Ryobi 20 Inch 40 Volt Lawn Mower Review
I’ve never even considered owning an electric cordless lawn mower…ever. But after a recent move to another state, I’m proud to say that I am now the new owner of a cordless battery powered lawn mower!
Before I moved, I decided to sell my gas powered walk behind mower. I hadn’t used it in over 7 years and it had literally sat in my tool shed that entire time…collecting dust.
But now, in this new house, I’ve found myself with a yard that’s too small for my riding mower. So instead of buying another gas powered walk behind, I decided to buy an all electric, battery powered lawn mower.
So not too long ago, I cruised on down to Home Depot and bought the Ryobi 20 Inch 40 Volt Lawn Mower. I’ve had a chance to use is now for about a month and this is my personal hands on review of this lawn mower. I hope you find it useful in your research.
Is The Ryobi 40V Lawn Mower Worth It?
The size of the yard I have to mow is approximately 5500 sq ft, or .13 acres. I’ve used the Ryobi 40V Lawn Mower a number of times now on this yard and have had a chance to thoroughly assess its functionality, runtime and even troubleshoot a few issues that have come up during that time.
Have I found that the Ryobi 40V lawn mower is worth it? That its worth the money spent? The answer is yes. In my experience it has absolutely been worth it.
The mower is fun to use, lightweight, delivers power when needed and most importantly does a great job at cutting the grass…even grass that is long and thick. I’m talking about the type of grass that would bog down a Briggs and Stratton gas powered lawn mower.
Below is a closer look and my complete review of the Ryobi 40V Lithium Brushless lawn mower.
Unboxing
When I went to pick up this lawn mower from Home Depot, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Was I going to have to assemble it? How heavy would it be? How exactly will it be packaged?
I was pleasantly surprised to see that the entire lawn mower came completely pre-assembled and neatly packaged in a large box.
Once opening the box, I could see that the mower was simply folded in half and placed in the box. Packaging was placed where needed for safe transport of the lawn mower. The packaging did its job as I didn’t see any damage to the mower when I first opened the box.
The battery charger and power supply were tucked neatly in the main box under a block of Styrofoam.
In a separate smaller box was the 40 Volt Lithium-Ion battery. It was wrapped neatly in a plastic bag and secured inside the smaller box.
Inside the battery compartment of the lawn mower was where I located all of the paperwork you would expect to come with a new tool or piece of machinery.
The paperwork that was included with my Ryobi cordless lawnmower were:
- Ryobi 20 inch 40 VOLT Lawn Mower Operator’s Manual (Multi Language)
- 40V Lithium-Ion Battery Pack Operator’s Manual (Multi Language)
- Quick Start Guide
- Parts and Accessories Sheet
- Product Registration Forms
- Voucher for a free rapid charger
Ryobi 20 Inch 40 Volt Mower Setup
One of the best things about unpacking and setting up this lawn mower is that there’s not a whole lot for you to do.
To get up and running, there’s just a few things you need to make sure are secured and attached.
For a complete run down on the Ryobi 20 inch 40V lawn mower setup, you’ll want to refer to the quick start guide that comes with your new mower.
1. Unfold and adjust the handle assembly
The mower arrives with the handles folded in half over the top of the mower. Simply unfold the handle and make sure that the knobs fully latch/engage at the base of the handle.
Next, pull on the top of the handle assembly to fully extend it. Then rotate the adjustment knobs 90 degrees. This will secure the extended handle.
Note: If the adjustment knobs are not fully secured, the mower will NOT turn on.
2. Install Rear Grass Catcher or Mulching Plug
With this lawn mower, you cannot use the rear grass catcher and the mulching plug simultaneously. You must have only one or the other installed at a time.
I have not used the rear grass catcher yet, so I cannot speak to it’s functionality or quality.
I have, however, used the mulching plug ever time I’ve mowed. And it’s mulched the clippings to near perfection.
My lawn mower came with the mulching plug already installed. I’m assuming this is how all the mowers are sent from the manufacturer.
3. Install The Battery
I found that the battery arrived about half way charged. I was anxious to try the mower out for myself, so I didn’t bother charging it first.
Note: It is recommended by the manufacturer to fully charge your battery before first use.
Battery installation is pretty simple. Simply lift the battery cover on the top of the mower and slip the battery into the battery port. Make sure the battery is seated all the way down until it clicks.
After that, you should be ready to go. Next, we’ll look at how to start the mower.
Height Adjustment
Adjusting the height on the Ryobi 40V brushless mower is a piece of cake. You could probably even do it with one hand. As a matter of fact, I tried to do it with one hand. It works, but it’s much easier to use two hands.
Located on the side of the mower is a handle which moves up and down. There are notches for the handle to move into. As the handle moves up and down, the mower raises and lowers. Once you find the appropriate height, you simply place the handle into the correlating notch.
You’ll also see on the side of the mower the approximate height that each notch corresponds to.
How To Start a Ryobi 40v Lawn Mower
Starting the Ryobi 40V lawn mower is just about as easy as it can get.
After making sure that the battery is installed in the battery port (on top of the mower) and the handle is completely extended and the latches are secured, simply pull the bail back towards the handle.
Once the bail is back against the handle, press the start button. You’ll hear the blades start up. You’re ready to roll!
The Battery
The battery that’s included with this Ryobi electric lawn mower is a 40 Volt 6Ah Lithium-Ion battery.
Located on the front of the battery is the integrated on-board fuel gauge that tells you how much power is left in the battery at any given time. All you have to do is press the button with the battery icon, and the led gauge will light up.
What’s nice about these lithium-ion batteries is that you don’t experience the fade-down or slowing down of the mower as the battery drains. I’ve run my Ryobi mower until the battery completely drains and the power did not fluctuate at all.
Once the battery died, that was it. The mower simply shut off.
How Long Does The Ryobi 40V Battery Last?
There are a number of factors that determine how long a Ryobi 40V battery lasts, with the biggest factor being the length of the grass.
My yard consists of fairly thick St. Augustine variety of grass, and I’ve found that with a full charge the Ryobi 40V battery will last about 45 minutes.
I have about 5500 square feet of yard to mow, and by the end of the mowing session, the battery is pretty well drained.
How Long Does It Take To Charge a Ryobi 40V Battery?
In my experience, when using the battery charger that comes with the mower, it takes about 2 hours to completely charge a drained battery.
From what I’ve read, Ryobi is claiming that the battery will charge about 2,000 times before needing to be replaced.
So what I’ve started doing is not charging the battery until it’s completely dead. If there’s still charge left in the battery, I’ll keep it unit the next time I mow.
Ryobi 40V Fast Charger
When I registered my Ryobi mower, I was told that I would be sent a fast charger for free. I don’t know how fast these will charge a battery compared to the charger that comes with the mower. But I’ll report back once I receive it and test it out.
The Blades
The blades that come pre-installed on the Ryobi 40V mower are pretty much what you would expect. They do a great job at cutting grass, and they’re lightweight.
I’m not sure why I was taken back with how thin the blades are on the Ryobi mower, but it makes sense. It’s battery operated. You don’t want to expend all the battery power trying to turn heavy blades.
With that said, I’ve found the blades to be more than adequate. Like I said, my yard is thick St. Augustine grass, and I know the blades are doing a great job if they can cut through that thick stuff without issue.
I can only imagine how great of a job they would do on my old yard which was mostly ryegrass and fescue.
Mulching
I have not used the rear bagger and have only used the mulching capability of the mower. And these blades have done a great job of mulching the grass clippings.
At first I was nervous about mulching and not bagging, but after my first run with this mower, my concerns faded away.
I’ve always bagged my grass clippings because I hate it when grass gets tracked into the house…especially by the dog. Well, I have not found that to be an issue at all so far. The grass clippings must be getting pulverized by the mulching blade and settling down to the ground nicely.
Blade Removal
I haven’t had the need yet to remove the blades, but with a quick inspection, it doesn’t appear like it is going to be an issue at all (see picture of blades above).
When I remove the blade, this is how I’ll approach it:
- Turn mower on its side
- Support blade by placing block of wood underneath it. This will prevent the blade from spinning.
- Remove the blade nut and washer/spacer.
Like I said, it really looks like an easy process to remove the Ryobi mower blade.
Warranty Information
All RYOBI 40V Lithium-Ion Outdoor Tools, including the 20 inch brushless mower, are covered by a 5-Year Limited Warranty.
All RYOBI 40V Lithium-Ion Outdoor Batteries and Chargers are covered by a 3-Year Limited Warranty.
Price
I bought my Ryobi 40 Volt mower in September of 2021 at Home Depot, and at that time it cost $249.
I’ve seen the mower available at other locations, including online, however I can’t speak to the price of those as those prices are constantly changing. You can check the current price on Amazon by clicking the link below.
