Customer Reviews

WORX WG712 13 amp 16-Inch Electric Lawn Mower

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(24)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

We have yet to finish cutting the lawn once without the power switch failing. The power interlock switch design is bad, very bad. We've had to rebuild it every time we tried to use it. Support from Worx is beyond non-existent, they want you to contact your vendor (in our case Amazon) for warranty service. I would recommend another manufacuter as this one doesn't support their product.

I was hesitant to buy this, as I have a 0.65 acre lawn, and thick grass. But I liked that with a Worx one didn't have to buy gas and oil, didn't have to worry about being a loud noisy neighbor, and didn't have to worry about yanking, yanking and yanking to start a mower up (even those "easy to start" mowers - I've always had to yank several times to start - maybe my method/style of pulling that cord isn't "proper."). I read reviews of battery operated mowers and corded electric mowers and decided on the corded version.

So I bought the Worx 13.

It mows like a dream. Even with thick, tall (a bout a foot tall), damp grass. In fact there were several times in the thick grass that I know if I had a gas mower it would've stalled and I would be out there pulling on its cord to get it going. The Worx never stalled - oh it strained a few times, but it cut and mulched that thick, tall, damp grass nonetheless. With one pass. One reason I went for the Worx 13 is that it had the most power, and I'm glad I did.

It's lightweight. The heaviest weight is the 100' cord I am dragging behind me!

For those that complain about the dead man switch (you have to hold the bar down for the mower to stay working), I love that it has such a safety feature. Plus, it isn't all that hard to hold down, you got to grip the handle to move the mower anyway, and you only need one hand to hold down the bar - I switch off which hand is holding the bar down to keep from getting tired, not that it takes a strong grip to hold it down in the first place.

It's relatively quiet. I don't worry about hearing loss. I don't worry about the neighbors being disturbed. I can actually hear myself think, or my cellphone going off. I can hear the train in the distance. I can even hear near-by birds. Try doing all that with a gas mower.

It cuts close to the edge - not like the battery operated models where the blade is actually an inch to a few inches away from the edge of the mower. I can mow right up against the brick wall of our patio, leaving very little grass uncut right against the wall(sometimes it gets all of the grass, even the grass growing right up against the wall). Reduces time with weedeater.

You don't have to breathe in toxic fumes. Or buy gas. Or oil. You can mow without wondering if you have enough gas in the tank to finish the job. You just mow until you are done. And if you need to stop, it's a breeze to start up again.

I use it to mow 0.65 acres, it does the job - a better than the gas mower I used before.

True, you need to start near the outlet and mow outward so as to not mow over your cord. True, I had to search just a little bit at Walmart to find a 100' electric outdoor cord that was rated high enough for the mower (get one rated for 15 amps, NOT 10 amps) - took me an extra 5 minutes to find the right cord as most were only rated for 10 amps. True, I needed to use a bungee cord to help keep the extension cord plugged into the Worx 13's plug. That's my biggest complaint. Hey Worx - you all need to design some simple way to help folk keep their extension cord hooked to the Worx! There is some silly little plastic thingie on the Wrox that is theoretically there to help, but it's of little use. But the small bungee cord works great. I have entire mowing sessions where I have no problem at all (a few sessions I do have the extension cord unplug from the Worx cord - when I am stretching the cord to its limit). But compare to the cons of a gas mower - at least for me, the Worx 13 is better, I much rather mow with it.

Addendum, November 2009. It has been almost 2 years, and my Worx Electric Lawn Mover still mows like a dream. Not too often in today's world with companies apparently abandoning quality control left and right to buy something of quality, and to have it still working two years later (oh, that all could be like my Signature TV - still working fine after almost 25 years). Increasingly I am opening boxes to items D.O.A., or which cease functioning after only a few months. Over two years and the Worx works. No issues. No problems. Just works. I wish I could give this more stars.

Before I write anything else..this is my first thought ...this thing should really be sold in Toys R US. Really...

Pros: 1. Cuts grass in a very levelled small lawn..a little at a time.
2. Height setting is very convinient.

Cons: 1 Very filmsy plastic construction. Do not leave it in the sun, the plastic will dry up and crack.

2. Wheels are way too small. Your lawn should be very level otherwise you will be pushing it all day.

3. The handle position is such that it digs into the ground so you actually have to hold the handle and push it with your belly.(hope you have a big one like mine)

4. Don't take the height setting too seriousely. It can not cut that low. The motor stops and will eventually burn out.

5. Cutting blande is narrow and thin. Mine got bent out of shape the first time I nicked the curbside.

This is my third electric lawn mower. The first two were Black and Decker. They died. Thought I'll try sumpin nooo..But this is not it....

Wow. What can I say? This amazing mower works extremely well. I researched this mower for a couple of months and read multiple reviews. I wanted to purchase the Bosch lithium mower or the RoboMower but the Bosch is not for sale in the states yet and the RoboMower is very expensive. I was skeptical at first because the reviews suggested this mower for small yards. Regardless, I took a chance and bought a 100' 12 gauge, 13 amp extension cord. My lot is over 8000 square feet and has a large front yard with an even larger backyard and multiple trees throughout. On top of that, the grass had not been cut for over two months. A true test for a little 16 incher. It cut the grass, twigs, and weeds with ease and the grass box made the whole job a breeze.
It's light weight makes it very manuverable and the push button start up is fantastic.
The lack of fumes,gas,cord pulling, and loud noise levels make this mower extremely efficient and dare I say...fun.
My Father was very skeptical against an electric mower. He came by, saw it in action and left extremely impressed.

Yes it has a cord but if you can handle a vacuum cleaner, you can handle the Worx.

Not only does it perform it's job but it's a bad looking little M.F. as well. :)

It took me 10 minutes to assemble, including the grass catcher. I was outside mowing in 15 and done in an hour.

It's a bit heavier than I expected and the grass catcher makes it trickier to maneuver than my old electric, but I like it. It cut through my thick, ugly crabgrass on the lowest setting in no time. I'm looking forward to trying it with the mulcher rather than the grass catcher, just to see the difference. (But my lawn's so short right now, I think it will take a while.)

We recently "downsized" the lawn area of our backyard to a 16' x 22' area and wanted something light weight and compact to mow the yard with. After reading the reviews on Amazon, we decided to take a chance on the Worx 16-Inch Electric Lawn Mower. My husband LOVES THIS MACHINE! It was our first mowing after having new sod put in and the lawn was pretty long but it mowed like a dream! He has no complaints whatsoever with it in anyway. He said it went together without any problems (read your manual prior to assembling and you won't have the problems others have mentioned!!!). We were equally surprised that it came with a two year warranty! Its a great buy and a great lawn mower. We highly recommend it!

I was in search of a mower that I could handle on my own. My husband isn't very helpful with the yard stuff! So, after struggling for years with a huge gas mower I decided to start shopping for something to make my life easier. After lots of research, I chose the Worx electric mower. I was totally thrilled when i opened the box and found the majority of the mower built for me. I quickly snapped a few things together and off I was to try this funky looking mower. It looks like something my 7 year old son would want.....very futuristic! It is very easy to handle (once you adjust to the extension cord that you have to keep track of....that's very new to me). After a few passes, I think I mastered it. This mower is easy to handle and gets into places that my old mower couldn't reach. I can't say enough about how great it is. The lawn looked fabulous and I look forward to my next mowing. I also found it very easy to store in my shed.....takes up very little space. This was a super purchase and I would highly recommend this mower to anyone that has an appropriate sized yard for an electric mower.