At present, you’ll find walk-behind garden mowers which might be powered by fuel, batteries, and even an extension twine, and that can assist you choose the perfect product on your yard, we examined 9 in style fashions, placing them by the paces over the course of 10 hours of testing. After many hours of mowing, we evaluated every walk-behind mower on its design, efficiency, useability, security, and worth.
Nicole Durden, senior service provider of out of doors energy at The Residence Depot, says that each fuel and electrical mowers could make garden care a better chore. “Relying in your yard’s dimension and terrain, a walk-behind mower is good for a yard that’s ¾ of an acre or much less,” she provides.
Summer time is sort of upon us, which implies it’s time to start out desirous about garden care . There are all kinds of garden mowers that you should use hold your yard wanting pristine, however it’s essential to seek out the appropriate possibility to suit your yard — and your price range. When you have a small- to midsize yard, a walk-behind garden mower usually offers the appropriate stability of worth and effectivity.
As a result of this mower is battery-powered, it’s a lot quieter than a fuel mower, virtually sounding like a white noise machine . It additionally impressed us with its runtime — we have been capable of mow a 2,000-square-foot yard thrice while not having to recharge the batteries. Whereas we beloved the comfort and simple operation of this mower, it wasn’t completely good. The principle negatives we found have been that the grass assortment bag is sort of small and wanted to be emptied regularly whereas mowing, and the mulching setting left behind fairly a couple of dry leaves on the garden.
The Ryobi Twin-Blade Self-Propelled Garden Mower is our high decide for anybody with a hilly yard, as its self-propulsion skills outperformed the competitors in our testing. This electrical mower has a normal 21-inch deck, and we discovered that it performs simply in addition to fuel mowers because of its two highly effective 40-volt batteries. It presents variable velocity self-propulsion that permits you to match the mower to your tempo, and it had no issues tackling hills throughout testing. In actual fact, the function could be too quick on straightaways if you happen to flip it to max velocity — we needed to jog to maintain up with it!
The batteries lasted for greater than three mowings (42 minutes whole) while not having to be recharged.
Total, we had only a few complaints about this self-propelled mower. It did take a bit trial and error to seek out the appropriate deck top and velocity setting, however as soon as that was carried out, the mower delivered a pleasant even minimize each time.
This mower additionally stood out because of its handy self-propelled design. The management bar has a knob that lets you choose the velocity you need, primarily locking the mower at that tempo so that you don’t have to fret about holding the lever down on the proper strain. It may additionally go fairly quick — we discovered {that a} medium velocity was comfy for strolling, however you would dial it up for quicker mowing, if desired.
When you have numerous floor to cowl, we advocate this Honda HRX Garden Mower. It’s powered by a 201cc engine that simply cuts by thick and dense grass, but it’s extremely straightforward to start out up — we have been capable of get the mower going with a single pull, no priming wanted. The Honda mower additionally has 4-in-1 performance, which means you may facet discharge, bag, mulch, or shred grass clippings, and we like that there’s even an choice to bag half and mulch half. This setting would positively turn out to be useful if you happen to’re chopping longer grass.
The self-propelled design was straightforward to maneuver across the yard, and we beloved that it requires minimal effort, so it received’t pressure your again. The mower delivered a clear, even minimize, even when the grass was damp, and it’s straightforward and intuitive to regulate settings just like the chopping top and mower velocity. We did discover that the mower would often get slowed down in thicker, moist areas (as an illustration, it had bother chopping by a patch of ferns), however that is the case with many mowers, so we don’t assume it’s a dealbreaker.
There are a number of advantages to battery-powered mowers just like the EGO Energy+ Self-Propelled Garden Mower, together with its lack of emissions, quiet operation, and minimal upkeep. This 21-inch garden mower solely comes with one 56-volt battery, however it was capable of mow for 50 minutes with energy to spare, making it an excellent possibility even for bigger yards. On first use, we struggled to determine how one can begin the mower — it’s not so simple as simply pushing a single button — however as soon as we conquered that hurdle, it was easy crusing.
The method to start out the mower is a bit sophisticated and onerous to grasp based mostly on the instructions.
We examined this mower on a reasonably uneven garden, and due to its giant rear wheels, it didn’t have any downside driving over divots which have posed an issue for different mowers. We have been capable of push the mower round with only one hand, holding the facility twine with the opposite, however it does require two fingers to show the mower round, because it’s a bit cumbersome (and never self-propelled). Backside line? With its reasonably priced worth and dependable efficiency, this mower is an effective possibility for anybody with a smaller yard who needs a corded garden mower with options.
The Greenworks Corded Garden Mower is a good worth if you happen to don’t thoughts working round an extension twine as you mow. This electrical mannequin has a reasonably large 20-inch chopping deck, and it presents facet discharge, bagging, and mulching skills, in contrast to different corded fashions we examined. We used it on each dry and damp grass, and it had no issues chopping both one, breezing proper by tall weeds. It additionally did a very good job capturing grass clippings within the included assortment bag, although some do spill out whenever you take away the bag for emptying.
The mower is simple to push with one hand, regardless that it’s not self-propelled.
The mower performs nicely on each dry and damp grass, in addition to tall weeds.
This electrical mower can get into tight areas simply, because of its 14-inch chopping deck, however it may possibly get caught if you happen to’re chopping thick grass — throughout testing, the mower shut off on us as a result of the blades have been clogged up. Nonetheless, it was straightforward to wash out the chopping deck and proceed mowing. The one main draw back of this compact electrical mower is that it solely luggage grass clippings, and the gathering bag is extraordinarily small. We needed to empty it two or thrice whereas mowing a 400-square-foot space, which made the method take a bit longer than anticipated.
When you have a small yard, likelihood is you don’t wish to spend some huge cash on a push mower. Fortunately for you, the Solar Joe Electrical Garden Mower is a cheap possibility that’s unbelievably straightforward to make use of and preserve. This garden mower is half the load of many different walk-behind fashions we examined, and its corded design makes it straightforward to mow a small yard with out worrying about operating out of energy. In testing, we discovered that it requires little or no effort to push — we’d evaluate it to pushing a vacuum cleaner throughout a carpet — and have been impressed by how quiet it’s whereas mowing.
Grass can get clogged beneath the mowing deck, which causes the mower to close off.
Grass assortment bag fills up in a short time and will should be emptied a number of occasions whereas mowing.
Whereas we have been impressed with this mower’s general efficiency, there are a couple of small caveats price noting. The world the place the gathering bag latches to the mower regularly received clogged with grass items, and we needed to clear it out earlier than reattaching the bag. Moreover, the self-propulsion doesn’t reply nicely to gradual will increase in velocity — it tends to go from gradual to quick with no choices in between.
This Honda garden mower did an outstanding job whereas chopping, and it was capable of minimize by dense patches of grass and weeds on a single cross. We even examined it in barely damp situations, and it didn’t get slowed down in any respect. You may select between rear discharge, bagging, or mulching grass clippings, and we beloved that the mulching setting minimize particles up into effective items that may assist feed vitamins again into the garden. It was even capable of mulch moist leaves and grass with none points.
By way of all-around efficiency, our top-recommended walk-behind mower is that this mannequin from Honda. The fuel mower has a self-propelled design that’s powered by a 4-stroke 166cc engine, but we discovered that it was extraordinarily straightforward to start out up, solely ever needing one pull to get the motor going. The instrument has a 21-inch chopping deck and weighs round 75 kilos, however regardless of its substantial weight, the self-propelled design made it straightforward for us to function and navigate round obstacles within the yard.
Bag latch can grow to be clogged with clippings and may have cleanout previous to reinserting the bag.
The mower is ready to minimize by dense and moist grass on the primary cross.
Issues to Take into account Earlier than Shopping for a Stroll-Behind Garden Mower
Energy Supply
There are three predominant types of walk-behind garden mowers: fuel, battery, and electrical, additionally known as corded. Gasoline mowers are normally probably the most highly effective possibility, boasting giant motors that may energy by thick grass and weeds, however they’re additionally loud and require frequent upkeep, together with oil and spark plug adjustments.
For these causes, battery-powered fashions are rising in popularity: “Owners have been gravitating to battery energy for a couple of years, and we’ll be seeing much more of that in 2023 with numerous legal guidelines and laws and even HOA restrictions aiming to restrict using fuel,” explains Durden. “Developments in expertise are making it doable and sensible for everybody to make the change — now we have a number of battery mowers that provide the identical (or higher) energy than fuel mowers immediately.” Battery-powered mowers are additionally quieter and don’t give off any dangerous emissions, however they do have a restricted runtime. Our high decide for a battery-powered mower is the EGO Energy+ Garden Mower.
Lastly, there are corded walk-behind mowers, which are usually probably the most reasonably priced. These use an extension twine to plug into {an electrical} outlet, giving them a vast runtime, however you need to navigate across the twine as you mow, which is why they’re advisable for small yards.
Yard Dimension
The scale of your yard will dictate which kind of walk-behind mower is finest on your wants. When you have a small yard that’s lower than ¼ acre, a corded push mower will usually meet your wants. These are normally light-weight and have smaller decks, they usually’re straightforward to function and retailer.
For bigger yards, chances are you’ll wish to improve to a self-propelled mower, such because the Ryobi Twin-Blade Mower, which strikes forwards by itself utilizing energy from the motor. This implies you don’t must bodily push the mower to maneuver it round your yard, making the method much less strenuous.
By way of a fuel vs. battery powered mannequin, battery mowers do have a restricted runtime — sometimes lower than an hour, however it’s going to fluctuate by product — which will not be sufficient for yards which might be an acre or extra. Nonetheless, understand that you may at all times purchase backup batteries, if wanted.
Terrain
The terrain of your yard is one other issue to think about as you store for a garden mower. “In case your yard is flat, a push mower would be the most reasonably priced selection,” recommends Durden. “In case your yard has hills, chances are you’ll wish to put money into a self-propelled mower that takes much less guide effort.”
Stroll-behind mowers with bigger rear wheels — just like the Greenworks 12 Amp 20-Inch 3-in-1 Corded Garden Mower — are likely to deal with higher on uneven floor, so chances are you’ll wish to search for this function in case your yard has numerous divots or ruts.
Clippings
There are three predominant choices for dealing with grass clippings when you’re mowing: discharging them out the facet or again, bagging them up, or mulching them into effective items that may decay again into your garden. Some garden mowers, such because the Solar Joe Electrical Garden Mower solely provide one possibility, whereas different fashions just like the Honda Hrx 21-in Self-Propelled Gasoline Garden Mower provide all three.
In order for you a bagging mower, pay cautious consideration to the dimensions of the gathering bag compared to your yard. If the bag is just too small, chances are you’ll end up stopping to empty it regularly — an issue we bumped into when testing the Ryobi Twin-Blade Self-Propelled Mower.
Individuals/Jennifer Could
How We Examined
We researched immediately’s hottest walk-behind garden mowers, and we chosen 9 top-rated fashions for testing, together with three battery-operated, two corded, and 4 fuel choices. We despatched every mannequin to the properties of our testers, who’re situated in seven completely different cities throughout three states, they usually examined every garden mower over the interval of a number of days.
We used every garden mower thrice, evaluating them on their ease of use, efficiency, energy, security options, and extra. Every product was then scored on its setup, design, efficiency, usability, security, and worth, and the highest-scoring merchandise have been chosen for this round-up.
Continuously Requested Questions Are self-propelled mowers higher? When you have a bigger yard or numerous hilly terrain, a self-propelled garden mower will take numerous the guide effort out of mowing your grass. “Self-propelled mowers are designed to routinely transfer ahead from 1 to three.5 miles per hour,” explains Durden. “They‘re advisable for yards of greater than half an acre, particularly these which might be hilly or sloped. Some mowers provide variable speeds that turn out to be useful when working close to bushes and backyard beds.”
How a lot ought to I pay for a self-propelled garden mower? Usually, you may anticipate to pay between $400 and $1,000 for a self-propelled garden mower, and the extra you’re prepared to spend, the extra energy and options your mower can have. Nonetheless, a few of our top-rated fashions are solely round $500, so don’t really feel like you need to splurge to get an excellent instrument.
How massive of a yard do I must justify shopping for a garden mower? In case your garden is only some hundred sq. toes, you may most likely get by with a reel-style garden mower, but when it’s over ¼ of an acre, a walk-behind mower will make weekly upkeep a lot simpler. The beauty of walk-behind garden mowers is that there’s an possibility for each garden dimension and price range. When you have a small yard, a cheap possibility just like the Solar Joe Electrical Garden Mower will make fast work of your grass with out breaking the financial institution.
Why Belief PEOPLE?
Camryn Rabideau has been an expert product tester for six years, and he or she’s beforehand examined ride-on garden mowers from in style manufacturers like Ryobi and Husqvarna. Whereas writing this text, she relied on firsthand insights from the Individuals Examined staff, who used these garden mowers for a complete of 10 hours. She additionally spoke with Nicole Durden, senior service provider of out of doors energy at The Residence Depot, for tips about choosing the appropriate garden mower on your house based mostly on elements like your yard dimension, terrain, and price range.
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