Review of the Ego Power+ 21” Select Cut mower with touch drive self-propelled technology with mulching, bagging, and side discharge features.:
By: Kurt of Canton, NY
Jon, of Garden Pro Tools, delivered to our house the Ego Mower, Charger, one 7.5 amp hour battery, mulching, bagging, and side discharge options. Jon took time to show us how the mower worked and how the attachments hooked up to the mower.
We had the mower for 2 days and have 20,000 square feet of lawn with numerous trees and garden beds to mow around. I wanted to see how this Electric Mower compared to our commercial grade Honda gas-engine mower that I have used for years but has always been too heavy for my wife to use or start (no electric starter). First thing I noticed was the weight difference. At about 55 pounds with battery, the Ego was about 40% lighter than the gas mower. The quality of build was very well thought through. The hand placements on the bar were very comfortable and the touch needed to engage the blade grab bar was minimal. The self-propelled buttons required only a light touch to send the mower on its way. The speed control was placed within easy reach of either hand and was easily worked. The battery charge indicator lights on the battery were easily seen looking through the battery compartment cover that faced toward the mower user.
First thing I noticed after I started the mower was that the blade’s 2700 RPMs were not as fast as my gas mower. It was much quieter than the gas mower.
I decided to use all three options to mow the lawn, starting first with the side discharge option. It hooked up easily and securely. I like that it didn’t stick out beyond the wheels to the side of the mower like my gas-powered mower. I picked out a section of the lawn and away I went. The mower’s self-propelled feature worked great. The grass exited out the side discharge and didn’t fly all over but far enough to not require me to be walking through grass clippings. The side discharge option didn’t leave any “wind rows” of grass clipping and all the clippings were fine enough to be easily left on the yard. After about 4,000 sq. feet of lawn, I looked back over the mowed area and there were no missed grass strips and a nice clean level cut across the whole mowed area.
Next I switched to the Mulcher plug option. The mulcher option didn’t clog or throw out grass clippings from under the mower deck. At no time did the Ego become bogged down or overheated from mulching about 1” of cut off grass. Once I had completed another 4,000 sq. foot section of lawn, I stopped to examine how the mulched grass section compared to the side discharge option. Both showed a smooth cut area with no missed grass strips of tall uncut grass or any clumps of grass. I checked the underside of the mower and there were no problems with any build-up of grass on the deck despite the grass being lush and moist green.
I installed the Bag Catcher option without installing the bagging blade. The bag catcher attached very easily and securely. The bag didn’t extend back too far to interfere with my long walking strides. I mowed another 4,000 sq. feet of lawn with the bag catcher. Grass collected easily and evenly in the bag. I emptied the bag 3 times, although I had the bags only half full. I didn’t notice any weight distribution problems or the front wheels being lifted up with the weight of the grass in the bag catcher. There was no grass clipping blowing out from under the mower and or from the bag onto the top of the mower. The area of grass mowed was all even and clean looking.
I ran out of battery power after 70 minutes. I had to recharge the battery, which took an hour. I then proceeded to finish the rest of the lawn using the side discharge option. That took about another 55 minutes, leaving the battery with 2 lights of charge still available.
My wife tried the mower. She liked the handle height adjustment set at lowest setting which was just right for her height of 5’. The mower was light enough to easily allow my wife mow the lawn, to lift the front end up and look underneath the mower deck.
The Ego easily maneuvered around the trees and garden beds. We have a steep hill behind the garage and the Ego handled the hill without difficulty or any sliding. Making any changes to the mowing options and emptying the grass catcher bag was easy especially when moving the handle to the upright position.
The under-deck section did have a slight build up of grass from moisture content of the lush green spring grass clippings. This was easily scraped away with a light plastic putty knife. The top of the mower had only a little dust on it, which was cleared with our leaf blower. The Ego handle was easily collapsed and the mower ready for storage. The optional Storage Cover for the Ego fit easily and quickly, leaving the mower ready for long-term storage and dust protection.
Our overall impression was very positive. The Ego Power+ 21” Select Cut mower with touch drive self-propelled technology was light-weight, well built, with well thought through control placements, ease of use, easy one hand grass height adjustment and easily readied for storage. It has enough power and battery run time to make mowing 20,000 sq. feet of lawn an easy enjoyable 2 hour process, although I do plan to purchase a second battery to avoid the 1 hour wait to recharge the battery. There is no gas/oil/air-filter or spark plug maintenance needed. I like the 5-year mower and 3 year battery warranties.
If you are going to purchase an electric mower, this is the mower to get!
Jon of Garden Pro Tools was very easy to work with.