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Your lawn is a number of minutes. So is the battery.
A battery mower listing says "up to 40 minutes" or "up to 1/3 acre". Neither tells you if it will finish your lawn. Your lawn takes a set number of minutes to mow, and deck width and walking pace decide that number. Work it out, then hold it against the runtime claim. When we did that for the acre claims here, two of the three only work at 3.1 mph or faster with no overlap and no turns.
Mowing time and battery calculator
An estimate, not a measurement. Minutes needed = square feet / (deck width less a 2 inch overlap) / pace, plus extra for turns and edges. The share of the claimed runtime we count on for each kind of grass is our own estimate. Makers do not publish one. An acre is 43,560 sq ft.
Find your mowing minutes See the 6 picks
Maker's acre claim in sq ftOur estimate at 2.5 mph in normal grass
- EGO LM2114 21 in pushnone stated12,700 sq ft
- EGO LM2114SP 21 innone stated11,600 sq ft
- Greenworks 60V 21 in SP32,670 sq ft13,900 sq ft
- Greenworks 40V 16 in14,520 sq ft6,800 sq ft
- WORX WG779 14 in5,445 sq ft5,800 sq ft
- LawnMaster 19 innone stated8,300 sq ft
The grey bar is the acre claim on the listing, in square feet. The green bar is our estimate of what one charge covers at 2.5 mph, in normal weekly growth, in an average yard. Three of the six listings give no acre figure at all.
Guides
Start here
- The 6 best battery lawn mowers, by the lawn one charge covers
Six cordless walk-behind mowers from EGO, Greenworks, WORX and LawnMaster, compared by deck width, battery in the box, claimed runtime and the lawn one charge covers.
- How many minutes does your lawn take, and will the battery last?
Enter your grass area, pace, yard shape and grass. See the minutes each of six battery mowers needs for your lawn and whether one charge is likely to finish it.
Numbers on the listing
- Minutes or acres: what a battery mower runtime claim is worth
Some mower listings claim minutes, some claim acres, some claim both. We worked out the walking pace each acre claim needs. Two of three need 3 mph or more.
- Deck width decides how far you walk
A wider deck means fewer passes and fewer minutes. See the feet walked and minutes needed for a quarter acre with 14, 16, 19 and 21 inch battery mower decks.
- How much battery is in the box, and how long until it is full again
Volts alone do not tell you how much battery is in the box. Multiply volts by amp-hours by batteries. Plus recharge times, and when a second battery beats waiting.
Pick the right mower
- Push or self-propelled: what the drive costs in battery
EGO sells the same 21 inch mower with and without a drive. Same battery: 55 minutes push, 50 self-propelled. When the drive is worth 5 minutes, and when it is not.
- Deck material, mulch or bag, and cutting height
A plastic deck mower here weighs 37.8 pounds, a steel one 65. Plus what 2-in-1, 3-in-1 and 4-in-1 mean, and why a 3 inch top height can be too low.
Living with one
- Battery mower safety: the blade stop rule, children, slopes, charging and recalls
The federal rule that makes the blade stop in 3 seconds, the ages pediatricians give for mowing, slope and battery charging basics, and a 2022 cordless mower recall.