I Love My Lawnmower
These are words I never thought would leave my mouth!
I hate filling the car with gas so why would I want to do that with my lawn mower every other week as well? When my cheap and chunky fuel-powered lawn mower died, I searched for battery powered alternatives.
In this article, I'll cover the features of the Ryobi 18V One+ battery powered lawn mover, and why this one works so well for me and my lawn.
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Battery & Charger, or Skin/Tool Only?
Big brand names such as Ryobi will sell a cordless power tool as 'skin-only' or 'tool-only'. This means the item doesn't come with the battery needed to power it. It's a way to keep the price down as batteries can be an expensive item on their own. It's also efficient.
It means that I can buy a range of power tools in the Ryobi range as 'skin-only' later on that can also be powered with this same battery. There is over 125 other Ryobi power tools that run off this battery.
As I didn't have other Ryobi power tools, being able to buy this mower as a kit (with the battery and charger) was the winning element for me. Buying as a Kit is a way to save on the cost of a charger and battery if you don't have these.
Yes, it can be viewed as a manufacturer's way of gaining your future business as you build on your home maintenance accessories, but if it's a good reliable brand, then so what - I see this is a good thing.
Ryobi One+ 18V lawn mowers are sold as either as a Kit or as a 'skin or tool only'.
Who is this mower good for?
The Ryobi One+ 18V mower is designed smaller lawns. To help us out, lawn size is often given in relation to something we can visualize, such as a tennis court. This particular mower by Ryobi is for anyone with a lawn size of between 1 to 2 tennis courts. (Disclosure: My lawn is much smaller than 1 tennis court).
This is a compact mower that needs very little space when packed up. It has a running time of 30 minutes on its one battery.
Battery powered mowers are affordable alternatives for anyone who hates spending more time trying to get the mower started, than it takes to mow the lawn.
I don't miss having to check the gas and oil levels, prime and pull the cord a few times (counter-balanced with my whole body), just to get my old mower to splutter very noisily into life. I felt I should have been given an Olympic medal for how hard I had to yank on the rip-cord at times.
Battery power also means no oil, and best of all - no fumes!
I've found that it's so easy to pull out and start, that I now mow my lawn far more frequently than I did when I had my clunky and heavy fuel-powered lawn mower.
The grass doesn't have a chance to get long.
Who is this mower not good for?
The Ryobi 18V ONE+ mower is designed for small to medium sized gardens around the size of 1 to 2 tennis courts.
If you have a larger lawn area which would normally take longer then 30 minutes to mow, then you'll need to consider a larger mower.
Ryobi battery powered mowers go from the 18V up to the 40V Brushless mowers. These are a little more expensive but are more efficient with longer running time, as well as matching the performance of a fuel level mower without the fumes or the need to service. The 40V Ryobi mower with a 6.0Ah battery is designed for medium to large yards approximately 3.5 tennis courts in size.
Other mowers in the Ryobi range have their own advantages to suit different mowing environments. There's even Ride-On mowers.
If you have an especially large lawn that you don't mow too often, then you may have to stick with the traditional fuel-powered mower as these are the most efficient for this situation. These have better torque (grunt power) so they can also tackle thicker, longer grass.
The Things I really Like about This Mower
Other that the obvious no fuel, no fumes aspect of this mower, there's a few things to really like about it.
easy to start
It's crazy easy to start. There are two light grey levers on each side of the handle. As long as you're squeezing one of these, the mower operates. While holding one of the levers in, you push the start button and this mower quietly hums into life. No yanking on rip-cords.
easy to stop, then start again
How easy it is to stop, and then re-start - To turn it off, you just let go of one of the levers. I do this when I have to move something. To re-start, just squeeze the lever, and push the grey Start button. Off you go again. No fuss.
Lightweight
Lightweight - Being super light comes into play when getting it out of its storage spot as well as manoeuvring around the garden in general. I'm only 5'1" tall, and it's no effort at all.
Battery and charger
I've already mentioned how versatile having this battery is, but I don't have to charge it as much as I thought I would. For no good reason whatsoever, I thought the battery might run down between lawn mowing sessions - it doesn't.
It has a key
The red key is security and safety for me. I pull out the battery and key when I'm not using the mower and lock them in my outdoor storage cabinet. It means it can't accidently be started by a young child playing with it.
Things I Don't Like About This Mower
There's not much I don't like about this lawnmower. If I have to be picky, the one thing I do find a little harder than expected adjusting the cutting height.
Unlike the picture, I can't move the lever with just my fingertips. It's a solid locked-in lever that needs to be moved with a bit more force than my fingertips can provide.
I've only had to move it twice. The first time was immediately after getting it out of the box before mowing. The grass was overgrown and it needed to be at its highest setting.
The next time was a couple of months later when I was showing my son how to use it. I ran the mower across a section of grass, and he said he couldn't see a difference. Wait, what?!
Before I could roll my eyes and quietly exclaim 'teenagers!' under my breath, I noticed he was right, generally speaking.
I had been whipping my mower out and zipping around my little piece of lawn so regularly that I was really just trimming back the odd bit of long grass here and there.
It was still on the high setting so I dropped it right down. Boy, did that make a visible difference.
So I did find this lever a little harder to move than I expected - probably because I believed the fingertips photo.
It's more of a grab-the-lever-firmly to reposition, but it's not something I move often. In the overall big picture, this isn't that hard and isn't a big deal.
Specifications
The Ryobi 18V mower weighs 22.7 pounds (or 10.3 kg), which is amazingly light for a lawn mower.
It has one cutting blade that is 13 inches across (33 cm) and if you look at the image (below) of the underneath, you can see that it will cut grass from edge to edge.
Its body is not much wider than the blade, which gives you an indication of how narrow the mower is, and why it is better suited to smaller gardens.
Other mowers in the Ryobi battery powered range need two batteries to run, but the 18V mower only needs the one to operate.
There are 5 levels of adjustment from a maximum cutting height of 2.5 inches (or 65 mm) to a minimum cutting height of just under an inch (or 25 mm).
It is made from both plastic and metal, but the plastic that Ryobi use to make their tools is the same lightweight, toughened material that's used for your car's bumper. These sections are definitely robust, and not flimsy. You do need to take some care when opening up the arms from the folded down position. If you haven't opened the screw enough, the end of the arm could bend.
My Conclusion
I think I summed it up in the very first line - I love my lawn mower. It suits my small garden and doesn't take up to much space when packed up.
As it's so quiet and efficient, when I extend my range of tools I'll be happy to stick with Ryobi.
You know how they depict in television commercials men standing as they lovingly gaze at their newly mown lawn? Well, that's now me.
