Get Ready to Be Amazingly Gracious with the Greenworks Pro 21-Inch 80V Self-Propelled Cordless Lawn Mower!

*** Now that it is 2021, it still works. I’ve changed blades a couple times for rocks, sticks, etc. that it hit over the years since 2017. Just pull it out of the shed, put in battery, go. It just works. Runs about an hour, charge battery, use 2nd battery, go pretty much endlessly. Cut tall stuff, sure, lose some time on the battery.For me, forget gas powered. Stinky, loud, heavy, hot, and pulling that annoying cord!! Oh, and spilling gas, gas fumes, the oil, disposing of both … no, no, no.For battery mowers, I like this one with two batteries – a lot.For a trimmer, I actually went with the EGO carbon fiber straight shaft. Pricey thing, that. No guide wire to really let me do precision around delicate stuff (still use a B&D for that work), but it does alright. Never used a gas weed trimmer so nothing to compare it to besides the B&D cordless models, which in no way compare to the EGO’s ability to shred tall clover and similar thick stemmed plants. B&D vibrates so much, my hand tingles after an hour or so. Can go a lot longer with the EGO, but it’s heavier, for sure. *************Earlier review…Overall, good mower. Easy to move around. Cuts well. Fairly quiet. If your hearing is really good, you might want ear plugs. Mine’s less than good and I barely notice the low speed. On high speed, that is noticeable. Almost no odor out of the box. Battery charger stinks first few times when charging batteries. Go into room and think ‘what is that smell? yuck.’ After charging a few times, odor just keeps going down. Barely noticeable now.Cuts grass as tall as the motor housing. Be prepared to go slow though. When I did manage to kill it in thick grass nearly as tall as the motor (well above the front wheels), it likes to wait a few seconds before starting again. Starts right up (until the battery is out of juice).Batteries last about as long as advertised. Didn’t put a clock to mine. By the time one is used up, the other is charged on the charging device. I tend to stop and pull weeds or other stuff (like pine cones).I can pull this out of the shed, fold the handle into place, put on the bagger and just go. It’s easy, it works, and handles what my gas mowers can handle. Anything the mower leaves little bits of uncut stuff … the grass was thick, damp, and resistant to cutting well … even with the gas mowers, I’d have to do that area twice. The dry grass, even thick dry grass, it just cut it all. Just slow down a little if you find pieces of uncut stuff and it will get that too.I like the bagger attachment. No more raking. My shoes are not covered in grass clippings. Picks up nearly all of what it cuts. I can’t see anything down there but maybe it left something someone with better eyesight could detect. When the bag gets full, the weight shifts to the rear. Front wheels come off ground easily. You’ll notice it’s heavier in the rear, takes more effort to move, and if you keep going … stuff will be left behind (cause the bag is full and it can’t go in there). Empty the bag and you’re all set.Overall, I am very satisfied with this mower. No gas fumes. Unit itself doesn’t stink. Battery charger odor diminishes with use (the more batteries I charge, the less it smells). I don’t have to rake with the bag attachment. The two batteries allow me to keep going until … well, my body won’t “go” anymore. Use one battery, charge the other. Seemingly endless run time with just the two batteries. Of course, you might have to wait in between the batteries if you run one out faster than the other (like with really tall grass).Mower cycles itself high and low depending on what is being cut. Does this automatically. I find that when it revs higher, it can leave some stuff behind. So, I just pause while it revs up, back the mower up a couple inches, and then go forward. Seems to leave nothing behind that way. The mower will cycle down to the lower speed on its own. I have cut grass higher than the front wheels and the mower stayed on the low setting. And I have cut grass shorter than the front wheels and had the mower go to high. Depends on the grass characteristics. Also, if using the bag, depends on how full the bag is. If the bag is full, you will be on high almost constantly. Change the bag and it will go back to low, unless … of course … you are in tough grass and it needs high.The things I dislike are minor.#1, the knobs on the handle.These things spin on easily … and off equally easily. I would prefer a design like at the bottom of the handle. Twist the handle to move the pin in and out. No screw, no knob to fall off. Something like that would have been better than the knobs that can (and do) spin right off when trying to fold and unfold the handle.#2, the wire gets caught on the rear panelWhen changing the bag, you lift up the rear panel. To get the bag’s hooks onto the mower, you will likely need the rear panel almost vertical. This puts the panel above the wire that connects the mower to the safety button for starting the mower. Even though there is a sheath around that wire, the wire moves away from the metal handle and can get caught by the rear panel. So when you lower the panel, give an eye to the wire. Make sure it’s clear or it will catch. It won’t get sliced in two, but I doubt the wire sheath wants to be clamped down by the rear panel’s retaining springs on a frequent basis.#3, the bag is hard to emptyOkay, if you have a wide mouth can, you can just lift up the bag and shake it to your heart’s content to get the stuff out. Got just a bag on the ground? Put the bag over the bagger with the grass, flip upside down, shake. And then you start to wonder why you are lifting the entire weight of what you mowed and shaking it to get the grass out. You can hold the bagger piece upside down and the grass won’t fall out much. Getting the grass in is a breeze. Getting grass out … is a delaying annoyance. I just scoop the grass out one gloved hand at a time into a trash bag, because I am not a body builder who wants to shake a full grass bag into a bag … and the bag keeps shifting … it goes everywhere on me or I’m tired or both. Still enjoy no raking, so a few minutes of rest while scooping grass doesn’t bother me. The grass should come out easier.Have not used the side discharge or the mulch. I’m so happy with the bag, that I’m going to keep using that. Cuts like my gas mower. Quieter. No fumes. Revs up when it needs to.The EgoPower mowers are nice looking alternatives. Most of the decks are plastic. The voltage is 56V for their stuff instead of the 80V with the Green works mower. The Ego handle looks nicer (no knobs to fall off). The Ego can fold up into what looks like a smaller space and be stored on its side. That’s neat. The LED lights on the Ego made little sense to me until I mowed tonight at dusk. Saves me from covering up with suncreen to go mow for a few hours … I used the neighbor’s yard light (ha ha) to see the grass. He didn’t seem to mind. I wanted the metal deck so I got the Greenworks mower. I have a corded greenworks mower and that worked alright for me. I got tired of the cord for all the trees and obstacles around here. The battery mower is a dream. No cord to mess with. Mow when I want, where I want. Easy. No long wait times on battery charges either. About 30 mins and it’s charged. I haven’t made it back to the station with am empty battery before the one charging was already full.The Ego mower with the metal deck was over $700 at Home Depot. The Greenworks mower was a more tolerable price point. The foam on the corded mower goes all the way around the corners of the handle. The foam on the battery mower stops at the corners. I thought it would bother me at first, but it doesn’t. I don’t seem to grab the handle at the side corners so it’s no issue for me.Greenworks could’ve used a non-sticky adhesive for the sticker on the safety bar. Sticky gunk. I wear gloves anyway so it doesn’t bother me. I keep saying to myself, someday I’m going to get out the olive oil and rub that gunk off. The sticker on the motor housing has a wrinkle in it. Oh well, but it’s their brand, the sticker ought to be better.Oh, when folding the handle … the metal rubs on itself and wears the paint off. So right where the knobs are, be prepared for scratches unless you want to treat it like a fragile egg when unfolding. When folding, it doesn’t seem to rub as snugly.So, yes, minor stuff I don’t like. Very minor. It’s a mower. Who cares about stickers? It does the job. I’m happy with it.PS: Both Ego & Greenworks have metal blades mounted onto plastic parts. I was worried the blades might just shear off. I checked my corded Greenworks mower and it is the same deal, metal to plastic. No blades flying off. Whatever plastic they’re using, it seems to hold up just fine to the stress of a whirling blade. If the Ego wasn’t several hundred more than this mower for a metal deck, I might have given it a try. But their batteries are expensive if I wanted an extra one (ditto for Greenworks). The Greenworks mower already has two batteries and that’s enough for me.Yes, this is long winded. I was out mowing long enough to drain 2 batteries today, weed eat, and pull weeds. Multiple hours outside. Very happy with the mower overall.