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Originally Posted by prydey
So, nice day today so time to test the new toy. It has 2 modes. Full noise at 3300rpm and quiet (eco) mode at 2500 rpm. I went full noise. Haven't mowed for a bit and reviews were a bit patchy as to how it goes through wet grass, and manual says best to start high and step down gradually.
Not me, straight down to similar level as what I would normally do. Got to test it straight in the deep end. Actually, to be fair it was probably slightly longer than I would do with the victa normally but it is winter. The height gauge doesn't quite match up. 4 holes from the lowest setting on the Victa is about setting 2 on the makita. I mowed at setting 3.
Got a bit excited and was halfway in before getting a 'before' shot.
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Handled like a boss. Pretty torquey and impressive. That winter weed clover stuff would have had the victa changing tone at least, but not this guy.
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Still battery left. The left one was dropping to one light but jumped to 2 as I took the photo. Mowing regularly it would easily handle front and rear lawns I reckon (rear is about 200m2). My brother has the same and uses his on the quiet setting.
Battery life was my biggest concern and it passed with flying colours for my situation. Came with rapid charger so 30min break if I happen to run out of battery.
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The next 3 pics are a bit of a negative. It runs a straight blade, which a lot do now, even with the petrol ones. Not sure if that is a factor but it doesn't push the clippings into the catcher that well. In its defence, the grass was wet. The victa catcher goes in a lot further, with the catcher having a lip that slots in to the mower housing. This one, the bottom of the catcher just rests against the outside. Not a massive deal but it is a negative nonetheless.
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Another negative is you have to hold a lever in the whole time while you mow. Like a dead man switch. It's just a safety thing and you get used to it but if you were doing a large area you might want to think about rigging up something to hold it for you.
Now I have to let the grass dry so I can clean it back up. Overall I think it's great. It was expensive but worth it I think. |
Thanks for the info, nice review. The constant torque from electric mowers is something I have heard a few times now and the lack of stall certainly seems to be a big bonus of these motors.
As for the catching, wet clover will challenge even the most efficient catching mowers. The bar blade will not be helping in this regard. These are pretty common on American mowers that are mostly used for mulching and not catching. I think you will have better luck in dryer conditions and regular cuts.
In terms of the dead-man handle, I had one of those on my self-propelled Rover. A feature like that would not be a big deal on an electric machine that starts and stops with no effort. On a petrol engine mower, re-starting every time the catcher needs emptying got old real quick. A trip to the hardware store solved that issue pretty quickly with a cheap spring-loaded clamp...........
Thankfully, this is the only machine I have had an engine brake on. I probably wouldn't do this on your Makita though, it would just eat up more battery.