Ryobi 40V 20″ Brushless Lawn Mower
I know this isn’t the typical type of item that I review, but I am grumpy about this so had to get it off my chest.
Cost: $488 + tax
My cost: $510.72
Highlights:
- Cordless
- Battery operated
- Self-propelled option
Manufactured in: Vietnam
Company Base: Japan
Established in: 1943
Overall Impression
The Goods:
- Relatively quiet
- Battery powered
- Self-propelled option
The Not-So-Goods:
- Battery doesn’t last long
- Electrical issues
I bought this mower from Home Depot on August 5, 2020. I know the date because in the summer of 2022, after months of struggling with electrical issues, I was able to send it in for warranty. I spent a lot of time on the internet trying to troubleshoot the issue. I finally figured out that it was the fuse key, which costs about $5 in the USA, but about $30 in Canada plus import fees. I was not impressed.
You can see in the above photo that the fuse key was so damaged that it would constantly lose contact and stop the mower. I had it duct taped for a while, but at some point it melted so much it completely stopped working. It was a very frustrating summer of mowing. When I finally got it in for warranty, the repairman said he’d never seen this issue before. Go figure. I asked him to troubleshoot the issue of why it was melting the metal in the first place, but he was at a loss.
Things also don’t last very long with this mower. The quality of the materials is not very good and they break easily.
I’m not going to lie. I had the bag on wrong for the entire time I’ve owned it that it’s worked, which caused many levels of frustration in itself. I’m feeling silly that I had it on wrong, but two other people used it and didn’t notice either! It wasn’t until writing this blog that I finally clued in. D’oh!
Despite finally being able to solve that set of frustrations, it doesn’t change the fact that the stupid mower won’t start… again! And this time for a completely unknown reason. I’ve got too much to do right now to take it apart, but at the same time I’ve got to mow the lawn! I figure the same electrical issue that caused my fuse key to melt is causing the current refusal to start. Argh!
wanderingfawn 