Greenworks 12 Amp 20-Inch Lawn Mower

This is a review for the Greenworks 25022 12 amp electric mower with dual-column gas chromatograph. If you swallowed the last part of that first sentence, then be forewarned about the rest of my review...you'll get a lot of that. So pay attention. First of all, this thing is cool. I don't usually jump right to `coolness' as a major criteria, but let's face it - mowing your lawn with an electric mower is about as manly as shopping for curtains. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But if you ARE going to use one of these, it should at least look cool. By cool I mean it's low and sleek and aerodynamic. You may not think this is important, but when most of your neighbors have shrines to Dale Earnhardt in their man caves, every little bit helps. Even the green finish is race-car quality. And yes, I put some "3" stickers on it as soon as I unpacked it. It also appears kinda jacked up, with those larger rear wheels. But seriously, these make a lot of sense, and they make maneuvering a lot easier. Which is huge if you are a clumsy dolt like me. Add in a trailing power cord and you've got all the makings for an amusing video. OK, let's get down to brass tacks - do I like it? Um, duh...did you not see the five stars? If all you want is the bottom-line, then yes, I own several Greenworks products and this is by far my favorite. The folks ate Greenworks may love me for this, but beware guys...if I get around to reviewing your electric trimmer you may not like me so much. Unpacking...there was none. I mean really...outta the box, fold up the handle bar, attach cord, cut grass. I could still smell the exhaust fumes from the UPS truck that dropped it off when I first started mowing. Press the control handle down, press the start button, start mowing. I admit I get a cheap thrill out of the simplicity of button-start. It took a while for me to get used to the fact that if I ever have to pause mowing, I didn't have to do the one-hand-on-the-control-handle dance, also known in some cases as the "just moments later I ended up in the ER" move. It's where you have to pause to pick up an obstacle, and with a GAS mower, you are loathe to let go because you know that means pulling the cable to get it going again. Now, if I have to stop and start again, I often wait for a car to go by so I can grin at them while I press the button. Granted, most of my neighbors pay to have their lawn cut, so my feeble attempt at showing off is most likely a complete waste of time. Back to the details...using the mower is a breeze and it has handled everything I have thrown at it just fine. I live in Florida, and my lawn is a mix of St Augustine and some other stuff that I am pretty sure are weeds. I'm sure the good people who write all the neighborhood "appearance" laws will let me know soon enough if I am right. Point is they are thick. But behold the power of electric torque (whatever that means). I think it means that when push comes to shove, electric power can be pretty awesome. So I have never had any issues, even with wet grass. Let's talk about the height adjustment thingy. My first reaction when I read about this in the reviews was "who cares...set it to the proper height for your lawn and forget it". If you're popping this thing up and down I am betting your lawn hates you. But when I got it in person and tried it out, it was almost orgasmic. If you have ever struggled with those individual spring adjusters on each wheel, you will love this. I raise and lower it with ease. I have no reason to do so, but again I just love doing this when I am out front by the road. I look like Vanna out there smiling as I use ONE hand to change the height of the entire mower. Just have to remember to set it back to the right height. Coupla times I was so caught up in showing off that I left it on low, and sure enough the electric motor happily chewed a bald spot in my lawn as soon as I hit the start button. OK let's talk about mulching. Hmmmm...well, I don't have much to mulch, but I rarely use the catcher. And I never see clumps of grass or anything like that. When I do use the catcher, it works just fine, and the grass I see in there looks pretty well chopped up. By the way, I only use the catcher when I need new clippings for our outdoor composter, which gets pretty darn disgusting here in sunny FLA. I mean, when you open the lid and you see a whole lotta creepy things squirming around your banana peels and coffee grinds, ain't no way I'm gonna reach in and scoop ANYTHING outta there. So I add more grass to cover them up. Point is I mulch all the time, and no problems. I guess at this point I am done talking about the mower itself. Which brings us to the subject of what it takes to mow a lawn with a power cord. I admit it took me a bit to come up with a method that didn't involve me tripping over the cord multiple times and landing on my face. Power cords can be remarkably potent weapons in the hands of someone who is clueless. And let's get one thing out of the way right now...yes, I have run over the cord by accident. Luckily it wasn't at the same time that I forgot to set the height back to high after showing off. Otherwise I might not be here writing this review. I am pretty sure I own one of the biggest lawns of anyone who currently uses an electric mower. I stopped caring about lot sizes at some point in my life, perhaps right around the time I realized I was more excited by the Home Depot catalog than I was with the one from Victoria's Secret. But I am told by my other neighbors that we have the biggest one. I dunno, maybe 40,000 sq ft? No more than an acre for sure. So the first rule I learned is to work in small sections. I was worried this would be a bad thing when I started a new section...how would they line up? Would the Lawn Police cite me for uneven lines? Luckily it doesn't seem to matter. You also have to work OUT from the cord source. Yes, I know this sounds obvious, but if you knew me like my wife knows me, this is an important point to make clear. Kind of like the time I was cutting a tree down that was near our house, and I managed to notch it on the wrong side. Given a fifty/fifty chance of screwing something up, I have a unique ability of not choosing wisely. So what I do is work perpendicular to wherever the cord is plugged in at the house. I know that's a big word for some people, so think of it this way...it looks like a big T...the cord comes straight out from the house forming the base of the T, and then you start mowing side-to-side forming the top of the T as you go along. Here's my big tip...ignore the fixed cord holder on the mower. Why? Because I found that as I am mowing my way out, it's easier for me to just grab the cord in one hand, and I simply shift which hand I use as I go back and forth. This way I always keep the trailing end of the cord on the house side. Believe you me...this greatly reduces the trip-and-fall-on-your-face factor. Not that that ever happened to me. Really. Here's another tidbit...when I shopped for power cords, I ended up with a 100' and a 50'. The 100' is a royal pain in the patooie. Not only is it heavy and cumbersome, but the outer sheathing is `sticky', and when you start trolling along a hundred feet of cord, it can be remarkably hard to do if it clings to the grass like bratty kid that doesn't want to go to the dentist. The fifty footer is yellow and the surface is smooth. Get yourself a smooth cord. Trust me on this. OK this is really long and Amazon probably won't even approve it. If you need or would like an electric lawn mower, this puppy rocks. I really really like it, and no, Greenworks is not giving me a free t-shirt for doing this review. Although that would be kinda cool. I figured I'd better drop this hint now just in case I do ever get around to talking about their trimmer.