Cordless lawn mowers, particularly those vying for the title of best cordless lawnmower, have surged in popularity among domestic gardeners in recent years. You might be eager to embrace this trend, but it’s crucial to avoid purchasing a cordless lawn mower that falls short of your garden’s specific needs.
Cordless battery mowers, just like their petrol or electric counterparts, are available in an array of sizes, boast various features, and deliver diverse performance levels. Therefore, before you rush out to invest in what you might believe is the best cordless lawnmower on the market, I strongly recommend you consider a few important questions to ensure you make an informed choice that aligns with your gardening requirements.
8 Steps To Choosing The Best Cordless Lawn Mower Video
Question 1 – What Lawn & Deck Size Do I Need?
One of the first things I’d encourage you to think about when choosing a cordless lawn mower is its deck size. Why? Well because you will want to cut the lawn in as fewer passes as possible for time efficiency, but the deck can’t be too large as this will make the mower difficult to manoeuvre on smaller lawns and around any obstacles.
If you have a smaller garden that’s less than 200 square metres, you should choose something between 30cm and 34cm. However, if your lawn is between 200 square metres and 350 square metres, you can go up to a 40cm mower.
In some cases, like my lawn, that’s 500 square metres, you’ll need to opt for the largest models which have cutting widths in excess of 40cm.
You will need to think about how the size of the mower impacts how easily it can be stored, but I’ll talk about other features that affect this later on.
Question 2 – What Mower Batteries & Charger Are Best?
Most cordless lawn mowers are supplied with batteries and a charger. There are some whose batteries and charger need to be purchased separately; these are known as “bare tools”. I’d suggest these if you already have a lot of tools from the brand, only if you can power-share the batteries. However, do keep in mind that, if you need to buy separate batteries, these can sometimes cost as much as the cordless mower itself! Therefore, it may be worth buying everything as a package.
When choosing between cordless lawn mowers, you’ll notice that there are two important numbers regarding batteries: voltage (V) and amp hours (Ah).
The voltage refers to how powerful a battery is. For example, in the Hyundai you can see in my video here, there are 2x 40V batteries, giving you 80V of power combined. That’s ideal for bigger lawns, more demanding conditions, and self-propelled models.
Ah refers to the capacity of the battery and in the simplest terms, how much run time you’ll get out of it. The higher the Ah number, the longer the battery will run. Look at the Murray mower in my video which has 5.0Ah batteries compared to the 2.5Ah in the Hyundai. With a 2.5Ah battery, you’ll probably get around 30 minutes run time, compared to about 40 minutes provided by the 5.0Ah battery. You have to keep in mind that this will be impacted by the mowing conditions.
I’d recommend choosing a cordless lawn mower that comes with sufficient chargers for the number of batteries. For example, if two batteries are supplied, there should be a charger for each or a dual charger, otherwise you’re going to be waiting a seriously long time to be able to mow again once they’re drained.
Moreover, I’d urge you to consider how long it takes to charge each battery. Normally, a standard charger might take 80 to 90 minutes to refill one battery. But there may be an option to upgrade to a fast charger, which could cut this time to as little as half an hour.
Finally, think about the style of the battery charger supplied with the mower. While you may get two chargers in the box, these could require two power outlets. It’s much better to go with a dual charger that only uses one power socket but charges two batteries at once!
Question 3 – Do I Need Push Or Self-Propelled Cordless Mower?
A lot of cordless mowers now come with self-propelled drive and this is ideal if you have an uneven lawn or perhaps slopes and hills to contend with. What surprises a lot of people is that having a self-propelled mower doesn’t actually cost that much more than a push mower, so if price is a deal breaker, it’s not something you’ll really need to worry about here.
Self-propelled models come with an additional handle which you squeeze to engage the drive. However, you will need to keep in mind that this will draw more power from the batteries, cutting the run time down somewhat.
Whilst a self-propelled cordless mower will assist greatly on lawns with hills and slopes, they are also ideal for users that want to make a light work of mowing the lawn and where physical limitations may prevent them from using a push mower. It is also worth considering a cordless self-propelled mower with the addition of a variable speed drive, that ensures you can mow at the desired pace.
Question 4 – What Cutting Options Do I Need For My Lawn?
In the main, there are four cutting options on lawn mowers, but not all lawn mowers feature all four options. It really depends on how versatile your needs are, but most people find that cut and collect and mulching is more than enough.
Cut and collect is the most conventional option and sees the clippings being transferred into a grass catcher. It’s easy to dispose of them as you simply empty the grass clippings into your garden waste bin, composter or wherever else.
Mulching requires you to remove the grass catcher and replace this with a mulching plug, preventing the clippings from leaving the cutting deck. Instead, they’ll circulate around the blade, getting finely chopped up and then deposited back into the lawn. If you’re looking to give your lawn a nutrient boost, moisture and improve its health, this is a mowing function you’ll want to look for.
There are also some cordless mowers that have rear and side discharge, which essentially means that the clippings will be sent out of a flap at the back or a chute at the side. There’s no real benefit of this to the lawn as the clippings aren’t chopped up like they are when mulching. Most people find that these aren’t functions they desperately need.
Question 5 – What About The Grass Collection Bag/Box?
Since cut and collect is the most commonly used cutting method, you’ll need to make sure that you have a grass catcher that’s up to the challenge. Hybrid grass catchers are among the best, as you benefit from the pros of both hard and soft boxes.
The hard lid and base offer good structure and prevent any debris from flying up into your face. Meanwhile, the soft sides promote better airflow which means improved collection and compaction of the grass clippings. Not to mention that these soft sides allow you to fold the catcher down making it easier and more compact to store.
I’d also recommend making sure that the grass box has a full flap indicator. This will tell you when the grass box is full so you know when it needs to be emptied. It’s a simple feature but one I couldn’t live without.
Question 6 – What Cordless Mowers Features & Functions Do I Need?
Now, when you buy a cordless lawn mower, you’ll notice that some come with all the bells and whistles while others are a little simpler. It’s really important to consider what features will benefit you and choose a mower that delivers what you need. Here are some of the things you might want to look out for:
- Rear roller; these are primarily used to create a striped lawn, but this isn’t all they’re good for. Rear rollers can also improve the stability of the mower which is essential if you’re using it on uneven ground. On bumpy ground, the presence of a roller will also help to prevent scalping. What’s more, if you want to cut the lawn over the border, the roller will keep the mower level, so you don’t end up scalping the edge.
- Cutting height; most cordless mowers come with between 6 and 7 cutting heights and these typically range between 25mm and 75mm. This gives you enough versatility to tackle the conditions through all of the seasons. If the mower has anything less, I’d reconsider. It’s also worth thinking about how easy it is to change the cutting height. You don’t really want something that requires adjusting each wheel; a single height adjustment lever is so much easier and efficient. That said, make sure that it locks so there’s no risk of it dislodging should you go over bumpy ground.
- Handles; your lawn mower handles are probably a lot more important than you first think. For starters, you’ll need to look at how they fold; do they fold at the mid-point and lower points? This will make the mower easier and more compact to store. It’s also worth checking whether you can adjust the angle as this will ensure the handles are at the correct height for your posture. Some cordless lawn mowers are limited with a single starter handle on either the left- or right-hand side of the bars. Better for manoeuvrability is a mower with either dual left and right hand starter handles or a starter bar that runs the full width of the handles.
- Battery gauge; you’ll notice that, on the handles of a lot of cordless mowers, there’s a gauge that tells you how much charge is left in the battery. If this isn’t the case, you’ll at least want a clear view of the batteries, like on the Hyundai model in my video, so you don’t end up with a surprise loss of power.
- Large rear wheels; I can’t stress enough the importance of having larger rear wheels as this massively improves the stability of the lawn mower. What’s more, it makes the mower so much easier to manoeuvre on bumpy ground.
- Grass combs; this is a feature you’d typically see on a mower with a plastic deck. The combs are designed to pull the grass into the path of the blades, so you get a more uniform and neater cut to the edge of the lawn.
Question 7 – How Much Do I Need To Spend?
There are cordless lawn mowers out there that don’t even cost £200 while others can exceed the £1,000 mark. What you need to do is think about how you’ll use your mower, how often you’ll use it and what you expect from it. It’s easy to overdo it when you see a model with tons of exciting features but then down the line, you’ll realise that you aren’t going to use half of them and have wasted your money.
Things like more mowing features, a steel deck, powerful batteries and the size of the mower will all influence the price. If you don’t need certain features, save yourself a few quid and opt for a different model.
It can be easy to think that some of the budget models will fall apart within a couple of uses, but that isn’t the case. The LawnMaster mower I looked at in my YouTube video only costs £300, but the build quality is as good as some of the more costly models. As long as you stick with reputable brands and check my reviews to see the mower in action, you’ll find that you can still get something excellent without spending a small fortune.
As mentioned earlier, you can purchase many cordless lawn mowers as bare tools. This means that the mower is not provided with both a battery and charger, and can therefore save you a significant amount of money. Just remember you will need to have a tool from the same brand and range (voltage) to ensure compatibility.
Question 8 – What Warranty & Support Should I Be Looking For?
While most lawn mower brands offer brilliant products, there’s always the potential for something to go wrong. In this case, you want to make sure you’re covered. That’s why it’s important to look at what warranty is provided by the manufacturer.
Standard warranties are between two and three years but there are some brands, like Hyundai, that offer a five-year warranty. Now that’s excellent peace of mind.
You’ll also want to check out how easy it is to get your hands on spare parts. Things like the batteries and blades aren’t going to last forever, but if parts are not readily available in the UK, it can become nightmarish.
Moreover, you’ll want to research customer support. Nobody wants to be left on hold for hours or be told that their problem can’t be fixed. Look for brands that offer responsive and helpful customer support. Again check my reviews as I always rate the warranty and customer service for each mower brand.
Bonus Question 9 – Is There An Easy Way To Find The Best Cordless Lawn Mower For My Needs?
Absolutely. Below I have included a link to my easy to use lawn mower selection tool. It is the quickest way to shortlist suitable mowers that meet your exact requirements.
As a seasoned expert in the field of garden power tools, I have dedicated over a decade to working with and reviewing a wide variety of lawn mowers. My extensive experience has allowed me to gain a deep understanding of the benefits and limitations of different types of mowers and garden tools.
Over the years, I have honed my skills in writing informative articles and creating helpful videos for various blogs and publications. This has given me the ability to not only recognise what makes a good lawn mower, but also to help you choose the perfect garden tool for your specific needs and requirements.
With my wealth of knowledge and expertise, I am confident that I can provide you with valuable insights and recommendations when it comes to selecting the right lawn mower for your lawn. So, whether you're looking for a battery cordless, electric, petrol, or robotic mower, you can trust in my expertise to guide you towards the best option for your garden.
