Customer Reviews

All Power America APT1216 GoMow 16-Inch 24-Volt Cordless Reel Lawn Mower with Grass Catcher

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

First for a frame of reference, I like and prefer the manicured appearance that only a reel mower can provide, and I have the Brill Lexus battery powered, made in Germany, which I have been using for several years. The Brill is good to excellent in its construction, but it lacks the power to cut through very thick grass when its mechanical bypass device kicks in and the reel stops turning as the mower makes a raucously loud and annoying ratcheting sound. The Brill works well, but my experience is that it lags and can't keep up in the spring when the grass has a greater moisture content. In contrast, the All Power reel mower is made in China, and it's design and materials reflect its cheaper price. Where it excels, is that it is much more powerful than the the Brill. However, like most electric mowers, it will be overwhelmed with grass that is growing rapidly and is full of moisture after several days of Spring showers. As mentioned by other reviewers, the plastic parts are minimally constructed and won't stand up to hard use. You will curse the plastic height adjustment. It's shoddily designed and constructed, but it can be made to work if you are able and willing to fiddle with it and if you don't try to make frequent height adjustments. (Once when I was using it in heavy, thick, damp grass, the adjusting device (rollers) fell completely off and had to be reinstalled.) At that point I got special approval from Amazon to return the mower, but in the end I decided to keep it because it fits a need in the set of tools I use on my lawn, which also includes the largest Neutron rotary mower and the cordless Black and Decker. In other words, except for the smallest of lawns or in a dry climate, this mower is insufficient, but it does make the lawn look manicured and most of the the time has the power to do that. Mowing time is much better than the Brill, probably twice and I have an extra battery for the Brill. Lastly, for some reason the AP mower showers your legs with clippings much worse than the Brill, but I think that is because it is much more powerful and spins faster.

The item came broken; the top broken; cracked on the side; screws bolts cracked; It was packed very badly; I called the company; no help at all; Customer service of All Power America does not exist; Horror item; I have never seen anything so bad; I immediately return it;

Pros: Low cost, removable battery, some tech frills like LED power meter and overload protection
Cons: Grass etc flies back at operator w/o catcher in place, problems cutting weeds or seed shoots, height adjustment is more complicated than average

I bought this mower for a Zoysia lawn and I don't use it for any other lawn. I like it as a finish cut, I do make a rough cut on my McLane push reel mower first, and the higher rpms of this electric mower does produce a much cleaner and crisper cut. Zoysia really needs a reel mower to make it look the best. This one is a good idea, it just needs to be make stronger and more durable.

OK, the bagger works fine. It's real easy to push, the battery doesn't make it push any harder at all.

The lawn mower started to fall apart on me after the first month. The overload switch fell out of the plastic housing, I had to cut it out and by-pass it. I had to re-wire with a toggle switch after the trigger switch fell apart. The height-adjustment rollers need to have stronger metal nuts instead of embedding them in plastic wing nuts.

You can easily buy any aftermarket 12v, 7amp/hr. sealed batteries and hook them up in series for 24 volts. They are used in this mower, same dimensions and size.

If you're mechanically-inclined, this lawn mower will work for you for a year or two, but don't be surprised if some things start to fall off on you. It's not made to be very sturdy. You might have to make quick-fixes as mentioned above to keep it running.

I'll look for another one with a little more quality. I think electric reel mowers have a definite future, just be advised on what you are buying and be prepared for the little hassles as described above.

UPDATE: July 2010. Electric motor stopped working completely. Probably faulty or substandard wiring or brushes. Don't have the time to fix it, it is almost a basket case now. Also bagger is cracked open and beyond repair.

I thought I was being very green. This mower will ONLY mow grass. I have some weeds on the side of the house and after trying to mow then for 1/2 hr I gave up. It is VERY loud, do not use it on a sunday morning. BUT, it is electric and very easy to put together and use. The grass area that I do have looks marvelous.

The battery does not provide enough torque to cut through anything bigger than grass. Be sure to watch for any small sticks and smal rocks. If you run over them then your blade will get bent and create a terrible noise as the blade continues to rotate and get stuck on the blade out of shape or the blade will jam up completely on the housing. No need to fear, just take out a hammer and beat the blade back into shape and start cutting again. Despite the occasional out of shape blade stoppage, I like the convenience, price, and long lasting battery.

I suppose I should know that one does not get much for $165. The first item to break were the plastic brackets holding the roller bar.
Mower runs very noisily and stopped with a clunk.

Electric, yes. Cordless, yes. A reel mower, yes. Great color, easy assembly, doesn't take up much storage space, and with no cord one can go all over the yard. Plus it is so much easier than the old fashioned reel mower.

This item is very very low quality and flimsy and it is now completely broken. I have a small patch of grass 10 ft by 20 ft.

Very dissatified. wasted 170 and Amazon wont even help me get it fixed or tell me where to go for repairs.

this is very poor service

I purchase this mower last summer, late june i think, when i got it i was unhappy the first time i used it. it did not cut very well, but i thought i would give it a chance and see if it got better with use. it didnt and now i was just out cutting my front lawn, and i am not able to finish. it has a overload switch, at this point while sitting on the side walk with no grass to cut in its teeth, it runs for 5 sec and shuts off. if i could figure out who the manufacture is, who ever All Power america is i would write them. but they are no where to be found.