DeWALT 20V Lawn Mowerrepair nightmare
First, sorry that my first post is a complaint. I have been reading the forum for years and always appreciate the information that is here.
I have no specific brand loyalty when it comes to tools, however, I do have about a dozen of DeWALT power tools and that is my cordless system. Last year we moved into a new house and ordered their mower, trimmer, and blower. The tools performed well and with all of my batteries we never struggled with the battery life.
The mower died after about 20-25 uses (disappointing). DeWALT sent us to their repair center in Denver. The initial estimate was two to four weeks to receive the parts and fix it. Now, we have been told an additional three weeks before they can expect the parts. That is two months to repair a lawn mower. I am very disappointed in DeWALT and I am wondering if this is a typical warranty experience.
KBATN
Well-known member
New member
That is BULLSHIT. I’d demand a replacement.
at the very least, go buy another one, and return one of em when yours comes back. (If you dont have the old gas one laying around) You should not have to wait 2 months, and get NOTHING for it.
Milwaukee sent me a product that retailed for 249. cause i told them I RETURNED one of their jackets cause i thought it wasnt as good as the older model.
Handyandy23
Well-known member
Do you know what part it is they’ve ordered? Could be an uncommon failure and the part is back ordered. Could so be that the repair shop misdiagnosed it, installed the first part, and realized it didn’t fix it and ordered another part.
It’s an inconvenience for sure, but I’m also not shocked. The warranty process for most companies seems cumbersome. Couple that with a 3rd party repair facility maybe misdiagnosing it, which DeWALT has no control over, and it seems like DeWALT’s dropping the ball.
kctyphoon
Regardless of who dropped the ball, either DeWALT on their own if you contacted them and informed them of this (i would assume you would do that), or their authorized repair center not stepping in to do this for you (weather it be their fault, or DeWALT’s, cause ultimately its their business that gets reflected on).
“Somebody” should do “something” about this. i mean. how hard is it to say “we have a customer thats has a 2 month wait to get his mower repaired, we need to do something for this guy”. i would contact DeWALT directly and talk to somebody. Youd be surprised what spending an hour on the phone as a nagging customer with a legitimate gripe can do.
I spent an hour and 20 min on the phone with amazon cause they ended an “all day sale” hours early. and then relisted the item the next day (both sold and shipped by amazon) with a big price increase. I didnt get them to honor the sale price, but i at least wound up with a 50 credit after 3 levels of people saying “sir theres nothing we can do”. It was a small victory. Lol
California AS-IS DeWALT 20V MAX 21.5 in. Battery Powered Self Propelled Lawn Mower with (2) 12.0 AH Batteries Charger
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Using the DeWALT battery with other DeWALT tools
Just like Ryobi and some of the other multi-electric tool companies, you can use the batteries from this mower on other DeWALT devices. This feature is of course to build brand loyalty. After all, if you already are charging DeWALT batteries in your garage, why would you want to add others?
Due to DeWALT’s massive suite of products, you can use the batteries from this mower on over 200 products of DeWALT’s. The closest competitors only have maybe 40-50 tools that can also use their battery. I have personally used and tried the DeWALT 20V hedge trimmer and review it here as well as the DeWALT 60V chainsaw and the 20V blower.
If you already have the DeWALT batteries in other tools of yours, you can purchase this mower for a reduced price as a “tool-only” option. For those that are DeWALT loyals, you can rest assured that your loyalty will be rewarded.
Where it is made
This does not matter to some people, but to me it does. This mower is made in the good ole’ United States of America. Most electric mowers are made in China and shipped over. For those that care to support an American-made product, check out this mower.
Storage
One of the beauties of electric mowers is their light weight and storage capabilities. This mower is no different. You can basically fold this mower in half and stand it up on its side. When folded, it sticks straight up and can be pushed into a tight space in your garage, crawlspace, shed, or wherever else you can make room. In the below picture that I got from DeWALT’s website, this gentleman is putting the mower in his truck. It is a great example of how the mower can be used, but sadly there is not a single blade of grass anywhere near this man (LMAO).
The great thing about storing an electric mower is that it will fire right back up when winter is over. Gas mowers may require a little bit of oil and gas plus several yanks of the cord. This one will start back up at the press of a button.
Should I use the bag on this DeWALT mower?
I am almost never a fan of using bags on mowers. The bag will keep the grass clippings off of your lawn. While this can be aesthetically pleasing, your yard actually can benefit from these nutrients.
With electric mowers, every second of battery life counts. Keeping a bag full of damp grass to weigh down the motor and cause it to exert more energy is a loss in my opinion. Do not slow down your mow and go bag free!
To self-propel or not to self-propel?
This mower comes in two options: standard push and self-propelled. The self-propelled option is nice for those that like an easier experience when going up hills or over rough terrain like long grass. The downside of self-propelled mowers will be the battery life reduction you will experience by keeping that function on.
The push option is your standard push mower. Nothing sexy but gives you great exercise.
Cost and value of the DeWALT self-propelled lawn mower
While certainly more expensive than similar bodied gas mowers (like the Troy Bilt push I reviewed), the DeWALT comes in at the lower end of the price range.
This mower has almost all of the same features of the Greenworks mower, but about 70 less currently. This mower ranges from about 400-450 and has better battery life. The added benefit for those that already own DeWALT tools and have other uses for these batteries makes it a clear winner.
DeWALT vs Greenworks vs Ryobi
As you may know, I have also reviewed the Greenworks electric mower as well as the Ryobi electric mower. To be frank, the DeWALT one is the only that appeals to me from an aesthetics perspective. The Greenworks and Ryobi mowers are neon-green and stick out like a sore thumb.
While the DeWALT self propelled mower is slightly more expensive, I think it is the best buy of the three. The metal deck allows for more durability despite being slightly heavier. I also like the Ryobi mower, but the compatibility with other tools is less than DeWALT. I also like DeWALT’s tools more than Ryobi, so would rather build out an entire suite of DeWALT products than Ryobi.
Greenworks is really on an island from a battery perspective, so unless you have no other DeWALT or Ryobi tools with the appropriate battery, I would ignore this one altogether.
DeWALT 20V Lawn Mower Review
Summer is here which means I have to get the lawn mower out and actually do some work. In the past, this was something I always dreaded but since I have moved over to cordless battery powered OPE (Outdoor Power Equipment), I have to admit, I really don’t have any excuses. I just put the battery in, push the button and I am off to work. No more messing around with gas, spark plugs and pulling my arm off. As you know I am a huge EGO fan. But when a company like DeWALT launches a lawn mower, I am always eager to see how it performs. So let’s take a look at the DeWALT 20V Lawn Mower Review.
DeWALT 20V Lawn Mower Review Overview
We saw the lawn mower last year at the DeWALT event. When I first saw it, I thought it was cool, but wasn’t too impressed. Probably because we didn’t have a chance to use it and play around with it. Well now that I had a chance to cut some grass, work with it and test it out, I’ve changed my mind.
The one thing I can say right off the bat is this is one of the highest quality lawn mowers we have tested to date. There is just something about it that feels solid and feels like a real lawnmower but without the weight and the gas motor.
DeWALT 20V Lawn Mower Review Features
The DeWALT lawn mower, model DCMW220P2, uses a brushless motor which means it should be more efficient and run longer.
The DeWALT lawn mower is powered by two 20V batteries. The lawn mower comes with two 5 Ah batteries that feature a 3 LED light fuel gauge.
The batteries slide into the top of the mow and as you can see, there is plenty of room leftover. Which means you can also use the DeWALT Flexvolt batteries for this lawn mower. As a note, you do need to run this lawn mower with both batteries as it will not run with only one battery. This also means that they need to have the same charge. if you run one battery full and one battery with 10% left, you will only get the 10% run time.
On the back of the mower head, there is a 3 LED light that shows you how much battery life is left on each battery. So as you are walking, you can look down and see the fuel status. Personally, I would rather have a 4 or more LED light indicator, but not a deal breaker.
To start the mower, make sure the safety key is inserted, then press back on the yellow handle and then press down on the yellow push button. The startup time is only a couple of seconds, so it starts pretty fast and doesn’t have a long delay like we have seen with some other battery mowers.
You have three options for this mower. You can either bag the grass, side discharged (Not shown) or you can mulch with the plug.
One very nice feature to this mower is the ability to adjust the height with a single lever instead of having to adjust each wheel.
The mower uses two larger back wheels while having two smaller wheels on the front.
The mower uses one of the nicest metal bars we have seen on a battery mower. Most of the mowers we have tested always use a cheap, flimsy handle, except the Ego. I am happy to see DeWALT built this with a quality handle and I think this is one of the reasons this feels like a solid machine.
If you need to lift this mower, there is a handle on the front and back which makes it easy to lift up and down.
The deck is a 20″ deck that is nice and high which means the grass can really move around and provide nice mulching capabilities.
I am not sure the thickness of steel, but it’s not too thin where it will dent easily but not too thick where it makes it weight a ton.
The handle has a nice set up where you can use your hands on the side or on the top depending on your height and the setting of the handle height.
DeWALT 20V Lawn Mower Review Performance
This is the area we cut with two fully charge DeWALT 5 Ah 20V batteries. They state you can cut a 1/4 acre, which this might be. For me, I am not really happy with the runtime. The machine is quality and I love everything about the mower. I do have a hard time getting around the runtime with the batteries though. Can I invest more into Flexvolt? Sure, but then if I am going to do that, why not go with the EGO?
In regards to cut quality, it’s the only battery powered mower that performs to EGO standards. It’s the only mower that truly cuts all the grass and doesn’t cut some and fold the rest over. I love the cut quality as it performs like a gas mower.
DeWALT 20V Lawn Mower Review Value
You can pick this mower up on Amazon for about 350 which includes the batteries. I think the value isn’t bad at all considering how well this is built. However, with the substandard runtime, it is a hard justification unless you already own Flexvolt batteries.
This mower is bittersweet. While I love the mower and think the quality is top notch, I have a hard time with the runtime. When I am done mowing, I would have to wait and charge the batteries to use my blower and string trimmer. The mower truly cuts grass and doesn’t just fold it over and in the end, it’s an awesome mower. If you own Flexvolt or own extra DeWALT batteries, it might be a great mower to own as long as you understand the runtime isn’t great. If you are looking to get your first mower and aren’t part of the DeWALT line, I think the Ego might be a better platform to get into.
The DeWALT 20V lawn mower is a welcome addition to the 20V lineup. While the build quality is one of the best we have seen, the runtime lags far behind some of the other battery powered lawn mower we have tested. While you can run FlexVolt batteries, this will up the cost of ownership. When cutting your lawn though, it will resemble a cut quality that few can match.
Blade and Deck Size
DeWALT is calling this a 21.5″ mower. The mower deck measures slightly over 22″ on the outside and slightly under 21.5″ inside because there is a folded lip. The actual blade itself measures 20.75″.
I’m still not pleased about companies using deck size to sell their electric mowers while they use cutting width to measure their gas mowers, but DeWALT seems like they are meeting us halfway with this mower. They easily could have called this a 22″ deck, but yet they choose 21.5″ and put in a blade very close to 21″.
Stuart’s Note: We inquired about this, and apparently it has become the industry’s de-facto standard for cordless mowers to be advertised by their deck size. So, when comparing cordless mowers, you have to look up the blade size in order to make apples-to-apples comparisons between different models’ cutting widths.
As you can see in the above photo, the blade is made by MTD — which is no surprise because that’s who makes this mower for DeWALT (which is now owned by Stanley Black and Decker).
The blade has a very curious design. Only 1-1/2″ at the tips of the blade actually cut at the set height. The rest of the cutting edge leaves the grass 1/2″ longer.
What’s more is that the blade has a proprietary connection to the mower shaft. It does prevent you from installing the mower blade upside down (which I have in fact done on another mower), but at the same time I can’t find any local sources for compatible MTD or aftermarket replacement blades. I can only find a replacement blade on the MTD part website. This could be an issue if you damage you blade and can’t mow you lawn for a few days minimum.
Update: Home Depot also carries the replacement blade (online only so far), with part number DWO1DT233. The same replacement blade fits this mower (DCMWP233) and the new self-propelled mower as well (DCMWSP244).
Noise
As I mentioned before, the mower runs at two different speeds. I measured the noise at each speed level and found sound pressure levels to be 73.5 dBA for low speed and 77.3 dBA for high speed. It has been pointed out to me that dBC might be more appropriate for a lawn mower than creates noise on the low end of the audio spectrum, but this is the sound level meter I have and used for other reviews.
Further supporting that this is probably the wrong scale, even though the SPL meter says it is quieter than the Ego LM2101, I cannot comfortably listen to music using over-the-ear headphones using the DeWALT mower, while I can with the “louder” Ego.
Still, this is quieter than any gas mower. People have walked by and commented that they are amazed at how quiet this mower it, just about every time I used it.
Charging and Battery Runtime
DeWALT supplies two 1.25A chargers with this mower to charge the two included 10Ah batteries. If you do the math, 10Ah / 1.25A = 8h charge time if the batteries are fully drained. So if for some reason you can’t fully mow your “up to 1/2 acre” property on one charge, you’ll have to wait 8 hours to finish mowing.
There is no external battery gauge on this mower to tell you the charge state of the batteries, there is only a warning light that is supposed to come on when the batteries are low. I only saw the battery warning light come on after I stopped the mower, which I did because I noticed the mower speed audibly slowing.
The lack of a battery gauge is kind of annoying, but on the previous DeWALT mower I found the mower battery gauge and the gauge on the batteries did not match anyway.
The battery compartment is large enough to fit the 9Ah FlexVolt batteries I have, which means the 12Ah ones should also fit. I’m not sure if the larger 15Ah FlexVolt batteries will fit though.
I found that my yard (a little less than 1/4 acre) isn’t large enough to fully exhaust the batteries. In a span of a few weeks I ran the battery down after 82 minutes. I mowed my entire yard in 44 minutes one time, and spot mowed 38 minutes over a period of 3 weeks because my grass wasn’t growing consistently in the drought. Now that we have been getting consistent rain, I have found that I can mow my entire yard twice using the included batteries. This actually meshes with DeWALT’s claim that the mower is “perfect for properties up to 1/2 acre.”
I have also tried mowing with 9Ah FlexVolt batteries and I really can’t tell any difference between the two sets of batteries.
Side Discharge, Bagging
The mower comes with a detachable side discharge chute. To attach it, you lift up on the spring-loaded plastic cover on the right side of the mower and hook the tabs of the chute under the hinge bar. When you let the spring-loaded cover back down it holds the chute in place.
Once I discovered that the mower performed better using the side chute than mulching, I started using the side chute more. Unfortunately because of the drought this summer, I don’t have any really thick wet grass to test how well the mower throws or if it spreads the grass evenly.
To install the bag, you lift the spring-loaded rear lid of the mower. There’s no plug to remove, because the plug is built right into the lid. With the door open, the bag drops into place on a nice curved “track.” Then the rear lid swings down and seals over the bag to keep it in place.
Once again the cable likes to get in the way. I had to move it many times to get the bag to drop into place.
Even when the mower is running in low speed, it throws the clippings into the bag pretty well. It’s impossible to see, but there is only a small area in the back that where the grass isn’t filled as high. It’s not perfect, but more acceptable than some other mowers I’ve owned that filled the front of the bag first and prematurely blocked the clippings from entering the rear of the bag.
I like the new bag design. It has a single-piece plastic bottom. The previous DeWALT mower had a fabric-over-plastic bottom. With the old design, dust would accumulate between the layers, and so the empty bag gets heavier and heavier over time with no easy way to remove the dust.
Cut Quality
First off, it is really hard to photograph grass, but I think I was able to capture it well enough to get my point across.
This is the worst mulching cut quality, at the lowest blade height, I’ve seen from any mower. Above is a section of my lawn after cutting at height 2. It may look like I didn’t overlap the rows enough, but I assure you I overlapped the cuts by several inches at least. After discovering this, I pulled out my Ego mower, set it to the same height, and mulched — while it wasn’t perfect it was way better.
Most of my yard is thin bladed fescue, and I’ve always had issue with my grass flopping over. Even with a prosumer Toro, once I raised the deck to the upper 50% of cut height, it would leave some grass uncut. I noticed this somewhat with the previous DeWALT mower and my Ego when I started raising the deck, just like the gas mower. But this DeWALT mower, in default mulching mode on height 2, is leaving significantly more of my lawn uncut.
After further testing I discovered that cutting with the side discharge chute or with the bag attached, the mower cut the grass significantly better. So it is just the mulching performance on thin grass that is terrible.
Mulching Mode
We’re going to need to step back here and discuss mulching. I’ve been mulching my lawn ever since I bought a mower with no side discharge chute. Several mowers now don’t even have the option of not mulching if you are not bagging. This mower is set up out of the box to operate in mulching mode, with no instructions on why you’d want to use each mode. Most people don’t think about how they are going to set up their mower, they pick a setting and use it like that every week.
Mulching recirculates the grass under the mower so it gets cut up into tiny little pieces, hopefully small enough so they don’t clump. In a mulching mower, the blade is designed so that air flows up around the outer perimeter of the deck to pull grass to the top of the deck. Then the grass falls back down in the middle to get cut again. When you use side discharge or bagging, the grass gets pulled up and then directed towards the outlet, getting cut only once.
I believe the reason I’m seeing better performance is that when you have an outlet, there is stronger/more directed air flow that helps pick up the grass, vs the more turbulent airflow when mulching that doesn’t lift the grass as well.
I think there are two issues: the cutting speed and the blade design. The mower is hardly ever kicking into the high speed cutting mode, which would generate a little more lift and more cuts at the same walking speed. Second, looking at the blade design, very little of the blade is actually cutting at the finished height. It is getting cut at an intermediate height first and then this shorter grass may be getting knocked over easier, missing the final cutting height.
When I mulch cut a section of my grass that is mostly thicker grass and weeds, but still a little sparse and I get a pretty consistent cut. Meaning, users with thicker lawns will probably see better results.
I understand that the blade design and dual cutting speeds are done to extend the battery life, but I think they over-emphasized the battery economy in this case. The problem is that this mower has been so optimized for battery life, the mulching just doesn’t have a strong enough lift for thinner grasses. But then again, if the grass is so thin that mulching doesn’t work well, you probably don’t need to be mulching in the first place.
Why is this an issue? People are going to get upset when the mower doesn’t perform equally well on all parts of their lawn or under changing conditions. Most users are going to set the cutting height and the mowing mode one time (except maybe for bagging). Once they get the mower set to where it performs to their liking, they’ll never think about it again. Who is going to waste precious cognitive power trying to figure out what the proper settings are for each time they mow the same lawn, when they could be daydreaming about new tools instead?
Additional Thoughts
I did not actually measure the temperature of the batteries because I never had an issue with them overheating. At their worst, the 10Ah batteries were barely warm to the touch.
I did stall the mower a few times, not that it was really the mower’s fault. I don’t always clean up the sticks in my yard and a few times one would get jammed and stop the blade. When this happens, I just let go of the mower, restart it, and keep on mowing.
I do not understand why DeWALT got rid of the single lever height adjustment in favor of the two lever height adjustment: one for the front and one for the rear. While this is still better than having adjustment levers for each wheel, the single lever is very nice for people who mow their backyard on a lower setting than the rest of their yard, such as for dog poop to be more visible.
I wish DeWALT would have made the running speed adjustable — after all, most gas mowers have a throttle speed. Hypothetically, such a lever could offer several speed settings between the mower’s out-of-box low and high running speeds. The mower could still sense the cutting resistance and automatically boost the running speed, but you would still be able to speed it all the way up to mow problem areas or slow it down when you wanted to maximize battery life.
DeWALT Introduces Two New Cordless Lawn Mowers
The trend of cordless outdoor power equipment encompasses all types of tools—from leaf blowers to lawn mowers. DeWALT has jumped into the game by introducing two new cordless lawn mowers, one of which is powered by their 20V MAX and 20V/60V Flexvolt battery platform, which is the same battery that runs their cordless power tool lineup.
Available early 2018 for 399 with battery.
The new DeWALT DCMW220P2 cordless mower is powered by two of their 20V MAX batteries. The same batteries that work with over 100 of their tools and products. Designed for contractor use, this mower is also an ideal choice for homeowners who already have a collection of DeWALT 20V MAX tools. For more heavy duty use the new 40V DeWALT DCMW290H1 is an even better choice.
They both offer a 20-inch metal deck, a folding handle for upright storage, and carrying handles for easy transportation. They can mulch, bag, or rear discharge grass clippings. Additionally, the 2x20V MAX mower features an on-deck LED light board which signals state-of-charge for each pack and indicates when a recharge is needed.
The 2x20V MAX Brushless Mower is optimized for use with DeWALT construction battery platforms. The two DeWALT 20V MAX 5.0Ah Batteries (DCB205) work simultaneously to deliver the power demanded by the user and provide flexibility to be used with other tools in the DeWALT 20V MAX system. The 2x20V MAX Brushless Mower marks the continued expansion of the DeWALT 20V MAX system of 100 products and is also compatible with the DeWALT FLEXVOLT battery system for maximum flexibility and extended runtime.
The 40V MAX Brushless Mower is optimized for use in landscaping applications. Powered by one DeWALT 40V MAX 6.0Ah Battery (DCB406), the 40V MAX Brushless Mower marks the continued expansion of the 40V MAX system of outdoor power equipment from DeWALT.
Both the 2x20V MAX and 40V MAX Brushless Mowers feature high-efficiency brushless motors to deliver consistent cutting performance. They also both offer a 20” metal deck to cut a large path, a folding handle for upright storage, and front deck and rear deck carrying handles for easy transportation. They can mulch, bag, or rear discharge grass clippings. Additionally, the 2x20V MAX mower features an on-deck LED light board which signals state-of-charge for each pack and indicates when a recharge is needed.
DeWALT continues to develop both its 20V MAX and 40V MAX systems of tools to offer solutions for construction and outdoor applications. Available in early 2018, the 2x20V MAX Brushless Mower will come kitted with two DeWALT 20V MAX 5.0Ah Lithium Ion Batteries (DCB205) and will be available for 399 MSRP (DCMW220P2). Also available in early 2018, the 40V MAX Brushless Mower will come kitted with one DeWALT 40V MAX 6.0Ah Lithium Ion Battery (DCB406) and will be available for 399 MSRP (DCMW290H1), as well as bare (battery and charger sold separately) for 299 MSRP (DCMW290B).
The mowers come with the standard DeWALT 3 year limited warranty, 1 year free service, and 90 day money back guarantee.
Maximum initial battery voltage (measured without a workload) is 20 volts. Nominal voltage is 18.
Maximum initial battery voltage (measured without a workload) is 40 volts. Nominal voltage is 36.
Timothy is a lifelong DIY enthusiast who is fixated on Smart home tech, beautiful tools, and wrenching on his FJ62 Land Cruiser. He’s the DIY editor at Popular Mechanics and also the founder of the home improvement site, Charles Hudson, the Webby-nominated family site, Built by Kids, and Tool Crave. When not working, you’ll find him on his board or bike enjoying the LA weather with his family and friends. Follow him on Instagram and