Hi, me and my family moved into our new home about a month ago and in addition to getting a bigger home we're escaping the clutches of having to deal with an HOA (Woohoo!)
In doing so, I'm now responsible for my own lawn and want suggestions as far as what model to get. We have 1/4 acre property with a good portion taken up by the house and driveway with the rest as our lawn. I've narrowed down my mower choices to the following:
1) the 21 inch self propelled (plastic deck) with a 5 amp hour battery
2) the 21 inch self propelled (plastic deck) with the 7.5 amp hour battery
3) the 20 inch self propelled (steel deck) with 7.5 amp hour battery.
I'm interested in a mower that will not only do the job but will last a long time so I'm willing to pay the extra for the steel deck even if it's a bit overkill.
Also since these have a 5 year warranty, should I forego the extra 3 year warranty that Home Depot offers?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
In doing so, I'm now responsible for my own lawn and want suggestions as far as what model to get. We have 1/4 acre property with a good portion taken up by the house and driveway with the rest as our lawn. I've narrowed down my mower choices to the following:
1) the 21 inch self propelled (plastic deck) with a 5 amp hour battery
2) the 21 inch self propelled (plastic deck) with the 7.5 amp hour battery
3) the 20 inch self propelled (steel deck) with 7.5 amp hour battery.
I'm interested in a mower that will not only do the job but will last a long time so I'm willing to pay the extra for the steel deck even if it's a bit overkill.
Also since these have a 5 year warranty, should I forego the extra 3 year warranty that Home Depot offers?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
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156 Points
Posted 2 years ago
- 60 Points
You have a very nice size lawn. You'll very much enjoy the wider mower and the bigger battery. For that big a lawn you'll probably enjoy having a second battery.
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10,010 Points
I'm a newbie myself. Your criteria wasn't price but whether “polymer composite” or steel deck will last the longest. I think the jury is still out on this one and in my mind it comes out a wash with each one having positives and negatives. Personally, I think the steel deck is more aesthetically pleasing than plastic and very tempting. But as szwoopp mentions, with HD's current pricing of the 7 .5 21SP at $499...it's very difficult to justify the extra cost for a steel deck (although it does have a brushless motor too). I personally would buy the 21 SP and use the remaining $250 on another EGO tool.
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156 Points
I threw in the steel deck as an option and wasn’t sure if the extra $250 was worth it. If the 21SP with either the 5 or 7.5 amp hour is still a good mower at an even better price point I think you’re right in getting that and using the extra money for other tools.
Blue Angel, Champion
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180,008 Points
Congratulations on the new place!
Keep in mind, the 21” SP mower is only kitted with the 7.5Ah battery, the push mower is kitted with the 5Ah battery.
Keep in mind, the 21” SP mower is only kitted with the 7.5Ah battery, the push mower is kitted with the 5Ah battery.
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156 Points
Thanks and good point there! I thought I saw the 5 amp hour package for $399 but that wouldn't have been the right one.
szwoopp, Champion
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106,132 Points
That is the current price, but it does not have SP feature. So, it is a 21, plastic deck, 5.0 battery, push mower. $399
Oregon Mike, Champion
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71,984 Points
Joe, I have the non-self propelled 21" model and my yards are quite flat so I've never felt I needed the self propelled feature. I know your lot is bigger than mine. Mine is .18 acre with a 1700 sq ft house with 2 car garage on it but the front and back yards are pretty flat and just using the push model works just fine. Anyway, a way to save some money if you don't need the SP.
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13,128 Points
I really hate to be EGO's buzzkill with this, but as far as mowers go, Greenworks got me sold before EGO did, and here is why:
1. EGO put low-lift blades on mowers that do not have that much lift with standard-lift blades. This is a huge minus to me even though it ensures that you get as much runtime as possible, it trades off for that cut quality and mulching ability -- cut quality on grass that grows several inches in a week (it leaves stringers behind, making you have to mow over it twice), and it does not mulch as well as it could. A fix for the low-lift blade is to purchase EGO's high-lift blade. This should solve part of the cut-quality and all of the mulching ability issues. Mind you, the cut quality with that blade will probably be to your satisfaction (but not mine), so you might be fine getting just that.
2. No side discharger (exception: the steel deck mowers). This is another huge minus in my book. This keeps me from making the best cut that I can. When you mow taller grass, you'll really notice that the cut you leave behind will appear chewed no matter how sharp your blade is, this is because grass shreds under the mower deck are traveling at high velocity around and around the deck, hitting and chewing up the tips (and even a bit farther down) of the blades you mow. With the side discharger, the grass shards go out from underneath the deck and will not chew up your cut quality. You'll notice a significant difference, so this is a big reason to get the steel deck mower if you're going to go with EGO.
Mind you, I am a professional lawn guy. I am very picky about my cut quality, more picky than your regular guy. Most people want green grass, no weeds, and some want no stringers. Just getting an EGO mower with a high-lift blade will do the job for that, and if you really want good cut quality, go with the steel-deck mower. It actually has a side discharger.
I personally would go with the Kobalt 80V self-propelled mower. It is brushless, 21 inch, not 20, it is steel deck, and it is basically the same mower as the Greenworks 80V self-propelled mower just with a differently configured plastic assembly around the battery port. It is on sale for $549 with two 2.5Ah packs (360Wh total compared to 378 for the 7.5Ah EGO pack), you can charge one pack while using the other, and each pack takes less than 40 minutes to charge, you have a side-discharger and a blade with decent lift. You will find better handles on the EGO mowers than on this, but for me, cut quality and productivity come first.
With all of this expressed, please, please EGO, come out with a 21 inch mower in stores that side discharges, preferably a steel deck mower, and please sell it with the high lift blade. That would get me sold on your mower.
I know people here do not like it when I lead people away from EGO products, but I'm just a regular guy that uses what works best for me. I have both EGO platforms and Greenworks platforms, and I like them both, but Greenworks beats you in my book as far as mowers go. I'm just being honest.
Oh, and one more thing, the Greenworks push mower uses up to 1200 watts, and I'm guessing that the self-propelled one uses about the same, and I think that tops the power of all the EGO mowers, so for EGO's next mower, I want at least 1200W.
1. EGO put low-lift blades on mowers that do not have that much lift with standard-lift blades. This is a huge minus to me even though it ensures that you get as much runtime as possible, it trades off for that cut quality and mulching ability -- cut quality on grass that grows several inches in a week (it leaves stringers behind, making you have to mow over it twice), and it does not mulch as well as it could. A fix for the low-lift blade is to purchase EGO's high-lift blade. This should solve part of the cut-quality and all of the mulching ability issues. Mind you, the cut quality with that blade will probably be to your satisfaction (but not mine), so you might be fine getting just that.
2. No side discharger (exception: the steel deck mowers). This is another huge minus in my book. This keeps me from making the best cut that I can. When you mow taller grass, you'll really notice that the cut you leave behind will appear chewed no matter how sharp your blade is, this is because grass shreds under the mower deck are traveling at high velocity around and around the deck, hitting and chewing up the tips (and even a bit farther down) of the blades you mow. With the side discharger, the grass shards go out from underneath the deck and will not chew up your cut quality. You'll notice a significant difference, so this is a big reason to get the steel deck mower if you're going to go with EGO.
Mind you, I am a professional lawn guy. I am very picky about my cut quality, more picky than your regular guy. Most people want green grass, no weeds, and some want no stringers. Just getting an EGO mower with a high-lift blade will do the job for that, and if you really want good cut quality, go with the steel-deck mower. It actually has a side discharger.
I personally would go with the Kobalt 80V self-propelled mower. It is brushless, 21 inch, not 20, it is steel deck, and it is basically the same mower as the Greenworks 80V self-propelled mower just with a differently configured plastic assembly around the battery port. It is on sale for $549 with two 2.5Ah packs (360Wh total compared to 378 for the 7.5Ah EGO pack), you can charge one pack while using the other, and each pack takes less than 40 minutes to charge, you have a side-discharger and a blade with decent lift. You will find better handles on the EGO mowers than on this, but for me, cut quality and productivity come first.
With all of this expressed, please, please EGO, come out with a 21 inch mower in stores that side discharges, preferably a steel deck mower, and please sell it with the high lift blade. That would get me sold on your mower.
I know people here do not like it when I lead people away from EGO products, but I'm just a regular guy that uses what works best for me. I have both EGO platforms and Greenworks platforms, and I like them both, but Greenworks beats you in my book as far as mowers go. I'm just being honest.
Oh, and one more thing, the Greenworks push mower uses up to 1200 watts, and I'm guessing that the self-propelled one uses about the same, and I think that tops the power of all the EGO mowers, so for EGO's next mower, I want at least 1200W.
(Edited)
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10,498 Points
TheAtomTwister do you know anything about LawnMaster(Cleva North America)? They have a 60v battery that looks similar to ego's. It caught my attention because I thought it was a re branded ego for a second.
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2,212 Points
My 21 inch came with a nice plastic discharge chute, what is up with people saying there is no side discharge?
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13,128 Points
I remember you showing me that pack on this forum. I will check the mower and discuss my initial thoughts in one moment...
...It looks nice, but is too small for my needs. Also, the blade looks not too bad, but overall, the tools do not look as productive as EGO's and Greenworks's. Cut quality and productivity are my main two things for a mower, and LawnMaster does not have productivity. Also, for the batteries, I cannot find any charge time info, and I don't think anyone is going to top EGO and Greenworks by much as far as charge time goes, and while I think Redback 120V does, there tools aren't as productive as EGO's and Greenworks's either.
...It looks nice, but is too small for my needs. Also, the blade looks not too bad, but overall, the tools do not look as productive as EGO's and Greenworks's. Cut quality and productivity are my main two things for a mower, and LawnMaster does not have productivity. Also, for the batteries, I cannot find any charge time info, and I don't think anyone is going to top EGO and Greenworks by much as far as charge time goes, and while I think Redback 120V does, there tools aren't as productive as EGO's and Greenworks's either.
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156 Points
Giggleherz, I think I've read that although the 21 inch comes with the discharge chute, it was prone to coming off when doing turns or something like that. I'm not sure if that was an isolated incident but maybe most users don't have issues with this attachable chute?
szwoopp, Champion
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105,770 Points
giggleherz - the "side discharge" on the 21 is more of a rear discharge with a curved chute. This does not lend itself to the most efficient discharge of the grass and some have had clogging problems.
The side discharge on the steel deck ego and many others is actually on the side and discharges in a smooth flow without a turn.
I have never used it - so no personal experience.
The side discharge on the steel deck ego and many others is actually on the side and discharges in a smooth flow without a turn.
I have never used it - so no personal experience.
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szwoopp, Champion
I have the 21SP with the 7.5 and can mow all of the grass on my 1/2 acre+ lot miuns the house etc.
Joe I think you would be fine with a 5.0. That said with the current pricing of the 21 SP with the 7.5 @ $499, I think this is by far the best deal. I do not think the steel deck mower is worth a 50% increase in price to $749. And I do not see the 5.0 21 SP currently offered as an option.
Pricing and options all per HD website
Joe Kun
szwoopp, Champion
As to the Ego - 5 years(3 years batteries) is a pretty good warranty length wise. Again personally I passed on the HD extra