Battery-powered mowers are increasingly good choices for those who do not want the extra noise, expense, maintenance costs, and toxic fuel storage issues of a gas mower, especially if you have smaller yards. The Mowox Self-Propelled Battery Lawn Mower is a battery-powered mower that is also self-propelled. Let’s see how this mower performs.
In the box comes the mower, battery, charger, grass catcher, handle, battery key, bolts, instruction manual, and cable clamps. The mower itself is made of steel, so the mower is heavy–about 50 pounds. The instruction manual is simply sheets of paper stapled together, containing mostly just numbered steps in small print. The illustrations that are there seem to be poorly scanned photos. The manual could have been improved with the assistance of a graphic designer and technical writer.
Upon removing the Mowox from the box, I noticed a number of scuffs and scratches on various parts of the mower. Though some of the mower parts were wrapped with protective plastic and cardboard, not all pieces were protected and some of the protective bits had fallen off during shipping, causing the scuffing and scratches to the mower finish.
I also found in the box this wrench–I’m not sure what it is for. The wrench does not fit the bolts you need to tighten to assemble the mower handle–you need to provide your own wrench for that. It is not clear why this wrench was included.
I wish instead of the extra wrench they had included all the bolts needed to assemble the handle. The handle needs four bolts, washers, split washers, and nuts to be assembled correctly–my Mowox only came with three.
To start the mower, assuming the charged battery is in place and battery key is turned on, you must first depress the red start button then squeeze the yellow bar against the handle. There is a battery health meter above the start button so that you can monitor the amount of your battery remaining as you mow.
To engage the self-propelled rear wheels, you must squeeze the black bar against the handle. Note that you must keep the black bar and the yellow bar securely squeezed against the handle while mowing. The black bar is staggered so that if you hold the handle bar on the sides, you can quickly release the black bar with one hand while keeping the yellow bar against the handle with the other hand. Releasing the black handle disengages the self-driving gear. I found that holding the handle in addition to the two additional bars for extended periods of time can get tiring, but is manageable.
The pressed steel blade has a cutting diameter of about 18”. I appreciated the steel blade because my previous push mower had a plastic blade which eventually broke.
The mower comes with one 40 V, 4 Ah lithium ion battery and charger. In use, I found the battery lasts about 25-30 minutes.
The cutting height adjustment is by the rear wheel tire. There are 7 adjustments, allowing you to change the cutting height from about 1" to almost 3". I would have preferred having a taller cutting height option.
The grass catcher works fine, but putting the catcher onto and taking it off the mower can be tricky, as the grass catcher hooks that must be hooked over a bar on the back of the mower do not seem to be spaced correctly, and it is also tricky to get the catcher in place with the grass catcher door in the way. The mower does not mulch the grass, and when not using the grass catcher quite a lot of grass accumulates in the grass catcher chute, which must be cleaned out before storing the mower.
In use I found the mower to be functional, though temperamental. The mower sometimes cuts off by itself, forcing a restart. The self-propelled mower speed was fine, though there are no speed adjustments and I would have actually preferred a faster walking speed. With the self-propelled mechanism disengaged, I found the mower could be operated in neutral, such as for turning around, but the wheels do not spin freely, since they are geared, and the extra weight of the steel chassis also makes maneuvering the mower in neutral a bit cumbersome. Because of the modest battery life, the Mowox version with two battery compartments would definitely be a better choice than this single battery compartment model. All in all, even if more attention had been paid to the mower’s fit and finish, it is still heavy and finicky.
Pricing and Availability on Amazon: Mowox Self-Propelled Battery Lawn Mower (aff)