Looking for the best cordless lawn mowers?  I recently went searching for a new lawn mower for to cut my city-sized backyard as my reel mower didn’t make it through one season.  As most of us do I went on-line first to research the best rated lawn mowers.  I quickly realized that my needs were not typical as I live in the city and I have a tiny lawn by most standards so I widdled my search down to the best cordless lawn mowers with a 16″ cutting deck or less.
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Anything over 16″ makes it too hard to squeeze into the narrow areas and because my yard is so small the larger deck sizes don’t save me any time.  I also realized in addition to folks with small yards these type of lawn mowers would be good for yards that require a riding mower as you still need a mower to get into the nooks and crannys of the larger yard.

Below are some things to consider if you are in the market for a lawn mower for tight space as well as a few products I considered.

Things to Consider

Noise

Quite honestly I couldn’t believe how quiet all of the mowers I looked at were.  The models I looked at were 20x less noisy than gas mowers.  If you plan on mowing at night then maybe take a closer look at the quiet features in a mower but to me they made less noise than a typical hair dryer on it’s low setting.

Cutting Height Adjustment

This was an important feature to me and should be for everyone looking to have a nice lawn.  If you cut too low during the dog days of summer grass has a higher tendency to burn.  In the fall, it’s better to keep the lawn short as the grass doesn’t grow as fast.  The more cutting adjustments the better.

Fold Down and Storage

The storage footprint is another important feature when deciding on a mower. Especially if you don‘t have a garage or storage shed.

Mulching capability

If a yard is small the need to bag grass becomes less important.  Mulching capabilities eliminate the need and extra work of bagging grass.

Power and Battery performance

Run time on one charge and battery power add to the mowers performance and ease of use.  The mowers I looked at ranged from 24 – 40 volts.

Battery Cover

I find this feature important if you store the mower outside.  The cover protects the important battery connection spots from the elements.

A Larger Product Line

The last thing to consider is whether the mower is part of a larger line of blowers, edgers, and weed whackers, etc.  If you are satisfied with one product chances are you will be with other products in the line.  Also, some batteries may be interchangeable.

Lawn Mowers To Consider

 

Black & Decker CM1640 16-Inch Cordless Mower, 40-volt

Considerations:

Price – $319 at Amazon

My Rating – 3 out of 5

Cutting Height Adjustment – Adjust- 6 settings, with a height of cut between 1-1/10″ and 3-1/10″

Fold Down and Storage – Folding handles

Battery & Performance – Two 40-volt MAX lithium-ion batteries for up to 30 minutes of runtime

Mulching Capability – No

Dimensions – 16 in cutting width

Weight – 48 lb

Larger Product Line – Yes, Swap batteries with the rest of the 40-volt MAX cordless lineup

Battery Cover – Yes

What’s good

• Two batteries included
• Interchangeable batteries with the rest of the product line
• Battery cover
• Good folding and storage functionality

What’s not so good

• Fairly heavy at 48lb
• No mulching capability
• Expensive at $319
• It is fairly wide at 18″

WORX WG782 14-Inch 24-Volt Cordless Lawn Mower with IntelliCut

Considerations:

Price – $229 at Amazon

My Rating – 4 out of 5

Cutting Height Adjustment – adjustable mowing height from 1.8 to 3.3 inches

Fold Down and Storage – Folding handles

Battery & Performance – 24-volt battery.  Worx claims it cuts up to 10,000 square feet on a single charge (up to 40 minutes of runtime)

Dimensions – 14 in cutting width

Mulching Capability – Yes

Weight – 32 lb

Larger Product Line – Yes

Battery Cover – No

What’s good

• The cutting width (for small yards)
• Mulching capability
• Price

What’s not so good

• While the handles do fold down as expected the fold and store process is a bit clumsy.
• The mower has no battery cover

Sun Joe iON 40V Cordless iON16LM 16-Inch Lawn Mower with Brushless Motor

Considerations:

Price –  $310 at Amazon

My Rating – 3 out of 5

Cutting Height Adjustment – From 1.18 to 3.15 Inch

Fold Down and Storage – Yes

Battery & Performance – 40 Volt EcoSharp battery for up to 40 minutes of run-time

Dimensions – 16 inch cutting width

Mulching Capability – No

Weight – 33lb

Larger Product Line – No

Battery Cover – Yes

What’s good

• The folding and storage footprint of this mower is very good
• Very easy to adjust the cutting height with a large side lever

What’s not so good

• No mulching capabilities
• Price

Conclusion

While I liked the multiple and interchangeable batteries featured in the Black and Decker CM 1640 the price, weight, size, and lack of mulching capabilities took it out of the running for me.

The Sun Joe iON has an exceptional mechanism for changing cutting height and the overall fit and finish is very good but at $310 and no mulcher I had to purchase the Worx WG782with Intellicut.

I’ve had the Worx mower for 2 seasons now and it still works like new.  I don’t have a garage so it spent our snowiest winter ever tarped off outside and started right up this spring.  The battery runs for a month without needing a charge and the mulching feature works very well eliminating the hassle of bagging and extra rubbish.  It’s also priced the best of the three and it’s 14″footprint makes it easy to get into the narrow areas of my yard.  If you are in the market for a small cordless mower I’d suggest taking a close look at the Worx WG782 with Intellicut.

See it in action

Do you have other models you’d recommend or small backyard tips?  Leave a comment below.