Greenworks 40V 16″ Cordless Lawn Mower, Battery Included

UPS dropped it off late yesterday afternoon (July 17, 2024). Read the instruction manual(s). Took me about 5 minutes to put the handles on and it was ready to go. The battery was barely charged so I put it on the charger and it was fully charged in about an hour and a half.

Started it up and it ran for about 3 seconds and stopped. Started it again and same thing: ran 3 seconds and died. Again, same result. WTF? Were all those negative reviews right?

Googled the no-run issue and among the responses was one that mentioned to be sure that you’d pushed the battery into its slot to fully engage the contacts. I slid the battery out, pushed it back in firmly and gave it another try. Success! Started and ran fine. Time to call it a day.

This morning after breakfast I took it out to the dystopian weed patch that is our ‘lawn’ in the high desert of northern New Mexico and set out to try it on a challenging section that is a side yard. Started right up. Light and maneuverable, much easier to handle than our previous corded electric that had finally given up the fight 10 days ago and precipitated the purchase of this new mower.

Yes, it doesn’t cut as wide a path as our previous mower (16” vs 21”) but in every other way it is superior. Cuts our gnarly weeds with abandon. Oh, and it ran for an hour and ten minutes on it’s first charge, much longer than I had expected. And it’s quiet. Wife took it away from me at one point and it was hard to get it back. She loves it.

Amazing, really. I am most impressed!

(to be continued)

July 25, 2024: I’m gonna add a little info that might be useful as I do revisit things I’ve purchased & reviewed to offer insights & tips. The battery for this mower has to be charged before & after use and then taken off the charger and stored separately. I’ve been doing this since I purchased the mower & the last mowing I did the battery lastest for close to 50 minutes. I’ve also decided to store the battery inside the house, not out in my garage in 90+° temps, as overheating it depletes it’s capacity to keep a charge. I learned this lesson the hard way by keeping my old cell phone on the charger 24/7 and discovering it not only killed the life of the battery quickly, but overheated the phone as well, which also affects the battery. Just an FYI and hope this helps those of you having problems with the battery.

Update: This mower continues to perform very well. The battery was tricky to remove from the mower at first, but it has a release button on it that has to be pressed down & after a few times, it gets easier.
Also, after doing spring cleanup yesterday, realized my electric pressure washer is also Greenworks. I’ve had it for 5 years, never had a problem with it & it blasted through hours of continuous use. Think its safe to say I like the quality of Greenworks products. Bought a weedeater too, so will review that later. (And no, I wasn’t paid to write this!!)

Update #2: This mower powered through a huge area of knee-high grass in the backyard. First time cutting it this year. I also did the front at 7am & the grass was wet. Mower ran like a champ & didn’t wake the neighbors either. After removing the battery, I tipped the mower on its side, cleaned the underside, gently rinsed it with the garden hose & let it dry. Mower still works great.

OG Review: This is the frst time I’ve ever tried out or owned any kind of battery operated yard equipment. I decided to go this route because there is no need for me to continue paying the lawn guy to cut my entire yard every week when it’s only the front area that needs to be consistently mowed. With this mower, I can cut the grass as often as needed instead of waiting for mowing day to be scheduled & having that extra expense.

This mower arrived brand new in the box. The directions could’ve used a bit more explanation and better pictures. I had trouble with the handle assembly & the two sets of cam locks because they don’t tighten and clamp down the easiest. That took a few tries, but I finally got everything to fit & lock into place. The battery slides into the charger, which blinks green when charging, and then stays solid green when charged. The battery clicks into the top of mower much the same way. The battery does have a power indicator on it – you press the small green button on the end of the battery and there are 4 lights that show the amount of charge. Starting the mower is sooo easy. It takes about ~5 seconds to get it powered on & instructions on how to do so are printed on the mower by the starter button. If you need to stop the mower, release the bar. Stopping & starting the mower up a few times was no problem for me. The lever on the deck that adjusts the mower height moves easily and locks firmly into place.

My first test run of this mower went well. I did my entire front yard and around the side of my house in 35-40 minutes with a battery that was still going strong. The mower will speed up if the grass is thicker & runs slower for less dense areas. I’m not using the grass catcher, so no idea how that hooks on or performs. What I really like is how lightweight the mower is and how quiet it runs. I doubt my neighbors across the street could even hear the mower.

One important piece of info that I’ll pass along. After watching a YT tutorial and review on this mower, it was recommended not to keep the battery sitting in the charger 24/7. Charge the battery just before use, recharge it again after and then take it off the charger & store it separately. Doing so extendss the life of the battery.

Overall impression on this mower:
Easy startup, runs super quiet, it’s lightweight so that you hardly exert any energy pushing it along and it has a long-lasting battery charge. For me, this mower will pay for itself in just 3 uses (I got it on sale for $75 off) and I’m excited to finally be able to cut back on yard expenses. I’m also thrilled that I don’t have to be bothered with the fuss of fueling & and winterizing a gas-powered piece of equipment. I did get the extra warranty because a 30 day return window from Amazon isn’t sufficient enough time to see how this mower performs and holds up after a summer of mowing. This review will be updated later and gets 4 stars for now.