Snapper 1687914 21" SP Walk Mower Kit, Self Propelled, Red/Black

For a battery lawnmower its a beast. Battery strength and milliamp hours depend on how high and wet the grass is just like a gas mower. I have a small (currently weedy) front lawn of roughly a thousand square feet and a 3 thousand square foot back yard and have been mowing every two weeks sometimes three (because I worked a lot and hate lawn care). It has been abused: left out in all weather, blade never sharpened, etc. and I always run it at top speed (its better for mower life) and still works great as if it were new. it takes me about twenty minutes to mow my front yard and at top speed but not always using self propel it takes one battery that's fully charged. I have not noticed the battery becoming weak after two years but its possible. They are expensive. If I have a lot of obstructions and can't use self propel, it works out to about the same. While I'm mowing the front the second battery is in the charger and I'm estimating about 30 minutes to charge it. It takes one battery and half of another to mow the back. If I mow when the grass is short (one week) it still takes about the same. If the grass is more than two weeks high the mower will still mow through it and better than a typical gas mower. Its quicker to change a battery than fill it up with gas (it used to take a tank and a half of gas for my total yard with some left over). I don't use the grass catcher but I'm going to start using it once my lawn improvements take place. This is a heavy mower of 80 lbs. Its no problem if you have a wide open lawn and do not require to mow around stuff. If you have hedges, gardens, bird baths, concrete, sheds etc then self propelled is not being used and maneuvering this lawn mower is very similar to a gas push mower. If your yard is wide open, you will certainly appreciate this mower as mowing becomes pleasurable. I hate storing gas, buying gas, hauling gas or smelling gas. Ive owned corded mowers and there are some good ones out there but they are high amp and circuit breaker was popping if I ran more than the mower on 15 amp breaker. This is the best mower I've owned and I've owned a lot of them. I might sharpen the blade this year and store it in the shed more often but other than that this mower requires nothing after two years. Its a snapper so if you live in the big city you can likely find repair service or replacement easy enough.UPDATE: haven't changed mowing habits - still ashamed of my lawn. I haven't sharpened the blade because I'm lazy. The batteries are still good and take full charge - It takes 1 and a half batteries to mow my lawn and that's still true after 3 years. I don't leave it out in the rain like I used to but it didn't hurt it. This mower is the only thing that makes mowing a little more interesting.UPDATE 07/28/2021: Lowering the rating from 5 stars to 4 for one reason only. The mower is great and still works fine in all aspects except exchanging batteries where it actually hurts the tendons in my thumbs pressing down on the lever to dislodge the battery from the compartment. Sounds stupid, I know. I should be able to release it with one hand but it requires too much pressure and it actually hurts to remove the battery. Its like a sprain in my lower thumb. It has become another excuse to not mow my lawn. I really hate mowing. I can't wait for this mower to quit so I can hire a guy to mow my lawn.... it won't quit.2023: still running. Haven't sharpened the blade. Batteries (2) both in good shape but maybe a little less mowing area per battery. No rust anywhere but its sat out in the rain more times than I can remember. I'll never buy another gas push-mower.7 YEAR UPDATE 03/2025:Ugraded ratings from 4 star to 5. The longevity of the mower is way more than I expected and I'm likely going to get at least another 5. The original batteries need recharging sooner that when new but still going pretty strong, I would extimate they are at 75 to 80 percent condition-wise. It should be noted again that I do not maintain it at all. I've never even sharpened the blade. Once I turned it over to clean out some caked up grass. I'm not proud to tell you that but its just the truth. 7 years maintenance free for any lawnmower is unexpected these days. I do not expect to replace this anytime soon unless someoone starts making the perfect robot mower.

I will put a qualifier that I was cutting taller grass, so this may not happen when the lawn only has a week or two of growth. The bag chute also plugs up well before the bag is full too, which bogs down the blade. I think there is a design improvement that could be done in the chute area. They use the same design as all other mower, but lack the RPM's that a gas mower has to throw the grass to the back of the bag. Overall though I am happy with the mower. It is nice and quiet compared to a gas mower. I was able to hold a conversation with my neighbor as it ran. I also like the adjustable self-propel, the rabbit setting is quite fast. :-) This was my first use, but I like it. I hope it is as durable as a gas mower. Time will tell.Update: I have a large front yard, but still doable with a single tank of gas on a gas mower. The battery on this mower only last about 1/3 of the yard, not great, I expected longer. Thankfully there are two batteries that come with it. So swapped out and continued mowing while the first battery recharges. I did not expect to need basically 3 full battery charges to mow a week's worth of growth (short). So I like the mower, but battery life is lacking. If you do not mind recharging during your mow you should be fine. Thankfully the batteries recharge quicker than the one in use runs out of juiceUpdate2: I may have been a bit hard on this mower in my initial review. I Just mowed my yard for the first time this year and love this mower. The height setting is higher than most mowers, which is good for that first of the year mowing. Also I have found that just using the plug in place of the bag makes this mower a dream to use. No clipping to drag over to the compost or grass bin is nice. I have gotten used to needed to just swap batteries to keep going so ignore my previous comment on that. It is really not a big deal to just keep swapping batteries until the job it done. The charger rocks and generally has the discharged battery charged before or just after I need it. Gives me time to grab a quick drink if it is not quit done charging. :-) Changing my review to 5 stars because it is a very well designed product. Durable and just a quality product.