GreenWorks GLM801602 Review

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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

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