Electric mower reviews

[homeowner88]

For everyone that currently owns an electric mower, i.e., cordless or corded, please do give your review of it here:

1) List all of the "pros" about the mower and why you like using it.

2) List all of the "cons" and explain the details.

Any other comments are also welcome.

 

[homeowner88]

Wanted to add here that I am now a new owner of the EGO 20-inch 56 volt cordless mower and must say that it appears to be a great machine so far even though I only managed to do a short test by turning it on (inside the house) after getting back from Home Depot since there was rain and sleet...:thumbdown:

Hope that there may be a few opportunities to cut the grass now in November as things become steadily colder and wet and if I get a few dry days will definitely be out in the yard to give this bad boy a run.

Does anyone else have the EGO and made good use of it last summer?

 

[homeowner88]

Has anyone had issues with sparking when plugging in their chargers?

Turns out that the first time I plugged mine in (for the EGO 20-inch cordless mower) I already had the battery in it first (big mistake) as that caused a pretty good spark at the outlet although I reacted very quickly and jumped back with the plug which had been barely inserted into the outlet. Looks like the ends of the two prongs were only slightly seared (or, blackened) with very small spots of residue and I carefully filed it away with a small nail file. The plug prongs still look almost like new. I am hoping to fully charge the battery on Monday as I may get a chance to cut the lawn on a dry 60 degree day.

I tried the charger again a 2nd time - with the lithium-ion battery removed - and it did spark just a little again but not like it did the first time. I decided to try a different outlet for a third attempt and it did not spark at all at the other location. Just ordered a new charger from Home Depot online and found out that the charger is not available in the store, only online. Wonder as to why this is? Have to wait over a week now to get the new charger although I am going to have to use the current one and hope to get a full charge for the battery since my good weather days in November are surely numbered.

Is this sparking normal, or, could this be an outlet issue?

 

[ILENGINE]

The 56 volt EGO just hit the market this year at Home Depot. With the 30 minute recharge time on the battery, The charger probably pulls some current. Most likely the sparking is due to a slightly loose connection and you are getting some arcing. As a service center I haven't had any in the shop for problems yet.

 

[homeowner88]

Looks like I will have a good day tomorrow on Monday (Nov. 3rd) to cut the grass as it should be a clear and dry day at around 60 degrees and will be just about perfect to finish some yard work. Don't know if there will be many other opportunities as it is getting colder and things are progressing quickly towards winter. Will update here later after fully charging the battery with the new charger and will be using the EGO mower for the first time in my lawn.

 

[homeowner88]

Okay, finally had a pretty nice day to cut the lawn as it was near 60 degrees although the ground was still just a tad wet although the EGO mower worked just about flawlessly and gave me a solid run time of 45 - 50 minutes before it went to the warning signal.

My only negative would be that the mower deck picked up some mud when I skimmed a couple of areas where the ground was lumpy and had the mower set at the number "2" setting, i.e., 2nd to lowest one. Used a rag to pull the mud off of the deck. Also, even though I inspected my yard for loose debris before starting I ended up hitting a couple of small sticks, a vine, and a small stone. Looks like I chipped the blade a bit unfortunately on the very first cut and it really doesn't take much to do this. I am somewhat disappointed as to how quickly the blade can be damaged although I should be able to do another cut or two if needed to finish out the season and will use the current blade to do it. Don't think I want to attempt sharpening or fixing the chipped blade so I am glad that new blades can be had for around $20 although I am not sure if it will be difficult to get the original blade removed?

Has anyone changed a blade on their mower and how did it go?

Extra note:

Due to the very disappointing first encounter with the mower blade getting chipped I just ordered four (4) new blades from Home Depot as I am thinking one will be lucky to get even a few months use with this blade (for one season) since it dings very easily.

Hope to get the next season's usage from the currently dinged blade and will use one more blade per year over the remaining four years of warranty with the mower. Since the blades are only $19 each it isn't worth the time and hassle to try and fix or sharpen them.

Just realized I don't even have the appropriate tools (i.e., wrench and screw driver) as mentioned in the manual to take the blade off... bummer. That means another trip out to the hardware store!

Wonder as to why the blades don't hold up?

 

[homeowner88]

Have two questions regarding the "torque" that is recommended by the EGO user manual when tightening a mower blade back into place, or, when replacing it. Here is the info:

Place a metal rod (e.g., a manual screwdriver) into the fixing hole to act as a stabilizer, then use a 9/16 inch (14mm) torque wrench (not included) to tighten the bolt clockwise. The recommended torque for the blade bolt is 36-43 ft-lb (49-59Nm) (Fig. 21).

Questions:

1) How do you measure the amount of torque you put on a bolt and what tool is used apply it?

2) And, what does 36-43 ft-lb (49-59Nm) mean?

 

[MowerMike]

Have two questions regarding the "torque" that is recommended by the EGO user manual when tightening a mower blade back into place, or, when replacing it. Here is the info:

Place a metal rod (e.g., a manual screwdriver) into the fixing hole to act as a stabilizer, then use a 9/16 inch (14mm) torque wrench (not included) to tighten the bolt clockwise. The recommended torque for the blade bolt is 36-43 ft-lb (49-59Nm) (Fig. 21).

Questions:

1) How do you measure the amount of torque you put on a bolt and what tool is used apply it?

2) And, what does 36-43 ft-lb (49-59Nm) mean?

1) Go to your local Home Depot and buy one of these >>> Husky 3/8 in. Click Torque Wrench-H3DTW at The Home Depot

2) If you don't already have one, also buy a 9/16" or 14mm 6-point socket for a 3/8" drive ratchet wrench.

3) Adjust the torque wrench to 40 ft-lb, and tighten the blade bolt until you hear and feel a click in the torque wrench.

You can also use the torque wrench to loosen the bolt if you set it to a higher torque value and reverse its setting to work in a counter-clockwise direction.

Make sure you read and understand the torque wrench instructions or you will ruin it.

Do not use an adjustable (crescent) wrench to loosen or tighten the bolt as shown in the EGO manual, or you will likely ruin it.

Always use 6-point sockets, rather than 12-point sockets, as the latter tend to ruin hex bolt heads.

Torque is a force applied through a lever arm perpendicular to the force. So, if the the distance from the center of the grip on the torque wrench to the socket is 1 foot (1'), then 40 ft-lb will occur when you apply a 40 pound (40 lb) force to the grip of the wrench.

 

[homeowner88]

1) Go to your local Home Depot and buy one of these >>> Husky 3/8 in. Click Torque Wrench-H3DTW at The Home Depot

2) If you don't already have one, also buy a 9/16" or 14mm 6-point socket for a 3/8" drive ratchet wrench.

3) Adjust the torque wrench to 40 ft-lb, and tighten the blade bolt until you hear and feel a click in the torque wrench.

You can also use the torque wrench to loosen the bolt if you set it to a higher torque value and reverse its setting to work in a counter-clockwise direction.

Make sure you read and understand the torque wrench instructions or you will ruin it.

Do not use an adjustable (crescent) wrench to loosen or tighten the bolt as shown in the EGO manual, or you will likely ruin it.

Always use 6-point sockets, rather than 12-point sockets, as the latter tend to ruin hex bolt heads.

Torque is a force applied through a lever arm perpendicular to the force. So, if the the distance from the center of the grip on the torque wrench to the socket is 1 foot (1'), then 40 ft-lb will occur when you apply a 40 pound (40 lb) force to the grip of the wrench.

EGO shows use of a standard 9/16 in. wrench in the video with the 6-point socket as in the link below:

EGO Mower Blade Changing and Sharpening - YouTube

Why would I want to spend $75 for a torque wrench when the basic tool above should get the job done?

Will the six-point wrench work as shown in the video? Looks simple enough as they demonstrate it.

However, EGO does not explain as to how many turns of the bolt is required if you use the 9/16 in. wrench.

I called EGO customer support and no one appears to know as to how tight the bolt should be turned if you use the 9/16 in. wrench as shown in their video, above. Tighten it by feel only without stripping it is my best guess.

Looks like I am going to have to make another trip to my hardware store as I bought the 12-point socket wrench which is apparently the wrong one! As you mentioned the 6-point one is needed to prevent stripping the bolt.

What about the fixed "open" side of the wrench - why wouldn't that end of it work to turn the bolt?



If removing a lawn mower blade can't be a simple process and I can't do this with a basic wrench without spending an additional $75 then why should I bother?

I might as well get rid of this fancy EGO with cheap blades that chip and ding up too easily and go back to pushing a $100 reel mower. Far less maintenance and trouble. Or, just go back to paying my local lawn guy (who uses a gas mower) to cut the grass for a mere $10 per cut!

A $500 mower should have better blades.

 

[MowerMike]

EGO shows the use of a standard 9/16 in. wrench in the video with the 6-point socket (not shown in the manual) in the video below:

EGO Mower Blade Changing and Sharpening - YouTube

Why would I want to spend $75 for the torque wrench when the basic tool above should get the job done?

Will the six-point wrench work as shown in the video? Looks simple enough.

EGO does not explain as to how many turns of the bolt is required if you use the 9/16 in. wrench.

I even called EGO customer support at the 1-800 number and no one knows as to how tight the bolt should be turned if you use the 9/16 in. wrench as shown in the video, above.

Looks like I am going to have to make another trip to my hardware store as I bought the 12-point socket wrench which is apparently the wrong one as you mentioned the 6-point one is needed to prevent stripping the bolt.

What about the fixed "open" side of the wrench - why wouldn't that end of it work?

Here is what I now have:

View attachment 23876

You have answered your own question. The only way you can determine if the proper torque is applied to the bolt is to use a torque wrench. Just looking at that video, it is clear that the torque on that bolt is not even close to the recommended 40 ft-lb, and you risk having the bolt loosen with potentially catastrophic consequences. The folks at EGO are obviously not mechanically inclined as demonstrated by that amateurish video.

As far as using the open end of the wrench is concerned, you are only gripping two of the six sides of the bolt head, or only 1/3rd as many as with the closed (box) end, which again is far more likely to damage it.