Ryobi Electric Lawn Mower Review: I've gone fully electric

Don’t think for a moment this is some fan boy post about getting a fancy new mower and reviewing it after a week of use. No way. I’ve gone electric, and I’ve taken a full year to decide if it’s right.

The Ryobi electric (battery powered) mower I showed on the Today Show one year ago got me thinking – could it really do as good a job as a thumping big petrol mower?

So I asked to hold onto it. There was also a line trimmer too, so it was the perfect replacement combo for my Husqvarna petrol mower and trimmer.

One year on and that petrol mower is covered in cobwebs. I’m bloody loving this Ryobi.

No kidding, I think it cuts better – not just with ease, but I think the cut looks better too.

And it is capable. I’ve not used the catcher at all, I’m a mulcher and as long as you don’t let your lawns get out of control you won’t have a problem.

I was away for a bit too long and got a bit lazy and had to call on someone on Airtasker to get things under control for me earlier this year – but aside from that, this has been an all-electric lawn mowing home.

A couple of quick issues of note. On a lower cutting setting it does struggle with longer thicker grass, so a two way pass on high then low would be required.

The mulching unit is screwed in, so you can’t quickly interchange between mulch and catch.

And finally, it’s plastic, very plastic. This is for weight reasons no doubt – but it doesn’t fill you with confidence – but trust me, ignore that, it works.

The cut seems to be close out to the edges so you really do cut almost all of what you cover with the mower, and it’s quiet – really quiet.

Battery life is around 40 minutes. This doesn’t do my entire yard, so I’ve learned to do the lawns, then edges, then lawns, that middle edge time, plus a drinks break is enough to get enough juice back in the battery to get the rest of the job done.

Honestly, I prefer the Ryobi. This one I’m using is the Lithium+ 36v version which will set you back about $599 at Bunnings. The difference is important, this is not part of the One+ range of Ryobi products.

The battery alone on this would be $299. The One+ mower I’m “guessing” wouldn’t have the life or power of this.

So My trimmer, and now the leaf blower I bought as well, are on the One+ range, meaning they share a battery.

The trimmer doesn’t feel anywhere near as powerful as my petrol trimmer, but it still gets the job done. I’m frustrated as ever buy replacing the trimmer cord, and by “bumping out” more cord, but the job is done and it’s comfortable and light to hold.