u/intertubeluber

Last year, my Honda HRX gas mower, which I bought used on FB marketplace, was starting to idle rough, the wheels were worn down, and overall it was just in rough shape. It was fixable, but all my neighbors moved to electric and I was excited to try something quieter, not deal with gas, etc. So I sold the Honda mower (for almost the same price I bought it for) and picked up an EGO 800 with a 7.5AH battery and a "free" 5AH battery.

For a bit more context - my entire lot is < .25 acres, so the yard is easily under .2 acres. I'm not a lawn perfectionist. I want it to look good enough that my neighbors aren't mad and we can use it to play on. On to the review...

Cutting the Grass

The cut is about as good as the Honda. The EGO does tend to push the grass down, so I end up having to go over some spots 2x on occasion. Despite both mowers being 21", the Honda actually cut a little wider as well. I think the deck on the EGO sticks out a bit more as the blades are the same size. The blade on the EGO is new, so that probably helped the EGO relatively speaking.

On the positive - the lack of noise, stink, weight, and vibration make using the EGO so much more enjoyable. I did borrow a gas mower the other day (more on why below), granted, a lower tiered/not Honda mower, but the experience made me more confident that I never want to go back to a gas mower. Also, with EGO, I don't feel bad cutting the grass later in the evening since it's so much quieter. That's a big positive for my situation.

The Battery

The first season, I would almost use a full 7.5AH battery to cut my whole yard. That was disappointing since it's advertised as being able to cut "1/4 - 1/2 acre", which is total BS (*in fairness, I don't see that advertised on the EGO site directly). I don't have any crazy thick grass and don't even use the self-propelled feature, the grass isn't wet, blade is sharp, etc. Worse though, I'm 1.5 seasons in and can already see a degradation in the battery. Twice this season the 7.5AH didn't make it through the whole yard. I had to switch to the 5AH battery to finish it off.

Reliability and Other Issues

Here's where the EGO has been a real disappoint. Issues include:

• The 7.5AH battery bricked itself. EGO will cover this under warranty. The customer service experience was excellent. I don't have to send back the old battery and the process was pretty painless.
• After using it until it was almost completely depleted, the 5AH battery randomly wouldn't charge. It wasn't completely depleted and wasn't overheated. Then, just as randomly, decided it would charge. That means I couldn't finish cutting the grass, so now I have this half cut lawn. I don't even know if I can warranty this.
• The self-propelled feature sporadically engages and locks the wheels. Again, I rarely even use the self-propelled feature, but this happens regardless. I don't need the mower making it harder to push. Example here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcvcRS9WApY

What's really interesting is how much good-will EGO has online, yet when I searched for these issues, it's clear that these are widespread issues many many other people have had.

For the price, I expected the EGO to provide several years of trouble free cuts. That's not been my experience at all. I'm already shopping for a replacement from other brands and I'll never recommend EGO based on my shitty experience.