EGO Is Not Perfect: A TIA Member’s 5-Year (Mostly Commercial) EGO Experience

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• The First EGO Tools: Hedge Trimmer and 530 CFM Blower
• Going Commercial: Power Head and Commercial String Trimmer
• Three Rounds of Warranty Support
• Snow Removal With Two EGO Snowblowers
• Where Things Stand: Blowers, Nexus Power Station and the EGO Light
• A Second Owner’s Take: Mower, Trimmer and Batteries
• Battery Notes From the Thread
• Key Takeaways
• FAQ

Introduction

Most of what you read about battery outdoor power equipment comes from a few weeks or months of use. This one is different. Back in August 2022, TIA Member Jronman posted a long write-up in the Tools In Action forum called “EGO is not perfect – My 5 year (mostly commercial) user experience.” It covers about five years with EGO, three of them running a commercial lawn care and snow removal business, and more than $10,000 spent on EGO products.

Eric and Dan had heard that Jronman’s EGO experience wasn’t always smooth sailing, and this thread was the answer. Below we’ve pulled together what he shared, plus replies from TIA Members fm2176 and youngrocky11. Everything here comes from those forum posts. These are their experiences, not a Tools In Action review, and you can read the full, original discussion in the forum archive.

The First EGO Tools: Hedge Trimmer and 530 CFM Blower

Jronman bought his first EGO products in May 2017: the brushed hedge trimmer and the 530 cfm blower. His corded hedge trimmer was on its last leg and he had never owned a blower. He says both were fantastic for their time.

• Brushed hedge trimmer: a bit underpowered, but he called the runtime “unreal,” saying he could go multiple hours on the small battery that came with it.
• 530 cfm blower: “about as bullet proof as anything.” It has been covered in thick mud, sprayed with water and fallen off his trailer twice while moving, and it still works. When it seemed to quit in 2020, he opened it up and found the switch had gotten a bit loose. He secured the switch and it works with no problem.

If you want to know what those CFM numbers actually mean, check out our guide on how to measure leaf blower power.

Going Commercial: Power Head and Commercial String Trimmer

When Jronman started his lawn mowing business in 2019, he picked up the Power-head motor unit with the string trimmer attachment as his daily trimmer. He later added the hedge trimmer and pruning saw attachments, and eventually the extension, cultivator and paddle broom attachments too. His verdict on the attachments: “They do the job.” He did find the power head a bit underpowered for some applications, and says he can sometimes get it to stall with the edger attachment. (For more on the system itself, see our EGO Power Head System review and EGO Multi-Head System review.)

2019 was also the year the EGO commercial line came to the United States, and Jronman bought everything he needed to run the commercial string trimmer. He called out the carbon fiber shaft, all-metal trigger and all-metal motor housing as amazing, and features he says are still not common on other brands’ trimmers. Paired with the backpack battery, the runtime was incredible:

One day I counted 18 properties on one charge which amounted to about 2-3 days of work.

Jronman, Tools In Action forum

He notes that runtime varied depending on how heavily the trimmer was used. If you’re shopping string trimmers, our EGO String Trimmer review is a good place to start.

Three Rounds of Warranty Support

This is the part of the thread that gives it its title. Jronman described three separate rounds with EGO customer support.

Round one. After close to a year in the lawn business, three products died or went faulty. The commercial string trimmer’s trigger started acting up: variable speed was spotty, and for a short time the head would spin with the battery plugged in even when the trigger wasn’t pressed. His Power Head Motor unit fully died, and one of the then-new batteries with the 5-LED display went bad. He was surprised to reach a U.S.-sounding support rep, who sent a replacement commercial trimmer; he returned the old one in the new one’s box, no questions asked. The power head went to his local service center first, and in the end it was replaced the same way. Everything was replaced for free, but the service provider put a lot of labor into the power head, and Jronman hoped EGO compensated him for it. The battery was not added to the warranty claim, which he calls an honest mistake by the support person. While waiting, he found a deal on a power head motor unit with edger attachment kit for less than the power head alone, so once the replacements came in he owned two power heads and one commercial string trimmer.

Round two. In 2020 he bought the new 650 cfm blower, which quit by the end of the season. He thinks the fall dust may have played a part. By then, he says, support had moved to overseas call centers that weren’t very helpful, and the go-to answer was to take it to the service center. The battery had to sit at the service center for a while, and he got it back plus a new one in the mail (he notes EGO does not take back batteries). The blower was also replaced under warranty, though he doesn’t remember the specifics.

Round three. His replacement commercial string trimmer developed the same trigger problem just before the warranty ran out. He called EGO before the warranty was up, but instead of a replacement he was told to take it to the service center. By the time he followed up, the warranty had expired and EGO claimed it was out of warranty, even though the support ticket was opened before the warranty ended. He was never able to get it replaced. In his words, he probably could have tried harder, but he was tired of dealing with EGO support.

Snow Removal With Two EGO Snowblowers

Jronman bought the EGO snowblower in 2019, before the 2-stage and updated single-stage models came out. He says it was fantastic, with only a few complaints:

• The chute direction control lever sometimes sticks and isn’t always smooth.
• The replaceable scraper bar wore out far too quickly. He could go through a few each season.
• A wheel broke at the end of the second snow season, and replacing it looked quite involved.

For the following season he upgraded to the new single stage snowblower with the metal blades. He says it works fine but is a bit rougher to use, especially when the blades hit something. He runs both snowblowers on the commercial battery with the battery adapter. That works, but you can’t close the battery compartment lid. He admits that’s probably not recommended, “but when you got work to do you gotta get the job done.” For a look at EGO’s current larger machine, see our EGO 28 in. 2-Stage Snow Blower article.

Where Things Stand: Blowers, Nexus Power Station and the EGO Light

At the time of his post, here’s how the rest of Jronman’s EGO lineup was doing:

• Replacement 650 cfm blower: still fails sometimes, but he can unplug the battery and plug it back in to get it working. It started acting up during dusty leaf season.
• Nexus Power Station: one of its batteries went faulty but, as he remembers it, was replaced with no problem. It came in handy during two power outages of around 5 hours that year, when he used it to power his refrigerator. He has also run his vac and the battery charger he uses for his mowers from it. (We covered the EGO Power Station here.)
• EGO light: his most recent purchase. He has mixed opinions, but says that’s more about upgrades he’d like than problems with the tool, and that it’s “super bright.”
• Batteries: he also had his first battery with the old-style charge display fault, which he didn’t think was too bad considering those batteries may be older.

He had not used any of the EGO mowers, or any of the chainsaws besides the pruning saw attachment for the power head. And his bottom line might surprise you:

Even with all the problems I have had with EGO I expect I will buy more EGO in the future.

Jronman, Tools In Action forum

A Second Owner’s Take: Mower, Trimmer and Batteries

TIA Member fm2176 replied with his own experience. His EGO gear was all bought in 2018 and 2019, and he says it all works well:

• 21″ mower: works great, but he has to pay attention in tall or wet grass. You can tell when it’s about to cut out, and lifting the front wheels avoids waiting a few seconds for the overload protection to reset. He runs it with the original blade and no attachments because the bag didn’t suit him and the chute clogs with clippings too fast, which he thinks is likely why it cuts out so readily. One 5Ah battery could cut nearly the entire front yard of the house he rented, while his other 5Ah battery seems faulty and dies after about a quarter of that.
• Self-loading string trimmer: his most-used EGO product. When he grabbed a DEWALT trimmer instead, he found it way underpowered and had line-feed trouble. A 2Ah EGO battery finished the ditch with no issue, dying right as he finished.
• Hedge trimmer: he likes the power and safety features. A friend nearly lost a finger when a different hedge trimmer kicked back while used one-handed, so he appreciates the EGO’s two safety switches.
• Backpack blower: nice, though he usually reaches for a large DEWALT handheld, and sometimes uses both at once. He expects to use the EGO more now. (See also our EGO Commercial Backpack Blower article.)

On bigger mowers, fm2176 was cautious. He said the EGO ZTR options are tempting until he looks at the price and future upkeep. As a former mechanic who specialized in battery-operated forklifts, he points out that a gas-engine mower needs more annual maintenance but can be kept going for years, while the EGO costs much more than a decent fabricated-deck gas mower and relies on brand-specific parts that may or may not be available in 5 to 10 years. For EGO’s newer walk-behind, see our 2024 EGO 22 in. Lawn Mower review.

Battery Notes From the Thread

• fm2176 has two 5Ah packs (from the mower and blower), a 2.5Ah pack (from the string trimmer), the hedge trimmer’s pack, and a couple of 2Ah packs picked up on clearance when Home Depot dropped the brand. He finds the smaller packs great for trimmers but almost a waste of time in the mower or blower.
• Jronman replied that the brushed hedge trimmer came with a 2.0 battery, and that at the time EGO sold tools with both 2.5 and 2.0 packs. He thought the 2.0 had been discontinued and noted the 4.0 was making a return with some 2023 offerings. A few days later he added that a nearby Ace Hardware already had the 4.0 in stock.
• In 2025, youngrocky11 posted that the advertised battery charge time was “highly inaccurate,” that his battery needed recharging after only 10 minutes of use from day one, that the battery warranty is 3 years, and that four years later the battery is dead.

Key Takeaways

• Jronman’s 530 cfm blower survived mud, water and two falls off a trailer, and the commercial string trimmer once trimmed 18 properties on one backpack battery charge.
• Several products failed under his heavy commercial use, including two commercial string trimmer triggers, a power head, a 650 cfm blower and some batteries.
• Warranty support was quick and no-questions-asked at first, then shifted to service-center repairs, and his last claim was never resolved.
• Even so, after more than $10,000 in EGO gear, he expected to keep buying EGO.
• fm2176’s 2018–2019 EGO gear works well for homeowner use, but he is wary of the price and long-term parts support for battery zero-turns.

Want more EGO coverage? Visit our EGO Power Tools page or our Outdoor Power Equipment Brand Guide. And thanks to Jronman, fm2176 and youngrocky11 for sharing. You can read the whole thread here.

FAQ

How long did the EGO commercial string trimmer run on one charge?

With the backpack battery, Jronman counted 18 properties on one charge one day, about 2 to 3 days of work. He said runtime varied with how heavily the trimmer was used.

Did EGO replace products under warranty?

Mostly, yes. Jronman’s first commercial string trimmer and Power Head Motor unit were replaced, a battery and a 650 cfm blower were later replaced through his service center, but his replacement commercial string trimmer was never replaced after the claim ran past the warranty date.

Can you use the EGO commercial battery in the EGO snowblower?

Jronman runs both of his snowblowers on the commercial battery with the battery adapter and says it works fine, but the battery compartment lid can’t be closed. He noted it’s probably not recommended.

What problems did the EGO snowblower have?

On his 2019 EGO snowblower, the chute direction lever sometimes stuck, the scraper bar wore out quickly, and a wheel broke at the end of the second season.

Can the EGO Nexus Power Station run a refrigerator?

Jronman used his Nexus Power Station to power his refrigerator during two outages of around 5 hours each. He has also run his vac and a mower battery charger from it.

Would this EGO owner buy EGO again?

Yes. After more than $10,000 in EGO products and several warranty claims, Jronman said he expects to buy more EGO in the future.