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My New Ryobi Lawn Mower

ryobi lawn mower

My new electric Ryobi lawn mower moved in this month, replacing my seventeen year old Craftsman gas mower. I guess it was time.

Some of you may have followed my lawn mower adventures over the years. Back in 2015, I finally discovered that lawn mowers really do need maintenance. Then, two years ago, my neighbor Richard helped me bring my classic mower back to life. But now, it’s dead.

Terrible sounds, black smoke and a refusal to run. Since Sears is no longer around, I felt no loyalty to Craftsman, although the brand is still around. So, I went to Consumer Reports to check out ratings and reliability.

I found that cordless electric lawn mowers get good ratings these days. My previous experience 18 years ago with a 16″ batter mower was dismal. The top brand appears to be Ryobi for performance and reliability. So, I found a 20″ Ryobi lawn mower on sale at Home Depot. At $488 Canadian, it seemed like a good price for a self-propelled model.

It arrived in two days and I gave it first use. The battery charged fully in about 2 hours. Controls were simple to figure out. My new Ryobi lawn mower seems as powerful as the old gas model, and cuts really well. A bit lighter and quieter, as well.

The battery is 40 volts 6Ah. Warranty is 3 years on the battery, five years on the rest. By the way, these batteries are not cheap! Height adjustment is single handle, and the self-propelled mode has several speeds. All in all, happy with the first use and we will see how it runs.

Single-Charge Use of Ryobi Lawn Mower

My big question is whether I can complete the work with a single charge. The manual says it will run for 42 minutes, especially if I don’t power the drive wheels. My cutting area is a bit less than ¼ acre. So, I have a chance to cut the three lawns in one go. Time will tell.

I plan to bring the battery inside during the winter, because cold weather can cause problems with batteries here in Canada.

Will this last 17 years? Who knows if I will even be around to find out!

2 comments

  1. Scott says:

    John, if I’ve done the math correctly, your lawn mower has only about 0.4 Ham Radio Work Bench units of capacity, at best. Now I know why they say “you’re gonna need a bigger lawnmower”. 😜

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