It’s been a couple of years since EGO introduced it’s 56V line of Outdoor Power Equipment (OPE). At the time, there was no way I would change from gas to battery. I always thought it was going to be hard to create a battery lawn mower that would compete against gas. I just didn’t think technology was at that point. Well, EGO proved me wrong. In the end I ended up giving my gas powered lawn mower, blower, hedger and chain saw to a friend. Since then, I have been using the EGO OPE and haven’t had a second thought about gas. All I can say is the EGO mower has been my best friend for a couple of reasons. First, I don’t have to deal with running to the gas station and getting gas. I don’t have to worry about bad gas, spark plugs or any of the other negatives to gas. In fact, it has been so awesome, I don’t even have to use the EGO for my grass to be cut. Yes, I finally figured out a way to get out of cutting my grass. I was so excited to show my wife the lawnmower, she told me she didn’t mind cutting the grass now. Before it was a pain for her to start the gas mower, it was heavy and loud. With the EGO mower, just press a button and you’re off cutting. Thank you EGO. In all honesty, I still cut my grass about 3 times a year, but my wife pretty much takes care of it now.
EGO Mower Overview
Okay so now you know how much I love the EGO mower. For me it was the perfect solution, then I heard that EGO was coming out with a new mower and that’s when I was little baffled. The mower they already had out was great, what else could they improve on? After reading the news, I discovered they were coming out with a self propelled mower. At first I thought it was a joke because the first model was so light and easy to work with. Seriously, who needs this in a self propelled mower? Well I guess a ton of people do and that’s why they developed it. Don’t worry, all the good things about the mower, they left alone.
Besides creating a self propelled mower they did make some other minor improvements to it. One of the most noticeable improvements is a bigger deck. Their older version was a 20″ deck, while the new version is a 21″ deck. Not only is the deck bigger, but they also reinforced it. Now I never heard anyone complaining in the previous model about having problems with their deck, but EGO still decided to beef this one up with making the key areas thicker, so they can take more abuse. In regards to power, don’t worry they have that covered also.
When you buy the mower, you get the 56V battery which is a 7.5Ah battery. This battery will allow you about 60 minutes of run time, with 60 minutes of charge time. As you know we recently visited EGO and had a chance to learn about the company. While I learned a ton, the one thing that stuck with me was their battery technology. They go above and beyond to make these one of the best batteries on the market. Every little thing they did to this battery has a purpose, even the unusual design of the battery,
As far as the self propelled function, they incorporated a variable speed lever to increase or decrease your speed. The variable speed will allow you to increase or decrease speed from 1.8 mph to 3.6 mph. For me the best design on the market is the Toro personal pace, but I am pretty sure they have rights to that design. With that being said, EGO did a nice job and makes it very convenient to switch speeds on the fly.
EGO Mower Quality
While EGO did make some improvements on quality such as the deck, they left most of it alone, which is good news. Out of all the battery mowers we have tried, EGO is by far the best quality mower. The handles are solid and not your typical flimsy handle. The wheels have ball bearings, which I think they are the only ones to do that. Maybe that is one of the reasons this mower is so easy to push around the yard. I can sit here and tell you about the quality of this mower, but it’s something you just have to try for yourself. Next time you’re at The Home Depot, stop by the lawn and garden and just take a look for yourself. The quality is in this machine. So on to one of the most important aspects of the lawn mower and that is cut quality. Again, we have tried a ton of battery lawn mowers. The EGO was the only one we found to have a consistent quality cut, in damp or dry grass. While most mowers will cut, they always seem like when you are done you either see a bunch of blades of grass that were missed or spots where the mower didn’t cut and only pushed the grass down. With the EGO I haven’t experienced those issues. Since this is an OPE product, this is guaranteed to subject to different weather environments. No worries as this has a weather resistant construction IPX4. Still not enough? How about a 5 year warranty?
As with their older model, this also has a push button start which makes starting the mower very easy. You can also lower the handle to a fully closed position for storage. On the side of the EGO mower you will notice a lever. This lever will allow you to raise or lower the deck for a cut from 1.5″ to 4″. On the front of the unit, you notice a couple of LED lights which is useful for those who like to mow when their insomnia kicks in.
Here is the way I look at the EGO mower. Sure you will pay a little more than the other battery lawn mowers on the market, but you get so much more than the other mowers. This is a solid mower with quality behind it. This is truly a battery powered mower that will work and leave stunning results. The mower is light and easy to wheel around. If you desire a self propelled mower, this is the best option on the market. Don’t worry because if you don’t want the self propelled, they also have a non self propelled mower that has all the same features along with the 21″ deck. Check them out at your local Home Depot.
As a side note, we were wrong on the video. We thought this just had bagging and mulching mode, but apparently you can do side discharge. I do have a question. Who the heck side discharges their grass and why would you want to do this? If you have the answer, please let me know.
I don’t always have time to mulch properly and mow my grass when I need to “cut one-third of the blade height or less”. If I try to mulch when it’s too long, when it’s really humid or when the grass is wet mulching just leaves a slimy, sloppy mess.
So when my grass is growing quickly or it’s 6 inches long I will side discharge. Side discharging also works well when I want to blow leaves back into the neighbor’s timber.
I wish Home Depot would rent these EGO OPE tools. Would love to be able to try before I buy.
Here’s my situation – I’m on a corner lot, not huge, just 1/4 acre, but with curb all the way around, sidewalk all the way around, backyard sidewalk, garage sidewalk, 4 patios, and extensive landscaping. Which means a TON of edging and trimming. And St. Augustine grass, which is a very dense, thick bladed, vineing grass. Then factor in the heat – I frequently mow in 90 degree plus heat, with 90% humidity, which does noticeably effect the performance of batteries.
Add in the practical reality that I don’t always mow as often as I should, so when I do get around to it, the grass is extra long. And my wife like me to bag the backyard so the dogs (and I) aren’t tracking in clippings. So with all that, can these battery powered OPE tools handle the job? Would I need a second battery ($400 for a mower battery)? I’d love to find out through actual hands on testing.
If the EGO tools can handle it, I’d throw out my noisy, dirty gas machines in a heartbeat, but that would be a very expensive experiment if I buy the tools and find out they don’t cut it. (Pun intended). Anyone else using these tools in a similar environment? What’s your mileage?
And call me lazy, but mowing thick St. Augustine in 95 degrees with 90% humidity, yes, I use self-propelled all the way!
I believe Home Depot has a 30 day return policy. So if you get it and it doesn’t work for you, you can return it. Just check with them first.
Just still can’t do a cordless mower, I like my combustion engines, but I have a bigger yard too, love my honda! #TIACREW
These gas less outdoor power equipment just keeps getting better. Ego has really been knocking it out the park lately, and I think Ego is the go to brand.
I have owned mine now for 3 months. The only down thing I have found with the ego lawnmower is the design of the blade. Doesn’t pick up the grass left by the tires on the overlapping run. Needs more lift designed into the blade.
Please Ego read and design a better blade.
interesting finding. I will have to see if mine has that same issue.
I like to cut my lawn short. The lowest cut on the 50cm is25mm. On the 52cm its 28mm.Can i bring the 52 down to 25. Am i cutting to low.