to work. This is the way electric cars like the
Tesla work.
The reason
there are reviews that say "the GreenWorks glm801602 died totally after xxx time" is that
when the controller fails, that's it. It must be replaced in order for
the lawn mower to work again. Now the companies that make these controllers (like GreenWorks)
to try to make lawn mowers as robust as possible, but as with all electronics,
it either works for 20 years or it dies in 2 weeks. It just seems like
there is no in between. If I have a choice, I will always choose
brushless because they are just better period. Since this GreenWorks glm801602 lawn mower is
warrantied for 4 years, I can hardly see a reason not to buy it.
My
experience with the GreenWorks glm801602 and the blower which I purchased together has
been just great. They mow and blow just like my old gas powered tools.
I'm never going back to gas!!
Rating: 5/5
GreenWorks 25142 Review Update:
It's been a few weeks since my initial, glowing, 5-star review.
(included below) Since then, I've had a chance to mow my entire yard
again completely; I also loaned the GreenWorks 25142 lawn mower to a friend to try and even
mowed my neighbor's yard to try it out under various conditions. So far,
I haven't found a single hidden flaw with this GreenWorks 25142, yet I continue to
be impressed by more features of the very thoughtful design.
First
of all, I finally tried out the grass catcher bag. I had SO
underestimated how useful it is! It really should be called a vacuum
bag; it puffs up like an old Hoover vacuum cleaner as the GreenWorks 25142 sucks up
everything in its path. Using the bag instead of the mulching plug, the
vacuum effect also makes the mower work like a Flow-Bee, sucking the
blades of grass upright so the GreenWorks lawn mower will cut them more precisely, and
it also helps catch straggling blades of grass along the edges. Best of
all, it completely eliminates the need for any sweeping (or dreadful
leaf blowing) along walkways, streets, or driveways; the mower vacuums
everything up, leaving the area perfectly clean and manicured, like the
lawn just walked out of a barbershop!
I was also surprised at how
much the vacuum bag can hold; the GreenWorks 25142 lawn mower chops up everything finely and
blows it all to the back of the bag; it takes much longer than I
expected to fill it up. The bag is remarkably simple to attach and
remove from the lawn mower and exceedingly easy to empty, it also easily
unclips from the heavy steel frame so it can then be turned inside-out
and rinsed clean.
It's important to know that if you attempt to
mow grass that is particularly wet, it may tend to accumulate around the
blade. (as can happen with any lawn mower!) This GreenWorks 25142 is normally very
quiet; so if it seems to slow down or start to sound noisier than usual,
stop and turn it over to see if there's an accumulation of grass around
the blade. If so, simply remove it manually before proceeding.
I
discovered an additional benefit of the folding handle when attempting
to mow under a tree with low hanging branches. When temporarily folded
down, it becomes possible to mow beneath such obstacles. Larger lawn mowers
and/or lawn mowers without easily folding handles could never do this! The
manufacturer probably doesn't officially sanction using the GreenWorks 25142 this
way, but if you're careful, it's a another wonderful feature!
More
and more, the benefit of the smaller size and light weight of this
GreenWorks 25142 lawn mower becomes apparent. With the cutting height shifted into high, the
little lawn mower gobbles up weeds and even moderate brush as it maneuvers in
and around, over and under, various obstacles and edgings. The medium
setting delivers a beautiful cut for most of my yard, but then you can
tailor it down like a "bald-fade" to achieve a tightly cropped putting
green look.
As I gained more experience with the comfortable,
well-balanced "feel" of this GreenWorks 25142, and the way it's so easy to adjust
the cutting height for a precision cut, it began to remind me of the Andis Master Hair Clipper I
bought not too long ago. Arguably the most respected hair clipper in
its class, the truly beloved Andis Master is famous for delivering a
very precise cut, and for having a beautifully balanced feeling that is
delightful to use. (comparing a hair grooming product with a lawn
grooming product makes sense, doesn't it?)
Original GreenWorks 25142 Review:
I'm
very pleased with this Greenworks corded electric lawn mower. The 16-inch
cutting width is slightly narrower than "full sized" lawn mowers; if you're
looking to cut a vast expanse of lawn as quickly as possible, then
choose a larger product instead of this GreenWorks lawn mower.
PROS:
1-
Smaller size and weight make the GreenWorks 25142 very comfortable to use, carry
and store. Fits through narrower areas and around obstacles easier than
larger mowers.
2- Quieter and less vibration than other electric lawn mowers. (MUCH quieter than gas powered!)
3- Well-balanced handle has a soft padded grip, is height adjustable, and folds down instantly for storage.
4-
Power switch requires two hands to start for extra safety, but then
holding anywhere along the handlebar will keep the GreenWorks lawn mower running.
5-
Excellent height adjustment mechanism; large "gear shift style" control
on top of the GreenWorks 25142 moves smoothly and easily locks into the desired
position.
IMPORTANT: Move the control to its highest setting when you
first start out; adjust one-step-a-time lower until you reach the
desired cut.
6- No assembly required, boxed with no superfluous packaging.
7-
Thoughtfully designed and solidly built. Compared to other brands of
electric lawn mowers, this guy is and excellent value; I'm impressed!
CONS: (considerations, actually)
1- Smaller than larger lawn mowers, will take more walking to mow large areas.
2-
Grass catcher bag has limited capacity; when using that feature, the
bag will require more frequent emptying. (but it'll be easier to do)
3-
Needs electricity and an extension cord long enough to reach all areas
to be mowed. (an otherwise identical Greenworks lawn mower is available in a
battery-powered model #25242, priced a couple hundred dollars more)
Rating: 5/5
[4/13/2016 GreenWorks glm801601 update]
GreenWorks glm801601 was light enough to lug it down alone to the basement for Winter, and
back up for Spring. Absolutely no preparation needed (no gas burn off,
stabilizer, spark plugs, filters, etc.), aside from blowing off old
grass clippings and covering for dust (cover interchanged with snow
blower).
The 2 Ah battery just barely lasts my 1/4 acre mowing,
so I'd recommend purchasing a second 2 Ah or 4 Ah battery to swap
between. I now use the 4 Ah (bought a week after the mower) in the GreenWorks glm801601 lawn mower, leaf blower, & snow blower (bought this past winter and also
works great), and the lighter 2 Ah battery for the string trimmer &
hedge trimmer. I now have the entire GreenWorks 80V line, except the
chain saw. My corded Toro leaf blower stays in my basement, and I sold
off my gas 2-stage snow blower in December.
5/18/2015 original GreenWorks glm801601 review
I've
been holding off on purchasing this until the 4Ah battery bundle became
available, but the monkeys swinging across my lawn jungle forced my
hand. I decided to just use the 2Ah battery that I already had for my
GreenWorks 80V leaf blower.
The shipping weight is 72 pounds
(mower-only package), but the box was light enough to carry by myself.
Packaging is minimal, yet sturdy, with cardboard spacers. The box
contained the GreenWorks glm801601, handle bar extension, manual booklet, and
quick-start sheet.
The only assembly required were 1) attaching
the handle bar extension using 2 bolt/knob combos and 2) snapping on the
right-side mulch discharge chute. Alternatively, you can leave off the
side chute, pull off the rear mulching block, and attach the clippings
collection fabric bag. The entire handle assembly is adjustable to 3
heights using the pair of built-in 90-degree twist knobs. There’s also a
lever to adjust to 7 different cutting heights.
To prepare to
mow, simply lift the battery cover flap on raised protrusion on the
center-top of the GreenWorks lawn mower, push in the battery until it clicks into place
(release button is used when removing the battery), then lower the flap.
No
messy, smelly gas or oil needed. No nauseating exhaust! The electric
motor is far quieter than a gas engine; my toddlers fell asleep fine
during my lawn mowing. There’s none of the headaches of maintaining a
gasoline engine: buy/store/pour jugs of gasoline, buy and keep engine
oil topped off, buy fuel stabilizers, deal with spills, clean/replace
spark plugs, burn off excess gasoline for off-season storage, etc.
To
turn on, you push and hold the green button on the upper-right of the
handle, then grasp the green lever arm together with the handle bar,
then let go of the button. When you release lever, the GreenWorks lawn mower turns off
completely; there is no idle. To restart, you’ll need to repeat the
hold-button and grasp-lever routine. There is no cord-yanking involved.
The GreenWorks glm801601 is very easy to push (note it’s not self-powered), so I
speed-walked most of the time. It’s easy to turn 180-degrees for
parallel mowing. The blades cut very near to the outer edge of the
wheels (see attached picture), so there’s minimal need for overlap.
There’s a rubber rear skirt to protect you from any rock or debris
projectiles, which is a godsend for my yard, full of landscape stones
and sweet gum tree spike-balls.
The 2.0Ah battery from my leaf
blower had plenty of power to mow the ¼ acre of greatly-overgrown grass
and weeds (yesterday 5/17 was my first mow of the season), then power
the blower to clean the GreenWorks glm801601 lawn mower. It’ll probably still have enough power
for the string trimmer (on backorder), but I plan on buying either the
4.0Ah battery once it’s available or another 2.0Ah.
For storage,
the handle bars easily fold over at the base for fast, compact storage.
I actually have my mower resting vertically in the garage for maximum
space savings (see my first picture). I feel it’s also light enough for
most people to carry it to the basement for winter storage.
I’m
very happy with the 80V GreenWorks glm801601 lawn mower and leaf blower so far. This Fall, I plan
on selling my 24” gas snow thrower to replace with a GreenWorks 80V
model as well.
Rating: 5/5
---To
start out with --- let me explain what I bought, I bought the 20" GreenWorks lawn mower (the one that comes with one 4AH battery). The fact that I have
to clarify is annoying and more on this later.. This one appears to be a
newer version of the 19" (but still brushless) that came before.
On to the GreenWorks mo40l410 review
This GreenWorks mo40l410 is pretty awesome. I was a bit nervous cause there were so few
reviews on it. I previously had and loved the brushed corded 16" lawn mower
from GreenWorks... it worked so well that I decided to untether myself
for my birthday. I was convinced after the corded electric lawn mower worked
flawlessly and my 40v GreenWorks brushless weed eater worked so well.
So
the mower went on sale on Prime Day and I jumped on it. First
impressions are that the design engineers are clearly continuing
improvements. The handle could fold on my corded lawn mower, but nowhere near
as easily as this GreenWorks mo40l410 can... I don't even like this feature and
wouldn't use it regularly, but I can still appreciate the improvements
that other people may use. The battery bay holds two batteries... but
here's the kicker, I mowed some tall thick St. Augustine grass and
finished the front yard you see in my images with a single battery... I
suspect that as the blade gets a bit duller i'll need to swap batteries
or sharpen the blade again. But that was a pleasant surprise.
I
also really like the large wheels of the GreenWorks mo40l410, the longer radius makes
maneuverability a charm and it gets over bumps with ease. The bagging of
blades works well too even though I only tested it momentarily (I've
switched to mulching cause there's no need to strip the lawn of future
nutrients). I haven't figured out what the side discharger is for
exactly, but it looks pretty cool. Like an exhaust pipe on a racecar or
something. The way I see it, you want to pick up the clippings or you
want to spread them around the lawn... not spray the area you just mowed
or are about to mow. But it just clicks into place if you want it and I
appreciate them adding it, even if it raised the cost by a dollar or
something.
The auto sensing lawn height feature is okay. I give
it only 3 stars out of 5. It certainly works, but it kicks in about 2
seconds (or about 2 feet ) after you technically needed it. It's like
the sensor or Ammeter has to measure taller grass for a few seconds
before it kicks in. But by then your moving past that spot and might
have missed a few clippings. It hasn't happened yet, but again, the
blade is new and sharp. It would have been neater to have a sensor
adjust on the fly up or down. It's all electric and the motor is
brushless, there shouldn't be much wear and tear from constantly
increasing and decreasing the motor speed to accommodate the lawn at
that moment. Now, all this said, even on low speed the GreenWorks mo40l410 was cutting like a
champ. I would walk slowly and then quickly while the lawn mower was on the
lowest setting to see if it changed performance, and it was virtually
the same.
All in all it functions exactly like you'd expect it
to. I like the dual bay battery compartment. And the attention to
details all over, like the cable runs have loops to pass through, the
battery bay door has magnets to keep it shut, and details like that are
visible all over, it's just very well thought out.
If I'm being extremely nitpicky, here are some things I'd change (aside from the auto-motor-speed change I mentioned above).
1)
Amazon listing... I almost knocked a star because whoever is putting
these things on Amazon has no clue what they are doing. I see random
mowers paired with un-related mowers, yet the reviews are for both? And I
don't see all the options on the same listing. For example, this GreenWorks mo40l410 lawn mower
bounced around between listings multiple times in like 3 days. And this
lawn mower has another listing identical to it, just without the battery and
charger (the one I'm reviewing here)... yet somehow they aren't paired
together? And it's not exactly clear how this GreenWorks lawn mower differs from the
older version other than it's maybe a newer model? Is it better or
worse?... it's a complete freaking mess and I'm extremely annoyed. But
it's not actually the products fault... so I convinced myself to keep
the star. Get your blank together.
2) The battery bay door doesn't open very far. In fact it doesn't even open to 90 degrees, I'd like it to go to 120 at least.
3)
The lifter is on point. It's so easy and works so well. But it's
fastened to the right side of the Greenworks mo40l410 or something and the left side
is just a taddd looser. Even though it has zero impact on performance or
usability or comfort. I could notice.
4) I promise I'm not too lazy
to bend over and swap batteries. But two live ports would be neat (even
though I had plenty of battery left on the first battery haha (like I
said, nitpicking!)). But I wouldn't be willing to pay much more if it
raised the cost alot.
The Pros:
1) I can't believe how easy it
is to adjust. I have their corded GreenWorks mo40l410 mower and I didn't think it could get
any easier... and here I am being proven wrong. I don't know if I was
just scarred by my old gas honda lawn mower or what, but that thing was an
absolute pain to change the deck height. I used it alot on my corded
version because if I'm going to be busy the next two weeks, I can just
drop it a notch an go an extra couple days without mowing. Or If I know
I'm going on a 2 week vacation next weekend, I can raise it since I'm
going to mow again right before I leave.
2) I knew the big wheels
would help, but they help more than I thought. I hope they last as long
as short wheels, since the moment is higher on them in general. But I'm
glad they upgraded the wheels.
3) 20" deck means a 19" inch blade
iirc. I appreciate the large mowing swath. Not only did mowing go faster
cause I wasn't messing with a cord, but I was cutting larger swaths
than my old corded 16" lawn mower, so I was done in like 40% of the time that it
normally takes me.
4) The 4Ah batteries are great. I can weedeat the
front in one go with it. and then use the other battery to mow in one go
with it. And they charge so fast too. Not that I've needed them to come
off the charger and go straight to the yard, but it's nice having that
option.
5) It's silly but the black with green trim color scheme
looks legit. I like it better than the opposite that my corded lawn mower
has. (green with black trim).
6) Also, it mows evenly forward and
backwards. My old GreenWorks mo40l410 lawn mower mowed about a third of an inch
shorter when I pushed it forward than when I pulled it back (ostensibly
because it was too light). So not only was I goofing around with the
cord. But all even mowing had to be completed forwards. Not an issue
with this Greenworks lawn mower.
Overall I'm thoroughly satisfied with the GreenWorks mo40l410. I'll comment
back if longevity is ever an issue. But I expect a minimum of 5 years
out of this guy... and I'd prefer if it was more like 10. That said,
I'll cut the batteries some slack. I expect I'll buy a new pair in about
5 years to help me get to the EOL. They claim 2000 charges and I mow
like once every 10 days during the summer... So maybe they'll go the
full 10.
Rating: 5/5
Best GreenWorks 25322 Review
I have to
say I was skeptical when I decided to purchase the GreenWorks 25322.
However, I have to say I am very happy with my purchases and very
impressed with the quality of the equipment. All three pieces of
equipment were very easy to assemble; I did not need to use the
instructions that came with the GreenWorks lawn mower. There are some things to
understand about these three pieces of equipment. Compared to gas
powered equipment mower, blower, trimmer are all very very light. The
lack of significant weight can be misleading and interpreted as a lack
of power, however, this is untrue as all three pieces of equipment
perform just as well as any gas-powered equipment that I have used.
Pros and cons
The
pros to all three pieces of equipment do not very significantly. All
three pieces of equipment are light, easy to maneuver, and appear to be
very sturdy. The GreenWorks 25322 mulches grass significantly better than most of
the gas-powered lawn mowers I have used. I noticed a significant reduction in
loose grass that was clumped and blown all over the sidewalk and
driveway. One feature I particularly liked was the ability to start and
stop almost instantly. This came in handy especially with the blower
when needing to change direction. Finally, one of the pros is that the
equipment is less intimidating than gas powered equipment. My wife ran
the GreenWorks 25322 and the blower with ease considering this was the first time
she ever cut grass. My mother came with two batteries and a charger
while the blower came with one battery and one charger. This combination
gave me one four-amp battery and two two-amp batteries. I have a small
yard but the four-amp battery and one two-amp battery was more than
enough to cut my grass, in fact the four-amp battery was completely used
and the two-amp battery only used one green dot. The trimmer is as nice
as any gas-powered trimmer I have owned. I especially like the edging
feature, which works very nice.
I cannot find too many cons to
any of the GreenWorks 25322 lawn mower. Certainly, it takes time to learn how to work with
new equipment however, none of the GreenWorks lawn mower appears to be
overly complicated. I did read some negative reviews of the string
trimmer. Understanding that you have to release the throttle and wait
for the spool to click which indicates an advancement of the line is a
key to understanding how to operate the trimmer. I find the included
trimmer line is somewhat light and I will change it out once I use it
all.
Recommendation
I would recommend this GreenWorks 25322 to
anybody who desires equipment that is easier to work with and wants to
move away from using gasoline. I would eventually like to try the snow
blower especially here in Pennsylvania during one of our typical
winters. In closing I will say this if you are on the fence go ahead and
go green you will not be sorry.
Rating: 5/5
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
View SALE Price Here
Best GreenWorks 25302 Review
The GreenWorks 25302
works as most of the other reviewers as stated when it works. I like
that it is very quiet and couldn't start any easier. I've only mulched
with it, and it does a fair job as long as you don't try to cut too much
with it. One battery usually lasted me for my whole fenced in area, so
I was pretty happy with that. It is also light and I could easily
transport it to cut my mother's grass when needed. I've had several
people ask me about it and I told them how much I liked it.
So,
you're probably wondering why the three star review*. Well it was working
fine and I turned it off for just a minute. It wouldn't start after
that. After calling GreenWorks, they had me take it to the closest
repair dealer that is an hour away. I should have been tipped off at
how bad experience I was going to have when I wheeled the GreenWorks 25302 into their shop
and they said "Oh no, not one of those." I was told it would be three
weeks to repair.
After three weeks, I called and they said they
hadn't had a chance too look at the GreenWorks 25302 yet as they only have one technician
certified to repair it. I called several days later, and was told the
technician looked at it but couldn't figure out what was wrong and to
call back later. Several more days passed and I called again and was
told they had to order a part. Never once did this repair facility call
to update me on the status of the repair and I didn't have any options
to have it repaired also.
Two more weeks passed. I called again
and was told the part was on backorder. Getting very frustrated, I
called GreenWorks and they agreed to send me a new replacement GreenWorks 25302 lawn mower.
That was three weeks ago. I was originally told it would take up to two
weeks to replace. I called GreenWorks to see where it was and they
referred me to the repair shop as they said it is there responsibility
to fill out the paper work. Then I called the repair shop and was told
it was faxed to GreenWorks and they should know if it is approved and
being shipped.
I can't get a straight answer from anyone and they
are all saying it is the other parties responsibility. Maybe someday
I'll get my replacement. At this point, I don't expect to have one until
the end of October. So for $370, I got three months of use and no lawn mower
to use. It took two hours round trip to take it be repaired and
probably 15 phone calls so far. I'm still not done with the process yet.
So
if you get lucky and don't have any issues, you should be very happy
with the GreenWorks 25302. Just be prepared if something goes wrong to be without a lawn mower for a very long time.
***EDIT***
Just wanted to
follow up. I received the replacement GreenWorks lawn mower. It took about 10 weeks
since I dropped it off at the repair shop. I'd advise anyone buying the GreenWorks 25302 lawn mower to find out where you'll have to take it for repairs before
buying to make sure you know in advance what you'll have to do. I only
buy products with four star ratings on Amazon so I rely heavily on other
reviews. Hopefully you will have no issues. It's a good lawn mower as long
as you don't need to repair it. I upped the rating to two stars since I
finally got a working lawn mower, but it was a horrible process to go
through.
***Update May 2015***
Decided to keep the
replacement lawn mower instead of putting it on Craigslist. It has worked
well for three weeks and I'm keeping my fingers crossed it holds up. The
good thing about getting the replacement is that the repair company let
me keep the batteries and charger, so now I have four batteries and two
chargers. At least something good came out of the hassle I went
through.
I strongly suggest that you find out where your local GreenWorks 25302 dealer is in case you have to use them. Mine was 50 miles away.
Hopefully they will be better at repairing them as more and more come
in.
Rating: 3/5
