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61 of 64 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great little mower for the urban yard!, April 18, 2007
This review is from: WORX WG712 13 amp 16-Inch Electric Lawn Mower (Lawn & Patio)
Ok, I confess. I was a bit skeptical, especially when I realized the Worx electric mower was only 16" wide-- I'm replacing a 20" Snapper. Even a little more skeptical when I pulled it out of the box-- I never, ever imagined a lawn mower could appear like something half space-ship, half cartoon in real life and still do a decent job-- but it looks very cool and modern! Then I noticed those familiar styled little plastic wheels that used to adorn my kids' Big Wheel trikes-- another strike. Finally, I flustered trying to "snap" together the 2-piece plastic grass-catcher.
But not to worry-- really, this is a "positive" review.
Once I got over all that and pulled the machine out onto my small urban front and back lawn, all doubts blew away.
The Worx 16-inch mower "works" like a dream (couldn't resist that). The 16" swath it cut was just right for my two 12x15' patches of grass. The 13 amps were perfect to cut my overgrown semi-wet grass without any trouble at all. I was relieved to discover the mower engine has a not-too-loud blower sound a little like a turbine. That seems to be less obnoxious than other electric mowers reviewed on Amazon. And the cutter deck height was simple to change with their single lever 6-height adjustment feature.
I stored the catcher untouched in my small garage. Using the mulcher attachment, most of the grass easily & cleanly worked its way back into the lawn with little obvious mess. About only thing that needs improvement here is use of a small black plastic clip to hold the attachement in. I'm sure that will eventually be lost.
As far as the "Big Wheels" go-- I wish it had real rubber ones, but so far the mower performance has eclipsed any complaints I might have had initially. I also am not impressed with their catcher-- I'd much rather see a 1-piece molded plastic version on future models.
So, as of its first use, I love my new mower and have happily laid my old smoking Snapper to rest. I'll report back after the summer has past with my final evaluation.
UPDATE JULY 2, 2011--- Its' still working and does a great job. It's been several years and I just wanted to let you know our mower is still working absolutely perfectly. Even the plastic "Big Wheel" wheels have done fine. I'd buy it again.
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27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
EASY TO USE AND BETTER THAN BLACK, July 17, 2007
This review is from: WORX WG712 13 amp 16-Inch Electric Lawn Mower (Lawn & Patio)
I'll try to keep this short and simple... Before I got the Worx mower I purchased the Black & Decker MM875 19" Lawn Hog (corded) - used it once - and returned it the next day. Not what I was expecting or hoping for... I purchased the Worx 13-amp 16-Inch Electric Lawn Mower #WG712 on Amazon. Right out of the box when compared to the Black & Decker it is better looking machine. The Worx is lighter and smaller making it a lot easier to use and maneuver. Yeah, it is only a 16 inch blade, but combine that with 13 amps (instead of the Black & Decker 12 amp motor on a 19" blade) and you get plenty of cutting power. I figure because it was so easy to maneuver around various landscape boulders and such, it ended up being just as quick as a larger machine.
The Worx height adjustment was well sprung and easier to use since it had a large knob that was right on top of the machine - and it is numbered - unlike the Black & Decker. In general I thought the Black & Decker was bigger and heavier than it needs to be making it harder to maneuver. The Black & Decker's height adjustment on the front side wheel wasn't very convenient and it wasn't numbered. Further, the Black & Decker didn't cut as short as I'd like. The Worx cuts down to ¾ ". At 12 amps the Black & Decker appeared to have sufficient power - but did slow down on a number of areas on my lawn.
Looking at both machines from underneath, the Worx has a double-lined body that covers the blade area - the Black & Decker did not. If something was to go really wrong with one of these two machines, the Worx appears to have a stronger/safer build to stop debris from cracking the body or making its way through.
Another big difference between the two is the grass hopper. On the Worx it is hard plastic and hangs above the ground behind the mower - It does not drag on the ground. Pull up and back and it's off the mower. Dump the grass into a bag or trash can - bang on it to get all the all grass out, snap back on. It even has a little window so you can see how full it is. Very easy to take off, dump and put back on. The Black & Decker has a mesh bag that I found harder to use - just taking off and putting back on. Also, because it's a mesh bag when I went to empty the thing it tended to collapse as I tried to dump out the grass. Not like I can bang on it to get out all the grass, so you gotta' shake it out. Further the Black & Decker bag tended to drag while attached to the mower and based on the label sewn to the bag - it's expected that it will wear out and need to be replaced - The Worx hard plastic hopper looked like it would never wear out.
Overall cut quality is fine on both machines, but hands down the Worx is a much better machine for me. The Worx is lighter, more powerful, well built and easy to push and adjust - just easier to use, plus I'm helping the environment.
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41 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Probably the most powerful electric mower, but with flaws, July 13, 2007
This review is from: WORX WG712 13 amp 16-Inch Electric Lawn Mower (Lawn & Patio)
Although my lawn is small, it has a type of drought resistant fescue grass that is dense and rather tough -- especially in spring when stalks develop. Knowing this, I looked for an electric mower with the highest power rating. The battery-powered ones have virtually useless ratings, such as a promise to run long enough to cut the lawn in a quarter acre yard. I doubted that a battery powered one would have enough power to handle my grass.
The corded electric ones like the Worx are rated according to amps. Unless you are technically qualified in electrical power, it's hard to compare that to the horsepower ratings of gasoline powered mowers, but the Worx had the highest ampere rating that I could find. It does a reasonable job on the fescue, although the motor lugs appreciably if the grass is more than about 3 inches high, requiring that I go very slowly.
It is made in China (surprise!) and like many foreign made products that require assembly, the instructions consist of small, poor quality diagrams with poorly coordinated verbal explanations. Fortunately, the actual assembly is not too complicated once you exercise independent reasoning as to which part connects where.
The mower is so light in weight that it tends to "float up" over heavy grass, resulting in some patchiness in the height of cut. This could be improved by making the machine heavier. The ease of pushing would be improved with larger diameter wheels. I plan to add some weight to mine to correct this.
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