Diehard gas mower fan, now with battery powered mower. AMA

How much did your balls shrink when you got the new mower?

Do you enjoy the extra exercise you're getting from having to mow 3 times a week?

When did you start having trouble getting it up? Have you seen a doctor?

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What is the expected life of the batteries?

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I think this will vary a lot based on personal usage. A few things to cover:

- Warranty: Greenworks warranties batteries for 4 years. Other companies range from 2-3 years.

- Usage: The more you use it, the quicker it will wear out. Full charges and deep discharges also reduce the life. My mower came with a 5Ah battery that is "rated" to last an hour on a single batter (it can actually hold up to (2) 6Ah batteries, though). My yard doesn't take that long to mow so I can alter my charging and storage methods to increase the battery life.

- Charging, discharging & storage: There are several factors that lead to the reduction in performance of Li Ion batteries. Some of the big ones are charge level and discharge level. The more you charge above 40-50%, the more you shorten the life. The more you discharge below 40%, the more you shorten the life. Since my yard takes about 30 minutes to mow, I can charge my battery to 75% before mowing instead of 100%. This prevents my battery from sitting around at 100% charged and I dont usually hit 100% charge either. This will help increase battery life. When I am done, I am around 35-45% battery capacity left which is perfect for storing. Storing the battery in the 35-45% range is much better for it than storing at 10% or 100% charge.

One of the reasons I picked the Greenworks mower was because they have the most affordable OEM batteries. I'm "hoping" to get around 6-7 years out of this battery based on what I have seen other folks getting from their Li Ion batteries.

The 5Ah battery currently runs about $179 and I think the 6Ah battery is currently listed for about $220.

How does it work with wet/damp grass (post rain or morning dew)?

Does it mulch clippings well?

What do you do when the grass gets tall, say from a few weeks of rain resulting in skipped cuts?

Seems a bit unfair to compare to the Toro WITHOUT the Personal Pace active. Did it break or couldn’t get it configured properly? Most people seem to rave about the Toro Super Recycler.

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How does it work with wet/damp grass (post rain or morning dew)?

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Nowhere near the level of a commercial mower.

In regular mode it isn't great. If you use side-throw, put the high lift blade on and run in TURBO mode (it increases RPMs significantly), it does just fine.

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Does it mulch clippings well?

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Not as good as the toro.

I haven't spent much time mulching as I use the side-throw setup most of the time (for better lift) and I try to mow often enough that there really is no difference between mulching and side-throw as the clippings are small to start with. What little mulching I have done, I would say it does fine if you are not making a huge cut of the grass but if you are cutting off a lot of grass, the mulching is not as good as the toro. The deck just isn't designed for high level mulching and I dont think there is a "mulching" blade available for the mower.

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What do you do when the grass gets tall, say from a few weeks of rain resulting in skipped cuts?

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I make sure to use the high lift blade and side-throw. It cuts really well/easy but you end up with a bit more clippings sitting on top of the grass because they aren't fully mulched. Mulching mode on Toro was definitely better for that situation. It would mulch any amount of clippings with ease.

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Seems a bit unfair to compare to the Toro WITHOUT the Personal Pace active. Did it break or couldn’t get it configured properly? Most people seem to rave about the Toro Super Recycler.

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First, my toro was absolutely awesome. It was 15+ years old and ran like new. No oil consumption, easy to start, great power, ran smooth. The deck had no rust. I have no complaints about the performance of the Toro. It was easy to work on and maintain. Toro publishes full parts manuals making all that stuff super easy. I had always planned to replace my toro with another super recycler when the day came.

As for why the personal pace was disabled, the gears at the left rear wheel were worn out and needed replaced. To replace them required replacing the whole transmission and rear drive assembly based on what my local parts stores were telling me. But I also didn't get much exercise at the time and decided to leave personal pace disabled so I could burn a few more calories. It really wasn't a big difference between using personal pace and not using it. Most of the work came from turns as my yard is pretty flat. I dont think the toro was bad to use at all but the greenworks is MUCH easier, even compared to using the personal pace. It works around trees and things a lot easier and the soft ride is great.

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Did that kobalt have the Turbo mode? I know if mine didn't have that, it would be nowhere comparable to my Toro. With the turbo mode, I get similar RPMs and cutting power as my Toro had. Without Turbo, I would not even consider a battery mower.

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It didn’t have a button or anything, but it would speed up if it had a heavy load on it. All in all I liked the mower for 3 or 4 years. I do have a super recycler now with personal pace. I don’t know how I lived with out it!

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Charging, discharging & storage: There are several factors that lead to the reduction in performance of Li Ion batteries. Some of the big ones are charge level and discharge level. The more you charge above 40-50%, the more you shorten the life. The more you discharge below 40%, the more you shorten the life. Since my yard takes about 30 minutes to mow, I can charge my battery to 75% before mowing instead of 100%. This prevents my battery from sitting around at 100% charged and I dont usually hit 100% charge either. This will help increase battery life. When I am done, I am around 35-45% battery capacity left which is perfect for storing. Storing the battery in the 35-45% range is much better for it than storing at 10% or 100% charge.

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Jesus this seems like a complicated hassle

I understand using electric blower and weed eater, but my Honda gas mower is amazing to use. Very simple and easy to start.

My dad got a kubota 80v and I’ve mowed their yard a couple times. It works well enough if the grass isn’t long. I like it, but like I said I don’t know why switch as they are 4 strokes? 2 strokes is a little different having other gas cans around. Hell a gallon of gas for my almost 1/2 acre yard lasts me 8-10 weeks usually.

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Jesus this seems like a complicated hassle

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It doesn't have to be. That is just the way I'm going to do it.

For me, all I have to do is charge while I use my trimmer. When i'm done trimming, it is ready to go.

If someone wants to leave the battery on the charger, that is fine too. From what I see online, it seems the people that do that get about 2-4 years from a Li Ion battery.