GreenWorks 25242 Review

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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

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