Consumer Reports Names The Longest-Running Battery Mowers For Large Lawns

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When buying a battery-powered mower, one of the first things that comes to people's minds is how long it will actually run for. After all, who wants to recharge their mower constantly when cutting the grass or swap its batteries? Well, lucky for you, you don't have to spend countless hours searching for the longest-running battery mower. Consumer Reports has done it for you! They tested 78 battery-powered lawn mowers and listed nine of the longest-running models in one of their publications. Of these nine, Greenworks MO80L421 came on top in the self-propelled category, whereas Ryobi RY401220 scored the highest in push mowers.

They had an overall score of 85 and 81, respectively. Just keep in mind, though, that this overall score is not just based on run time alone. The Consumer Reports' overall score also factors in charge time, mulching, cut evenness, handling, side discharging, bagging, and noise levels. So, if runtime is all you care about, it may be worth checking other battery-powered lawn mowers before deciding. This is not to say, however, that the Greenworks MO80L421 and Ryobi RY401220 had bad run times. They lasted a very respectable 75 and 90 minutes, respectively, in Consumer Reports testing.

On top of that, both of these mowers scored pretty high in terms of cut evenness, mulching, and noise. Furthermore, both the Greenworks MO80L421 and Ryobi RY401220 are backed by a warranty of 3+ years. The warranty includes both the machine and the batteries.

When spending hundreds of dollars on a battery-powered mower, it is also worth paying attention to what real users have to say. Let's start with Greenworks MO80L421. It is currently available for about $800 on the Greenworks website and has nearly 900 ratings. Based on these ratings, it holds an overall rating of 4.4 out of 5, with nearly 85% of buyers giving it either 4 or 5 stars. It is fair to say that it has been received pretty well by the users, and this shows in the reviews. Many of the buyers have praised Greenworks MO80L421 for its long run time, ease of use, and silent operation. Buyers also appear to agree on how reliable its self-propelled feature is. 

That said, not all of its user feedback is positive. Nearly 14% of users have given it a 3-star rating or lower. These are customers who reported issues like the mower frequently stopping during use and struggling in wet or overgrown conditions. 

As for the Ryobi RY401220, it is currently available for about $750 at Home Depot and has about 700 ratings with an 85% recommendation rate. Just like Greenworks MO80L421, nearly 85% of the buyers have given Ryobi RY401220 a 4-star or higher rating. Plus, it has also received good feedback in terms of usability, quiet operation, and run time. 

However, once again, there is some negative feedback as well. It seems to be mostly concerns from buyers regarding its long-term value.

Put simply, both of these mowers are good choices. Just be sure you don't make the mistakes everyone makes when buying a lawn mower. You'll also want to learn how to decide which type of lawnmower is worth buying for your yard.