Finally got my chance to use my new mower today.
I have a tall fescue lawn. It had only grown a couple inches in the past couple months because of all the nasty weather we've had.
I charged up the 7.5ah battery, pulled the mower out of the box and set it up. No need to read any instructions on the mower as I've own the prior mower for at least a year and a half.
I set the mower to it's highest setting (4 Inches). Right now my grass isn't 4 inches tall but if I cut it that way, it will grow up to that height.
As I took a good look at the mower, it looks a little different. Better? I don't know about that. The mower could use more black highlights. I can say that mower is a bit heavier than the 20" mower and it actually 'feels' light a gas mower in the hand. It's built like a tank.
While I can't really speak towards the full capabilities of the mower as of yet, It does seem to have a lot of power. When my grass is actively growing, it is actually thick enough in spots to stall the prior model. We'll see what happens with this one. I'll have to wait on that test though.
I didn't really care for the self-propelled option. Yes, you can use the mower without it engaged. I cut for maybe and hour and a half and used the self-propelled option about 3 mins of that time. As I stated, not for me really. I can say that it does work well. At full speed, you'll be running across your lawn trying to catch up to the mower. You do have a range of speed options though, should you decide to use it.
The extra inch in size did seem to cut my time down by a little. I still don't like that I'm being told not to clean it with a hose. That should be a standard option. There are other electric mowers that will allow cleaning with a hose.
An item that some had a problem with last year were the hinges. They are very stout this year and I don't see them being a problem this time around.
Another thing that caught my attention even though it was small was the key. It doesn't seem to come out this year. I don't know if the instructions say different because I haven't read them but I think I would have noticed while using it today if it did.
As mentioned before, I bought the model with the 7.5ah battery. With the prior mower, i'd use 1.5 of the 4ah batteries to complete my yard. Even though I was not cutting off a third of lawn height today because I had the mower set to it's highest point, it cut my entire yard and it's indicator never turned red on it's own. When I threw it on the charger, it showed one bar and then after a minute or two, it went to two bars so I am thinking the battery is what it says it is...a little over 1.5 times the capacity of a 4ah battery.
As for today's cut, i'd give the mower a 9/10. I will have to wait until my grass it actively growing to add anything more to that.
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9,072 Points
Posted 4 years ago
Blue Angel, Champion
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180,078 Points
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9,072 Points
Jennifer VandeWater, Community Manager
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81,068 Points
Rob, thanks so much for posting this review. We hope you'll consider copying and pasting this into a review on our website so others can see it too. To answer your question, yes, the key is designed to stay in the mower permanently. Be sure to always remove the battery when the mower is not in use or for maintenance to prevent accidents.
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9,072 Points
I have just posted it there.
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9,072 Points
Second Use:
Just about a half hour ago, I completed my second cut with my new mower.
I wanted to challenge the mower a little more than last time so instead of cutting at 4 inches, I moved the blade down one notch. This is the true height the grass in my yard. While my grass has just started growing quickly, it's still only half as thick as it will be in a month or so. That being said, the mower handed it beautifully. I believe this version of the mower has quite a bit more lift than the first gen machine because there were nowhere near as many individual blades of grass left standing after cutting.
Biggest thing of note: I love that the mower actually has two different running speeds this year. When it's first started, it revs to it's highest rpm and then drops after a few seconds if it doesn't encounter great resistance from the grass. When I started cutting my backyard which is thicker than the front, the mower picked up the rpm's when it needed to and dropped them where the grass wasn't as thick or tall.
I haven't actually measured the blade but on the official site, one of the owners stated that the blade wasn't actually 21" but just slightly over 20", I haven't measured the blade yet but i'll get around to that soon.
1st cut, I was at a 9/10. I am not at a 9.2/10 and waiting for Spring to hit.
almost forgot...the battery still held it's own and did not flash red at any point.
Blue Angel, Champion
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180,078 Points
That's GREAT news, Rob! A few mowers already have that ramp-up feature for heavier grass and it apparently works really well.
One problem though... WHY ISN'T EGO ADVERTISING THIS?
As far as I can tell the tag line stops at "The torque of gas". Why not boast that it has a variable drive speed feature that adapts to the grass density?
There were/are SO many concerns posted here over the fact that this new mower is rated at a lower operating speed than the older model, when in fact it probably isn't a concern at all. Marketing the variable speed blade motor would eliminate any concerns.
Man-o-man... if this new model has that much better lift than the existing one I might have to cave in. My wife doesn't like the look of our lawn if I cut it long because the grass looks unevenly cut, so I have to use height 3 when I would like to use height 4. Although I must admit, our lawn is far from being "nice looking" no matter what setting I cut it on. In the fall I went on an over seeding and fertilizing quest, we'll see how that pays off this year. :-)
One problem though... WHY ISN'T EGO ADVERTISING THIS?
As far as I can tell the tag line stops at "The torque of gas". Why not boast that it has a variable drive speed feature that adapts to the grass density?
There were/are SO many concerns posted here over the fact that this new mower is rated at a lower operating speed than the older model, when in fact it probably isn't a concern at all. Marketing the variable speed blade motor would eliminate any concerns.
Man-o-man... if this new model has that much better lift than the existing one I might have to cave in. My wife doesn't like the look of our lawn if I cut it long because the grass looks unevenly cut, so I have to use height 3 when I would like to use height 4. Although I must admit, our lawn is far from being "nice looking" no matter what setting I cut it on. In the fall I went on an over seeding and fertilizing quest, we'll see how that pays off this year. :-)
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9,072 Points
As far as overseeding goes last year, I must have put seed down 3 different times.
I had to take out some Bermuda trying to choke out my tall fescue. Problem is that I didn't dig it out and I can now see the dead Bermuda in between the blades of my tall fescue that's greening up nicely.
I wonder if a power rake will remove it.
I had to take out some Bermuda trying to choke out my tall fescue. Problem is that I didn't dig it out and I can now see the dead Bermuda in between the blades of my tall fescue that's greening up nicely.
I wonder if a power rake will remove it.
(Edited)
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1,544 Points
Hey Rob - I'd love to hear an update for the thick grass you were forecasting. I'm getting mine at the end of the week and love reading good things about it.
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37,202 Points
Hi Clark,
I know you were asking Rob specifically, but my experience going from the 20" to the 21" SP mower is pretty much the exact opposite of his. Perhaps this is due to different grass types and cutting heights, so you might want to consider which of us is more similar to your own situation.
I wrote about and posted several photos of my experience cutting thick, overgrown wet grass with the 21" SP mower here:
21" SP Mower Torture Test
https://community.egopowerplus.com/eg...
I know you were asking Rob specifically, but my experience going from the 20" to the 21" SP mower is pretty much the exact opposite of his. Perhaps this is due to different grass types and cutting heights, so you might want to consider which of us is more similar to your own situation.
I wrote about and posted several photos of my experience cutting thick, overgrown wet grass with the 21" SP mower here:
21" SP Mower Torture Test
https://community.egopowerplus.com/eg...
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9,072 Points
Well Clark,
The thick grass did come and unfortunately the mower did not live up to my earlier hopes for it. The mower is built like a tank but does not mulch thick or long grass very well. Ego has a high lift blade that is currently on sale overseas but not in the U.S. This blade may very well resolve the issue with the mower.
As of right now, I cannot recommend the mower. I am currently using my old 20" Ego mower and it too has mulching issues. Does great on shorter grass but my grass is tall fescue which during the summer I like to keep at 4 inches.
If you have grass that can be cut and maintained at a shorter height, the mower may work for you.
I expected so much from this mower and in the beginning, I felt it would deliver but in the end, it did not.
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1,036 Points
So how often did/do you cut your lawn? once or twice a week? have you used a gas mower to see if it has the same issue mulching the thicker grass?
Also, with the 21" are you able cut the grass following in your wheel tracks or do you have to overlap a bit so you don't miss any grass. I ask as my Honda's won't leave any grass behind but some other mowers I have used you have to overlap your last pass or you will miss a line of grass.
Also, with the 21" are you able cut the grass following in your wheel tracks or do you have to overlap a bit so you don't miss any grass. I ask as my Honda's won't leave any grass behind but some other mowers I have used you have to overlap your last pass or you will miss a line of grass.
(Edited)
