Ego LM2135E-SP

Awesome mower, limited by expensive batteries that quickly fail – Imagine wanting something for many years, then finding it only to discover that it has a deadly flaw? Such is my experience with this EGO mower. There is no doubt that it performs well when it's new. The problem is that the batteries that it comes with combined with the typical usage by those well versed in using a petrol mower result in… Read more

battery degradation leading to very short battery life even before the end of two year warranty. Most of these mowers come with a 7.5AH battery, which may initially be big enough for small surburban lawns but certainly not if the battery is to be treated in a way that will make it last for ten years or so. When you are familiar with Lithium Ion batteries, you know that they hate being fully charged, they hate being stored fully charged, they hate being in temperatures above 25 degrees (think of those metal sheds where mowers are typically stored), they also HATE being charged very rapidly and most people in the know suggest never to charge at a rate that completes the charge in less than an hour. Okay, so this mower with the 7.5AH battery charges in 40 minutes with the turbo charger, compared to 140 minutes of the standard charger. LI batteries also hate very rapid discharge. Well, this mower has like a "afterburner" mode where it greatly increases the current draw when you hit thick grass. When you are used to using a petrol mower, you get used to mowing as fast as you can while not loading engine down so much that it stalls.

So when is the best time to charge? For most people, this would be after you finish mowing. It's convenient for them. Charge it up to full, then put battery back in mower and into the hot metal shed outside so it can bake for days to weeks with full charge until you need to mow again. See where this is going? Please understand that the mower itself does cut very well, the blades don't wear quickly and give a great result. The big question is whether or not it's actually possible to use this mower in a way that allows the batteries to last for more than a year or so.

I returned my Ego batteries to Total Tools on 11th March 2024 and was told they would be repaired or replaced within 2 weeks. After more than 4 weeks, I asked again where are my batteries and was told to wait some more. I stated that unless I left the shop with either batteries or a refund, that I'd get authorities involved. After applying considerable pressure, I left the shop with new replacement batteries. I requested to receive a 12AH battery instead of the original 7.5AH, noting that I was happy to pay the difference ($280). After some juggling of paperwork, they made it happen. I'm hoping that with a combination of using the larger battery and attention to charging, discharging and storage that I would hopefully get some good years out of these new batteries.

To make a LI battery last, its best to use "shallow cycle" and by that, I mean don't charge fully, and don't discharge fully. Go for something like 80% to 90% charge, and don't let it discharge below 20% or so. Hence the real need for using a larger battery. Don't even think of using a 2.5AH battery in the Ego mower, it will degrade it extremely rapidly. If you receive one as part of a deal for mower, use it in a weedeater as this is far less load and suits the 2.5AH battery just fine.

If you do decide to go with this mower, take my advice: Get the largest battery you can. To my knowledge that's 12AH. Multiple smaller batteries are no substitute and are just asking for trouble. The 10AH may be okay, and I've heard a whisper that the 12AH has less thermal gel to allow all the cells to fit into the package. I cannot confirm that at this time. I do know that after using a thermal imaging camera on the 12AH battery after charging using the standard charger (something like 3 hours), the maximum temperature was 34.6 degrees C. Compare that to my Bosch ebike battery that achieves a maximum temperature of 29.7 degrees C, and yet it doesn't have active cooling like the Ego battery and charger does. This higher temperature is particularly interesting when you consider that the Ego turbo charger is more than twice as fast as the standard charger. I got a turbo charger with the mower originally, it now sits in the shed while the standard charger I bought on Marketplace does the job nicely.

When the battery is 80% full, turn the charger off. When there is just one green light remaining, stop mowing. If you intend to keep mowing, go ahead and charge now else wait until you are ready to mow again before slow charging. Don't use this like you would a Honda petrol mower. Don't wait until the grass is so long that weeds are about to seed. Mow more often and do so at a leasurely pace. Don't use the mower to chop up piles of weeds or other plant matter (substitute mulcher). Petrol mowers are fine with this but not so todays battery mowers!! If you do need to mow longer grass, raise the mower height a bit, lowering it again next time you mow. Consider buying a used mower, but don't pay for used batteries unless you know for sure that they are okay and still warranted. Some batteries fail in strange ways that may not be obvious in a quick test.

Operation is easy, the mower is extremely light even for elderly people. Catcher size is good, not too hard to empty and reattach. Lights help at times but not bright enough for night use. There are aftermarket batteries made to fit the Ego mowers and may be good value, providing that you go large capacity.

Attached images: 1. New Ego 12AH (672WH) battery immediately after charging from 30% to 80% using standard charger (thermal imagery). 2. Relatively new 625WH bosch ebike battery after charging from 27% to 80% using standard 4A charger (thermal imagery).

EGO PowerPlus LM2130E-SP Mower Stops all the time – I brought the last year. It was fine for a while, but this year it stops several times during the mowing. We have average lawn, and not thick grass. a couple of months ago I sent it for a Warranty repair, but the problem still occurs. I now requested another warranty repair, so hopefully it can be fixed or replaced. Show details

Didn't believe a battery mower could be this good – With the demise of my trusty Victa Corvette mower (brought on by advanced rusting of its steel deck), the hunt was on for a replacement. Having noticed the increasing number of battery mowers on the market, I began to think now would be an appropriate time to convert over from petrol. Over the last few years I have begun embracing battery powered… Read more

tools starting with drills, then a garden blower followed by a chain saw, circular saw and nail gun. Each of these impressed me with its capabilities so I felt it time to take a big step up to a battery mower. I shortlisted a number of suitable mowers but with varying specifications for batteries was concerned about the mower equivalent of electric car “range anxiety”. I wanted to make my mowing easier rather than having to stop part way through and wait for the battery to recharge and complete the job. There were, however, three reasons I went with the EGO mower: 1) The next door neighbor had bought an identical one two weeks before and had been very happy with it 2) EGO supplies a 30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee on this mower. Don’t like it...return it for full refund 3) A bonus offer had just come up where an EGO Garden blower (worth $249) was being included in the box as a no cost extra

Thus, the EGO Mower and Blower arrived home after (just) fitting into the back of my medium size SUV. The mower came fully assembled out of the box and only required the battery to be unboxed (see picture below). Battery supplied is a 7.5Ah battery. To put it in, flip open the cover, slide the battery all the way in and close the cover. There is also a “security key” mounted next to the battery which will prevent the mower from functioning if small children are around and you choose to remove it. To use the mower is as simple as folding the handle up into the correct location and telescoping the remaining half into place. Unless you fully telescope the handle and secure it’s clips the mower won’t operate. Incidentally, the handle has a three positions it can be raised to. Handy for users of varying heights or going under trees. To start the mower, EGO says the front wheels should be lifted off the grass while you push a large safety button and pull on the handle bar which runs parallel to the top of the main handle. Motor reaches full revs in a second and away you go. This particular model also is self propelled with elongated buttons on both the left and right sides of the handle so they are conveniently resting under your thumbs. The self propelled feature even works if you just want to “walk” the mower somewhere without the blades running. Speed of the self propelled feature is adjusted by a cylindrical control in the middle of the handlebar. To the right is a light which is usually green but alerts you if the battery/motor is overheating or some other issue. I’ve never seen it anything but green.

I have a domestic block of about 865sqM with no pool and only the footprint of the house. While around the same weight as my previous mower, this is a 52cm machine which I immediately noticed as much bigger than my previous 46cm machine. This proved a little trickier when maneuvering in smaller areas around trees and garden beds but overall shortened the time to mow due to its bigger cutting width. I usually mulch rather than catch my grass and was amazed and what a much better job it was doing at this compared to my previous mulching mower. Only a couple of times where the grass had become quite lush did it leave even the slightest trace of clumping. A quick reverse over that area and it was gone. My previous Victa would have left significantly longer trails of clumped grass in the same circumstances. Incidentally, EGO supplies “Hi Lift blades” as standard with this mower. These are meant to provide more suction to lift the grass up before cutting it and throwing it into a bag. You can also buy dedicated mulching blades as a replacement so it would be interesting to see what improvement is there. The blades are in a slightly unconventional “X” pattern (see photo below” with one pair cutting and the other pair (the hi-lift ones) raising the grass and sending it to the catcher (or mulching). There is a mulching plug included.

Regarding “range anxiety”, I needn’t have worried. There are five segments of battery usage visible to the operator of the mower (EGO calls it the fuel gauge). These are clearly visible in daylight through the tinted top of the battery cover. So far, the most usage I have done with this mower is three of those bars meaning I finished mowing with around 40% (or just under) of battery remaining. EGO claims the battery is good for 50 minutes of “normal” use. It takes around 35 minutes for me to mow my lawn so their figure appears to be realistic rather than an optimistic “up to”. This includes use of the self propelled feature but not use of the headlights. Yes...it has LED headlights for mowing at dusk? I think it is more of a gimmick but whatever… Yes, it is quieter than a petrol mower (more of a steady droning noise) but I don’t think the neighbors would appreciate it in the early morning and I’m not sure I would want to be seen mowing the lawn in the dark. EGO claims this to be as powerful as a petrol mower. Hard to compare but coming from a Victa with a 190cc engine, I certainly don’t have any complaints around lack of power. It runs at a steady speed all the time until it hits something a bit tougher and requiring more power. At this point, the mower automatically detects the extra load and speeds up appropriately.

As well as the battery, EGO includes its rapid charger and a semi collapsible grass catcher (70l capacity). The charger will fully recharge the supplied 7.5Ah battery in just under an hour while the catcher has mesh sides, metal frame and plastic base. I noticed it was the easiest catcher to put on of any catcher I have had. I don’t use the catcher much (preferring to mulch) but it seemed to do the job and be able to fill to capacity. Did notice, however, with the grass catcher approaching full the mower became a little "tail-heavy" and you needed to concentrate more on keeping the front wheels on the ground to maintain an even cut. Height adjustment is done through a T-bar selector on the left side (see photo below) which varies the height of all four wheels simultaneously. Speaking of the wheels, they have ball bearings to assist in a hopefully long life.

When it comes time to clean the mower and put it away, I just put a garden blower over it and that works fine. Unless you have been mowing wet grass which cakes up underneath and needs to be scraped off. Not a big job though as it comes off the plastic deck easily. You then fold up the handle and stand it on its back to stick out of way in the corner of the garage. Much more efficient than a petrol mower (see photo below). There is a handle mounted on the front edge to facilitate this, however, even without the big battery installed it’s no lightweight. EGO recommends not attempting to hose it down.

Overall, the mower impresses me. Can’t fault its performance. Does exactly as you want and is easier, quieter and less messy to deal with. However, be aware that this is not a cheap mower. You could easily get three cheap mowers for the same price plus the battery is worth close to $500 if you ever need to replace it.

PLUS * No fumes...just insert the battery (I always charge it up after the last use) and off you go. Instant start without yanking on a cord * Virtually no maintenance (no oil or filters to change. Just keep it clean) * Powerful with more than adequate battery life to meet my needs * 30 day satisfaction guarantee with full refund * 5 year warranty on the mower. 3 year warranty on the battery and charger * Won’t rust away like previous mower * Smaller footprint when storing away

MINUS * Unknown longevity considering a lot of plastic being used. Deck material feels solid and up to the job but there are minor concerns for the bright green clips that secure the telescoping handle. At least they should be easy to replace? * Expensive! * If mower needs repair it will probably need to be returned to EGO. Can’t see too many mower repair shops taking it on. An electric motor (with fewer moving parts should be more reliable than an internal combustion engine

The cardboard box it came in has been sent to the recycling bin well within the 30 day satisfaction period so it’s a definite keeper. My wife is even happy to use the machine and says it seems to give a flatter and smoother finish to the grass. I’m inclined to agree.

Simply the best mower I’ve ever used – I had originally wanted to purchase a Honda self propelled mower, however, there were none available until May 2022. Turns out that it was a blessing in disguise. Unsure of battery This EGO mower is light weight, very easy to use and has more grunt than the 12 month old Honda mower I had been using. The battery is quite big and is more than… Read more

capable of lasting for a large suburban yard. I have about 500 square metres to mow and the battery was still at 50% when I finished. It charges from flat in about 45 minutes. It was so good, I purchased the Ego line trimmer and their 900cmf blower. All in all, so far, they have exceeded my expectations. With a 5 year warranty it gives some peace of mind for me. Try for yourself. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.