Solaris SP21HB 21-Inch 24-Volt Cordless Self-Propelled FWD Bag/Mulch/Side Discharge Cordless Lawn Mower

by Solaris

Product Features

• Front Wheel Drive Self Propelled
• Most advanced electric motor technology equals more power and longer run times
• Removable Batteries (With On board and Off board charging options)
• Push Button Start With LED Battery Level Indicator
• 7 position height adjustment from 1.5-inch to 3.5-inch

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 115 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B00284BC6W
• Item model number: SP21HB
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #67,001 in Patio, Lawn & Garden (See Top 100 in Patio, Lawn & Garden)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Powerful. Pollution-free. Low-maintenance. Combining strength and innovation, the Solaris SP21HB 21-Inch 24-Volt Cordless Self Propelled FWD Bag/Mulch/Side Discharge Lawn Mower is an extra-wide rotary mower that cuts the average yard in one charge. Thanks to its high-performance motor and extra-large wheels, the Solaris is perfect for rough, hilly, or dense terrain.

Features include a self-propelled option for easy handling, even on hilly lawns.See More.

Accessories include an optional solar panel (not included).

The Terra Phase High-Performance Motor provides enough power to cut long, thick, or wet grass.See More.

The quiet, zero-emission design is advantageous for you, your neighbors, and the environment.See More.

The cordless Solaris requires no gas, oil, or cords, cutting maintenance to a happy minimum.See More.

Easy Maneuvering with Self-Propelled Front-Wheel Drive
If you are seeking the low-maintenance, zero-emission benefits of a cordless mower but don't want to forgo power and mobility, the Solaris is the answer. A combination of strength and innovation, the Solaris offers the option of powerful, self-propelled front-wheel drive. The extra-large wheels provide an excellent source of traction, which comes in especially handy on rough or uneven terrain.

Hassle-Free, Emission-Free, and Extra Quiet
With the Solaris it's simple: just push and go. This cutting-edge mower requires no engine maintenance and absolutely no gas, oil, or cords. So when you decide it's time to mow, you can get right to work without wasting valuable time on upkeep. The hassle-free design also means you can store the mower (even upside down or hanging on the wall) without worrying about spills.

To save you time, the Solaris also boasts a three-in-one capacity to mow using the side discharge, mulch, or bag. Its handy mulching ability eliminates the need for an additional mulching device. The side-discharge and bag components on the deck allow for efficient waste collection, and the wide 21-inch cut capability speeds up the mowing process.

Producing zero emissions and no greenhouse gases, this mower is perfect for anyone who is looking for an easy way to protect the environment. And if you are someone who wants to reduce your carbon footprint as much as possible, you can choose to recharge the Solaris with an optional solar panel (sold separately), which makes mowing your lawn absolutely carbon neutral. Plus, the quiet motor helps make lawn maintenance more relaxing while reducing noise pollution in your neighborhood.

High-Performance Motor Cuts Long or Wet Grass
The superb Terra Phase High-Performance Motor has a brushless, electric construction, which increases the mower's run-times for maximum efficiency and gives the mower the torque to cut through long, thick, or wet grass. this state of the art technology and a durable solid steel deck keeps the Solaris performing and looking like new for the long term.

Powerful Batteries Let You Tackle Your Lawn in One Charge
An average lot (7,000 to 10,000 square feet) can be cut in just one charge of the Solaris' highly efficient batteries. The included batteries only take 12 hours to charge, or they can be charged in four to five hours with the Rapid Charger Station sold separately. Charging can be done on board the mower with the built-in charging plug, or you can remove the batteries and recharge them using the included off-board charging cradle. Also, a built-in LED battery level indicator on the mower keeps you in-the-know about your battery power levels.

What's in the Box
Solaris SP21HB 21-Inch 24-Volt Cordless Bag/Mulch/Side Discharge Lawn Mower, two batteries, charger, off board charging cradle, and manual.

From the Manufacturer

The revolutionary Solaris Cordless Lawn Mower outperforms gasoline mowers with a touch of a button. Featuring Terra Phase Brushless Motor Technology - the future of lawn mowing is here. And here is why: Superior cut, Longer life, Quieter operation - Neighbor Friendly, Easier to start (push button), No spills (flip to sharpen or store without spills), Convenient to store (can hang on the wall), No Gas/No Oil/No Emissions, Can be powered by a solar panel, More economical to operate. The Solaris Cordless Electric Lawn Mower is powered by the Terra Phase Power System, it has a 3 in 1 steel deck (includes side discharge, bag and mulching option), no gas/no oil/no emissions, is quieter than a gas mower, includes a push button easy start system, no engine maintenance is required, features a LED battery power indicator, and on and off-board charging options. If the Solaris Lawn Mower is purchased with the solar panel option, it will produce no greenhouse gasses and no pollution of any kind. The solar panel will recharge the batteries in approximately 3 sunny days or 4-5 cloudy days. This lawn mower will typically cut 7,000 to 10,000 sq. ft of grass per charge depending on conditions. Offering consumers a viable electric alternative when choosing to replace their gas mower. The total pollution generated by all gasoline-powered lawn mowers is the equivalent pollution generated by 1.7 million cars; all of this pollution would be eliminated if they were replaced by Solaris mowers. In addition, gas mower users regularly spill fuel during fill-ups; that all adds up to the amount of fuel contained in 2,800 tanker trucks. That too, would be eliminated by using Solaris mowers. 2 Year Limited Warranty.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Alternative to Gas Powered Mower, June 21, 2009

By 

M. Reynolds "Celtic Guitarist" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Solaris SP21HB 21-Inch 24-Volt Cordless Self-Propelled FWD Bag/Mulch/Side Discharge Cordless Lawn Mower (Lawn & Patio)

Having read the two previous reviews and also the reviews on Home Depot's site I thought I should add my two cents worth.

I purchased this mower a little over a month ago from Home Depot. I bought from them mainly because they were cheaper, $469 vs $499, and because the tax money would stay in our town.

First I've got to say this was one of the easiest power tools I've had to set up. Basically pull it out of the box and move the handle into position and it's ready to move. I am in agreement about the manual needing some work. I've written better procedures/manuals for work so I know it can be done.

The previous reviewer stated that they heard a popping noise upon installing the batteries. This is most likely due to having the green "key" (basically a piece of metal that bridges the circuit so the batteries will work) installed when putting the batteries in...they will electrically arc. It works best to put the batteries in BEFORE you put the key in...still arcs, but at the key contacts not the battery contacts. It also sounds like the previous reviewer charged the batteries in the mower. This can be done as an option, but I prefered to charge mine with the supplied charger outside of the mower. I charged the batteries for a full 24 hours before use (most people make the mistake in not charging batteries completely, then blame the device if it doesn't work correctly).

The week before, I had used our gas mower to do the lawn and noted any places were it bogged down. The Solaris bogged in the same places, so I didn't think power was an issue. Our yard is about 1/3 acre and if the grass isn't too long I can get the whole yard done in one charge and still have a little juice left on the batteries. I did purchase a second set of batteries so when the lawn gets longer I won't have to worry about having to stop cutting and recharge overnight. I wouldn't suggest getting the solar panel to charge the batteries unless you really want to be off the grid...but at $200 bucks a pop, you'd better REALLY want to be off the grid...that and it takes 3 to 5 days for the batteries to charge with it.

I was surprised at how well the self propelled feature worked. I had been using a Honda self propelled mower for at least 10-12 years now and had a good standard for comparison. I even took a crack at mowing without the self propelled drive working and it was easier to move the mower due to the larger rear wheels, unlike our Honda which is a beast to mow with out the drive. Is the mower itself heavy? No. It's when you add the lead acid batteries in that the mower gets some weight to it...but it's still on par weight-wise with a standard gas mower...and may be lighter than some.

The previous complaint about a high pitched noise when you stop the mower is unfounded. When you plug the "key" in it starts beeping to let you know it's active. If you don't start the mower up in say 15-30 seconds it goes to a continuous beep...this is to let you know you've left the circuit active and will most likely drain the batteries...I also believe this is a safety feature as well, so children won't be able to start the mower if you remember to take the key out...and you will remember with that high pitched beep going.

I haven't noticed any problems with the wheels like the previous reviewer and the mower has done the lawn quite well for the past month. I use the mulching feature as I have done with the Honda for years. No bagging and the lawn looks as good or better than with the Honda. Nice clean cutting. Solaris recommends not sharpening the blade, which bothered me at first, but after seeing how well it cut the lawn, this isn't an issue.

Setting the wheels has to be done individually, but I don't consider this an issue as the Honda required all four wheels to be set individually as well.

I find it hard to rate something like this with just one rating, but let me sum up how I see it:

Mower quietness: 5 stars
Quality of cut: 5 stars
Blade engage & self propel levers: 2 stars
Overall mower quality: 4 stars
Ease of use: 5 stars

As much as I'd like to give the Solaris a five star rating I can't due to the Blade engage and self propel levers. I have no problem working them, but the thinness of them and the amount of effort required to engage them I have to drop the overall rating to four.

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not ready for prime time yet and feels too cheap for the price, May 11, 2009

By 

D. Politis (Dearborn, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Solaris SP21HB 21-Inch 24-Volt Cordless Self-Propelled FWD Bag/Mulch/Side Discharge Cordless Lawn Mower (Lawn & Patio)

I actually got this item from Home Depot because it was not yet available on Amazon. Let me start off to say that I was real excited buying this product because I would be doing my part for the environment.

The first thing I should mention is that the manual is kind of useless. It has pictures of all different models and shows how each part is put together but in that vague diagram way.

Assembly was easy. The only thing you really have to do is put the batteries into the engine and tighten the handle. When I put the batteries in their location, I heard a popping noise (almost like the sound of a spark) when I put them in. This kind of alarmed me at first, but it didn't cause any problems.

After charging it for a day and raking my lawn to remove all debris, I started the lawn mower. It started immediately and the first thing you notice is how quiet it is. You could hold a conversation with someone without yelling while using this. I thought this was nice. But as I continued, things were not as good. I noticed that the self-propelled feature does not really provide all that much power. I then decided to try mowing without using the self-propelled featured, but the mower is very heavy. After doing several rows, the right front wheel stopped moving and made a clicking noise. Also, I noticed that the rear right wheel started to wobble. I stopped the lawn mower and noticed that wheel had cracked near the center. When I turned the mower off, the mower made an annoying high pitched sound until I removed the lock on the batteries.

This lawn mower does not have a lot of power. I am sure this is due to battery life vs. horsepower issues with battery operated lawn mowers.

I had to finish the lawn with my gas mower. I noticed that the gas mower was much easier to use (but much more noisier). My gas mower is FWD self-propelled, as well, and it moved effortlessly across my lawn.

I decided two give two stars for the quiet factor and the ease of starting it (I hate having to pull to start). The wheel on the lawn mower may have been defective and that may be what caused the problems I experienced. I will say that the wheels did look cheap compared to the plastic on my Craftsman gas lawn mower which do look very sturdy (and have served me well for the last four years). Also, the handle on the lawn mower was very cheap as well. They put foam over the two metal parts and you can feel both of them when you hold them. This might hurt after awhile. On my Craftsmen, the metal pieces were molded into each other to feel like one piece.

Another thing I didn't like about the lawn mower were the level settings. Although I did not experience an issue with the settings, they did not look they could stand up to extensive use as they looked like small bumps rather that prongs. It looked like if I hit a bump that the settings might slip. Again, this was just a feeling and not based on any issue I had.

Another issue I had is that I called Linamar that night and they never returned my call. I got a recorded message (it was past their hours of business) that asked me to leave a message. I briefly described the two issues I had and left my phone number. Unfortunately, they never called me back. You would think if they asked you to leave a message, someone would have listened to it and returned your call. Four days later, I decided to take the lawn mower back to Home Depot.

Home Depot gave me the option of repairing the lawn mower, but I decided to return it since I paid over $500 (including tax) for the lawn mower and I expected better quality for that money. I was also worried that if they took a long time to repair it that I would not be able to get a refund if I had further issues. Home Depot refunded my money (but I could tell they didn't really like it when they saw for how much).

I really hope that future models of this product would use higher quality parts.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Some nice features, but more minuses, September 7, 2009

By 

D. Moore "dm" (Iowa, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Solaris SP21HB 21-Inch 24-Volt Cordless Self-Propelled FWD Bag/Mulch/Side Discharge Cordless Lawn Mower (Lawn & Patio)

I've owned a Black & Decker CM-1000 for several years, but we moved into a rental house with a big lawn that would have cost $45 a mow to have done by the landlord's service. While I've been mainly happy with the B&D, it doesn't have a swappable battery. I bought the Solaris because of the wider mowing deck (hopefully would save some time), swappable battery, and self-propelled feature. It arrived fine, was easy to get set up although I thought it odd that the blade is meant to be dull. The fit & finish is mixed. The wheels are attached a bit flimsily. The battery compartment usually needs several tries to get it to close, and the wheel adjustments were a bit awkward.

OK, on to the mowing. It is a heavy mower, and needed the self-propelled just to make it about the same effort as the B&D which doesn't have a self-propelled feature. The mower also wants to slide toward the downside of even a very modest grade when mowing across it. It is also more difficult to maneuver around than the B&D, and not as easy to use in dealing with areas that were a bit tight. The B&D's cut was slightly better even though my B&D's blade was in need of a sharpening. The B&D was also substantially easier to use over divots and bumps in the lawn. The Solaris would have difficulty with heavy, weedy areas, such as an abandoned vegetable garden that I don't mow every time, and was less able to deal with running over the occasional small stick. The B&D handled these with relative ease. Mowing times were approximately even, although, of course, the Solaris allowed me to swap in an extra set of batteries.

During the third mow, the Solaris experienced a major fault warning and stopped working. The manual says to contact the manufacturer, which I did. They told me to contact Amazon to arrange for an exchange. Amazon was surprised at this, as they had no arrangement with the manufacturer to handle warranty claims outside the 30-day return period. Fortunately, the Amazon CS rep. made good on a full refund, tracking the item back and making sure I was not given a partial refund as would normally be the case. Cudos to Amazon for going the extra step.

Ultimately, I decided that getting a second B&D and having to mow on multiple days was preferable to exchanging for the Solaris. I bought a B&D CM-1200 (the 1000's replacement model), and am glad I did. While the option of swapping batteries would make the B&D the clearly best option, it is definitely more solidly put together, mows better, and is significantly less expensive than the Solaris.