Greenworks 48V 21 Inch Review

Self-propel on a 21 inch steel deck for $449.99 is genuinely cheap, and the Greenworks 48V is the cheapest route to it in our top ten. Rated 4.2 stars from 776 reviews, with Amazon Choice status and over 50 sold in the past month.

The 4.2 rating is the lowest of our top eight, and the reviews explain exactly why. Nothing is wrong with the cut. The drive system is the problem.

The runtime lesson this mower taught us

One review here is the most valuable piece of research in our whole cordless project, and it has nothing to do with Greenworks specifically.

An owner ran the same mower across two seasons and worked out what was changing. Mowing in 90F heat gave him 15 to 20 minutes of runtime. The same mower, same yard, at 65 to 70F gave about 45 minutes. Ambient temperature alone swung his runtime by two to three times.

Forty two people found that review helpful, and it explains most of the contradictory runtime reports across every brand in this category. Nobody puts a temperature on their runtime claim. Greenworks at least adds a line saying runtime varies based on grass condition and operator technique, which is more honesty than EGO, Sun Joe or LawnMaster offer.

Mow in the cool of the morning or the evening and you will get noticeably more done per charge. Simple, free, and worth more than any spec sheet.

The drive problems, in owners words

Three separate owners describe the same faults, so these are design characteristics rather than bad luck.

Stephen Sirag reports the drive engages about 2 seconds after you squeeze the handle, which means in small areas you have finished pushing before the drive helps at all. Releasing the drive locks the wheels briefly, so you have to rock the mower before you can pull back or turn. And the drive gets really slow about halfway through a mow.

Georgia Boy found the variable speed slider effectively all or nothing. One way it pulls the mower out of your hands, the other way it crawls. He also reports the cut path comes out taller on the left than the right, forcing a second offset pass.

An owner of the Greenworks 80V model reported the same engagement delay, which suggests it runs across the Greenworks self-propelled line.

Charging takes most of an afternoon

Worth planning around. The same owner who measured the heat effect reports the batteries need about an hour to cool before they will accept a charge at all, then roughly 2 hours to charge. His conclusion was that a quarter acre can take a whole weekend.

AmazonCustomer1 confirms a full charge takes over 2 hours, and that he cannot finish under 0.20 acre on one charge. He still gave it five stars, because it beats hurting his arm pull starting a gas mower.

Where it works well

Tamra took over the mowing in her household and rates it highly. Light, quiet, and enough power for hills. She bought a second pair of batteries and says she needed them, with the total still coming in under $600.00.

Justin Lunetta gets about two thirds of his yard per charge after a year of use, and passes on a good practical tip. His wife gets the whole yard done because she runs a higher cut setting. Raising the deck one notch costs the motor less work and buys you minutes.

Michelle Buonamici points out you can run the drive with the blade switched off, which makes getting the mower back to storage easy.

Who should buy it

A quarter acre with slopes and a hard budget ceiling of $450.00. At that price nothing else here gives you a 21 inch steel deck and a drive motor.

If you can stretch to $529.00, the EGO LM2114SP is the better self-propelled mower. Owners of that model do not report engagement delays or locking wheels, and the battery platform is stronger. And if your yard is flat, the push Greenworks 60V or the EGO LM2114 will serve you better for similar money.

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