Hart Outdoor Power Tools
When it comes to power tools, who is your go-to company? Well, the answer will almost always vary, especially between a professional and a homeowner on who their go-to power tool manufacturer might be. If you are a homeowner, why would you ever want to buy professional power tools? Sure, there are some homeowners who will benefit from the extra cost but most homeowners don’t want to pay a premium when they know their tools will sit around on the shelf most of the year. But as a homeowner, I don’t want budget tools that will only cause frustration down the road. I want good value. I want tools that can do more than I expect but won’t cost a lot. I want a large line of tools that I can grow into but don’t want to clean out my bank account. This brings me to HART tools and HART outdoor power tools.
Who is HART?
HART is a line of tools that was released exclusively to Walmart. The HART brand was launched in 2019 and has been a hit ever since. Now if you are like me, I am a little cautious with new power tool companies for a lot of reasons.
I am a little cautious because I have seen companies come and go. I don’t want to invest in a line only for it to be gone in a year and now I am the one hung out to dry. I am also cautious because I know creating a line of power tools takes a big investment so I am always worried if corners have been cut to get new tools to market. Lastly, I know battery technology isn’t an easy application and can be tricky. So do new batteries go through testing and can they last for the long haul?
With that said when HART tools and HART outdoor power tools came out in 2019, I did some research to make sure HART is a company I would recommend to our readers, viewers, and friends. So if you have some of the same worries, let me tell you what I found out and what I know about HART.
HART may be a new line of power tools but the company behind HART is anything but new. HART is made by TTI (Techtronic Industries Company Limited). This is the same company that makes Milwaukee Tools for the professional, they make RYOBI tools, RIDGID tools, and more. TTI is a large company in this industry and they have a long history. So knowing this, I don’t have to worry about cut corners or how well the batteries will hold up. In fact, I know TTI tests its tools beyond what a user would put them through to make sure they will last. I also know TTI will make great batteries that will last and they will not cut corners. They have been making batteries and testing them for decades so they have the knowledge. So when it comes to the tools themself, I am 100% behind HART tools and HART outdoor power tools, and I know and understand that they are the real deal when it comes to tools and the company behind them. So you can put your reluctance behind you.
Next, will Walmart stand behind the tools and keep this line going? We all know Walmart is one of the largest retailers in the US and when they set their mind to it, they see it through. From all my research, Walmart is 100% dedicated to making its house brand a huge success. While it’s not an easy task to get a new brand to market, this is something they believe in and want to make successful. Two things point me in the direction that they are all in.
First, they have been going since 2019 so they are starting to build their history. Second, their line has been growing like crazy which means they aren’t slowing down. As you will see below, they are releasing some very cool HART Outdoor Power Equipment (OPE) tools. What I see different with HART is they are not trying to do one solution for all. They are creating different products for different uses. As an example, take their chainsaws. Most companies might just create one chainsaw and say here you go. Well, HART and Walmart are not taking that approach. They offer around five different solutions, from a small saw to a large 16″ bar chainsaw. So to me, that shows that they truly want to dominate this market and this line is here to stay.
I don’t have any issues and actually love the marriage of Walmart and HART. Both companies have a long history and are dedicated to making a great line of tools for the homeowner. So let’s jump into some of their newer tools for 2022.
Is HART Outdoor Power Equipment any good?! Lawn Mower, String Trimmer, Hedge Trimmer, Blower Review
Hey guys, I’m Connor. I’m the DP here at Belts and Boxes, so I’m usually behind the camera shooting and editing. 90% of my job is just digitally enhancing Rob so he looks presentable. But today, I have the privilege of testing out HART’s all new line of 40V Outdoor Power Equipment, and my yard has never been more grateful.
HART surprised us all at their launch event last November by revealing not one, but two new battery platforms. First is the 20V series you see Rob and Sarah using each week on Maker Break. The second, is this. This is the HART 40V battery. It’s, well, huge. They made this higher voltage and larger capacity battery to power an all new line of outdoor power equipment, including a blower, chainsaw and THREE different mowers.
For my test, I spent the last month using the mid-range 40V brushless, self-propelled mower, the 15” string trimmer, the 24” hedge trimmer and the brushless turbo fan blower.
Now I have the perfectly sized yard for these tools, at about ¼ acre. I have a rather large group of bushes that were begging to be trimmed, so I started with the trimmer.
The first thing I noticed right out of the box was the 180 degree rotating handle. In the past it’s always been difficult to rotate my trimmer to make vertical cuts. This one made it easy.
The trimmer made very smooth cuts, no matter how thick the branches got. The 24” reach made it really easy to not only get through all the bushes, but I was really surprised by how fast the job got done. I have a bunch more bushes out back, and I can’t wait to get to them later.
Next I got out the 40V Blower. It features a variable trigger, and like many of its competitors it has a TURBO button, for, you know… when you need to go turbo I guess. I’m still not sure why they don’t just incorporate that power into the variable trigger. Anyways, it was easy to control the flow, so I was able to clear my trimmings out of the mulch, without bothering the mulch itself.
The blower did it’s job. The best part was how incredibly light and well balanced it was with the battery in place. I liked it a lot.
I then decided to move on to the string trimmer. Now I’ve used my gas trimmer for as long as I can remember, and it’s just as big a pain as you’d expect. It’s hard to start, lots of maintenance, keeping gas in the garage, just not a pleasant experience. So I had high hopes for an electric trimmer. Of course there’s no way it could be as powerful as the gas, right? Well, I was wrong about that. This thing was POWERFUL. Easily more powerful than my gas. And of course starting this one was as simple as holding the safety and pulling the trigger. No gas, no fumes, no oil and WAY less noise.
Coolest part about this string trimmer, is that it’s part of a multi attachment system. I could swap the string trimmer head out for an edger, tiller or even their powerfit pruner. If HART wants to send those to me for testing, I’d be fine with that.
Last up, it was time to get the mower out, and see once in for all if I could actually replace my gas mower with something powered by batteries. This is the HART 40V Brushless 20” Self Propelled mower. It’s the mid-range of the 3. The entry model isn’t self propelled, while the more expensive one has an automatic variable self propelled feature and a steel deck.
First thing I noticed was how small this thing is when it’s folded up. And because there’s no gas or oil to worry about, you can mount it vertically, and literally hang it on the wall of your garage, which is great when you have limited storage space.
It actually has two battery slots. One is active, while the other is just a storage spot for a secondary battery. The idea is if your battery dies just before you finish your lawn, you just swap the batteries instead of running back to the garage.
It has a single arm height adjustment that was very easy to use. It comes with a bag that easily attaches when you want it.
This thing is dirt easy to start up. Literally, you just pull back the safety lever and push start. And as we’ve grown to expect from other electric mowers we’ve tested in the past, the mower is really quiet. It’s almost like turning on a box fan.
The self propelled feature worked fine with the exception of one thing. It ramps up too quickly. The lowest setting is so slow I think I went backward, but the very next step up is a lot faster. The high setting should be reserved for joggers. It was REEEALY fast. Eventually I found my pace, but a more fluid adjustment would be appreciated.
The 7 Best Battery-Powered Lawn Mowers of 2023
Sage McHugh has written for Dotdash Meredith since 2019. With over a decade of experience in consumer-oriented content, Sage has a passion for products and how they enhance our everyday lives.
Andrew Hughes is a certified arborist, member of the International Society of Arborists specializing in tree heal care, and reviews tree content on The Spruce’s Gardening Review Board. He founded and runs Urban Loggers, LLC, a company offering residential tree services in the Midwest and Connecticut.
Jenica Currie is an expert content manager, producer, writer, and editor with over a decade of experience cultivating online communities.
Cordless and environmentally friendly, a battery-powered lawn mower is generally easier to maintain and operate than a gas-powered model, and it is especially suited for small to medium-sized lawns. “The best battery-powered lawn mower for your yard is one that suits your specific needs,” says Kris Kiser, president and CEO of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI). He suggests asking yourself the following before selecting a mower: “What is the size of the property and job? What features are needed for the job? What is your ability to handle the machine?”
We researched and tested a variety of lawn mowers in our own yards including corded, cordless, gas, electric, push, riding, and self-propelled options. For this list of the best-battery-powered lawn mowers, we evaluated products based on their set up, design, performance, usability, safety, and value and included the best options we’ve tested.
Best Overall
Ryobi 40V HP Brushless 21-Inch Dual-Blade Self-Propelled Mower
- Powerful performance
- Long run time and fast charging
- Lightweight, foldable, and compact
- Easy to set up and start
- Quiet operation
The RYOBI 40V HP Brushless 21 Inch Cordless Self-Propelled Mower is the best battery-powered lawn mower we tested because it is just as powerful as some gas models, lasts for up to 70 minutes on a single charge, and is very easy to operate and maintain. We were surprised by how quiet this mower was (almost like weight noise) and lightweight (almost delicate), and easy to start (push-button compared to pulling a cord) compared to gas mowers we’ve used in the past. However, once we got it started and found the right height for an uneven lawn, thanks to the self-propelled technology, it was very powerful and easy to maneuver around, even over hills. By moving a slider from high to low, we could easily adjust the mower’s speed that we needed, depending on the terrain. Finding the right speed takes a bit of getting used to at first, especially on straight, flat rows where the mower was going almost too fast. But overall, we appreciated the power and found it really made mowing much easier, especially on hilly terrain.
This mower has an impressive 70-minute run time, and comes with two 40V batteries. Only one battery is needed at a time, and you can charge the other one with the included Rapid charger and switch them out when needed. We mowed for 45 minutes to an hour each time and had no issues with the mower running out of batteries. However, we will point out a few small issues we came across with the bag. This mower allows you to mulch, bag, or side discharge. The first time we used the mower for the season, the grass was pretty high and the bag filled up very quickly (after mowing about 25-30 feet with taller grass). However, the next few times we used it when the grass wasn’t as overgrown, we did not have that issue. Removing the bag to empty is simple, but when it was full, we did find that it spilled easily. Also, we did notice occasionally that grass would come out of the bag when it was full (just a few blades at a time). While in the mulching mode, we also noted that it did not seem to break up older leaves very well, but we did appreciate overall how well it cut the grass, and we appreciated the seven adjustable cutting heights (1.5 to 4 inches).
We also loved how compact and easy this mower is to store. We had no issues pulling the lever to fold the mower for vertical, space-saving storage. The safety features are also a big plus. The mower has a key, so even though it’s easy to start with just a press of a button, the key does need to be inserted in the mower behind a flap, so you can remove the key when you don’t want someone else using it. You also need to grip the lever when you start or use the mower, or it will not work. The LED headlights also provide extra light should you need it. Overall, if you are looking to switch from a gas to a battery-powered mower or want an easy-to-use mower for your lawn (ideally up to 3/4 of an acre), we found this to be a great choice.
Price at time of publish: 799
Cutting Width: 21 inches | Weight: 75 pounds | Run Time: 70 minutes | Charge Time: 1 hour | Cutting Options: Bag, mulch, side-discharge
Best Self-Propelled
EGO Power Select Cut 56-Volt 21-Inch Self-Propelled Cordless Lawn Mower
- Self-propelled feature is easy to use
- Lightweight and easy to maneuver
- Foldable and compact for vertical storage
- 60-minute runtime
A self-propelled lawn mower can make mowing your lawn an easier task because the mower does most of the work for you—you simply guide it over your terrain while you walk at a comfortable pace that you set on your mower. After testing the EGO POWER Self-Propelled Mower, we selected it as our best self-propelled pick because it was easy to turn the feature on and off when you needed it, and it made mowing the lawn feel less of a pain (especially on our backs!) compared to using a heavy gas mower. If you are new to self-propelled mowers, this will take a little getting used to (including this mower), but we think it will be well worth the initial time spent. In fact, when we first started using this mower, we thought the mower might run away (even on the lowest setting) because we were only used to a gas push mower. Once we figured out how to run the mower without the self-propelled feature, it allowed us to get used to the mower itself and all of its features. We found that the lowest setting was all we needed for parts of our lawn, even small hills, and when we felt like that feature wasn’t necessary (navigating around obstacles), it was easy to switch it off at the top of the handle.
Aside from the self-propelled option, this mower offers many great features, making it a great choice for your lawn. We found it easy to adjust both the handle’s height (two options) and angle (three options) with just one hand. Adjusting the cutting height was also a simple and easy task with six settings available, ranging from 1.5 to 4 inches. This mower comes with one EGO 56V ARC Lithium battery that has a 60-minute runtime and takes about the same amount of time to charge. It took us 50 minutes to mow our lawn, and we did not run out of batteries. We also like that you can choose from the bag, mulching, and side-discharge option for your grass clippings and use the LED headlights when mowing early in the morning or later at dusk. The handle can easily be folded, and the mower can be stored vertically in your garage or shed. And like most battery-powered mowers, you’ll get the advantage of a quick, push-button start with no cord and no fumes.
The only downside we reported was the learning curve with using a self-propelled mower. But once we figured out how to navigate the feature and the power it provides, we found it to make mowing the lawn an easier task. If you have a small, flat lawn with a lot of obstacles, this might not be the best option for you. Also, note that we found this lawn worked great on dry and damp grass, but we did experience one time where the mower would not start (the light blinked orange to indicate an issue), but when we moved it to a less wet area, it worked fine. While this mower has many of the same features as our best overall, it has slightly less of a runtime, is heavier, and only comes with one battery. However, it is a bit more budget-friendly, so if you don’t need as much power or as long of a runtime, this could be the better option, especially if you have other EGO tools with compatible batteries.
Price at time of publish: 549
Cutting Width: 21 inches | Weight: 93.61 pounds | Run Time: 60 minutes | Charge Time: 1 hour | Cutting Options: Bag, mulch, side-discharge
The Best Electric Lawn Mowers of 2023
These cordless cutters are powerful, convenient, and (relatively) quiet.
By Roy Berendsohn Published: May 11, 2023
If you’re among the thousands of homeowners in the process of switching from a gas engine mower to one powered by a battery, this is the season to make your move. Battery mower technology is evolving and improving even as you read this. Our tests are proving conclusively that more of these lawn mowers cut a larger area than previous machines. And, almost certainly, if you buy a spare battery or two, you’ll have more than enough capability to handle your lawn’s requirements for the duration of the cutting season.
Many people, especially those with small yards (roughly 5,000 to 8,000 square feet of grass to cut) who can handle the job in 40 minutes to an hour find that not only can they cut their lawn with battery-powered mowers, but that they can also do their trimming and blow the surfaces clean with battery-powered tools. We’re diehard gas engine users here, but even we have to state the obvious: battery mowers are great yard-care tools and a perfect fit for many homeowners.
We’ve been testing electric lawn mowers since it came into being and this spring was no exception. As in past years, we took the latest crop of battery-powered mowers and put them through a multi-day, multi-phase test. The measured-area and bagging test required mowing approximately 85,000 square feet of turf. That’s slightly under two acres. Prior to that we had already run the mowers through a preliminary test–we didn’t even bother to measure that test area. In the process we walked somewhere in the range of 9 to 10 miles testing these mowers.
We put in that effort to help you find an electric lawn mower that’s a good fit for you, in terms of power, bagging ability, cut cleanliness and ease of operation. Our test results are shown below, followed by more specifics on how we test.
The Best Electric Lawn Mower
Ego LM2150SP Cordless Lawn Mower
Ego LM2167SP Electric Lawn Mower
Echo DLM 2100SP Electric Lawn Mower
Greenworks 25223 Cordless Lawn Mower
Ryobi RY401150US Self-Propelled Electric Mower
Toro 21466 Recycler Lithium-Ion Electric Mower
Toro 21623 Stripe Dual-Blades Self-Propelled Mower
Husqvarna Lawn Xpert LE-322 Battery-Powered Lawn Mower
Makita GML01Z Self-Propelled Lawn Mower
Ego LM2150SP Cordless Lawn Mower
Several features allowed the Ego to clinch Best Overall, no small achievement in our mower tests. First is its outstanding cut quality. Healthy grass looks like velvet after it has been mowed with the EGO. Even when the mower is used in mulching mode, we did not find clumps of accumulated clippings after the mower was finished (it’s important to specify here that these tests were performed on dry grass). We attribute that cut quality to the X-shaped blade (a design developed decades ago on Honda’s gas engine mowers) and to the smooth and unobstructed deck surface surrounding the blade.
This mower is also an excellent bagger, gathering pounds more grass per square foot of test area than most mowers. You have to be aware of that when operating this mower. Its bag will fill more quickly than you might think. Although we spend most of our time testing mowers in mulch mode, we recognize that bagging is particularly important to people who have a lot of foot traffic in parts of the yard and want to prevent grass clippings from getting dragged into the house, garage or onto patios. If that’s you, the Ego is probably a good fit for you.
Like many battery mowers today, the Ego is equipped with an all-plastic deck that will never rust, and a tilt-forward handle that also telescopically adjusts to suit the user’s height. To make it even easier to use, it has single-lever deck height adjustment with a large T-shaped handle. The combination of the spring-loaded adjustment and one of the better speed-control mechanisms we’ve seen–a simple dial that you rotate forward and back.
Since this model is sold without a battery and charger, it’s up to you how much battery to put in it. The brand recommends a battery with a minimum of 7.5 Ah of capacity, and that’s what we used to arrive at the cut area you see below. You can easily do better than that with a larger battery such as the company’s 10-Ah, a whopper of a power pack. Given that the Ego’s motor and drive system are both quite efficient, enabling it to accomplish nearly 1500 square feet of mowed surface per amp hour of battery capacity, that would translate to nearly 15,000 square feet of mowed surface with such a large battery. That’s a lot of lawn. With a 10-Ah battery, the manufacturer estimates run time as 75 minutes. That strikes us as plausible, particularly on level ground, in mulching mode.
With decades of mower testing behind us, we’ve seen just about every type of drive control imaginable. It’s difficult for us to assess these, since what one person finds comfortable someone else may not. We found the Ego’s dial-adjusted speed control (the company calls it Touch Drive) to be simple and intuitive. Move the dial forward with your left or right thumb to increase speed. Move it back to decrease. The slowest speed is a leisurely pace (.9 mph), the top speed requires a comfortably-fast walk.
The Ego is powerful, fun to operate, and cuts so well—it’s difficult to find anything to complain about. We suppose its big batteries could use a handle (like the Toro) but at least they are well shaped and have a lot of rubber-coated surface, to promote a good grip.
The Future of Electric Riding Lawn Mowers
Obviously, the biggest complaint and downfall of most current electric riding lawnmowers is the reliance on SLA batteries. And if that’s the case, the solution is, in theory, pretty easy—switch to Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. You probably own devices that already use Li-ion batteries. Do you have a smartphone, cordless drill, true wireless earbuds, or an electric vehicle? All of those use Li-ion batteries. It’s not surprising that so many gadgets made that choice either because Li-ion solves many of the problems plaguing SLA batteries. It doesn’t damage them to drain the battery to zero (at least not as much), you can keep them charged all the time (modern tech prevents “overcharging”), it doesn’t suffer from “memory issues,” and as much it’s generally longer lasting. With a Li-ion battery-powered electric mower, you won’t have to worry about maintaining charge as much or plugging in over the winter.
So what’s the catch? Price. Electric riding mowers are already expensive. You’ll pay over 6500,000 for a model that promises to mow just one acre on a charge, more if you need something that can handle a bigger yard. Compared to other similar riding mowers, that’s a 20% premium. But if you want to buy a Li-ion electric riding mower, the price goes way up.
Ryobi only recently started selling its first Li-ion options, and the starting price is a wallet-busting 6,000. That giant price gets you a mower that only promises to mow around an acre of land on a single charge. And remember, companies tend to overpromise and underdeliver on charge claims. When it comes time to recharge, you’ll need to wait an hour and a half to get back to a full charge. You can buy a model with more range, but each step up adds another 450,000 to the price.
Other mowers either go for a similar price or come from lesser-known manufacturers. The most affordable entry I can find is a Craftsman, tipping the scales at 3,000. But scroll through the reviews, and any Комментарии и мнения владельцев not tagged as a promotion are pretty negative.
For that kind of money, you can buy professional-grade gear that’ll cut your lawn in a fraction of the time.
The bottom line is until come down and enough time has passed to prove reliability; you probably shouldn’t drop a ton of cash on a Li-ion electric riding mower. Push mowers, on the other hand, are a solid bet. Those work well and won’t break the bank. For now, electric riding mowers just aren’t worth the money, despite their benefits. They’ll either cost way too much up front, or cost too much down the road as you replace batteries again and again.
Josh Hendrickson Josh Hendrickson is the Editor in Chief of Review Geek and is responsible for the site’s content direction. He has worked in IT for nearly a decade, including four years spent repairing and servicing computers for Microsoft. He’s also a Smart home enthusiast who built his own Smart mirror with just a frame, some electronics, a Raspberry Pi, and open-source code. Read Full Bio »