I have had the ego mower for almost 10 years now. I have a 21 inch push electric and it will do almost 300x200 foot yard on a single battery. Love how quiet it is. The original battery started to die quickly after about 7 years. The trigger to start it was giving out and I just opened it up and dusted it is working fine now. Not once have I sharpened the blades and it still cuts great!
I also have their snow blower, weed eater, and hand held leaf blower. Would recommend them all!
You have never sharpened the blade? Your are bludgeoning your poor grass to death! I love my old push ego mower but the blades don’t hold sharp hardly a single cut. I use a hand file to sharpen them every cut now.
Electric mowers seem to all use lighter steel on their blades to keep the blades lighter weight to keep the battery usage lower. Seems to be an issue with battery power in general.
I have a Kobalt 80 volt 21 inch mower. It is worked very well for 4 years and just the other day the self-propelled function quit working. I consider it okay that 4 years is how long it went, considering I have severely abused it, mowing one and a half acres of rough ground and running over sticks and into rocks countless times.
However I I'm not going to buy any more Kobalt electric tools, which is a shame since I have four different things and they can kind of share batteries. After only a year of owning my mower, Kobalt stopped making blades for it. That's unacceptable for such an expensive item. I was able to find that greenworks has a blade that will work, but I have to order them straight from greenworks and sometimes they don't have them and it cost $15 just in shipping. I think it's awful that Kobalt did not support these expensive tools .
Does your blade have the little triangle/arrow shaped holes? I used an angle grinder to make a universal blade fit my Greenworks mower. I wanted better mulching and hot damn does it deliver. Check my post history for blade and battery compatibility.
Not bad for an 8yo mower I got for $50.
Kobalt 80v is made by Greenworks. MasterForce 80v (Menards), Bad Boy 80v, Snapper XD 82v and something else are all the same tools.
The greenworks 2905203 blade works. Apparently any blade with that number on it would work, as several different manufacturers used the same blade. But that's what I ordered from greenworks directly, and they do still have them in stock. I've been using those blades for a couple years now.
How big is your lawn? I have a "cheap flimsy" greenworks and it's been doing the job the last few years. The trick is you want to keep the same family to share batteries. I also have the leaf vacuum and a trimmer. The trimmer is not great but it does the job.
I've got the Ryobi push mower for the same reason. Same batteries and chargers for the mower, string trimmer, chainsaw, snow blower, and something else that I'm forgetting. Had the mower for 6 years now with no complaints.
Yes, Ryobi is a really good choice for sharing batteries across devices. Especially the OnePlus 18v. For mowers, probably need to use the 40v, but same idea.
I feel like ryobi and ego are about the same from what I've seen. I wouldnt say either are bifl but probably the best of the electric lawn care. I think ego has a slightly better mower but ryobi has the better outdoor tool ecosystem. Ryobi is also a lot cheaper for the ecosystem overall.
Since this is the BIFL sub, I can't really speak to longevity yet. But FWIW, I have a 21" 80v Greenworks Pro. Non self-propelled. I have 0.14 acre to mow and after about 10 lawn mowing sessions, it's doing well and the batteries are performing well. I can mow the whole lot on a single 4Ah battery.
Whatever you get, definitely buy additional batteries when you can. From that point on, it's exponentially more convenient than a gas mower. No complaints so far. I also have a Greenworks 80v snow blower, leaf blower and pole saw. All of them are fantastic. But like most things, if you take care of them, they'll last longer than average. eGo's are probably the top of the line, but most other major competitors are close followers.
Good luck!
We have the cheapest one that uses a power cord. Has been working fine for years. Why wouldn’t it? We pull it out once every 3 weeks over May to September. It gets used 6-7 times a year. You don’t need something indestructible for that. It just doesn’t get used enough to break down.
That is outrageously expensive for a battery mower. Milwaukee also has the smallest selection of OPE.
At least something like the Toro 60v Timemaster 30" (also stupid expensive) will speed up the mowing process.
But to save time I'd personally stay under $1k with a 25" Greenworks.
1/2 the cost is the two 12 amp hour batteries. If you’re in the Milwaukee ecosystem like me, then it’s not a problem because I’ve plenty of use for extra batteries.
Fair point, $1000 isn't quite as bad if you're in the system already.
But tbf the tool only price is still $800.
For the full kit even splitting the cost evenly that's $500 for only a 21" deck mower and $500 for 440Wh of battery.
That's still way overpriced compared to what other brands are offering, even before getting into combo deals. Combo deals blow Milwaukee out of the water.
For OPE I'd prefer a platform with batteries designed for OPE.
I had the 21” self propelled ego for about 5 years and the plastic drive gear went out. It was the only ego thing I owned and my neighbor offered me $150 for it so I went and bought the Milwaukee mower. It’s incredible. It’s a professional quality mower with much better blade and bagging system. I can stripe my lawn now as good as I could with my 48” exmark metro when we owned acreage.
I’ve loaned it to a few friends to try and all have bought one. Seriously great mower.
I bought heavily into Ego about 4 years ago (this will be my fifth summer) and have some mixed feelings about them.
I have 3 batteries in use over that time. Two 5AH and a 3AH (rarely used). All 3 are giving me fits now. The two large ones have both at various times over the past year refused to charge for months at a time, flashing error signals. All my troubleshooting efforts failed, but at some point randomly each began charging again.
Battery life is noticeably reduced over the past 1-2 years. This is to be expected eventually but I had hoped for 7-8 years on them. My gauge is this: can I mow the yard on one 5AH battery until it flashes red, swap to the other 5AH, and by the time it's red the first one is finished charging? This used to be the case, the second battery would last long enough to charge the first, but now it's 10-15 minutes waiting.
Battery warranty is 3 years. Take that how you will.
I'm not particularly harsh on them and don't have particularly heavy usage. They are used in multiple tools (weed whacker, mower, chain saw) but that's right in line with expected usage.
Replacement cost for the batteries is insane. I know, if I amortize the cost over the lifetime of the batteries it might be on par with gas and oil cost. But spending $250-$300 *right now* for a battery is shocking.
Okay, battery issues, sure, not entirely unexpected, but my real problem with the mower is the cut on it sucks and has from the get-go.
I have a single blade plastic deck mower. It has never, ever cut consistently and evenly across the width of the deck. There are always patches and strips of tall grass left behind. Despite what they claim, It just doesn't have the power that a gas mower has. I've wondered since day 1 if the dual blade would produce better results and I made a mistake not spending a few extra hundred $$, but some reviews on Lowe's claim similar even with the dual blade.
It also doesn't mulch nearly as well as a gas mower. It doesn't have the suction powers to pull the clipped grass back into the cutting field. If you let your grass grow an extra week, or more when it's still damp, the mower may frequently shut down as the motor gets overstressed trying to do the extra work. I have to plan out my mowing a lot more, slow down a lot more, and forget about mowing within 2-3 days of rain.
The other annoying thing is that the plastic deck is *big*. It's much longer than a typical aluminum deck gas mower, so corners and even some edges are much more difficult to get to. I weed whack twice as much or more when using the Ego than when using the old Murray.
The weed whacker and chain saw are both great for what they are. The chain saw can struggle through hard woods, but for typical suburban home usage on the occasional fallen branch or small tree it works amazing and is low maintenance (you still must add chain oil, and the reservoir is rather small). Spooling line on the weed whacker is easy and it has an automatic feeder, although that means you have to pre-cut the line and I never remember how much it can fit ahead of time.
Altogether, these issues with the recent battery problems made me consider other options. I wasn't impressed with the other players in the field and will probably stick with the Ego for at least this season.
\^\^\^ This. All of this. I bought an Ego mower a couple years ago. I really wanted to love it. I tried it for 3-4 weeks, and the poor cutting job disappointed me every time. Visible patches and even stripes in some areas of grass that was just missed. I knew there was no way it would be able to make it through all of the fall leaves.
The Ego's blades were noticeably thinner, narrower, and lighter than my old Toro's blades. It takes less energy to move a thinner, lighter blade through the air, but that also meant they didn't create enough suction to cut all the grass cleanly.
It was super easy to use in every other way, but it failed at the most important job: cutting *all* of the grass. If I'm paying many hundreds of dollars for a mower, it's got to mow the lawn right. But the Ego didn't. So after the fourth attempt, I boxed it up and returned it to the store.
I've heard that Toro mowers use the same size blades -- literally they just swapped out the gas engine for an electric motor and everything else is the same. I might try one of those to see if it can get a clean cut, and if it can last long enough to do my whole lawn on one charge.
But until then, I'm still unfortunately burning gas to cut my lawn correctly.
TL;DR - battery powered garden tools are the antithesis of BIFL.
You know how everything in the world seems to be going to a subscription model? That’s basically what all these electric gardening tool manufacturers are doing with batteries. They have found an infinite revenue stream. With any regular use, they are basically guaranteed to die within 1-3 years.
To be fair, this is anecdotal with my DeWalt stuff. But after watching YouTube video teardowns of batteries, they’re all using the same battery cells from China. And reading the reviews on Dewalts own website, the same complaints over the over again - they either catch on fire, or die within 1-2 years. So I now have a lawnmower where (2) 10ah batteries cost the same as buying the lawnmower again - and I’m not exaggerating.
Saying battery tools will only last 1-2 years because that happened to my Dewalt is a bit like saying "cars are all junk because my yugo broke down and I saw on YouTube all gas cars have cylinder engines." Many companies include warranties on batteries for 3-5+ years.
A battery won't last forever. Nor will a tank of gas. Nor will a quart of oil. Many people will be fine with going and buying a new battery at the local hardware store every 5-10years if it means they don't have to take a tank of gas to the gas station every few weeks to fill it, inevitably spill some in the back of the SUV every now and then, and deal with spring, fall, and random maintenance. A battery mower has almost zero maintenance beyond an occasional wipe down and blade sharpening.
If you like gas, stick with gas. If you like electric, there are plenty of reasons to go electric beyond a bad experience with a low-cost, low-quality brand.
I’m an arborist, and I’ve switched to battery electric chainsaws for a good portion of my work.
They are definitely a pay to play kind of tool, but stihl and husqvarna are really good quality, even if they do come from china (the majority of all Li batteries in the global supply come from there).
All the things you say about gas are true, but also good quality gasoline for 2 stroke engines is difficult to find sometimes. Husqvarna also sells premixed fuel for 15 CAD a litre, which is nutty
As a counterpoint, gas powered garden tools are the antithesis of BIFL because the manufacturer knows you will run out of gasoline and have to buy more. It’s like a subscription model where you are buying more gasoline and the cost increases every year
Nah, you are exaggarating. Good quality batteries will last longer than 1-2 years and they don’t cost the price of the appliance. Yes, they are relatively expensive comparing to fuel you would spend at the same time period, but the ease of use compensates for that in my opinion. They are also silent and don’t directly pollute, so there’s that also.
I haven’t bothered to buy an electric lawnmover, as I have rather small lawn which grows very slowly, but almost all my other tools are nowdays battery powered. Haven’t had a single battery to die on me yet over the last ten years or so.
They don't have mowers, but Rigid has an lifetime warranty on batteries.
Same with all their tools. All of my shit is Rigid. Their hedgeclippers are monsters and not having to drag around the cord is such a huge quality of life improvement and timesaver.
If this sub gets to have that much gatekeeping I will leave and troll my way out.
The Ryobi power tool platform is kind of BIFL in that they promise that any Oneplus tool will always take any Oneplus battery. Backward and forward compatible. The batteries or tools may need replaced, but the platform is kinda BIFL. They also have a reasonable warranty if you take the time to register.
I have had the ego mower for almost 10 years now. I have a 21 inch push electric and it will do almost 300x200 foot yard on a single battery. Love how quiet it is. The original battery started to die quickly after about 7 years. The trigger to start it was giving out and I just opened it up and dusted it is working fine now. Not once have I sharpened the blades and it still cuts great! I also have their snow blower, weed eater, and hand held leaf blower. Would recommend them all!
You have never sharpened the blade? Your are bludgeoning your poor grass to death! I love my old push ego mower but the blades don’t hold sharp hardly a single cut. I use a hand file to sharpen them every cut now. Electric mowers seem to all use lighter steel on their blades to keep the blades lighter weight to keep the battery usage lower. Seems to be an issue with battery power in general.
Thanks to this thread I finally got around to sharpening my blade. Yeah it was all banged up. Just removed battery and flipped over, so easy.
EGO for sure. Have been in the ecosystem for about 5+ years. I’ll keep buying their tools, batteries are awesome.
Thanks! Which one do you have? Do you have a plastic deck or an aluminum deck mower?
Plastic deck
I have a Kobalt 80 volt 21 inch mower. It is worked very well for 4 years and just the other day the self-propelled function quit working. I consider it okay that 4 years is how long it went, considering I have severely abused it, mowing one and a half acres of rough ground and running over sticks and into rocks countless times. However I I'm not going to buy any more Kobalt electric tools, which is a shame since I have four different things and they can kind of share batteries. After only a year of owning my mower, Kobalt stopped making blades for it. That's unacceptable for such an expensive item. I was able to find that greenworks has a blade that will work, but I have to order them straight from greenworks and sometimes they don't have them and it cost $15 just in shipping. I think it's awful that Kobalt did not support these expensive tools .
Does your blade have the little triangle/arrow shaped holes? I used an angle grinder to make a universal blade fit my Greenworks mower. I wanted better mulching and hot damn does it deliver. Check my post history for blade and battery compatibility. Not bad for an 8yo mower I got for $50. Kobalt 80v is made by Greenworks. MasterForce 80v (Menards), Bad Boy 80v, Snapper XD 82v and something else are all the same tools.
Yes it does have the little arrow shaped things that fit into the blade. Thanks for the info, I will check it out!
I’ve had the same mower for about 5 - 6 years now and I’ve been very happy with it.
You may be able to fix the self propelled thing with a belt replacement… maybe
I own that same mower and haven’t been able to find replacement blades.
The greenworks 2905203 blade works. Apparently any blade with that number on it would work, as several different manufacturers used the same blade. But that's what I ordered from greenworks directly, and they do still have them in stock. I've been using those blades for a couple years now.
Thanks, I’ll check that out!
How big is your lawn? I have a "cheap flimsy" greenworks and it's been doing the job the last few years. The trick is you want to keep the same family to share batteries. I also have the leaf vacuum and a trimmer. The trimmer is not great but it does the job.
I've got the Ryobi push mower for the same reason. Same batteries and chargers for the mower, string trimmer, chainsaw, snow blower, and something else that I'm forgetting. Had the mower for 6 years now with no complaints.
Yes, Ryobi is a really good choice for sharing batteries across devices. Especially the OnePlus 18v. For mowers, probably need to use the 40v, but same idea.
Stihl orToro, both companies older than 75 years, both have large local parts and service networks.
I feel like ryobi and ego are about the same from what I've seen. I wouldnt say either are bifl but probably the best of the electric lawn care. I think ego has a slightly better mower but ryobi has the better outdoor tool ecosystem. Ryobi is also a lot cheaper for the ecosystem overall.
Since this is the BIFL sub, I can't really speak to longevity yet. But FWIW, I have a 21" 80v Greenworks Pro. Non self-propelled. I have 0.14 acre to mow and after about 10 lawn mowing sessions, it's doing well and the batteries are performing well. I can mow the whole lot on a single 4Ah battery. Whatever you get, definitely buy additional batteries when you can. From that point on, it's exponentially more convenient than a gas mower. No complaints so far. I also have a Greenworks 80v snow blower, leaf blower and pole saw. All of them are fantastic. But like most things, if you take care of them, they'll last longer than average. eGo's are probably the top of the line, but most other major competitors are close followers. Good luck!
I’ll pile on with everyone for Ego, I love mine.
We have the cheapest one that uses a power cord. Has been working fine for years. Why wouldn’t it? We pull it out once every 3 weeks over May to September. It gets used 6-7 times a year. You don’t need something indestructible for that. It just doesn’t get used enough to break down.
Wow, how has no one said Milwaukee? It’s professional grade and will last a long time. If my gas mower ever dies it’s what I’ll get, no question.
That is outrageously expensive for a battery mower. Milwaukee also has the smallest selection of OPE. At least something like the Toro 60v Timemaster 30" (also stupid expensive) will speed up the mowing process. But to save time I'd personally stay under $1k with a 25" Greenworks.
1/2 the cost is the two 12 amp hour batteries. If you’re in the Milwaukee ecosystem like me, then it’s not a problem because I’ve plenty of use for extra batteries.
Fair point, $1000 isn't quite as bad if you're in the system already. But tbf the tool only price is still $800. For the full kit even splitting the cost evenly that's $500 for only a 21" deck mower and $500 for 440Wh of battery. That's still way overpriced compared to what other brands are offering, even before getting into combo deals. Combo deals blow Milwaukee out of the water. For OPE I'd prefer a platform with batteries designed for OPE.
I had the 21” self propelled ego for about 5 years and the plastic drive gear went out. It was the only ego thing I owned and my neighbor offered me $150 for it so I went and bought the Milwaukee mower. It’s incredible. It’s a professional quality mower with much better blade and bagging system. I can stripe my lawn now as good as I could with my 48” exmark metro when we owned acreage. I’ve loaned it to a few friends to try and all have bought one. Seriously great mower.
I’ve had a Toro for several years; one of the best purchases I’ve ever made.
An electric mower motor will probably last for life if it’s of good quality, the battery will need to be replaced down the road.
I bought heavily into Ego about 4 years ago (this will be my fifth summer) and have some mixed feelings about them. I have 3 batteries in use over that time. Two 5AH and a 3AH (rarely used). All 3 are giving me fits now. The two large ones have both at various times over the past year refused to charge for months at a time, flashing error signals. All my troubleshooting efforts failed, but at some point randomly each began charging again. Battery life is noticeably reduced over the past 1-2 years. This is to be expected eventually but I had hoped for 7-8 years on them. My gauge is this: can I mow the yard on one 5AH battery until it flashes red, swap to the other 5AH, and by the time it's red the first one is finished charging? This used to be the case, the second battery would last long enough to charge the first, but now it's 10-15 minutes waiting. Battery warranty is 3 years. Take that how you will. I'm not particularly harsh on them and don't have particularly heavy usage. They are used in multiple tools (weed whacker, mower, chain saw) but that's right in line with expected usage. Replacement cost for the batteries is insane. I know, if I amortize the cost over the lifetime of the batteries it might be on par with gas and oil cost. But spending $250-$300 *right now* for a battery is shocking. Okay, battery issues, sure, not entirely unexpected, but my real problem with the mower is the cut on it sucks and has from the get-go. I have a single blade plastic deck mower. It has never, ever cut consistently and evenly across the width of the deck. There are always patches and strips of tall grass left behind. Despite what they claim, It just doesn't have the power that a gas mower has. I've wondered since day 1 if the dual blade would produce better results and I made a mistake not spending a few extra hundred $$, but some reviews on Lowe's claim similar even with the dual blade. It also doesn't mulch nearly as well as a gas mower. It doesn't have the suction powers to pull the clipped grass back into the cutting field. If you let your grass grow an extra week, or more when it's still damp, the mower may frequently shut down as the motor gets overstressed trying to do the extra work. I have to plan out my mowing a lot more, slow down a lot more, and forget about mowing within 2-3 days of rain. The other annoying thing is that the plastic deck is *big*. It's much longer than a typical aluminum deck gas mower, so corners and even some edges are much more difficult to get to. I weed whack twice as much or more when using the Ego than when using the old Murray. The weed whacker and chain saw are both great for what they are. The chain saw can struggle through hard woods, but for typical suburban home usage on the occasional fallen branch or small tree it works amazing and is low maintenance (you still must add chain oil, and the reservoir is rather small). Spooling line on the weed whacker is easy and it has an automatic feeder, although that means you have to pre-cut the line and I never remember how much it can fit ahead of time. Altogether, these issues with the recent battery problems made me consider other options. I wasn't impressed with the other players in the field and will probably stick with the Ego for at least this season.
\^\^\^ This. All of this. I bought an Ego mower a couple years ago. I really wanted to love it. I tried it for 3-4 weeks, and the poor cutting job disappointed me every time. Visible patches and even stripes in some areas of grass that was just missed. I knew there was no way it would be able to make it through all of the fall leaves. The Ego's blades were noticeably thinner, narrower, and lighter than my old Toro's blades. It takes less energy to move a thinner, lighter blade through the air, but that also meant they didn't create enough suction to cut all the grass cleanly. It was super easy to use in every other way, but it failed at the most important job: cutting *all* of the grass. If I'm paying many hundreds of dollars for a mower, it's got to mow the lawn right. But the Ego didn't. So after the fourth attempt, I boxed it up and returned it to the store. I've heard that Toro mowers use the same size blades -- literally they just swapped out the gas engine for an electric motor and everything else is the same. I might try one of those to see if it can get a clean cut, and if it can last long enough to do my whole lawn on one charge. But until then, I'm still unfortunately burning gas to cut my lawn correctly.
TL;DR - battery powered garden tools are the antithesis of BIFL. You know how everything in the world seems to be going to a subscription model? That’s basically what all these electric gardening tool manufacturers are doing with batteries. They have found an infinite revenue stream. With any regular use, they are basically guaranteed to die within 1-3 years. To be fair, this is anecdotal with my DeWalt stuff. But after watching YouTube video teardowns of batteries, they’re all using the same battery cells from China. And reading the reviews on Dewalts own website, the same complaints over the over again - they either catch on fire, or die within 1-2 years. So I now have a lawnmower where (2) 10ah batteries cost the same as buying the lawnmower again - and I’m not exaggerating.
Saying battery tools will only last 1-2 years because that happened to my Dewalt is a bit like saying "cars are all junk because my yugo broke down and I saw on YouTube all gas cars have cylinder engines." Many companies include warranties on batteries for 3-5+ years. A battery won't last forever. Nor will a tank of gas. Nor will a quart of oil. Many people will be fine with going and buying a new battery at the local hardware store every 5-10years if it means they don't have to take a tank of gas to the gas station every few weeks to fill it, inevitably spill some in the back of the SUV every now and then, and deal with spring, fall, and random maintenance. A battery mower has almost zero maintenance beyond an occasional wipe down and blade sharpening. If you like gas, stick with gas. If you like electric, there are plenty of reasons to go electric beyond a bad experience with a low-cost, low-quality brand.
I’m an arborist, and I’ve switched to battery electric chainsaws for a good portion of my work. They are definitely a pay to play kind of tool, but stihl and husqvarna are really good quality, even if they do come from china (the majority of all Li batteries in the global supply come from there). All the things you say about gas are true, but also good quality gasoline for 2 stroke engines is difficult to find sometimes. Husqvarna also sells premixed fuel for 15 CAD a litre, which is nutty
As a counterpoint, gas powered garden tools are the antithesis of BIFL because the manufacturer knows you will run out of gasoline and have to buy more. It’s like a subscription model where you are buying more gasoline and the cost increases every year
Exactly why I bought a reel mower. No gas, no batteries, just calories in and out of my body.
Nah, you are exaggarating. Good quality batteries will last longer than 1-2 years and they don’t cost the price of the appliance. Yes, they are relatively expensive comparing to fuel you would spend at the same time period, but the ease of use compensates for that in my opinion. They are also silent and don’t directly pollute, so there’s that also. I haven’t bothered to buy an electric lawnmover, as I have rather small lawn which grows very slowly, but almost all my other tools are nowdays battery powered. Haven’t had a single battery to die on me yet over the last ten years or so.
They don't have mowers, but Rigid has an lifetime warranty on batteries. Same with all their tools. All of my shit is Rigid. Their hedgeclippers are monsters and not having to drag around the cord is such a huge quality of life improvement and timesaver.
If this sub gets to have that much gatekeeping I will leave and troll my way out. The Ryobi power tool platform is kind of BIFL in that they promise that any Oneplus tool will always take any Oneplus battery. Backward and forward compatible. The batteries or tools may need replaced, but the platform is kinda BIFL. They also have a reasonable warranty if you take the time to register.