Kolbalt Electric Mower Review: Here’s Why You Should Upgrade to this Self-Propelled Push Mower

MORGAN CHANEY FOR FAMILY HANDYMAN

My first house had a small yard, so mowing my lawn was something I always enjoyed. Moving to a house in the ‘burbs with a large yard changed that, and it’s now my least favorite household chore. My budget wouldn’t allow for a riding lawnmower, but I still wanted to upgrade my age-old gas mower to a larger, self-propelled electric mower.

I decided to test the Kobalt 80-volt electric mower to see if it could handle the size and challenges of my new lawn. After using this mower for three months, I can confidently recommend the Kobalt electric Mower to other homeowners looking to upgrade to an affordable yet powerful electric mower. This mower is so good that it moved mowing out of my top three most-hated household chores!

What is the Kobalt Electric Mower?

MORGAN CHANEY FOR FAMILY HANDYMAN

The Kobalt electric mower is an 80-volt self-propelled electric lawn mower from the well-known tool and outdoor power equipment brand Kobalt. The Kobalt brand is the house brand of tools exclusively sold by Lowes Home Improvement stores and includes a range of power tool options, including three different power levels of lawnmowers.

The Kobalt 80V electric mower is the company’s highest-voltage mower. Their use of higher voltage lithium battery and efficient design allows for maximum power that works as well, if not better than, most gas engine units I’ve tested. When I used the Kobalt electric mower for the first time, it was impressively powerful yet quiet. The mower is sturdy, but compact for storage purposes. With its easy push-to-start feature, helpful self-propelled feature and quick charge battery, it’s shaping up to be my new favorite lawn mower.

Kobalt Electric Mower Features

After putting it through the testing process for three months, here are some of my favorite features of the Kobalt electric mower:

Assembly

The Kobalt electric mower was easy to assemble out of the box. The mower comes disassembled, but it’s simple to attach the handlebars and the blade to the main unit, and it only took 15 minutes to go from in the box to cutting the lawn. The battery arrived with a partial charge, so if you need a full charge for your yard, make sure to charge it before use. The handlebars are adjustable to ensure you have a comfortable height and angle for the handle when you’re mowing.

A unique feature of the Kobalt electric mower is its ability to fold for storage. Unlike similar mowers, this unit completely collapses to an 18 x 22-inch footprint, and can be stored normally or collapsed into an upright position. Just fold the mower up, toss on a lawn mower cover and stick it in a corner of your garage to save valuable parking space.

Using the Mower

MORGAN CHANEY FOR FAMILY HANDYMAN

The Kobalt electric mower functions like many other electric mowers on the market. To start the mower, you engage the safety handle by pulling it to meet the handlebar and then press the large power button on the main handlebar. The mower starts up quickly, so I suggest checking your cutting height and keeping your hand off the self-propulsion button until you’re ready to move. That way, the unit doesn’t catch you off guard and jerk forward.

Cutting Performance

I was truly impressed by the cutting performance of the Kobalt electric mower the first time I used it. It’s built with three cutting options: rear bag, mulch or side discharge. It also has seven separate height adjustments to choose from and is easily changed by a single lever.

The first time I used this mower, my grass was tall and unruly after a straight week of rain. I was worried that it would clog up like previous mowers, or have issues powering through the thick and slightly damp lawn. Thankfully I had no issues, and the blades cut through the grass like butter. With previous mowers, I would need to take multiple laps around my lawn, slowly adjusting the height down to get my desired grass height which is unnecessary with the Kobalt.

Battery Life

The Kobalt electric mower has multiple battery configurations you can choose from when purchasing. I went with the one-6Ah battery, but you can also choose from a two-battery option that includes a 4Ah battery and a 2Ah battery. What I enjoy most about the battery for the Kobalt electric mower is that it’s a standard battery for 23-plus Kobalt tools.

As someone who owns other Kobalt outdoor power equipment, it’s nice to have a battery that can be used for other tools when needed. When fully charged, the 6Ah battery has an impressive runtime of up to 80 minutes, made possible by the digitally controlled brushless motor, which maximizes power and extends runtime. The self-propulsion feature uses battery power, so depending on what speed of self-propulsion you’re using, you can expect to see runtimes of anywhere from 30 to 80 minutes.

For my yard, which is just under a half-acre, I can easily get either my front or back yard completed on one charge. My full yard is a little too large for a single charge, so having multiple batteries I can use between my Kobalt tools comes in handy. If you don’t have multiple batteries, the Kobalt Battery charger is quick, only taking 60-90 minutes to fully charge a 6Ah battery. If your lawn is on the smaller side, I’d recommend checking out our picks for the best lawn mowers for small yards.

Self-Propelled Function

This mower has a self-propelled, rear-wheel drive that allows you to choose your speed depending on the needs of your yard. This function is easy to use and access, as its controls are located just below the main handlebar. These controls are labeled from tortoise (slowest) to hare (fastest) and are controlled by a small lever that makes adjusting the speed a breeze, even when the mower is in use.

I can mow my front lawn in 25 to 30 minutes at a slow to reasonable pace on the tortoise speed. When I need to mow before company arrives or if there are rain clouds on the horizon, I can get a lightning-fast 15-minute mow in on the hare speed.

How We Tested It

Morgan Chaney for Family Handyman

Over three months, I tested the Kobalt electric mower in both my front and backyard. This mower was designed for mid-sized lawns with multiple terrains. I put it through different testing to make sure it lived up to the hype.

Maneuverability

The first thing I wanted to test with this mower was its maneuverability. While my front yard is wide open, my back yard has small hills, trees and a firepit in the way. This mower maneuvered my obstacles easily, and the self-propulsion feature made simple work of the hills. In addition to the self-propulsion feature, the Kobalt electric mower is about five to ten pounds lighter than similar gas-powered models which helps its maneuverability.

Speed

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As mentioned previously, the self-propelled function is a fantastic addition to this mower and one of my favorite features. The Kobalt electric mower has seven speeds to help you mow your lawn. When testing, I used all seven speeds to ensure there was no loss of quality when introducing speed, and I saw very little to none. The only degradation of quality would be a few longer blades that seemed to remain after using the higher speeds. The highest speed allowed me little to no effort in mowing the lawn, and had my 20-30 minute mow down to 15 minutes flat. Want to cut down on cutting time completely? It’s time to invest in a robot lawn mower.

Heavy Loads

When using a mower on thick or long grass, it’s frustrating when your mower chokes up and you have to go through the process of getting it to work again. I wanted to test this mower to see what it could handle, and if it could handle the thicker grass in my yard.

When cutting the slightly damp, and HOA-questionable lawn after a week of continuous rainstorms, I was ready for immediate disappointment. But, I was pleasantly surprised when the blades cut through the grass easily, and there were little to no issues with clogging in the bag or while mulching. I did have to go over a few spots multiple times that seemed to get packed down by the wheels, but this was something that happened with my previous gas mower in the same conditions.

Pros

• Powerful 80-volt battery with quick rechargeability
• Ease of assembly and use
• Can be stored upright
• Solid Warranty offered by Kobalt. Includes a 5-year tool warranty and a 3-year warranty on the battery.
• Surprisingly quiet

Cons

• Reversing or turning the mower when the self-propulsion is active can be difficult
• If you have a very large yard, you may need multiple batteries

FAQ

Who makes Kobalt electric lawnmowers?

Kobalt is a line of hand and mechanics’ tools, power tools and tool storage products owned by the American home improvement chain Lowe’s.

How do you clean a Kobalt electric lawn mower?

The product manual for the Kobalt electric mower provides specific instructions on how to clean the mower. The instructions to clean the mower are:

• Remove grass clippings, leaves, dirt and other debris from the mower deck’s underside to avoid rust and corrosion.
• Remove grass and leaves buildup on or around the motor cover (do not use water). Wipe the mower clean with a dry cloth occasionally
• If debris builds up on the underside of the unit while in use, stop the motor and disconnect it from the power supply. Tilt the mower forward, or on its side and scrape it clean with an appropriate tool.

Can you overcharge a Kobalt battery?

Lithium Ion batteries can be overcharged which can damage their ability to fully function. Kobalt batteries are built with circuits that protect them from overcharging. Even with this feature, the Kobalt manual suggests to always removing the battery from the charger when it’s fully charged for safety purposes.

What other reviewers and experts had to say

Overall, customers and experts agree that the Kobalt electric mower is a powerhouse on wheels. When speaking with Jeremy Yamaguchi, the CEO of Lawn Love, about the Kobalt electric mower, he says “I’m a huge fan of this mower—it gives you the power of a gas mower without the maintenance, loud noise and fumes. Its 80-volt battery drives the mower through tall and thick grass without stalling. In the right conditions, it can run up to 80 minutes on a single charge, which is impressive compared to most other cordless electric mowers.”

At Lowe’s, reviewers rave about the mower’s easy assembly and customer service. Purchaser Rich writes, “Bought our Kobalt mower last May. The 80-volt battery stopped taking a full charge last summer. Just this week I contacted Lowes/Kobalt and voilà, a replacement battery is on its way to me. First-class customer service.”

Also at Lowe’s, reviewer WoodenMakeup says, “If I woke up and this lawnmower was gone I would immediately go get another one… Things I absolutely love about this lawnmower are #1 quality, #2 not having to get or smell gas anymore, #3 self-propelled, #4 easy start-up (no pulling a cord and priming), #5 easy assembly and easy use, And lastly, #6 storage space saver.”

Kobalt Electric Mower vs. Craftsman Electric Mower

The Kobalt electric mower tends to score higher in most categories compared to the Craftsman electric mower. Some include:

• The Kobalt electric mower comes with a more powerful 80-volt battery compared to the Craftsman 20-volt battery
• The Kobalt electric mower has an 80-minute runtime, while the Craftsman has a 50-minute runtime
• The Kobalt electric mower has seven heights of cutting while the Craftsman only has five

Final Verdict

MORGAN CHANEY FOR FAMILY HANDYMAN

My overall verdict: I like this mower a lot. The higher voltage, self-propulsion features, compact storage ability and overall quality of cut have me sold. In other reviews, the main concerns I’ve seen are about battery life. As long as your yard is under a half acre and you aren’t chasing after your mower with the self-propulsion at level seven the whole time, it’s not an issue. The mower is available at a great price point for the features and truly functions better than any gas mower on the market I’ve tested. If I had to give it a rating, I’d give it a 9.2/10.

Where to Buy the Kobalt Electric Mower

The Kobalt 80-volt electric mower is available for purchase exclusively at Lowe’s. The mower can be purchased without a battery, or with two different options for batteries. Standard pricing ranges from $499.00 without a battery to $699.00 which includes a battery and charger, but we have seen the battery options go on sale for $499.00 throughout the year.

On Amazon, the Kobalt store only carries a 40-volt mower. This version is a little more affordable at just under $600, though stock is often limited.

Source:

• Jeremy Yamaguchi, CEO of Lawn Love