Ryobi R18XLMW40

I purchased this battery mower because my Rover self drive Briggs and Stratton broke down after 25 years. All my battery tools are Ryobi 18volts not 36volts, so therefore I could use 2 x 18 volt batteries of 5 or 6 amps. Do 2 x 18 volt batteries equal a single 36volt in power? I’m unsure but I’ve heard not…. I have used this mower for a few months now and generally it mows my 100 sqm couch lawn well.

I do think there is room for improvement… Being taller I wish the handle bar could be adjusted higher but it’s a one height suits all, just a little low for me at 188cm. Mowing dry or damp couch grass is ok , but if it’s wet or maybe buffalo grass I feel that it has a choke point where the clippings build up at the mower exit before going into the smallish catcher. The rpm is obviously less than a petrol so grass imo doesn’t get ejected hard enough.

The overall height of the mower could be lowered at the battery cover, it had an unnecessary big hump in it so going under bushes or say a caravan means you have hits/damage to the clear plastic cover. On my couch lawn I find the very lowest cutting height at 25mm (as per stats on the Bunnings site) does cut hard/scores the grass and the next height leaves my grass a little too long but that’s the design it is, not a big deal. My old Rover had the ‘perfect’ height.

Price point ….. well as we know Bunnings and Ryobi are on a good gig because you cannot find Ryobi tools discounted so at $700 I do think this mover is heavy on the price but as I noted above it can take 2 x 18volt batteries which all my tools are.

Generally it’s a good mower, obviously quiet, does a good job for my sized couch lawn at 100sqm plus the 51cm cutting path means you get the job done quicker. There are few nuances to a battery mower, sometimes there are power surges as it senses the load but having a variable speed slider helps with the job. All in all I like this unit, as mentioned a little overpriced imo, room for design improvements but good all round.