@@DarkLinkAD Excellent idea.. let me write it down. Nu ci lar steam ro ler. Heated. It will iron out all the wrinkles and kill the bugs. Only thing i have to figure out left is how the grass gets cut in the process. I will get back to you on that.
*This mower....... changed my life **Bestfor.Garden** also recommend I never thought I would see the day when I would ever make the switch to electric yard tools. But this was one of my best decisions yet. My old 15+ year old gas mower snapped its pull string while trying to get it to fire up and instead of fixing it, I chose to upgrade instead.*
Some people are lemmings to the china machine. I mean gas engines have multiple origins but electric items are modular and $150-$300! A quick fix and knowledge is all you need with a gas engine. I would only ever consider gas and maybe think twice about plastic decks. Even the aluminum or mag decks can chip. Rich lazy people might buy electric and pay $599 upfront +$300 a year just to keep er going. The drive system is over $150.
One of the many great things about the Ego is that you can use their batteries for many other uses. We use our Ego batteries not only for cutting and edging the lawn, blowing off the sidewalks, and tilling the soil--but also for running our RV's appliances when camping, powering our electric 10-foot boat, and more.
@@UnitedPebbles the batteries are interchangeable which is common with electric appliances from other brands as well. The problem with battery powered appliances is they still don't offer enough power vs wired/gas and when the battery goes out you're out of luck if you don't a have a spare at the ready. Also batteries are very expensive
@@Super_Rockie_Rukawa_Kun I've been spending more money on keeping my gas mower running than the batteries cost. So the cost of a replacement battery is a non issue.
Megan's Garage. " blowing off sidewalks ". Ever thought of using a Mark 1 RAKE ? - they don't annoy neighbours, and encourage you to do something responsible with the rakings.
I bought my EGO mower when they came out in 2014 and still using the same battery that gives me the same runtime. I had 1 electrical issue that was an easy fix. Just my 2 cents
@@bgdogy I have e-go mower and blower over 7yers and still going strong. I don't know what this guy is smoking but I love e-go they are great machine and I recommend!
@@LegendLength We know about NiCd batteries. We don't know a damn thing about the longevity of EGO's version of Li-Ion. I think 10 years is quite possible. Either way, he is doubting the lifetime of the mower based on nothing.
Since Ego's 2021 release of the Select Cut mower (now with an "XP" suffix) has 20% more power/torque (1000 -> 1200 watts), I think they definitely got the message that their first run had gone backwards in terms of vacuum suction compared to their previous single-blade models. So you're not alone in reporting that particular niggle. And while I've had zero problems with my super original 20" Ego mower mulching leaves up here in New England (even heavy wet Norwegian maple leaves, no less), I won't deny that the same medium-sized branches that would get sucked into a gas mower are left on the ground. I also concede the suction is better with the deck on lower settings, though I only have to lower it to the 2.5" height. Personally, I'm willing to trade gas and power for zero maintenance, zero smell, very low noise that my kids can play around with safely, the potential to recharge completely using renewables (like solar), and perfectly sufficient power for my needs. And my oldest 7.5 Ah battery is now five years old (manufactured Apr 2016) and still humming along perfectly - and I see that Ego has now increased their battery warranties from 3 to 5 years. I really wish you could've done a direct comparison! For example, I noticed your Select Cut had the mulching blade installed instead of the high-lift blade that the Honda sported. These sort of things make an especially big difference with electric mowers due to, as you point out, their reduced torque compared to gas.
I have the XP mower and it really is on the same level as gas in terms of power. The blade RPM is much higher than that of a gas mower. The self propulsion option felt like an extravagance but it’s actually very nice. I have a hill to mow and it’s so nice to just push a button and have the mower motor up the hill, even if the blade motor is off! I have other Ego tools as well, so I’ve bought into the concept. If the mower turns out to suck in the long term, so be it, lesson learned. But for now I really like not having to worry about gas, fuel stabilizer, etc. My wife and kids can operate it as well, which is also a plus.
@@HawkGTboy I hate to tell you but, no, electric mowers aren't on the same level as gas. They're often cheaply made and the resource that helps power them is probably even more scarce and about as toxic as petroleum. The other downside is you can't really recycle lithium based batteries. You are better off using lead acid batteries as they are actually recyclable. You can take the lead and use it to make new electrodes and the phosphoric acid can also be reused. Also, I can transport my Honda mowers with the blades off as they both have blade-stop systems. Hondas are mowers that can last 30-40 years if correctly cared for and I know we used to use one to mow hills as well. Blade RPM is faster on battery mowers because the cutting swath is generally smaller. If you look at dual-blade gas engine-powered walk behind mowers from Toro, Exmark and Scag, they also run at higher RPMs because the blades each are generally only 15 inches long. That said, for home use the battery units are nice for single lots with small lawns but seldom do you see commercial users operating battery units because the batteries typically take 2-4 times longer to charge than the typical discharge rate when used to mow lawns. Then you have rapid charging but that takes as long to charge as it does to discharge when using it in a mower. That's a lot of batteries to be carrying with you to do 6+ lawns per day. So how do you charge them while out on the job? The easiest way is to bring an inverter generator along or using an inverter connected to your work vehicle, both requiring gas and that's actually inefficient to just using a gas mower to begin with. All in all, I would rather use a corded unit but they have their faults too as most use permanent magnet DC motors as I guess it's too expensive to just make the motors universal brushed motors like those used in vacuum cleaners and average power tools. I'm still waiting on a corded AC mower utilizing a switched reluctance brushless motor like that seen in Rainbow E2 and SRX vacuum cleaners. I guess there's always the risk of running the cord over with the machine but I would try mowing starting close to the house and moving away from it.
Back in 1974 I was 12 years old. I fixed my grandmothers throw out 2 and1/4 HP Jacobsen Lawnmower (2 stroke). My Mother told me to spray light coat of a new cooking product called PAM on the under carriage of my lawn mower and it will be easier to clean. Mom was right. That advice has saved hundreds of things since for cleaning and stopping rust. Mom Passed in '87 and still know he wisdom and love lives on in me and everyone that listens. Hat tip to your mom as well.
I can understand if you did not like the mulching by the ego mower. That is fair. I find it interesting that a major concern with the lawnmower was battery life… that was the reason I actually bought the EGO system! My experience first - the batteries I have are all functional. My oldest batteries predate my oldest dated batteries at 2014 - and they are used aggressively, from blower to string trimmer to lawn mower, to chainsaw, with multiple recharges a weekend, sometimes during the week during peak seasons (hurricane season & fall.) Your recommendation at the end was to have the batteries last longer, I have not run out of battery power yet, with my system, passing 8 years on some, 9 years on one battery. Having done some lawnmower repair, I would have expected you to have done a little homework on the technology on this EGO mower & battery 1. Their batteries are not rated in milliamperes, they are rated in Amp Hours (about 1000x more power:) 2. They do not charge their batteries to 100%, nor do they sell the battery using fake inflated numbers, but under-charge the batteries to increase Li-Ion life expectancy. (A fully charged 14 cell battery pack is 58.8v, they charge to 56v, extending life expectancy by thousands of cycles!) 3. In order to lengthen life expected over off seasons, they automatically discharge their batteries to a storage voltage, extending the life of the batteries, since fully charged Li-Ion cells decrease the number of cycles of a cell. 4. The batteries are individually wrapped with a heat dissipation material, to extend the life & cycles of the individual cells. 5. The chargers cool the pack, in order to lengthen the battery cell & pack life. 6. The tools shut off the battery, before the cells discharge to an unhealthy level, to extend battery cell life & cycle times. 7. There is thermal protection, to extend the life of the individual cells in the pack 8. They soft-start the motors, with a small delay after pulling the trigger, to extend battery life again, plus extending equipment life by reduced stress Honestly, no other battery powered tool has done so much to make their batteries outlive their equipment. I bought the tools, because the batteries looked like they would basically last forever. They have more than lived up to my expectations. A basic Google search shows that Li-Ion cells charged up to 4.0 volts (14 cells x 4v = 56v EGO battery) will exhibit 1200-2000 charges. Worst & Best case scenarios of - 40 cuts per year - 1 charge per cut - discharge battery until shut off - 1200 charges / 40 cuts per year = 30 years - 2000 charges / 40 cuts per year = 50 years If your main reason for returning the EGO was the desire for better thatching, wanting something like a Turbo button, that is fair, but your concern about the battery is not based upon experience or science or engineering. I doubt you will keep any lawnmower around for 30-50 years, the lawnmower will likely break before the average EGO battery will, but you will likely be able to use the battery in other equipment if an EGO lawnmower did break beyond repair. The money you will spend in gas vs charging that battery, will buy many lawnmowers over your lifetime. I hope this gives you some insight into the battery technology. If they do create a lawnmower with a turbo button, I hope you get it, because it will save you a lot of money over your lifetime, if the engineering is anywhere near as good as it is now with the consumer grade equipment.
Yeah people get confused between Acid & Lithium batteries. Let them go research a 12 volt battery and see the warranty for each. My higher-end car battery (acid) is only a 5 year warranty. A Lithium battery is 10 years if not more. Although the Lithium price indicates that option.
I’ve had my Ego mower for at least 3 years and it’s still running great. I have a fairly large lawn (1/4 acre lot) and Florida St Augustine grass. The mower cuts even if the grass is high and a bit wet. I will agree the cut quality is not as good as my old Honda, but the trade off is I no longer need to keep gas at my house and the ego folds up and stores vertically to save space.
@@Anonymouso283 That's the problem. I'm used to long lasting gas mowers. My parent's Toro lasted 30+ years and my Honda is still going strong at 22 years. Having tried an ECO, it just didn't feel like the build quality would even last 10 years let alone the battery life.
@@lolajoker Especially with the battery that’s going to deprive a crap ton after a couple years. Not consistent enough for my liking. I’ll stick to my Honda’s and Briggs.
My first electric mower lasted 9 years, never failed, replaced the lead acid battery 2 times. What did fail was the plastic deck, got very brittle the last few years and finally broke under the electric motor. Loved the look of Ego, reviews are great! Didn't want a plastic deck and fast charging because that will shorten life of lithium battery. Just bought Greenworks pro 60volt 25inch side by side blades. 150.00 cheaper than the Ego, steel deck , and came with duel batteries. Hope it last longer than my first one. A lot of first time electric mower buyers suffer from range anxiety just like they do with a car. Electric mower are not for everybody, my dad laughs at mine and I laugh at his gas mower when it doesn't start.
Cool, I was really considering the 80V Greenworks and Kobalt mower with the steel deck, but the twin blades on the EGO is what drew me in. Cordless technology keeps improving so fast and will eventually make "residential" gas obsolete... just not yet.
Not all plastics are the same. Is there a difference between Ego vs Honda … because Honda plastic decks don’t break. Steel always rusts, especially when a rock chips it.
I just bought an Ego mower and 650 cfm blower. Cut the lawn yesterday at level 3 on the deck height, and man alive it was the best cut I've ever had. This was with the mulching blade and bagging it.... picked up the previous cut's clippings (from my 16 yr old Troy Bilt gas mower final cut) as well as the fresh clippings. 5000 square feet yard used up 40% of the battery. Switched the blades out afterwards to the high lift blade for the next cut. Batteries will remain in the house to preserve their longevity. Sorry to hear of your subpar experience with your Ego. At least you have their other great tools in your arsenal. Good luck and happy mowing with the Honda.
I was super excited to try out my 2135 once I got it home from Lowes, only to be completely surprised by how little it seemed to pull the grass and leaves up into the blade. There are so many things I love about it, but I think it's ultimately going back because it's just not as good as my Craftsman at the most important thing it's supposed to do. It's lighter. My little girl loves that it's quiet. I wouldn't have to mess with gas. But it just doesn't cut very well!
My ego we use for small commercials has lasted now almost 3 years at 28-30 cuts a season per property. Battery still kicking and nothing wrong with the mower either. I'm guessing it will last atleast another 2 yrs but no sign of wear yet on battery or mower.
I'm with you- My gas Snapper was 12 years old and gave to a relative (steel no rust), my Toro Super Recycler is 13 years old (cast aluminum). I'm worried about battery cost, charging cost, and run time, and yeah are these 5 year mowers?
My hrx217 is a monster. Had it about 8 years. I mow .35 acres. Thick grass. This week is the first time I’ve ever had to do any maintenance aside from the oil and filter. First time for blade change and belt. I’ve never even sharpened the blades. They still cut amazing and I’ve dinged my metal yard stakes five or so times.
I’ve had my ego mower (select cut) for two years now and haven’t had issues. I store my batteries in my basement where it’s always between 65-70 degrees. You are also supposed to store your batteries with at least 20% charge over the winter.
I leave my batteries on the chargers constantly, in my basement. The chargers have management software that will discharge and recharge the batteries during long term storage.
If you have the ego eco system that expensive battery will power all your tools. Snow blower, trimmers etc. You can even use it for camping to charge stuff
@@swinefeaster I am still all for cordless electric mowers but until I can find one that has the same cut quality of a gas mower, I'm just going to have to hold off buying one. I would be willing to sacrifice longevity and accept the fact of buying a new $300 battery every 5 or so years if the cut quality was as good or better than gas. Gas really isn't that much of pain if you also have a gas car. Just bring a gas can with you once or twice a month during mowing season when you fill up your vehicle.
Lithium ion batteries are limited to 500 to 1000 recharges if a 50% charge/ discharge plan. While that sounds short, most ppl don't usually mow every day. mowing once a week, the battery would last 10+ years.
I switched back from an Ego brushless mower to a Honda hrx217. Way better mowing quality. The ego had such bad suction for mulching at higher heights. Adding to that, the motor died in a year. It’s took 4 weeks to get it approved for vlbeinf replaced under warranty and now I’m looking at another 2 - 3 weeks before my replacement arrives. The only good point is should be able to sell it as brand new. I have their string trimmer and loved it, which is why I bought into the mower.
17-year-old Sears with the Briggs & Stratton engine, leg propelled, only been in the shop once, regular oil changes and blade changes and this thing still goes like butter.
Those old Sears mowers... especially the 190cc ones are tanks. Take care of that mower. I love tinkering with them. These new Lowes Chinese rebranded Craftsman are horrible compared to the old ones.
Man me too. 17 years. I would love an ego or another battery mower but they just won't last that long. No way. And that briggs motor was bulletproof. Absolutely no problem with it after all these years.
I been useing EGO commercially it AWESOME. So funny I sold a Honda lawnmower after I got the EGO and I have 10 year old Echo 58v and it's still going and it's also used commercially.
Not so much of an issue with Honda equipment as Briggs and Tecumseh-powered equipment definitely smells. I have two Honda flat head engine powered equipment and there's less noise and smell than the other two.
LOL... I'm on the other end. I have a Honda HRR216 (loved it) that I am now replacing with an EGO... Had the Honda for nearly 25 years. 95% of the time it would start on the first pull. Seemed like only time that I had to pull 4 or 5 times was at the beginning of each year. I liked it a lot, although Ive replaced; Pull Cord assembly, the Wheels set (twice), Gear Cable. And most recently the Carburetor ($15 item). Now the wheels are not engaging when in gear, with the Honda. Could be a belt issue or adjustment? I'm just at a time in life where I don't like spending spare time fixing equipment/vehicles anymore. Even though 10- 30 years ago I did that all the time. Now that I have a boat, I just want to go fishing. Paying for a $350 battery (well let's say this, battery WILL be dropping in price in the future) is not a killer for me as long as it is ONLY a battery to worry about. With a gas mower seemed like something needed to be replaced throughout the time, so meh. Maintenance will always be there, with either. It just seems like with combustion engines, it's a lot more frequently... with Electric it appears more costly for the replacement. Only pro for me is I already have a half dozen Ego products that came with batteries (including Chainsaw), some I've had for 6 years and they still hold a charge. One of my smaller 2.5ah batteries (trimmer) has diminished in cycle time. Remember, where talking Lithium batteries, here, they last a lot longer.
Will your argument apply when you can deduct the cost of a lawn mower, via your taxes as an "capital expense", over the life span of any mower. That is FREE money if you need a tax deduction. I had many Honda's and one was given to me by a Honda dealer in a Home Builder Show I produced years ago and it lasted eight years, but did not care for the smell of gas, oil, and expense of upkeep like filters, plugs, etc. There are other EV mowers and they are getting better each year. Now this may not be true of EV cars, and the news seems to feel less than 30% of cars will be EV by 2050, and at least lawn mowers can charge at home. In two years, there will be solid-state batteries that are lighter, NO concern about fires, three times higher density and then you will be liking the EV's by then. You are right about Honda takes a beating, and now I own the new Acura MDA, but not EV yet and may not until things change. Still researching EV mowers.
I'm sort of in the same boat as you. I bought my EGO mower last summer. I'd been looking at them since they first came out in 2014 or so and loved the idea of a cordless electric lawnmower that I didn't have to fool around with the gas and oil. I loved everything about the EGO except the cut quality. I like to mow high at 4" and the EGO just cut the lawn terribly at that height so I was forced to lower down to 3". I also only mulch and it did a terrible job at that and I like to mulch up my leaves in the fall and it was terrible at that and the only way it would do even a semi good job of mulching leaves was to lower it down even further to 2 inches. I also started to think about having to replace that battery in 5 or so years at a cost of almost another lawn mower. So, like you I returned it. Unlike you, I didn't buy a new lawnmower. I went back to my 22 year old Honda GCV 160. I put new wheels on it (the originals were slick) and I overhauled the carb by cleaning it and putting in new gaskets and it still runs like new! Whenever it finally dies, I might look into what cordless mowers are available then, but for now, I'm sticking with my Honda that has run like a top for 22 years and is still going strong!
I have the one bladed Ego self propelled mower. This is the second year of using it. I enjoy the quiet operation, very unlike the internal combustion gas mowers. It cuts very well. I do sharpen the blade twice per season. I also enjoy not having the stink of a gas mower. I like the low emissions of the mower, as compared to gas mowers which are explained as According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a new gas powered lawn mower produces volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides emissions air pollution in in in one hour of operation as 11 new cars each being driven for one hour. I only have two lots 75 x 100 ft each and one charge does it all. So far the cut is very good but I don’t want or need a putting green lawn. No gas or oil is a big plus for me. I am very satisfied with Ego.
I love my ego but do wish it had a bit more power and more importantly, run time. With that said, I dont miss dealing with gas, oil and worst off maintenance of a gas unit. Also I dont miss the noise. Both systems have their benefits and downfalls. If I was good at diagnosing and fixing gas powered mowers, I would deal with the other issues.
Just picked up this model today. Replacing an 18 year old Craftsman that still works fine. Was tired of the weight (I have a hilly yard), and gas, and tune ups, etc. We'll see how it goes. Keeping my Craftsman just in case.
1 horsepower = 746 watts. When you go electric your trading power for convenience. This does not apply to all things (Tesla), but it does for power tools because they use smaller battery packs in order to keep the weight & cost down. As an example, if your Ego is 56V with a 7.5AH battery....Lets just say it lasts 1 hour, which means it pulls 7.5 amps for one hour. At 56V you can use Ohms Law (Voltage * Amps = Watts) to calculate the actual power, 56V * 7.5amps = 420 watts...So then your just over 1/2HP. If the 7.5AH battery only lasts 1/2 hour then your peak current is 15A, in this case your pulling 840 watts, just over 1HP. Your Honda HRX217 is rated at 5.1HP which equates to 3,800 watts, so if the EGO battery lasts 1 hour your Honda mower has 3,800/420 = 9 times more power. THERE'S YOUR DIFFERENCE, and the EGO ads I've seen claim 80 minutes of run time which means they are under 400 watts. An Ego with the same power as your Honda mower (3,800 watts for 1hour) would require a 67.5amp-hour battery which would weigh 56 pounds....and that's not considering the size or weight of the motor to handle that much power.
Your right, also I didn't take into account that the cordless mowers will pull more current under heavy loads..so it's possible the peak power could be over 1HP for short periods.
@@BradKwfc You did not take into account that EGO is a direct drive system , no rubber belts. I.e. it is a much more efficient system. The torque was mentioned above. Then there is the weight of the mower, EGOs are very light. Further EGO has a built in feedback mechanism for load sensing, where the motor goes into high revs and torque. Don’t quote me on this the fuse they use is a 30A slo-blow fuse. The self-propel EGOs have a separate motor driving the axel. EGO engineers must hate drive belts.
@@xxycom8963 I know, I basically averaged everything out as far as the numbers go. My Greenworks 60V is the same way. Direct drive and load sensing. Never going back to gas!
You're right, I was in the same boat. After exactly 20 years of using my old Honda mower every season, it was finally showing its age, i decided to sell it and update to an Ego. Well, after a season of use, I decided to sell it. and bought another honda which just performs so well. I love the ego for its convenience, power (actually more powerful than my very old Honda), battery performance and every aspect except for the following. 1. It just doesn't cut as well as the old honda. it does well at a very low cut setting, but I don't like to cut my grass that low. 2. Suction is mediocre. It does ok at bagging, but again, not even close to the honda. 3. Mulching does ok, but again, not as well as the honda. 4 Leaf pickup, is very poor. Not even close to the Honda. 5. The deck underside tends to collect a thick layer of grass fairly quickly if grass is even slightly damp. Strange problem, but one I never had with my plastic deck Honda. Not a huge issue, but annoying. 6. Bag/handle bar design. This is a minor quibble, but again is annoying that you can't lift the bag through the handle bars like the honda. Unless you experience the convenience difference, this would not even rise as an issue for most people. Honda owners, beware. I want a battery operated mower and expect to do so at some point. The convenience factor is just off the charts and it's a better choice for our environment. Someday.
I have that Honda and it's the best machine I've ever had. So well designed, so reliable, and such a perfect cut. I buy a couple of cans of ethanol-free fuel each year and, three seasons in, it still starts on the first pull. Bags leaves in the fall like a boss, too. The only mower I've ever loved nearly as much as a Suzuki-powered Toro I had back in the 80s.
ok lawn mower man, how do you keep a fuel line from slipping off of a 25 y/o fuel tank? the spring clamp or the screw down clamp do not keep it from slipping off. the end of the tank nipple is not flared.
I have so many ego things I have a small collection of batteries. My ex’s Dad has had an ego mower for years. At least six years and no issues with the battery. I did have one issue with an older ego I’ve never mulched my leaves though... I blow them into a creek area with my ego blower I’ve had since 2011 or 2012. My toro gas mower was better at picking up stuff but it’s had issues. My last servicing on it was like $400... and the bag wore out and it was like $250 for a new one. Long term the batteries have been very good. And the technology keeps improving. I also have my mower usually set to lowest setting too 😆 The 10A must be very new cause i don’t remember it being on the market last spring. Turbo would be good. I find I rarely use the self propel so that helps it last.
As an owner of both. I can saw my HRX is better with mulching. Especially with leaves. My hrx was the best lawnmower I’ve ever owned. But the maintenance for the ego has me sold. The Lm2135sp makes maintenance so easy. BTW, I bought fenders for my HRX and it protected the sides from the rubbing. The knock of the HRX is the back wheel adjustment. Has always been difficult and you can barely see the numbers especially when dirty
You know what, I am actually looking to buy a used EGO twiblade for those quick and easy cuts. Hopefully I can score one second hand cheaply during the off season. The Honda HRX217 is great at the beginning and end of the season. It's also great during Fall season leaf mulching. But for simple cut lawn maintenance mowing, the EGO is better and easier to use.
@@Mr-Chris good luck. Had a hard time finding a used ego twin blade myself. Even a reconditioned one is difficult to find. Wished the site would sell them
I’m needing a new lawn mower. We own under a quarter acre. My 16 year old Honda still runs but it is just a sing,e blade mower. I see I need more suction pull when it’s moving. My grass just lies down when we mow. I’m thinking of just buying a new gas powered Honda. I had thought the E-go is a space saver and that was a part of the appeal at first. Thanks for this info!
I got 10 years out of my HRX217 before the deck cracked. I just replaced it with a new HRX217. The old one still runs and works great! just need to figure out a way to fix the crack.
Is it the tool or the ecosystem? What type of performance difference from one mower to the next justifies all of this hassle? Do you have the type of yard that requires pristine maintenance? I bought an eco lawn mix from a company in Oregon and it’s mostly fescue, yarrow, strawberry clover, and a few others. I cut it to 4”. It looks fantastic. Ego mower has been great at handling it.
I was considering getting one of the Ego mowers just as a backup / trimming mower behind my Toro Timemaster. I like the idea of not having to maintain two gas mowers. But, I will never give up the Timemaster as my main machine. The 33" cutting path cut my mowing time from 1.5 hrs to 45 minutes. Other than maybe some expensive commercial versions no battery powered mower can do that.
Time Master? Oh boy. Those things allegedly eat belts and takes an hour to replace. I will stick with my BBC shaft drive HST propelled commercial Honda and my 20 year old Cub Series 2000 shaft drive transmission tractors.
I have been in the lawn business since 1981, just want to mention, gas is not free, most likely cost more then using a lith. battery for 350 for 4-5 years
Correct, Unless you are working for someone else but batteries do cost money to charge. Battery cost for this machine will probably be much lower by then or extinct anyways 😂.
@@HsingSun Did the math on the Zero turn vs a 20 hp Craftsman. Over 3 years the saving is roughly $500. Enough for 1 10ah battery. The mower takes 4...... Economically makes more sense than I thought before I did the math but certainly not enough to justify it if economics were the only concern particularly concerning the cost of entry.
I just bought the ego lm2130 mower & I agree with you about the larger battery & the turbo button. the kit I bought come with 2 10 amp batteries,which is great, but no turbo button, my green works mower has the turbo button, & I use it all the time for picking up leaves & it works great. The turbo button is the one thing missing on the ego mowers. I seen new mowers for 2025 pop up on the internett showing a version with a turbo button, which would be great, but the page is now missing, so I am not sure what happened.
Bought an EGO LM2156SP, self-propelled XP Select Cut mower and returned it 2 mows later. The self-propel function is quirky and inconsistent. The lag from when you pull the bar is long, the jerkiness and sudden surges suck (you get wheelies) and the max speed is way too low. It sometimes jerked forward when I was pulling it backwards. I also find the green button/bars to start it moving are too small and too recessed. The battery life was also disappointing. I ordered the tool only and my existing 5 amp battery only got the mower through 25 minutes of mowing. I know it comes with a 7.5 amp battery, but this 5 amp battery powered my old EGO (not self-propelled) for 50 minutes. Not apples to apples, I know, but unacceptable. Bought a Honda HRX. I do love the EGO blowers, hedge clippers and snow blowers, though.
My neighbor bought me a Craftsman lawnmower when mine died years ago because I always mowed her yard when I mowed my own yard. That mower recently died after 21 years. The thing is I never changed the oil in all those years and never had any problems with it. All I did was replace or clean the spark plugs and filters. Finally the motor manufacturer finally understood what I knew about not changing the oil. I proud to call myself a pioneer in that respect.😁 I did add oil every once in a while but it never needed much when I did. I was trying to decide to go battery or stay with gas. After two months of research I have decided to stay with gas. I was worried about how long a battery mower would last but I am 74 so any mower might last longer than me. But I will stay with gas. Sorry this was so long. Thanks for the video.
Are you saying that it's better to not change the oil every season or every so many run hours? I've been somewhat lax in my oil change schedule sometimes going 3 years between changes. I do always check the level. I've also only changed the spark plug 3 times in the life of my mower.
@@lolajoker Some of the new gas mower selling point is don’t change the oil just check it and add if needed. I had that Craftsman mower for 20 years and never changed the oil just added when it looked low. I joked that I was a pioneer in the never change the oil. Maybe the manufacturers never studied that or probably I was just lucky. Thanks for the comment. Stay safe!
I've had my Toro gas since 2004. I paid $129.99 for it and the only repair was a new Chinesium carb for $19.99 (included plug, air filter and extra priming bulb) this year.
I just bought an 8.3 torque self propelled mower today, and I was not impressed at all. It bogged down about as much as my $400 Ego from 2018, and the 10 ah battery lasted about as long as my 5 ah. I'm not kidding. It was so much heavier and harder to use compared to my feather light push only mower. The underside of the deck on my old one was completely smooth, and the new one had all these pockets in it that traps all the grass. I tried to use the side discharge, but it clogged almost immediately, and was essentially muching. Then it would clog completely, and shut off. I will say that the grass was neglected and long because my 5 ah battery died, which is why I bought the new one. I still have my 2.5 ah battery, so I got out the old mower to finish the grass, and side by side it performed basically the same as far as bogging down...but the new mower had the 2.5 battery turn red in just a few feet. In the old mower it was still green, and finished the job, and some of the back yard. It was $700 on sale, but now makes me feel better about maybe buying another 5 ah battery for the old mower.
Grass isn’t the problem when it comes to electric lawn mower, cutting weeds is the problem. Gas lawnmower cut weeds and grass. Electric mowers are just good for cutting grass…not weeds too!
Agree 100% with this video. I currently own a 2018 model EGO and had a Greenworks prior to that. The backside of our lawn is bordered by Leyland Cyprus and pine trees that drop "stuff" 24-7 365. I mow my tall fescue at 4" and the Ego does an extremely poor job of picking up the needles and twigs. I've also noticed at 4" if I don't cut 2-3" over the previous wheel track it has a tendency to leave long strands of grass. My neighbor's lawn is mowed with a Toro gas mower and the cut quality if far better. As good as the EGO is for maintenance and ease of use, it simply does not have the suction for the best cut.
Reason I bought an Ego products was because I don’t want to deal with gas power maintenance or cords. I have spent like $2000 on Ego products already, and I have to say that there is not much of a difference in the cut quality, i think it all depends on your technique. I don’t mulch my leaves, I just blow them into a pile and then use my B&D leaf vacuum, then I mow my lawn then trim and edge. I’m I doing it wrong?
Your technique also works. Honestly, I've have gotten lazy when it comes to picking up wet leaves and I find mulching leaves with a mower is less effort. Where I live it rains a lot during the Fall so for the past several years my old gas mower did an awesome job at mulching wet leaves, but it didn't cut grass well. So when I invested in paying for a Premium mower and got the EGO. I was impressed with how well it cuts grass, but disappointed in how it doesn't mulch leaves. Decided that if I am going to invest in a Premium mower, I want it to do it all... so I switched to Honda and am very happy.
I am sorry to say, but all new Toro's use these new cheap with many plastic parts Briggs and Stratton engines. The older Toro's with mostly metal and reliable Briggs and Stratton engines and sometimes Honda engines here a workhorse. The new Toro's frames are mostly still high quality, but gas motors are very disappointing compared to the older models.
I know this is a 2 year old video at this point but, the cost of a new battery when the original loses its umpf in a few years is still probably cheaper than the gas and oil you'd buy over the lifetime of the battery. Add in time required for maintenance and its a no brainer.
I'm spending about $20 a year maybe $30 for gas and then another $5 on a quart of oil for the yearly oil change. And of that money non of it at one time! Tell me all about your savings if any when you are shelling out $300.00 at one time on your 5 - 7 year old mower to keep it running. 😉
@@irongoose3865 That's great you're only spending that much. The size of my yard I would never be able to do that. My John Deere uses that in a month. The EGO is for smaller sections of my lawn with more delicate grass types the JD would tear up. So the battery should last me a long time. In about 7 years when I need to replace the battery they wont be as expensive, so Im happy with my decision
@@DropTheBunny There are quite a few advantages of owning a battery 🔋 powered mower and if you are good with the cost of the batteries and the potential that they might not last past their warranty that's fine. The advantages outweigh the cost. I just think people should be aware of this before they buy one of these things.
@@irongoose3865 I agree. Batteries dont last forever, and they're 90% of the cost of the equipment you're buying when you do purchase one. The rest of the mower is plastic (which is nice in a way because it wont rust out). Def agree though, they cant do everything, but they have their place.
Oh man, now I’m more confused about getting an ego or a gas lawnmower. I just moved to Southern Florida, my lawn is Saint Augustine, and it is a good side backyard and a good front yard lawn. We used to have someone taking care of the lawn but he was not reliable. We are retired so we are doing more gardening ourselves. My in-law gave me a used gas lawnmower, a 5.75 hp, but it was pretty beat up. I changed filter, oil, spark plug, and I took apart and clean carburetor. It is working great, but I just hate the noise, fumes, and repairs. I guess I’m getting old. So, after watching your video, I have now more questions. I can see the cost of batteries to be too high, but I read so many great reviews on the Ego that I though to give it a try and spent nearly a grand. If you or anyone would be so kind to give me a recommendation on what would be best lawnmower to use on Saint agustin grass. Thanks again, and keep bringing great videos.
If you are looking for something just to cut grass, EGO is a GREAT mower. However if you like to cut your Saint Augustine high, the EGO will struggle and you might need make a second pass cut which can drain the battery faster. If you need a mower to MULCH leaves and yard debris, EGO will also not do so well. EGO batteries are hit or miss. I have seen reviews of people using the same EGO batteries 5+ years with no issues while others have issues right as the warranty ends. It depends on what you are looking for, if you want something easy to use, with no maintenance, and acceptable cut quality... EGO is the way to go. If you are looking for the best cut quality at the least amount of cut time, and don't mind gas maintenance, look at Honda or Toro Super Recycler. Electric Battery is the future of Residential Lawn Mowers, but I personally feel they are not their... just yet.
Chris Hi, thanks for your prompt response. It does make a lot of sense what you are saying. I noticed that my Saint Augustine is a bit though to cut, so the electric lawnmower will struggle as you just mentioned. I’ll will inquire about Honda , like the one you showed in your video because I also preferred the composite top. Thank you again.
love almost everything about my ego, but you hit the nail on the head... the quality of cut is sub-par, especially for tall fescue... prepare for the ego internet mafia to show up outside your house with pitchforks and torches.
I have an Ego and you’re right, it can leave “Mohawks” between each cut lane. I found that this happens when you go too fast with it, or if you have the self-propulsion at max speed. If you slow down, the Mohawks go away. But on balance, I’m happy with it. I’m only using it to cut 1/4 acre.
So I have a second generation ego mower and my neighbor has a gas toro. After we both cut our lawn you can clearly see that his lawn looks better as in perfectly flat without all of these stragglers where mine does not. The issue is that the ego mowers create almost no lift. It struggles to lift the simple grass and cut it. I have used a high lift blade and even put the new dual blade design on and nothing helps. I will soon be rewiring my ego lawn mower so that I can control the blade speed/rpm manually because this problem is really wearing on me. Great video by the way and I can see why you switched back to Honda for sure!
Great video. I bouth my ego lawnmower and love it for like 20 mins. After that, i saw how much mess was left behind (clippings and leafs) and quickly returned it. I was told that an alternative knife would help but for a $500.00+ mower, the mower better cut and clean up nice and even.
I have a Honda HRR216 bought a few years ago that I never did get along with very well. It has the infamous backward-pull-resistance issue, and I had to cut the grass higher than I wanted to because that made the mower at least somewhat maneuverable, but it still wears me out to cut with it. I don't like bagging the grass, so my technique is to either mulch and just leave it lie, or if the grass had gotten a bit longer, I mulch then put the bag on and go over the areas where I could see the grass lying and just pick it up with the bag. I resisted getting the Ego mower because I wasn't sure it would handle being able to pick up the mulched grass, based on reviews I'd read. Well, i finally broke down and got the 2-blade 2135sp ego, and while I've only used it once, it performed every bit as well as the Honda, and picked up the mulched grass just fine using the mulching blade (I wasn't about to change blades just for that). I don't have many leaves, but I am keeping the Honda for now in case the ones I do have are an issue for the Ego, but mowing with the Ego was so much easier than with the Honda, it was almost fun.
I still like the EGO, based on several years of reading comments from other people both for and against this, it my understanding that you'll have the best cutting and mulching results using the high lift ego blade. Depending on the modle, the high lift blade might already be included. I like the brand new 2023 ego mower with the screen and Turbo button, but read negative reviews on the speed IQ self propelle.
@@Mr-Chris I did get multiple blades and tried to do some research with regard to which actually mulched better, but I couldn't find anything very conclusive, though I did come across one source stating the high lift blade was better for mulching. The mulching blade came installed, but I took off too much grass in my initial mowing with the ego, so can't judge mulching performance with it just yet. I didn't get the upgraded turbo model.
ego's battery pricing seems a bit bonkers. One reviewer even said instead of getting another battery for your blower. it would be cheaper just to buy another complete blower kit with battery.
I was ready to set my six year-old Honda HRX217 on fire after it started leaking oil around the valve cover for the third time. Couple that with a blade stop that clicked itself off about every six or eight rows, a wandering idle that it developed despite only ever using the best ethanol-free fuels and rear wheels that started squeaking and it was time to do something different. I love my new EGO LM2156SP! 8.3 ft/lbs of torque gets the job done! Mulches great, is quiet and the best part is the light weight compared to the Honda. I’ll never go back to gas.
I keep my mowers even longer than you do. My current John Deere mower is not even made anymore since they got out of the walk behind mower business. I’ve had it for over 20 years and probably spent less on it than if I had owned an Ego all that time (I realize they weren’t available that long ago) my experience with cordless equipment is that the batteries are good for about 2-3 years and that’s it. So 20 years would have required me to buy 7-10 batteries that’s about $3500. I have not spent anywhere near that kind of money to keep my mower serviced and running well.
That's what I say! And even if you got 7 years out of one of those batteries is there anyone who's going to be willing to spent $300.00 on a 7 year old mower to keep it running?
I got rid of my old Honda gas mower for an Ego. Worst decision I ever made. After my husband passed away, I just didn't want to mess with gas anymore ,so, with all the rave reviews I bought the Ego. First of all, you could go over bone dry leaves and they end up sitting on the ground, so yes, you have to lower the blade all the way, as far as it will go to the ground. I don't like to cut grass that low, I now live in Texas, not a good idea. Also I live on a slight hill, and going uphill , if I have the bag on, with very little debris in it, the lawnmower tilts up in the front all the time, which drives me to insanity. I never fill lawnmower bags jelly-tight, we're talking not even a half bag of debris, more like 1/4 of the bag. I always remove the battery and I keep it in the laundry room so it's at an even temperature, and I read the manual cover to cover, I'm not one of those people that don't pay attention to the care and maintenance of my purchases. My old Honda went for many years, every spring I had it in for maintenance as "preventative maintenance" but I jumped on the cordless mowers thinking, wow, how great. I would pay double the price to get my old Honda back. It weighed a ton, but it cut and bagged grass, leaves, etc like a champ. I'm giving the Ego away because it was nothing like I thought it would be. Maybe if I lived on a flat lot, fine, but living on even a slight hill, it just isn't all that great. And the self-propel feature even with the slightest touch, takes off like a shot. I have a lot of trees and I blame myself for not researching it more than I did. I'm not saying it's a terrible lawnmower, it's simply not for me.
I have the Ego lm2156sp , used it one time , I will be returning it!! The rear wheel drive & lightweight deck do not play well together. If the turf is thick 3 to 4" cut as a norm...do not consider this mower. I love it!!! It just needs to be heavier to maintain level cutting. Back to my Toro Super Recycler until something else comes along...Ego products are great , as I own quite a few...this just didnt work out for my lawn.
I'm in the market to buy a lawnmower, which is how I found your video. I'm one of those guys who googles "what can I use instead of grass," in an attempt to never have to mow the lawn. When I hear you say, "one of the hobbies I recently picked up was fixing lawnmowers," as one of your reasons for buying a gas mower, it makes me more likely to either buy an electric mower or hire someone to cut my grass whose hobbies include fixing lawnmowers.
I don't understand how your steel decks are rusting out, seems a number youtube videos mention it. We had run-of-the-mill steel deck 2-stroke lawnmower for over 2 decades (even then it was still good) and it never rusted out. However, after each use it was always standard practise to clean the underneath of the deck and used a brush to remove all grass from all areas of the lawnmower.
I think it was due to a poor Husqvarna mower design. My old Husqvarna had a closed drivetrain so grass clippings and water would get stuck. Even if you power washed it, debris will still be stuck under all the plastic molding rusting out the deck.
I went from a Honda HRX and Stihl yard tools to all-EGO and I LOVE it. I was sick of finicky gas powered tools that needed tune-ups, filter changes, oil changes, and gas constantly. Now my mower is as quiet as a box fan and I don’t have to grunt while yanking a pull-cord since they all start up immediately at the push of a button. Maybe I’ll change my tune in a few years if the batteries die - but I’m super happy right now.
I have an e-go mower over 7years with the original battery and also have a blower, still going strong, never have had an issue whatsoever with these two. In fact they are great machines I love them, just for your info!
Yeah I get comments like that all the time, people who say their EGO equipment is working well 10 years plus... but I also get comments of people who's equipment crapped out and had to go tough the ringer of multiple attempts and long hold times to get EGO to replace it. I guess you got a good batch of equipment.
I sold my honda HRX twin blade and miss it after getting the Ego. The Ego does not cut consistently at all, leaves high spots all over the place. Where my Honda laid down a perfect cut each time. I needed more space but think at some point will go back to the Honda. Not worried about battery issues for my awn but the cut quality is just no where close to my Honda twin blade. If you have space and really like. a good looking yard get the Honda your yard will thank you.
Just wait till fall when you also have to Mulch leaves... you will really miss it more. It's not too late... if you bought this at Home Depot... they have a relaxed return policy. Another good choice will be the Toro Super Recycler that's gas, and also can be stored up to save space.
I do agree it's poor at picking up leaves, but the whole yearly maintenance on gas is why I choose to keep mine, 5 to 10 on spark plugs, 8 on oil, then how ever much in gas you'll use my time is limited and I would rather spend it doing other tasks. Ego does use premium batteries which "should" last at least 8 to even 10 years with around a 10% degradation over that time. But the time the smell is worth me keeping my ego. Here's a bit of math for every hour you use a gas mower it's roughly 2 gals an hour=$4ph per season that would roughly mowing every two weeks at an hour each time, right $20 to $30 not including any other gas equipment plus your oil and spark plugs so your right looking at 40 to 60 a year 5 years at 60 a year $300 but that's if gas is still cheap with battery I can use on all equipment, it costs me about 15 cents to recharge that battery. Yes a gas power may last longer, but you'll have to keep repairing it just like anything else they still do have more power, but the cost of the battery is irrelevant at the end of the day. Glad you're happy and keep up the good work sorry this is so long
I agree with al your points. Electric is cheaper and easier to maintain. I just wish it performed as good as gas.... maybe one day they will..... My dream lawn mower would be some sort of crazy electric lawnmower like a Tesla... instead of a removable battery, make a mower filled with batteries that are not removable that you need to charge using a charging cable... it will be heavy like a gas mower, but it will have tons of torque and power to spin a heavy blade(s) better than a gas mower. I bet it would be expensive, but it will be a monster of a mower and no gas maintenance.
@@Mr-Chris I believe why they do batteries is cost savings or the versatility of a battery, honestly though if ego would give us a throttle for the blade I believe that would solve a lot of the issues it just spines too low at idle, I've mowed 6 inch tall grass cut it down to 2.5 with no issues it has power once it ramps up. I do agree though with a battery pack built in, that could allow more amps and voltage bigger motor, actually to think of it ryobi does have one but it's a ride on
I have this hrx mower for the last 4 years and it is an absolute beast. Maintenance is cheap too. I buy the genuine kit for 32 dollars and it comes with blades, oil and filter. Takes 15 minutes to replace the parts and I'm off to the races. I purchased a ryobi 40v on craigslist for 100 dollars to mow the backyard and it's like a toy compared to the Honda. I do have the ego blower going on 4 years and still runs like day 1. I have dropped this blower many times and still runs great. They do make a solid product.
I've been upgrading every 2yrs with my ego tools. Sell the mowers for $100-125 less than I bought them for. I just sold my 2yr old Ego self propelled mower yesterday for $425. Bought it for $499. Same one sells for $599 @ lowes currently lol. I turned right around and bought the select cut XP ego w/10 ah battery. Can't wait to use it.
It's a shame because you could have done a long term study of the longevity of the Ego. Plus if you buy into the ecosystem you can swap batteries. While pricey I don't know if the cost of the replacement battery is that outrageous. Have you added up how much gas you use/spend on?
We have had gas mowers for a long time and we like Honda the best for gas mowers with the blade control where we push with motor on with no blades spinning
That Honda is a beauty. I believe I have the same Husqvarna that you had, HU800AWD. The Honda motor has been bullet proof 🤞🏻 for 8 years now and the deck is in good shape. I’ll run it until it dies then I’ll buy a Honda. Enjoy!
Yeah I owned the HU800AWD, the GCV190 Engine was a beast. I kept having issues with the transmissions failing then dealing with removing rusted bolts to repair it. When it worked, the thing would pull me up hill. Keep that mower as long as you can and spray lube behind the wheels from time to time. if your Transmission fails, it's actually easy to replace so long that you don't have to deal with rusted clips or bolts. I made a video about it: th-cam.com/video/TCQ5cURoJ6A/w-d-xo.html
Longevity... hadn't considered it. Until recently I was using a Craftsman lawn mower that was given to me 25 years ago - used. I bet it was 20 years old then. Just normal maintenance kept it running like a champ. I finally replaced it when the drive, handle, and switch parts were failing and were hard to find. Donated it to a shop to rebuild and sell. I'm pretty sure it's out in the world as a nearly 50 year old mower right now.
Family members have Ego stuff and they really like it. However you are correct the batteries start to not last as long, and don't generate as much runtime after 1 year. At the three year mark they do need to be replaced. The reason to go with battery is for convenience. I have a honda HRC216 and hope to keep it for 30 years. The EPA will start to ban gas in small engines and one won't be able to buy a new mower.
How could you have buyer remorse on the battery when you didn't own the lawn mower long enough to replace the battery? Doesn't make sense. I have a Ego mower for 5+ years and I still use the same battery. It has a 5 year warranty, Here is something to think about.. how many times do you mow your grass per week? Times that per year and then times that for 5 years. That will show how much you spend on gas for your mower in 5 years. It may exceed the cost of the battery and that doesn't include a spark plug, air filter and oil.
I have a hedger, a string trimmer, a multi head (string trimmer, edger, pole saw), a chainsaw, a blower, and now, finally a lawnmower. I had a snapper with a Briggs and Stratton engine that I bought 6 years ago, and not until two months ago did it give me problems. I absolutely love that snapper. Like you said $350÷6 years?!! Trouble free?!! Always started on first pull! What's not to love. But now, after not being able to fix it myself, i decided to give in and get the ego. Once all my 8 batteries fail, I'll probably go back to gas...maybe. it depends how quiet the ego is and how trouble free and dependable it is to me. If the difference between the two is night and day, i might just stick with the ego. I'll write again, hopefully in about five years or more. After 6 years only one battery has started to lose it's charge (5Ah, probably cause i used it the most). Lord willing, the batteries last me another 3-4 years!
New greenwork 80 v at Costco has turbo button, and includes two 4ah battery for 600. Haven’t opened it yet. Have to see if it beats my trusty old Honda.
I had been drooling over the EGO for a while and like you I went for the Honda, but the HRN. To be honest there were 3 main reasons I did not buy the EGO; Made in China, plastic and the cost of another battery if I had to buy one. I had also suspected that with my thick Texas St Augustine I might not get a very good cut and short battery life. Also if I am being honest, I am not crazy about the self propelled controls on the Honda and like the ones on my old Husqvarna better.
Ditto on the Husky drive control... Aside from the Toro Personal Pace, it's probably my favorite drive control; if you look inside the lever mechanism you can see that the roller tracks change the rate at which the cable is pulled as you squeeze the levers. It gives you very precise, easily variable control over your speed in a way that neither of the Honda drive controls will give you. And the HRX drive control is actually my least favorite, compared to the cheaper HRR Hondas.
Just thought I'd share: (LM2130SP, purchased Feb2021): No issues in 2021...in 2022 it simply cuts off while cutting. It appears to run for approx. 20 minutes then it shuts off and won't restart (Battery goes through 1 to 2 led indicator lights). But it will restart after some rest time: 15 minute rest, it will run for about 2 min. 45 minute rest, it will run for 10 minutes or so. Mind you I only took note of these types of times just once before taking it in. And I'm not cutting through overgrown grass here, I'm bagging very little clippings, probably even shorter than the 1/3 rule this time of year. The underdeck is clean, nothing there. Did this to me on 3 separate consecutive occasions this season (Mar/Apr 2022). It's not the battery, as I have swapped batteries and both work fine in the second piece of equipment (string trimmer). Also, nothing appears to be hot as for as I can tell and nothing out of the ordinary happens before or after, it just shuts off. I called EGO and they referred to me to their authorized warranty center (an hour away). I turned it in on 20 Apr and explained what it was doing to me. I called them today (27Apr) and they can't seem to replicate my issue. Which I was afraid of. The associate I spoke with said they went through several batteries and been going back and forth with EGO regarding my issue. But if they can't replicate what's happening with me not sure what else can be done. I guess, they are talking with EGO to see if any other customers are having similar issues this this lawnmower.
Amen. I used to have a Ryobi and it was ok but recently replaced it with a Craftsman with a Honda engine. Its like night and day. Imo, the blade on electric mowers doesn't spin as fast as it does on a gas mower, which is why they don't mulch, bag or cut as well.
I forgot to charge my batteries and borrowed my dad's 10 years old honda. Sure it's noisy, but It took me approximately 40% less time to get the job done with the kind of finish I want. I am now questioning my whole battery investment.
I purchased my EGO in 2014 and bought an extra battery and both my batteries still doing great. I generally charge them at around 80% depletion. I am looking at the new self propelled EGO and intend to keep using both my old batteries when I purchase it.
I'm still chugging along with a Toro super recycler that I bought new in 2005. I think in the next 20 years we're going to have landfill issues. And not just from mowers. But it won't help that some people are going to toss their lawn equipment when the batteries dies and just buy a new and improved entire new mower, blower, trimmer, etc.
Thanks for the great unbiased analysis and discussion .. I will be totally honest and say I just purchased the EGO self propelled mower 7.5Ah, it's still in the box unopened in garage .. and I also just received the EGO 2.5Ah string trimmer 15" .. also just delivered Friday the 12th. Why did I go EGO having only seen reviews? .. I have about four acres to mow including hills. I use an L118 John Deere 22hp rider and a DR brush mower with 17hp Kawasaki-Twin engine for most. Yet, I still need a self propelled for regular remaining trim work (about half acre) .. about a half acre I just can't fit into with the big mowers. I also need a good string trimmer occasionally for the steepest hills and rough terrain (about quarter acre) .. I went EGO simply because I can no longer find a decent gas powered self propelled mower .. locally. I would prefer also owning a gas mower if I could find one where they could actually pull themselves (not easy stride or personal pace) and had good rear wheel drive with good tires and traction. I gave up looking (locally) and just decided to try EGO for the lightness of weight, relatively long run time for trim mowing .. and the reviews I've read about the string trimmer pushed me to get that as well. I must say your Honda looks very, very nice .. and I have had several Honda engines on other brand name products .. real good results. I just craved a lighter mower, basically a mower that would navigate up and around trim work, bushes, trees and slightly sloping terrain. I also desired trying something without fumes, low noise, and fair amount of durability .. again, for tight spots snd some open areas. The big rider and brush mower will do the majority, so, by process of elimination .. and not finding, anything without "easy stride" .. I went EGO. We shall see how it turn out .. I am interested in the feel of a lighter unit .. I will unbox them this week. I will admit I am looking forward to the straight shaft design of the EGO trimmer compared to my highly curved older gas model .. and I will also admit if I ever run across a nice self propelled gas mower (like your Honda) without "self pace feature" but "true self propulsion" .. the tradition commercial style that really pulls .. I will definitely purchase it to use along with the Ego. again, thanks .. excellent video!
I think in your situation, you will be happy with the EGO. It is a very light mower and like I said a lot in my videos... it cuts grass very well it also requires zero maintenance. My only gripe is the long-term usage and trying to use it as the one and only main mower to do everything. Since you already have multiple mowers that you could use for heavy-duty applications, you will be happy with this mower for the what you need it for.
@@Mr-Chris Thank You .. your video answered my search and I ordered the HRN216VKA 170cc 21 in. Gas Lawn Mower this morning .. having it shipped. I watched several videos describing the "Smart Drive Control" and when I saw that it can be adjusted and there are five positions to choose from .. I realized it;s much more advanced than the "easy stride or self pace" of others where a person must lean into the handle. This doesn't work for me on slopes and around hedges on angled terrain .. but "Smart Drive will as it finger operated" .. in other words the mower will pull itself up and around the shrubbery. Yes, .. I realize it's a little crazy for me to purchase another walk behind this soon after receiving the EGO set-up .. but I feel exactly like your philosophy that this is for the long haul. I will likely keep the EGO and experience it and just enjoy the comparison .. I will also sleep better at night knowing I have a state of the art gas model sitting in my garage and occasionally used for trim work. .... the cost is minimal adding the Honda to my line-up as this mower will be carefully maintained .. and used .. for years. Thank You for your description .. thorough analysis and excellent video .. I have had Honda engines in the past .. now I will experiment and experience the entire package. ... I don't purchase mowers that often .. rarely, I keep them for many, many years .. it just happens that both electric and a much needed gasoline model were added to the inventory at the same time. I also jumped at the chance to obtain "Smart Drive Design" as I have mentioned it's so difficult to find the right self-propelled mower for my terrain (the main reason for this impulse buy). Cheers ........
Thank you for replying. At the moment I’m without a mower as my 20 year old Honda finally fizzled away. I’m like you on the eventual need to replace a battery and a higher cost. I’d love to go battery and never mess with fuel, oil etc. At the same time getting 20 years out of these Honda’s are not out of the question and over time make spending so much not as painful. Anywho, thanks again and I enjoy your content.
If you are not a groundskeeper, I always wondered about guys who know 26 different types of grass, and the best time of day to cut. All I know is that the lawn is green, and only needs to be cut when it's too hot, or just rained the day before. Have been mowing my one acre with 21" EGO four seasons now, no worries. Regardless of brand, electric mowers are superior than gas powered for most lawns, unless you are a feudal lord with an estate. Cheers.
Yep in the long run Gas is more Expensive. Also, Third party companies have finally started to make EGO battery clones making replacement batteries even more affordable. However, Honda still outperforms the EGO in cut performance and mulching... for now. I now own most of the EGO lineup, except for the mower of course.
Next episode: "why i traded in my Honda mower for a steam powered 1900's grassmower."
No you got it wrong, my next video should be why I sold my Honda for a Scythe .
@@Mr-Chris Spoiler: An even better cut and more backpain as a bonus?
If it were nuclear steam, it would be the most efficient lawnmower in history.
@@DarkLinkAD Excellent idea.. let me write it down. Nu ci lar steam ro ler. Heated. It will iron out all the wrinkles and kill the bugs. Only thing i have to figure out left is how the grass gets cut in the process. I will get back to you on that.
Classic! 😂🤣
*This mower....... changed my life **Bestfor.Garden** also recommend I never thought I would see the day when I would ever make the switch to electric yard tools. But this was one of my best decisions yet. My old 15+ year old gas mower snapped its pull string while trying to get it to fire up and instead of fixing it, I chose to upgrade instead.*
I wanted to do the same thing, but i bought a 5 dollar cord and learned it was quite simple to replace.
Some people are lemmings to the china machine. I mean gas engines have multiple origins but electric items are modular and $150-$300! A quick fix and knowledge is all you need with a gas engine. I would only ever consider gas and maybe think twice about plastic decks. Even the aluminum or mag decks can chip. Rich lazy people might buy electric and pay $599 upfront +$300 a year just to keep er going. The drive system is over $150.
One of the many great things about the Ego is that you can use their batteries for many other uses. We use our Ego batteries not only for cutting and edging the lawn, blowing off the sidewalks, and tilling the soil--but also for running our RV's appliances when camping, powering our electric 10-foot boat, and more.
How?
@@UnitedPebbles the batteries are interchangeable which is common with electric appliances from other brands as well. The problem with battery powered appliances is they still don't offer enough power vs wired/gas and when the battery goes out you're out of luck if you don't a have a spare at the ready. Also batteries are very expensive
@@Super_Rockie_Rukawa_Kun I've been spending more money on keeping my gas mower running than the batteries cost. So the cost of a replacement battery is a non issue.
Megan's Garage. " blowing off sidewalks ". Ever thought of using a Mark 1 RAKE ? - they don't annoy neighbours, and encourage you to do something responsible with the rakings.
@@crustyoldfart I'll bet you're fun at parties.
Ive had my ego mower for 6 years! Still going strong on the original batteries!
I bought my EGO mower when they came out in 2014 and still using the same battery that gives me the same runtime. I had 1 electrical issue that was an easy fix. Just my 2 cents
@Bear Arbogast the battery or even the mower with a new battery?
You think 6 years is a long time for a mower?
One of the RARE use cases
I still have my cordless Black & Decker mower I bought back in 2012 and the battery and mower still work fine. I've been eyeing the new Ego though.
@@bgdogy I have e-go mower and blower over 7yers and still going strong. I don't know what this guy is smoking but I love e-go they are great machine and I recommend!
You'll never know now how long the ego would have lasted since you didn't keep it. 😥
@@LegendLength We know about NiCd batteries. We don't know a damn thing about the longevity of EGO's version of Li-Ion. I think 10 years is quite possible. Either way, he is doubting the lifetime of the mower based on nothing.
If you want a mower that can't cut grass buy an ego not so great alawn mower
4.5 years strong so far. 1/4 acre lot with many, many trees.
@@kirbyspencer538 You can take a chance on something that may or may not last, or choose something that _will_ certainly last. Easy choice.
@@lambdaman3228 And what exactly is this something that will certainly last?
Since Ego's 2021 release of the Select Cut mower (now with an "XP" suffix) has 20% more power/torque (1000 -> 1200 watts), I think they definitely got the message that their first run had gone backwards in terms of vacuum suction compared to their previous single-blade models. So you're not alone in reporting that particular niggle.
And while I've had zero problems with my super original 20" Ego mower mulching leaves up here in New England (even heavy wet Norwegian maple leaves, no less), I won't deny that the same medium-sized branches that would get sucked into a gas mower are left on the ground. I also concede the suction is better with the deck on lower settings, though I only have to lower it to the 2.5" height.
Personally, I'm willing to trade gas and power for zero maintenance, zero smell, very low noise that my kids can play around with safely, the potential to recharge completely using renewables (like solar), and perfectly sufficient power for my needs.
And my oldest 7.5 Ah battery is now five years old (manufactured Apr 2016) and still humming along perfectly - and I see that Ego has now increased their battery warranties from 3 to 5 years.
I really wish you could've done a direct comparison! For example, I noticed your Select Cut had the mulching blade installed instead of the high-lift blade that the Honda sported. These sort of things make an especially big difference with electric mowers due to, as you point out, their reduced torque compared to gas.
I have the XP mower and it really is on the same level as gas in terms of power. The blade RPM is much higher than that of a gas mower. The self propulsion option felt like an extravagance but it’s actually very nice. I have a hill to mow and it’s so nice to just push a button and have the mower motor up the hill, even if the blade motor is off!
I have other Ego tools as well, so I’ve bought into the concept. If the mower turns out to suck in the long term, so be it, lesson learned. But for now I really like not having to worry about gas, fuel stabilizer, etc. My wife and kids can operate it as well, which is also a plus.
@@HawkGTboy I hate to tell you but, no, electric mowers aren't on the same level as gas. They're often cheaply made and the resource that helps power them is probably even more scarce and about as toxic as petroleum. The other downside is you can't really recycle lithium based batteries. You are better off using lead acid batteries as they are actually recyclable. You can take the lead and use it to make new electrodes and the phosphoric acid can also be reused.
Also, I can transport my Honda mowers with the blades off as they both have blade-stop systems. Hondas are mowers that can last 30-40 years if correctly cared for and I know we used to use one to mow hills as well.
Blade RPM is faster on battery mowers because the cutting swath is generally smaller. If you look at dual-blade gas engine-powered walk behind mowers from Toro, Exmark and Scag, they also run at higher RPMs because the blades each are generally only 15 inches long.
That said, for home use the battery units are nice for single lots with small lawns but seldom do you see commercial users operating battery units because the batteries typically take 2-4 times longer to charge than the typical discharge rate when used to mow lawns. Then you have rapid charging but that takes as long to charge as it does to discharge when using it in a mower. That's a lot of batteries to be carrying with you to do 6+ lawns per day. So how do you charge them while out on the job? The easiest way is to bring an inverter generator along or using an inverter connected to your work vehicle, both requiring gas and that's actually inefficient to just using a gas mower to begin with.
All in all, I would rather use a corded unit but they have their faults too as most use permanent magnet DC motors as I guess it's too expensive to just make the motors universal brushed motors like those used in vacuum cleaners and average power tools. I'm still waiting on a corded AC mower utilizing a switched reluctance brushless motor like that seen in Rainbow E2 and SRX vacuum cleaners. I guess there's always the risk of running the cord over with the machine but I would try mowing starting close to the house and moving away from it.
Back in 1974 I was 12 years old. I fixed my grandmothers throw out 2 and1/4 HP Jacobsen Lawnmower (2 stroke). My Mother told me to spray light coat of a new cooking product called PAM on the under carriage of my lawn mower and it will be easier to clean. Mom was right. That advice has saved hundreds of things since for cleaning and stopping rust. Mom Passed in '87 and still know he wisdom and love lives on in me and everyone that listens. Hat tip to your mom as well.
It can also help with your omelets.
I can understand if you did not like the mulching by the ego mower. That is fair.
I find it interesting that a major concern with the lawnmower was battery life… that was the reason I actually bought the EGO system!
My experience first - the batteries I have are all functional. My oldest batteries predate my oldest dated batteries at 2014 - and they are used aggressively, from blower to string trimmer to lawn mower, to chainsaw, with multiple recharges a weekend, sometimes during the week during peak seasons (hurricane season & fall.)
Your recommendation at the end was to have the batteries last longer, I have not run out of battery power yet, with my system, passing 8 years on some, 9 years on one battery.
Having done some lawnmower repair, I would have expected you to have done a little homework on the technology on this EGO mower & battery
1. Their batteries are not rated in milliamperes, they are rated in Amp Hours (about 1000x more power:)
2. They do not charge their batteries to 100%, nor do they sell the battery using fake inflated numbers, but under-charge the batteries to increase Li-Ion life expectancy. (A fully charged 14 cell battery pack is 58.8v, they charge to 56v, extending life expectancy by thousands of cycles!)
3. In order to lengthen life expected over off seasons, they automatically discharge their batteries to a storage voltage, extending the life of the batteries, since fully charged Li-Ion cells decrease the number of cycles of a cell.
4. The batteries are individually wrapped with a heat dissipation material, to extend the life & cycles of the individual cells.
5. The chargers cool the pack, in order to lengthen the battery cell & pack life.
6. The tools shut off the battery, before the cells discharge to an unhealthy level, to extend battery cell life & cycle times.
7. There is thermal protection, to extend the life of the individual cells in the pack
8. They soft-start the motors, with a small delay after pulling the trigger, to extend battery life again, plus extending equipment life by reduced stress
Honestly, no other battery powered tool has done so much to make their batteries outlive their equipment. I bought the tools, because the batteries looked like they would basically last forever. They have more than lived up to my expectations.
A basic Google search shows that Li-Ion cells charged up to 4.0 volts (14 cells x 4v = 56v EGO battery) will exhibit 1200-2000 charges.
Worst & Best case scenarios of
- 40 cuts per year
- 1 charge per cut
- discharge battery until shut off
- 1200 charges / 40 cuts per year = 30 years
- 2000 charges / 40 cuts per year = 50 years
If your main reason for returning the EGO was the desire for better thatching, wanting something like a Turbo button, that is fair, but your concern about the battery is not based upon experience or science or engineering.
I doubt you will keep any lawnmower around for 30-50 years, the lawnmower will likely break before the average EGO battery will, but you will likely be able to use the battery in other equipment if an EGO lawnmower did break beyond repair.
The money you will spend in gas vs charging that battery, will buy many lawnmowers over your lifetime.
I hope this gives you some insight into the battery technology.
If they do create a lawnmower with a turbo button, I hope you get it, because it will save you a lot of money over your lifetime, if the engineering is anywhere near as good as it is now with the consumer grade equipment.
Yeah people get confused between Acid & Lithium batteries. Let them go research a 12 volt battery and see the warranty for each. My higher-end car battery (acid) is only a 5 year warranty. A Lithium battery is 10 years if not more. Although the Lithium price indicates that option.
An update 2 years later… my 2014 Ego batteries are starting to die. About 9 years.
Beautiful explanation.
I’ve had my Ego mower for at least 3 years and it’s still running great. I have a fairly large lawn (1/4 acre lot) and Florida St Augustine grass. The mower cuts even if the grass is high and a bit wet. I will agree the cut quality is not as good as my old Honda, but the trade off is I no longer need to keep gas at my house and the ego folds up and stores vertically to save space.
Wow! 3 years! That’s so long! Lmao...
@@Anonymouso283 That's the problem. I'm used to long lasting gas mowers. My parent's Toro lasted 30+ years and my Honda is still going strong at 22 years. Having tried an ECO, it just didn't feel like the build quality would even last 10 years let alone the battery life.
@@lolajoker
Especially with the battery that’s going to deprive a crap ton after a couple years. Not consistent enough for my liking. I’ll stick to my Honda’s and Briggs.
My first electric mower lasted 9 years, never failed, replaced the lead acid battery 2 times. What did fail was the plastic deck, got very brittle the last few years and finally broke under the electric motor. Loved the look of Ego, reviews are great! Didn't want a plastic deck and fast charging because that will shorten life of lithium battery. Just bought Greenworks pro 60volt 25inch side by side blades. 150.00 cheaper than the Ego, steel deck , and came with duel batteries. Hope it last longer than my first one. A lot of first time electric mower buyers suffer from range anxiety just like they do with a car. Electric mower are not for everybody, my dad laughs at mine and I laugh at his gas mower when it doesn't start.
Cool, I was really considering the 80V Greenworks and Kobalt mower with the steel deck, but the twin blades on the EGO is what drew me in. Cordless technology keeps improving so fast and will eventually make "residential" gas obsolete... just not yet.
He won't be laughing much longer. He'd be coughing up a storm breathing in all that toxic fumes.
@@HiddenAgendas you are a bot
@@HiddenAgendas He will rue the day!
Not all plastics are the same. Is there a difference between Ego vs Honda … because Honda plastic decks don’t break. Steel always rusts, especially when a rock chips it.
I just bought an Ego mower and 650 cfm blower. Cut the lawn yesterday at level 3 on the deck height, and man alive it was the best cut I've ever had. This was with the mulching blade and bagging it.... picked up the previous cut's clippings (from my 16 yr old Troy Bilt gas mower final cut) as well as the fresh clippings. 5000 square feet yard used up 40% of the battery. Switched the blades out afterwards to the high lift blade for the next cut. Batteries will remain in the house to preserve their longevity. Sorry to hear of your subpar experience with your Ego. At least you have their other great tools in your arsenal. Good luck and happy mowing with the Honda.
The EGO 650 is a monster. It's the best tool I have, especially with cicadas emerging everywhere in my yard this spring.
I was super excited to try out my 2135 once I got it home from Lowes, only to be completely surprised by how little it seemed to pull the grass and leaves up into the blade. There are so many things I love about it, but I think it's ultimately going back because it's just not as good as my Craftsman at the most important thing it's supposed to do. It's lighter. My little girl loves that it's quiet. I wouldn't have to mess with gas. But it just doesn't cut very well!
Mr. Chris, I got a Honda mower like that in 2020 like you got yours
My ego we use for small commercials has lasted now almost 3 years at 28-30 cuts a season per property. Battery still kicking and nothing wrong with the mower either. I'm guessing it will last atleast another 2 yrs but no sign of wear yet on battery or mower.
I'm with you- My gas Snapper was 12 years old and gave to a relative (steel no rust), my Toro Super Recycler is 13 years old (cast aluminum). I'm worried about battery cost, charging cost, and run time, and yeah are these 5 year mowers?
My hrx217 is a monster. Had it about 8 years. I mow .35 acres. Thick grass.
This week is the first time I’ve ever had to do any maintenance aside from the oil and filter. First time for blade change and belt. I’ve never even sharpened the blades. They still cut amazing and I’ve dinged my metal yard stakes five or so times.
I’ve had my ego mower (select cut) for two years now and haven’t had issues. I store my batteries in my basement where it’s always between 65-70 degrees. You are also supposed to store your batteries with at least 20% charge over the winter.
I leave my batteries on the chargers constantly, in my basement. The chargers have management software that will discharge and recharge the batteries during long term storage.
@@HawkGTboy they should not be stored at a high level of charge. leave them off charger at 50% and they can set for years.
If you have the ego eco system that expensive battery will power all your tools. Snow blower, trimmers etc. You can even use it for camping to charge stuff
If you gas, the gas will power those tools that are gas hahaha
@@96cr gas is a pain the ass
@@swinefeaster I am still all for cordless electric mowers but until I can find one that has the same cut quality of a gas mower, I'm just going to have to hold off buying one. I would be willing to sacrifice longevity and accept the fact of buying a new $300 battery every 5 or so years if the cut quality was as good or better than gas. Gas really isn't that much of pain if you also have a gas car. Just bring a gas can with you once or twice a month during mowing season when you fill up your vehicle.
Lithium ion batteries are limited to 500 to 1000 recharges if a 50% charge/ discharge plan.
While that sounds short, most ppl don't usually mow every day.
mowing once a week, the battery would last 10+ years.
not to mention you'd be replacing a battery, not a mower :D
My Ego battery failed after 3 years, they do not last that long.
I switched back from an Ego brushless mower to a Honda hrx217. Way better mowing quality. The ego had such bad suction for mulching at higher heights. Adding to that, the motor died in a year. It’s took 4 weeks to get it approved for vlbeinf replaced under warranty and now I’m looking at another 2 - 3 weeks before my replacement arrives. The only good point is should be able to sell it as brand new. I have their string trimmer and loved it, which is why I bought into the mower.
17-year-old Sears with the Briggs & Stratton engine, leg propelled, only been in the shop once, regular oil changes and blade changes and this thing still goes like butter.
Those old Sears mowers... especially the 190cc ones are tanks. Take care of that mower. I love tinkering with them. These new Lowes Chinese rebranded Craftsman are horrible compared to the old ones.
Yep, i have the 190cc and love it.
Man me too. 17 years. I would love an ego or another battery mower but they just won't last that long. No way. And that briggs motor was bulletproof. Absolutely no problem with it after all these years.
I been useing EGO commercially it AWESOME. So funny I sold a Honda lawnmower after I got the EGO and I have 10 year old Echo 58v and it's still going and it's also used commercially.
I also love not dealing with gas and oil. I used to not care but as I get older I hate the smell.
I don’t mind dealing with gas and oil.
We are so spoiled
Not so much of an issue with Honda equipment as Briggs and Tecumseh-powered equipment definitely smells. I have two Honda flat head engine powered equipment and there's less noise and smell than the other two.
LOL... I'm on the other end. I have a Honda HRR216 (loved it) that I am now replacing with an EGO... Had the Honda for nearly 25 years. 95% of the time it would start on the first pull. Seemed like only time that I had to pull 4 or 5 times was at the beginning of each year.
I liked it a lot, although Ive replaced; Pull Cord assembly, the Wheels set (twice), Gear Cable. And most recently the Carburetor ($15 item).
Now the wheels are not engaging when in gear, with the Honda. Could be a belt issue or adjustment? I'm just at a time in life where I don't like spending spare time fixing equipment/vehicles anymore. Even though 10- 30 years ago I did that all the time. Now that I have a boat, I just want to go fishing. Paying for a $350 battery (well let's say this, battery WILL be dropping in price in the future) is not a killer for me as long as it is ONLY a battery to worry about. With a gas mower seemed like something needed to be replaced throughout the time, so meh.
Maintenance will always be there, with either. It just seems like with combustion engines, it's a lot more frequently... with Electric it appears more costly for the replacement. Only pro for me is I already have a half dozen Ego products that came with batteries (including Chainsaw), some I've had for 6 years and they still hold a charge. One of my smaller 2.5ah batteries (trimmer) has diminished in cycle time. Remember, where talking Lithium batteries, here, they last a lot longer.
Will your argument apply when you can deduct the cost of a lawn mower, via your taxes as an "capital expense", over the life span of any mower. That is FREE money if you need a tax deduction. I had many Honda's and one was given to me by a Honda dealer in a Home Builder Show I produced years ago and it lasted eight years, but did not care for the smell of gas, oil, and expense of upkeep like filters, plugs, etc. There are other EV mowers and they are getting better each year. Now this may not be true of EV cars, and the news seems to feel less than 30% of cars will be EV by 2050, and at least lawn mowers can charge at home. In two years, there will be solid-state batteries that are lighter, NO concern about fires, three times higher density and then you will be liking the EV's by then. You are right about Honda takes a beating, and now I own the new Acura MDA, but not EV yet and may not until things change. Still researching EV mowers.
I'm sort of in the same boat as you. I bought my EGO mower last summer. I'd been looking at them since they first came out in 2014 or so and loved the idea of a cordless electric lawnmower that I didn't have to fool around with the gas and oil. I loved everything about the EGO except the cut quality. I like to mow high at 4" and the EGO just cut the lawn terribly at that height so I was forced to lower down to 3". I also only mulch and it did a terrible job at that and I like to mulch up my leaves in the fall and it was terrible at that and the only way it would do even a semi good job of mulching leaves was to lower it down even further to 2 inches. I also started to think about having to replace that battery in 5 or so years at a cost of almost another lawn mower. So, like you I returned it. Unlike you, I didn't buy a new lawnmower. I went back to my 22 year old Honda GCV 160. I put new wheels on it (the originals were slick) and I overhauled the carb by cleaning it and putting in new gaskets and it still runs like new! Whenever it finally dies, I might look into what cordless mowers are available then, but for now, I'm sticking with my Honda that has run like a top for 22 years and is still going strong!
It's taking me longer to decide what lawnmower to get , than I spent buying my car😄
I have the one bladed Ego self propelled mower. This is the second year of using it. I enjoy the quiet operation, very unlike the internal combustion gas mowers. It cuts very well. I do sharpen the blade twice per season. I also enjoy not having the stink of a gas mower. I like the low emissions of the mower, as compared to gas mowers which are explained as According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a new gas powered lawn mower produces volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides emissions air pollution in in in one hour of operation as 11 new cars each being driven for one hour. I only have two lots 75 x 100 ft each and one charge does it all. So far the cut is very good but I don’t want or need a putting green lawn. No gas or oil is a big plus for me. I am very satisfied with Ego.
How is your electricity generated by your power company? I'll bet it's a coal fired turbine generator. So much for green.
@@Sparks68 A specious counter argument, since emissions from coal fired plants are tightly controlled.
I love my ego but do wish it had a bit more power and more importantly, run time. With that said, I dont miss dealing with gas, oil and worst off maintenance of a gas unit. Also I dont miss the noise. Both systems have their benefits and downfalls. If I was good at diagnosing and fixing gas powered mowers, I would deal with the other issues.
Just picked up this model today. Replacing an 18 year old Craftsman that still works fine. Was tired of the weight (I have a hilly yard), and gas, and tune ups, etc. We'll see how it goes. Keeping my Craftsman just in case.
After all the problem videos I returned mine and bought something else. Now happy and feel confident in my purchase.
1 horsepower = 746 watts. When you go electric your trading power for convenience.
This does not apply to all things (Tesla), but it does for power tools because they use smaller battery packs in order to keep the weight & cost down.
As an example, if your Ego is 56V with a 7.5AH battery....Lets just say it lasts 1 hour, which means it pulls 7.5 amps for one hour. At 56V you can use Ohms Law (Voltage * Amps = Watts) to calculate the actual power, 56V * 7.5amps = 420 watts...So then your just over 1/2HP.
If the 7.5AH battery only lasts 1/2 hour then your peak current is 15A, in this case your pulling 840 watts, just over 1HP.
Your Honda HRX217 is rated at 5.1HP which equates to 3,800 watts, so if the EGO battery lasts 1 hour your Honda mower has 3,800/420 = 9 times more power. THERE'S YOUR DIFFERENCE, and the EGO ads I've seen claim 80 minutes of run time which means they are under 400 watts.
An Ego with the same power as your Honda mower (3,800 watts for 1hour) would require a 67.5amp-hour battery which would weigh 56 pounds....and that's not considering the size or weight of the motor to handle that much power.
True but most residential lots don't need all that power.
Your right, also I didn't take into account that the cordless mowers will pull more current under heavy loads..so it's possible the peak power could be over 1HP for short periods.
@@BradKwfc You did not take into account that EGO is a direct drive system , no rubber belts. I.e. it is a much more efficient system. The torque was mentioned above. Then there is the weight of the mower, EGOs are very light. Further EGO has a built in feedback mechanism for load sensing, where the motor goes into high revs and torque. Don’t quote me on this the fuse they use is a 30A slo-blow fuse. The self-propel EGOs have a separate motor driving the axel. EGO engineers must hate drive belts.
@@xxycom8963 I know, I basically averaged everything out as far as the numbers go. My Greenworks 60V is the same way. Direct drive and load sensing. Never going back to gas!
You're right, I was in the same boat. After exactly 20 years of using my old Honda mower every season, it was finally showing its age, i decided to sell it and update to an Ego. Well, after a season of use, I decided to sell it. and bought another honda which just performs so well. I love the ego for its convenience, power (actually more powerful than my very old Honda), battery performance and every aspect except for the following. 1. It just doesn't cut as well as the old honda. it does well at a very low cut setting, but I don't like to cut my grass that low. 2. Suction is mediocre. It does ok at bagging, but again, not even close to the honda. 3. Mulching does ok, but again, not as well as the honda. 4 Leaf pickup, is very poor. Not even close to the Honda. 5. The deck underside tends to collect a thick layer of grass fairly quickly if grass is even slightly damp. Strange problem, but one I never had with my plastic deck Honda. Not a huge issue, but annoying. 6. Bag/handle bar design. This is a minor quibble, but again is annoying that you can't lift the bag through the handle bars like the honda. Unless you experience the convenience difference, this would not even rise as an issue for most people. Honda owners, beware. I want a battery operated mower and expect to do so at some point. The convenience factor is just off the charts and it's a better choice for our environment. Someday.
You wanted a battery operated mower. Did you mean a starting key switch? It is easy to fix if the key starter not working.
just got mine ego 2135, in tennessee brutal yard and it was fantastic extremely pleased.
Great Job!! I tested the Ego and too have been disappointed picking up leaves.
I have that Honda and it's the best machine I've ever had. So well designed, so reliable, and such a perfect cut. I buy a couple of cans of ethanol-free fuel each year and, three seasons in, it still starts on the first pull. Bags leaves in the fall like a boss, too. The only mower I've ever loved nearly as much as a Suzuki-powered Toro I had back in the 80s.
I had Suzuki powered Toro mowers, I loved the engines, hated the rest of the machines. I never knew why Toro has an obvious fetish for belts.
ok lawn mower man, how do you keep a fuel line from slipping off of a 25 y/o fuel tank? the spring clamp or the screw down clamp do not keep it from slipping off. the end of the tank nipple is not flared.
I have so many ego things I have a small collection of batteries. My ex’s Dad has had an ego mower for years. At least six years and no issues with the battery. I did have one issue with an older ego
I’ve never mulched my leaves though... I blow them into a creek area with my ego blower I’ve had since 2011 or 2012. My toro gas mower was better at picking up stuff but it’s had issues. My last servicing on it was like $400... and the bag wore out and it was like $250 for a new one.
Long term the batteries have been very good. And the technology keeps improving. I also have my mower usually set to lowest setting too 😆
The 10A must be very new cause i don’t remember it being on the market last spring. Turbo would be good. I find I rarely use the self propel so that helps it last.
Servicing a Toro push lawn mower costs $400, and $250 for the bag?! Come on.....
1000BASTE I can send you the receipts.
@@steveleeart A replacement bag for a Toro mower is $50 on Amazon and for $400 you can get a brand new Toro mower.
That’s an old Ego model...try the new version....they are excellent mowers.
I had the latest, best, duel blade, select cut model and the cut and mulching capabilities was still not as good as my 22 year old Honda.
As an owner of both. I can saw my HRX is better with mulching. Especially with leaves. My hrx was the best lawnmower I’ve ever owned. But the maintenance for the ego has me sold. The Lm2135sp makes maintenance so easy.
BTW, I bought fenders for my HRX and it protected the sides from the rubbing. The knock of the HRX is the back wheel adjustment. Has always been difficult and you can barely see the numbers especially when dirty
You know what, I am actually looking to buy a used EGO twiblade for those quick and easy cuts. Hopefully I can score one second hand cheaply during the off season. The Honda HRX217 is great at the beginning and end of the season. It's also great during Fall season leaf mulching. But for simple cut lawn maintenance mowing, the EGO is better and easier to use.
@@Mr-Chris good luck. Had a hard time finding a used ego twin blade myself. Even a reconditioned one is difficult to find. Wished the site would sell them
I’m needing a new lawn mower. We own under a quarter acre. My 16 year old Honda still runs but it is just a sing,e blade mower. I see I need more suction pull when it’s moving. My grass just lies down when we mow. I’m thinking of just buying a new gas powered Honda. I had thought the E-go is a space saver and that was a part of the appeal at first. Thanks for this info!
I got 10 years out of my HRX217 before the deck cracked. I just replaced it with a new HRX217. The old one still runs and works great! just need to figure out a way to fix the crack.
Plastic weld it with xenoy filler rods.
I believe Honda guarantee those Nexlite decks forever. Just get another deck... EasyPeasy
@@timothyheil7510 not as easy as that I’ve heard
With large amounts of grass to cut & current gas prices..I'm introducing Myrtle the goat to my neighbors! I hope they get along!
Is it the tool or the ecosystem? What type of performance difference from one mower to the next justifies all of this hassle? Do you have the type of yard that requires pristine maintenance? I bought an eco lawn mix from a company in Oregon and it’s mostly fescue, yarrow, strawberry clover, and a few others. I cut it to 4”. It looks fantastic. Ego mower has been great at handling it.
I was considering getting one of the Ego mowers just as a backup / trimming mower behind my Toro Timemaster. I like the idea of not having to maintain two gas mowers. But, I will never give up the Timemaster as my main machine. The 33" cutting path cut my mowing time from 1.5 hrs to 45 minutes. Other than maybe some expensive commercial versions no battery powered mower can do that.
Time Master? Oh boy. Those things allegedly eat belts and takes an hour to replace. I will stick with my BBC shaft drive HST propelled commercial Honda and my 20 year old Cub Series 2000 shaft drive transmission tractors.
Curious, it's 2 years later...what path did you take?
I have been in the lawn business since 1981, just want to mention, gas is not free, most likely cost more then using a lith. battery for 350 for 4-5 years
Correct, Unless you are working for someone else but batteries do cost money to charge.
Battery cost for this machine will probably be much lower by then or extinct anyways 😂.
Using gas is cheaper than EGO battery for me.
@@HsingSun Did the math on the Zero turn vs a 20 hp Craftsman. Over 3 years the saving is roughly $500. Enough for 1 10ah battery. The mower takes 4...... Economically makes more sense than I thought before I did the math but certainly not enough to justify it if economics were the only concern particularly concerning the cost of entry.
I just bought the ego lm2130 mower & I agree with you about the larger battery & the turbo button. the kit I bought come with 2 10 amp batteries,which is great, but no turbo button, my green works mower has the turbo button, & I use it all the time for picking up leaves & it works great. The turbo button is the one thing missing on the ego mowers. I seen new mowers for 2025 pop up on the internett showing a version with a turbo button, which would be great, but the page is now missing, so I am not sure what happened.
Bought an EGO LM2156SP, self-propelled XP Select Cut mower and returned it 2 mows later.
The self-propel function is quirky and inconsistent. The lag from when you pull the bar is long, the jerkiness and sudden surges suck (you get wheelies) and the max speed is way too low. It sometimes jerked forward when I was pulling it backwards. I also find the green button/bars to start it moving are too small and too recessed.
The battery life was also disappointing. I ordered the tool only and my existing 5 amp battery only got the mower through 25 minutes of mowing. I know it comes with a 7.5 amp battery, but this 5 amp battery powered my old EGO (not self-propelled) for 50 minutes. Not apples to apples, I know, but unacceptable.
Bought a Honda HRX.
I do love the EGO blowers, hedge clippers and snow blowers, though.
My neighbor bought me a Craftsman lawnmower when mine died years ago because I always mowed her yard when I mowed my own yard. That mower recently died after 21 years. The thing is I never changed the oil in all those years and never had any problems with it. All I did was replace or clean the spark plugs and filters. Finally the motor manufacturer finally understood what I knew about not changing the oil. I proud to call myself a pioneer in that respect.😁 I did add oil every once in a while but it never needed much when I did. I was trying to decide to go battery or stay with gas. After two months of research I have decided to stay with gas. I was worried about how long a battery mower would last but I am 74 so any mower might last longer than me. But I will stay with gas. Sorry this was so long. Thanks for the video.
Are you saying that it's better to not change the oil every season or every so many run hours? I've been somewhat lax in my oil change schedule sometimes going 3 years between changes. I do always check the level. I've also only changed the spark plug 3 times in the life of my mower.
@@lolajoker Some of the new gas mower selling point is don’t change the oil just check it and add if needed. I had that Craftsman mower for 20 years and never changed the oil just added when it looked low. I joked that I was a pioneer in the never change the oil. Maybe the manufacturers never studied that or probably I was just lucky. Thanks for the comment. Stay safe!
I've had my Toro gas since 2004. I paid $129.99 for it and the only repair was a new Chinesium carb for $19.99 (included plug, air filter and extra priming bulb) this year.
I just bought an 8.3 torque self propelled mower today, and I was not impressed at all. It bogged down about as much as my $400 Ego from 2018, and the 10 ah battery lasted about as long as my 5 ah. I'm not kidding. It was so much heavier and harder to use compared to my feather light push only mower. The underside of the deck on my old one was completely smooth, and the new one had all these pockets in it that traps all the grass. I tried to use the side discharge, but it clogged almost immediately, and was essentially muching. Then it would clog completely, and shut off. I will say that the grass was neglected and long because my 5 ah battery died, which is why I bought the new one. I still have my 2.5 ah battery, so I got out the old mower to finish the grass, and side by side it performed basically the same as far as bogging down...but the new mower had the 2.5 battery turn red in just a few feet. In the old mower it was still green, and finished the job, and some of the back yard. It was $700 on sale, but now makes me feel better about maybe buying another 5 ah battery for the old mower.
Grass isn’t the problem when it comes to electric lawn mower, cutting weeds is the problem. Gas lawnmower cut weeds and grass. Electric mowers are just good for cutting grass…not weeds too!
Agree 100% with this video. I currently own a 2018 model EGO and had a Greenworks prior to that. The backside of our lawn is bordered by Leyland Cyprus and pine trees that drop "stuff" 24-7 365. I mow my tall fescue at 4" and the Ego does an extremely poor job of picking up the needles and twigs. I've also noticed at 4" if I don't cut 2-3" over the previous wheel track it has a tendency to leave long strands of grass. My neighbor's lawn is mowed with a Toro gas mower and the cut quality if far better. As good as the EGO is for maintenance and ease of use, it simply does not have the suction for the best cut.
Reason I bought an Ego products was because I don’t want to deal with gas power maintenance or cords. I have spent like $2000 on Ego products already, and I have to say that there is not much of a difference in the cut quality, i think it all depends on your technique. I don’t mulch my leaves, I just blow them into a pile and then use my B&D leaf vacuum, then I mow my lawn then trim and edge. I’m I doing it wrong?
Your technique also works. Honestly, I've have gotten lazy when it comes to picking up wet leaves and I find mulching leaves with a mower is less effort. Where I live it rains a lot during the Fall so for the past several years my old gas mower did an awesome job at mulching wet leaves, but it didn't cut grass well. So when I invested in paying for a Premium mower and got the EGO. I was impressed with how well it cuts grass, but disappointed in how it doesn't mulch leaves. Decided that if I am going to invest in a Premium mower, I want it to do it all... so I switched to Honda and am very happy.
Try a gas Toro Super Recycler. Mine just died. But it’s 20 years old. Fantastic aluminum deck mower and the personal pace is amazing.
I am sorry to say, but all new Toro's use these new cheap with many plastic parts Briggs and Stratton engines. The older Toro's with mostly metal and reliable Briggs and Stratton engines and sometimes Honda engines here a workhorse. The new Toro's frames are mostly still high quality, but gas motors are very disappointing compared to the older models.
@@Mr-Chris that’s a bummer. I sure had a great run with mine. I’m actually a little sad to see it go.
I know this is a 2 year old video at this point but, the cost of a new battery when the original loses its umpf in a few years is still probably cheaper than the gas and oil you'd buy over the lifetime of the battery. Add in time required for maintenance and its a no brainer.
I'm spending about $20 a year maybe $30 for gas and then another $5 on a quart of oil for the yearly oil change. And of that money non of it at one time!
Tell me all about your savings if any when you are shelling out $300.00 at one time on your 5 - 7 year old mower to keep it running. 😉
@@irongoose3865 That's great you're only spending that much. The size of my yard I would never be able to do that. My John Deere uses that in a month. The EGO is for smaller sections of my lawn with more delicate grass types the JD would tear up. So the battery should last me a long time. In about 7 years when I need to replace the battery they wont be as expensive, so Im happy with my decision
@@DropTheBunny There are quite a few advantages of owning a battery 🔋 powered mower and if you are good with the cost of the batteries and the potential that they might not last past their warranty that's fine. The advantages outweigh the cost.
I just think people should be aware of this before they buy one of these things.
@@irongoose3865 I agree. Batteries dont last forever, and they're 90% of the cost of the equipment you're buying when you do purchase one. The rest of the mower is plastic (which is nice in a way because it wont rust out). Def agree though, they cant do everything, but they have their place.
Oh man, now I’m more confused about getting an ego or a gas lawnmower. I just moved to Southern Florida, my lawn is Saint Augustine, and it is a good side backyard and a good front yard lawn. We used to have someone taking care of the lawn but he was not reliable. We are retired so we are doing more gardening ourselves. My in-law gave me a used gas lawnmower, a 5.75 hp, but it was pretty beat up. I changed filter, oil, spark plug, and I took apart and clean carburetor. It is working great, but I just hate the noise, fumes, and repairs. I guess I’m getting old. So, after watching your video, I have now more questions. I can see the cost of batteries to be too high, but I read so many great reviews on the Ego that I though to give it a try and spent nearly a grand.
If you or anyone would be so kind to give me a recommendation on what would be best lawnmower to use on Saint agustin grass. Thanks again, and keep bringing great videos.
If you are looking for something just to cut grass, EGO is a GREAT mower. However if you like to cut your Saint Augustine high, the EGO will struggle and you might need make a second pass cut which can drain the battery faster. If you need a mower to MULCH leaves and yard debris, EGO will also not do so well. EGO batteries are hit or miss. I have seen reviews of people using the same EGO batteries 5+ years with no issues while others have issues right as the warranty ends. It depends on what you are looking for, if you want something easy to use, with no maintenance, and acceptable cut quality... EGO is the way to go. If you are looking for the best cut quality at the least amount of cut time, and don't mind gas maintenance, look at Honda or Toro Super Recycler. Electric Battery is the future of Residential Lawn Mowers, but I personally feel they are not their... just yet.
Chris Hi, thanks for your prompt response. It does make a lot of sense what you are saying. I noticed that my Saint Augustine is a bit though to cut, so the electric lawnmower will struggle as you just mentioned. I’ll will inquire about Honda , like the one you showed in your video because I also preferred the composite top. Thank you again.
love almost everything about my ego, but you hit the nail on the head... the quality of cut is sub-par, especially for tall fescue... prepare for the ego internet mafia to show up outside your house with pitchforks and torches.
I have an Ego and you’re right, it can leave “Mohawks” between each cut lane. I found that this happens when you go too fast with it, or if you have the self-propulsion at max speed. If you slow down, the Mohawks go away. But on balance, I’m happy with it. I’m only using it to cut 1/4 acre.
So I have a second generation ego mower and my neighbor has a gas toro. After we both cut our lawn you can clearly see that his lawn looks better as in perfectly flat without all of these stragglers where mine does not. The issue is that the ego mowers create almost no lift. It struggles to lift the simple grass and cut it. I have used a high lift blade and even put the new dual blade design on and nothing helps. I will soon be rewiring my ego lawn mower so that I can control the blade speed/rpm manually because this problem is really wearing on me. Great video by the way and I can see why you switched back to Honda for sure!
Same complaint , love the concept, hate the cut quality. I'll be switching back to gas at some point.
Great video. I bouth my ego lawnmower and love it for like 20 mins. After that, i saw how much mess was left behind (clippings and leafs) and quickly returned it. I was told that an alternative knife would help but for a $500.00+ mower, the mower better cut and clean up nice and even.
I have a Honda HRR216 bought a few years ago that I never did get along with very well. It has the infamous backward-pull-resistance issue, and I had to cut the grass higher than I wanted to because that made the mower at least somewhat maneuverable, but it still wears me out to cut with it. I don't like bagging the grass, so my technique is to either mulch and just leave it lie, or if the grass had gotten a bit longer, I mulch then put the bag on and go over the areas where I could see the grass lying and just pick it up with the bag. I resisted getting the Ego mower because I wasn't sure it would handle being able to pick up the mulched grass, based on reviews I'd read. Well, i finally broke down and got the 2-blade 2135sp ego, and while I've only used it once, it performed every bit as well as the Honda, and picked up the mulched grass just fine using the mulching blade (I wasn't about to change blades just for that). I don't have many leaves, but I am keeping the Honda for now in case the ones I do have are an issue for the Ego, but mowing with the Ego was so much easier than with the Honda, it was almost fun.
I still like the EGO, based on several years of reading comments from other people both for and against this, it my understanding that you'll have the best cutting and mulching results using the high lift ego blade. Depending on the modle, the high lift blade might already be included. I like the brand new 2023 ego mower with the screen and Turbo button, but read negative reviews on the speed IQ self propelle.
@@Mr-Chris I did get multiple blades and tried to do some research with regard to which actually mulched better, but I couldn't find anything very conclusive, though I did come across one source stating the high lift blade was better for mulching. The mulching blade came installed, but I took off too much grass in my initial mowing with the ego, so can't judge mulching performance with it just yet. I didn't get the upgraded turbo model.
ego's battery pricing seems a bit bonkers. One reviewer even said instead of getting another battery for your blower. it would be cheaper just to buy another complete blower kit with battery.
Same reason I wouldn't buy a Tesla
I was ready to set my six year-old Honda HRX217 on fire after it started leaking oil around the valve cover for the third time. Couple that with a blade stop that clicked itself off about every six or eight rows, a wandering idle that it developed despite only ever using the best ethanol-free fuels and rear wheels that started squeaking and it was time to do something different. I love my new EGO LM2156SP! 8.3 ft/lbs of torque gets the job done! Mulches great, is quiet and the best part is the light weight compared to the Honda. I’ll never go back to gas.
I keep my mowers even longer than you do. My current John Deere mower is not even made anymore since they got out of the walk behind mower business. I’ve had it for over 20 years and probably spent less on it than if I had owned an Ego all that time (I realize they weren’t available that long ago) my experience with cordless equipment is that the batteries are good for about 2-3 years and that’s it. So 20 years would have required me to buy 7-10 batteries that’s about $3500. I have not spent anywhere near that kind of money to keep my mower serviced and running well.
That's what I say! And even if you got 7 years out of one of those batteries is there anyone who's going to be willing to spent $300.00 on a 7 year old mower to keep it running?
I got rid of my old Honda gas mower for an Ego. Worst decision I ever made. After my husband passed away, I just didn't want to mess with gas anymore ,so, with all the rave reviews I bought the Ego. First of all, you could go over bone dry leaves and they end up sitting on the ground, so yes, you have to lower the blade all the way, as far as it will go to the ground. I don't like to cut grass that low, I now live in Texas, not a good idea. Also I live on a slight hill, and going uphill , if I have the bag on, with very little debris in it, the lawnmower tilts up in the front all the time, which drives me to insanity. I never fill lawnmower bags jelly-tight, we're talking not even a half bag of debris, more like 1/4 of the bag. I always remove the battery and I keep it in the laundry room so it's at an even temperature, and I read the manual cover to cover, I'm not one of those people that don't pay attention to the care and maintenance of my purchases. My old Honda went for many years, every spring I had it in for maintenance as "preventative maintenance" but I jumped on the cordless mowers thinking, wow, how great. I would pay double the price to get my old Honda back. It weighed a ton, but it cut and bagged grass, leaves, etc like a champ. I'm giving the Ego away because it was nothing like I thought it would be. Maybe if I lived on a flat lot, fine, but living on even a slight hill, it just isn't all that great. And the self-propel feature even with the slightest touch, takes off like a shot. I have a lot of trees and I blame myself for not researching it more than I did. I'm not saying it's a terrible lawnmower, it's simply not for me.
I’m curious as to how much the gas and oil cost over the past year. In my area premium gas is $4 gallon, oil is $6 per oil change.
I have the Ego lm2156sp , used it one time , I will be returning it!! The rear wheel drive & lightweight deck do not play well together. If the turf is thick 3 to 4" cut as a norm...do not consider this mower. I love it!!! It just needs to be heavier to maintain level cutting. Back to my Toro Super Recycler until something else comes along...Ego products are great , as I own quite a few...this just didnt work out for my lawn.
I'm in the market to buy a lawnmower, which is how I found your video. I'm one of those guys who googles "what can I use instead of grass," in an attempt to never have to mow the lawn. When I hear you say, "one of the hobbies I recently picked up was fixing lawnmowers," as one of your reasons for buying a gas mower, it makes me more likely to either buy an electric mower or hire someone to cut my grass whose hobbies include fixing lawnmowers.
I don't understand how your steel decks are rusting out, seems a number youtube videos mention it. We had run-of-the-mill steel deck 2-stroke lawnmower for over 2 decades (even then it was still good) and it never rusted out. However, after each use it was always standard practise to clean the underneath of the deck and used a brush to remove all grass from all areas of the lawnmower.
I think it was due to a poor Husqvarna mower design. My old Husqvarna had a closed drivetrain so grass clippings and water would get stuck. Even if you power washed it, debris will still be stuck under all the plastic molding rusting out the deck.
I went from a Honda HRX and Stihl yard tools to all-EGO and I LOVE it. I was sick of finicky gas powered tools that needed tune-ups, filter changes, oil changes, and gas constantly. Now my mower is as quiet as a box fan and I don’t have to grunt while yanking a pull-cord since they all start up immediately at the push of a button. Maybe I’ll change my tune in a few years if the batteries die - but I’m super happy right now.
My Honda HRX216VLA works just one pull and the starter key switch works just one turn.
I have an e-go mower over 7years with the original battery and also have a blower, still going strong, never have had an issue whatsoever with these two. In fact they are great machines I love them, just for your info!
Yeah I get comments like that all the time, people who say their EGO equipment is working well 10 years plus... but I also get comments of people who's equipment crapped out and had to go tough the ringer of multiple attempts and long hold times to get EGO to replace it. I guess you got a good batch of equipment.
I sold my honda HRX twin blade and miss it after getting the Ego. The Ego does not cut consistently at all, leaves high spots all over the place. Where my Honda laid down a perfect cut each time. I needed more space but think at some point will go back to the Honda. Not worried about battery issues for my awn but the cut quality is just no where close to my Honda twin blade. If you have space and really like. a good looking yard get the Honda your yard will thank you.
Just wait till fall when you also have to Mulch leaves... you will really miss it more. It's not too late... if you bought this at Home Depot... they have a relaxed return policy. Another good choice will be the Toro Super Recycler that's gas, and also can be stored up to save space.
I do agree it's poor at picking up leaves, but the whole yearly maintenance on gas is why I choose to keep mine, 5 to 10 on spark plugs, 8 on oil, then how ever much in gas you'll use my time is limited and I would rather spend it doing other tasks. Ego does use premium batteries which "should" last at least 8 to even 10 years with around a 10% degradation over that time. But the time the smell is worth me keeping my ego. Here's a bit of math for every hour you use a gas mower it's roughly 2 gals an hour=$4ph per season that would roughly mowing every two weeks at an hour each time, right $20 to $30 not including any other gas equipment plus your oil and spark plugs so your right looking at 40 to 60 a year 5 years at 60 a year $300 but that's if gas is still cheap with battery I can use on all equipment, it costs me about 15 cents to recharge that battery. Yes a gas power may last longer, but you'll have to keep repairing it just like anything else they still do have more power, but the cost of the battery is irrelevant at the end of the day. Glad you're happy and keep up the good work sorry this is so long
I agree with al your points. Electric is cheaper and easier to maintain. I just wish it performed as good as gas.... maybe one day they will.....
My dream lawn mower would be some sort of crazy electric lawnmower like a Tesla... instead of a removable battery, make a mower filled with batteries that are not removable that you need to charge using a charging cable... it will be heavy like a gas mower, but it will have tons of torque and power to spin a heavy blade(s) better than a gas mower. I bet it would be expensive, but it will be a monster of a mower and no gas maintenance.
@@Mr-Chris I believe why they do batteries is cost savings or the versatility of a battery, honestly though if ego would give us a throttle for the blade I believe that would solve a lot of the issues it just spines too low at idle, I've mowed 6 inch tall grass cut it down to 2.5 with no issues it has power once it ramps up.
I do agree though with a battery pack built in, that could allow more amps and voltage bigger motor, actually to think of it ryobi does have one but it's a ride on
I have this hrx mower for the last 4 years and it is an absolute beast. Maintenance is cheap too. I buy the genuine kit for 32 dollars and it comes with blades, oil and filter. Takes 15 minutes to replace the parts and I'm off to the races. I purchased a ryobi 40v on craigslist for 100 dollars to mow the backyard and it's like a toy compared to the Honda. I do have the ego blower going on 4 years and still runs like day 1. I have dropped this blower many times and still runs great. They do make a solid product.
I've been upgrading every 2yrs with my ego tools. Sell the mowers for $100-125 less than I bought them for. I just sold my 2yr old Ego self propelled mower yesterday for $425. Bought it for $499. Same one sells for $599 @ lowes currently lol. I turned right around and bought the select cut XP ego w/10 ah battery. Can't wait to use it.
It's a shame because you could have done a long term study of the longevity of the Ego. Plus if you buy into the ecosystem you can swap batteries. While pricey I don't know if the cost of the replacement battery is that outrageous. Have you added up how much gas you use/spend on?
We have had gas mowers for a long time and we like Honda the best for gas mowers with the blade control where we push with motor on with no blades spinning
That Honda is a beauty. I believe I have the same Husqvarna that you had, HU800AWD. The Honda motor has been bullet proof 🤞🏻 for 8 years now and the deck is in good shape. I’ll run it until it dies then I’ll buy a Honda. Enjoy!
Yeah I owned the HU800AWD, the GCV190 Engine was a beast. I kept having issues with the transmissions failing then dealing with removing rusted bolts to repair it. When it worked, the thing would pull me up hill. Keep that mower as long as you can and spray lube behind the wheels from time to time. if your Transmission fails, it's actually easy to replace so long that you don't have to deal with rusted clips or bolts. I made a video about it: th-cam.com/video/TCQ5cURoJ6A/w-d-xo.html
Me too.
Longevity... hadn't considered it. Until recently I was using a Craftsman lawn mower that was given to me 25 years ago - used. I bet it was 20 years old then. Just normal maintenance kept it running like a champ. I finally replaced it when the drive, handle, and switch parts were failing and were hard to find. Donated it to a shop to rebuild and sell. I'm pretty sure it's out in the world as a nearly 50 year old mower right now.
Craftsman lawn mower is a nightmare for me because I had three of them in the past before I bought my Honda HRX216VLA.
Family members have Ego stuff and they really like it. However you are correct the batteries start to not last as long, and don't generate as much runtime after 1 year. At the three year mark they do need to be replaced. The reason to go with battery is for convenience. I have a honda HRC216 and hope to keep it for 30 years. The EPA will start to ban gas in small engines and one won't be able to buy a new mower.
How much do you spend on fuel and servicing every 2 years?
Three years of using EGO, runs like a champ and still under warranty - which is 5 years in total.
Your battery and charger are out of warranty.
How could you have buyer remorse on the battery when you didn't own the lawn mower long enough to replace the battery? Doesn't make sense. I have a Ego mower for 5+ years and I still use the same battery. It has a 5 year warranty, Here is something to think about.. how many times do you mow your grass per week? Times that per year and then times that for 5 years. That will show how much you spend on gas for your mower in 5 years. It may exceed the cost of the battery and that doesn't include a spark plug, air filter and oil.
I have a hedger, a string trimmer, a multi head (string trimmer, edger, pole saw), a chainsaw, a blower, and now, finally a lawnmower. I had a snapper with a Briggs and Stratton engine that I bought 6 years ago, and not until two months ago did it give me problems. I absolutely love that snapper. Like you said $350÷6 years?!! Trouble free?!! Always started on first pull! What's not to love. But now, after not being able to fix it myself, i decided to give in and get the ego. Once all my 8 batteries fail, I'll probably go back to gas...maybe. it depends how quiet the ego is and how trouble free and dependable it is to me. If the difference between the two is night and day, i might just stick with the ego. I'll write again, hopefully in about five years or more. After 6 years only one battery has started to lose it's charge (5Ah, probably cause i used it the most). Lord willing, the batteries last me another 3-4 years!
New greenwork 80 v at Costco has turbo button, and includes two 4ah battery for 600. Haven’t opened it yet. Have to see if it beats my trusty old Honda.
I had been drooling over the EGO for a while and like you I went for the Honda, but the HRN. To be honest there were 3 main reasons I did not buy the EGO; Made in China, plastic and the cost of another battery if I had to buy one. I had also suspected that with my thick Texas St Augustine I might not get a very good cut and short battery life. Also if I am being honest, I am not crazy about the self propelled controls on the Honda and like the ones on my old Husqvarna better.
You made a smart choice, if you take good care of that Honda mower, it will last more than a decade.
Ditto on the Husky drive control...
Aside from the Toro Personal Pace, it's probably my favorite drive control; if you look inside the lever mechanism you can see that the roller tracks change the rate at which the cable is pulled as you squeeze the levers. It gives you very precise, easily variable control over your speed in a way that neither of the Honda drive controls will give you.
And the HRX drive control is actually my least favorite, compared to the cheaper HRR Hondas.
Doesn't it have a 5 year warranty on the battery?
Just thought I'd share: (LM2130SP, purchased Feb2021): No issues in 2021...in 2022 it simply cuts off while cutting. It appears to run for approx. 20 minutes then it shuts off and won't restart (Battery goes through 1 to 2 led indicator lights). But it will restart after some rest time: 15 minute rest, it will run for about 2 min. 45 minute rest, it will run for 10 minutes or so. Mind you I only took note of these types of times just once before taking it in. And I'm not cutting through overgrown grass here, I'm bagging very little clippings, probably even shorter than the 1/3 rule this time of year. The underdeck is clean, nothing there. Did this to me on 3 separate consecutive occasions this season (Mar/Apr 2022). It's not the battery, as I have swapped batteries and both work fine in the second piece of equipment (string trimmer). Also, nothing appears to be hot as for as I can tell and nothing out of the ordinary happens before or after, it just shuts off. I called EGO and they referred to me to their authorized warranty center (an hour away). I turned it in on 20 Apr and explained what it was doing to me. I called them today (27Apr) and they can't seem to replicate my issue. Which I was afraid of. The associate I spoke with said they went through several batteries and been going back and forth with EGO regarding my issue. But if they can't replicate what's happening with me not sure what else can be done. I guess, they are talking with EGO to see if any other customers are having similar issues this this lawnmower.
th-cam.com/video/a84EdKfJW6o/w-d-xo.html
Amen. I used to have a Ryobi and it was ok but recently replaced it with a Craftsman with a Honda engine. Its like night and day. Imo, the blade on electric mowers doesn't spin as fast as it does on a gas mower, which is why they don't mulch, bag or cut as well.
I have the whole EGO eco system and never will have to bother with petrol or mains again. 3 years in
I forgot to charge my batteries and borrowed my dad's 10 years old honda. Sure it's noisy, but It took me approximately 40% less time to get the job done with the kind of finish I want. I am now questioning my whole battery investment.
I purchased my EGO in 2014 and bought an extra battery and both my batteries still doing great. I generally charge them at around 80% depletion.
I am looking at the new self propelled EGO and intend to keep using both my old batteries when I purchase it.
I'm still chugging along with a Toro super recycler that I bought new in 2005. I think in the next 20 years we're going to have landfill issues. And not just from mowers. But it won't help that some people are going to toss their lawn equipment when the batteries dies and just buy a new and improved entire new mower, blower, trimmer, etc.
Have you seen the stihl new battery commercial mowers
Thanks for the great unbiased analysis and discussion .. I will be totally honest and say I just purchased the EGO self propelled mower 7.5Ah, it's still in the box unopened in garage .. and I also just received the EGO 2.5Ah string trimmer 15" .. also just delivered Friday the 12th.
Why did I go EGO having only seen reviews? .. I have about four acres to mow including hills. I use an L118 John Deere 22hp rider and a DR brush mower with 17hp Kawasaki-Twin engine for most. Yet, I still need a self propelled for regular remaining trim work (about half acre) .. about a half acre I just can't fit into with the big mowers. I also need a good string trimmer occasionally for the steepest hills and rough terrain (about quarter acre) .. I went EGO simply because I can no longer find a decent gas powered self propelled mower .. locally.
I would prefer also owning a gas mower if I could find one where they could actually pull themselves (not easy stride or personal pace) and had good rear wheel drive with good tires and traction. I gave up looking (locally) and just decided to try EGO for the lightness of weight, relatively long run time for trim mowing .. and the reviews I've read about the string trimmer pushed me to get that as well.
I must say your Honda looks very, very nice .. and I have had several Honda engines on other brand name products .. real good results.
I just craved a lighter mower, basically a mower that would navigate up and around trim work, bushes, trees and slightly sloping terrain. I also desired trying something without fumes, low noise, and fair amount of durability .. again, for tight spots snd some open areas. The big rider and brush mower will do the majority, so, by process of elimination .. and not finding, anything without "easy stride" .. I went EGO.
We shall see how it turn out .. I am interested in the feel of a lighter unit .. I will unbox them this week.
I will admit I am looking forward to the straight shaft design of the EGO trimmer compared to my highly curved older gas model .. and I will also admit if I ever run across a nice self propelled gas mower (like your Honda) without "self pace feature" but "true self propulsion" .. the tradition commercial style that really pulls .. I will definitely purchase it to use along with the Ego.
again, thanks .. excellent video!
I think in your situation, you will be happy with the EGO. It is a very light mower and like I said a lot in my videos... it cuts grass very well it also requires zero maintenance. My only gripe is the long-term usage and trying to use it as the one and only main mower to do everything. Since you already have multiple mowers that you could use for heavy-duty applications, you will be happy with this mower for the what you need it for.
@@Mr-Chris Thank You .. your video answered my search and I ordered the HRN216VKA 170cc 21 in. Gas Lawn Mower this morning .. having it shipped. I watched several videos describing the "Smart Drive Control" and when I saw that it can be adjusted and there are five positions to choose from .. I realized it;s much more advanced than the "easy stride or self pace" of others where a person must lean into the handle. This doesn't work for me on slopes and around hedges on angled terrain .. but "Smart Drive will as it finger operated" .. in other words the mower will pull itself up and around the shrubbery. Yes, .. I realize it's a little crazy for me to purchase another walk behind this soon after receiving the EGO set-up .. but I feel exactly like your philosophy that this is for the long haul.
I will likely keep the EGO and experience it and just enjoy the comparison .. I will also sleep better at night knowing I have a state of the art gas model sitting in my garage and occasionally used for trim work.
.... the cost is minimal adding the Honda to my line-up as this mower will be carefully maintained .. and used .. for years.
Thank You for your description .. thorough analysis and excellent video .. I have had Honda engines in the past .. now I will experiment and experience the entire package.
... I don't purchase mowers that often .. rarely, I keep them for many, many years .. it just happens that both electric and a much needed gasoline model were added to the inventory at the same time. I also jumped at the chance to obtain "Smart Drive Design" as I have mentioned it's so difficult to find the right self-propelled mower for my terrain (the main reason for this impulse buy).
Cheers ........
UPDATE PLEASEEE
@@woodstockenvy4666 hows the EGO??
Hmm did u think about annual oil change filter and spark plug along with fuel cost not to mention going green for future generations
Yes I did, I changed my mind on some of the issues I bought up and made a new video a few days ago. th-cam.com/video/Lbd4CFuitVU/w-d-xo.html
Are you still using the Honda? Its been a few years and I'd love to hear an update
Yes, I'm still using the Honda and it's still running strong. I now have many more EGO tools minus the mower.
Thank you for replying. At the moment I’m without a mower as my 20 year old Honda finally fizzled away. I’m like you on the eventual need to replace a battery and a higher cost. I’d love to go battery and never mess with fuel, oil etc. At the same time getting 20 years out of these Honda’s are not out of the question and over time make spending so much not as painful. Anywho, thanks again and I enjoy your content.
If you are not a groundskeeper, I always wondered about guys who know 26 different types of grass, and the best time of day to cut. All I know is that the lawn is green, and only needs to be cut when it's too hot, or just rained the day before. Have been mowing my one acre with 21" EGO four seasons now, no worries. Regardless of brand, electric mowers are superior than gas powered for most lawns, unless you are a feudal lord with an estate. Cheers.
Nice review. But did you think about buying fuel for 5 years compared to buying a new battery every 5 years. It's just a thought.
Yep in the long run Gas is more Expensive. Also, Third party companies have finally started to make EGO battery clones making replacement batteries even more affordable. However, Honda still outperforms the EGO in cut performance and mulching... for now. I now own most of the EGO lineup, except for the mower of course.
Well.. it's a 200cc single cylinder engine. Plus he's not using it day in day out. Those honda engines are very lean on the gas.