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Summary
Pros
• Convenience
• Power
• Reliability
• Five-Year Manufacturer’s Warranty
• Reduced noise
• Performance
• Environmentally conscious
• Easy to start and use
• Batteries are interchangeable among all EGO products
Cons
• Price
• Not ideal for larger yards
• Not intended for commercial applications
My old gas-powered Snapper started to become less reliable in mowing the lawn about three years ago. Since then, I had started the hunt for a new lawn mower. I became familiar with electric lawn mowers and even considered investing in one, except hearing that they’re lacking in power and have a short battery life and long charging times deterred me from looking further into purchasing one.
It wasn’t until last year that I came upon the EGO Power Plus electric lawn mower. It was boasted as the first electric lawn mower on the market that was powered by a 56 volt lithium ion battery and could be fully charged within 30 minutes. The technology certainly piqued my interest, but I still held on to my skepticism of the overall idea of an electric lawn mower. I wasn’t convinced it had this ability to hold its own against the gas-powered engines that have dominated the market for as long as I can remember.
The before photo of my completely untouched lawn.
The EGO electric lawn mower still held my interest, but the price tag of $499 was a hefty investment for me to make for experimental lawn equipment that I would be stuck with, should it not hold up to its claims. Before fully committing to the lawn mower, I opted for the EGO Power Plus Hedge Trimmer. I was still coaxing my Snapper along through another summer while I experimented with the electric technology.
Ultimately, the hedge trimmer ended up being a great investment. It’s a great value at $199 and completely worth the price. It worked exactly as it was advertised to, and it was just as powerful as the hedge trimmers I’ve used previously. In fact, it may be more powerful than some trimmers on the market that are gas-powered, as it’s capable of cutting branches up to 3/4”. Given my positive experience with the EGO Power Plus Hedge Trimmer, I decided to take the plunge and commit to the EGO electric lawn mower this spring.
My experience with the EGO Power Plus 56v Electric Lawn Mower
I was lucky enough to be offered the opportunity to test the EGO electric lawn mower for this review. At the time of writing this review, I’m not affiliated with EGO, EGO’s parent company, or Home Depot. I’m not being paid for this review, nor will I be compensated in any form should someone make a purchase based off of this review.
Initial Impressions
The product is neatly packaged and is already 90% assembled, requiring very little effort on my part to set it up. In fact, I think removing all the parts from box took longer than assembly. The lawn mower came in its compact, folded form. To set it up, I simply had to extend the handle out, install the battery (and grass catcher, if I wanted), and turn it on.
The EGO electric lawn mower is surprisingly light. Weighing in at 62 pounds, EGO is consistent with the smaller gas powered mowers and up to 40% lighter than some of the larger gas powered mowers available on the market.
No, it’s not an RC car.
Appearance
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think this product looked cool. Lawn mower manufacturers have been traditionally known to use a familiar, bright red color, reminiscent of a fire engine, for decades. EGO has done a great job incorporating bright greens, grays, and blacks for an alternative from the traditional. The look is also a bit futuristic, as the battery is housed under an acrylic green shield.
Function
Given that this was for a review, I made sure to put this lawn mower to the test and work it harder than I would normally with a lawn mower I purchased.
The 20” mower deck can be adjusted with a lever that’s found on the left side of the lawn mower. I had my 13-year-old daughter test it out to see how easily adjustable it was. For the most part, she had no trouble adjusting the deck through the five settings.
As it’s now spring, this also happened to be the first time this season that my lawn saw a mower. I still had leaves and small branches scattered around from before winter, and while I would usually clean all that up before taking a lawn mower to it, I left my lawn a mess to fully test EGO’s electric lawn mower. I set the mower deck to the lowest possible cutting height and left the grass catcher and mulcher attachments off, just to make the job slightly more difficult. I showed this mower no mercy.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that the EGO electric lawn mower did the job just as well as any other gas-powered lawn mower could. The thick grass, leaves, and sticks were no match for the mower, which powered through all the obstacles I laid out for it. There were a few areas where the piles of leaves were particularly dense, and in those cases it had a tougher time getting through the mess, but the troubles it had were comparable to other gas mowers I’ve used in the past.
With it being only 62 pounds, it’s light enough that my 13-year-old could easily use it. It’s not self-propelled as you’d find with a gas mower, but I didn’t see that as a drawback since it’s so light.
My lawn after the EGO.
Noise Factor
Starting up this product doesn’t take much effort – simply push a button a pull back the safety bar. Once it starts up, it sounds similar to a vacuum, and if you’re 30 feet or more away, it sounds like a high powered fan. Inside a house, it’s barely audible. Compared to a traditional gas lawn mower, it sounds between a third to half as noisy. EGO actually claims it’s 20% quieter. Regardless, it’s a noticeable difference.
Battery Life
My lawn is on the smaller side. It takes me between 20 and 30 minutes to mow the entire lawn with a traditional lawn mower. With the EGO electric lawn mower, it had around 90% of the job done before the red light came on to alert me that the battery’s charge was almost drained. However, I attribute this to the fact that I had the deck at the lowest setting possible and I was working it harder than it would be normally. I ended up switching out the lawn mower battery with the battery from my trimmer and was able to finish the job easily. Would this have been normal circumstances (without the added sticks and leaves), the mower would have had no problem getting the full job done in one charge.
Though it works just fine with the battery already installed, having that second battery on hand was a luxury. I should also point out that the EGO Power Plus Rapid Charger worked seamlessly, just as it’s advertised. It only took 26 minutes for the 4.0 Amp Lithium Ion Battery to come to a full charge.
It only took the battery 26 minutes to charge.
Convenience
The EGO lawn mower is compact and barely takes up space when it’s stored – barely two square feet. The handle folds up nicely and the whole mower can be stored upright or leaning against a wall.
One of the most attractive features of electric lawn mowers is how low maintenance they are. You don’t have to worry about fluids or filters to change, or gas to mix. The only piece you have to worry about wear and tear on is the blade, which is expected with any lawn mower.
Odor
Since the EGO electric lawn mower runs on lithium ion technology, it doesn’t give off any odors when in use, as opposed to a traditional gas lawn mower. Not having to endure gas fumes was an especially positive feature for me.
Conclusion
I would recommend you consider investing in an electric lawn mower if you’re in the market. The EGO Power Plus Electric Lawn Mower has proven to me that the convenience, noise, and environmental aspects, as well as the improved technology that has been developed for a longer battery life, make it worth giving it a chance. Though it does have a higher price compared to some of the lower end mowers at $499, the EGO electric mower has demonstrated to be an excellent value.
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