Lithium-ion OPE (outdoor power equipment) is dominating the consumer market – at least from an interest standpoint even if sales aren’t overtaking gas… yet. In the interest of maintaining that interest, check out what the Redback battery-powered lawn mower has to offer.
This article was originally published on October 10, 2018. We’ve updated it to reflect the mower’s performance in our recent Best Battery-Powered Mower Shootout.
Shootout Results
We liked the simple design of the 40V Redback battery-powered lawn mower. While we generally prefer a self-propelled model, we can appreciate that it’s sometimes a luxury that just isn’t all that necessary. In this case, the Redback model is light and agile, offering an adequate amount of speed and enough runtime to tackle up to 1/2 an acre on a charge. But, even better than all this, you can pick up a 40V Redback mower, two 4.0Ah batteries, and a 2.0A charger for an incredible $139.
Battery-Powered Push Mower Ranking: 4th Place
Key Features
For starters, Redback has two voltages to work with: 120V and 40V. Before you go thinking the 40V model has 1/3 the power of 120V, take a look at this article. We’re focusing on the 40V model this time around.
You get a 19-inch cutting deck. That’s an inch smaller than most of the major players and 2 inches shorter than some. Realistically, that’s not going to hamper you too much for those 1/4-acre and smaller lawns.
One thing I like is that you get 3 discharge options. I typically mulch, but when the grass is wet and/or thick, I’ll give the battery a little break by side discharging or bagging. In general, it doesn’t take as much energy for the latter 2, so you can extend your battery runtime by going one of those two routes.
In terms of battery capacity, you’re looking at a pair of 4.0 Ah batteries in the kit. They’ll give you a total of 320 watt-hours to work with. Just for comparison’s sake, Ryobi’s self-propelled model can run up to 40 minutes on its 5.0 Ah battery with its 40V rating.
Redback pushes into the higher end of the market with its $499.99 pricing. You get 2 batteries and a steel deck for that price, which is a pretty nice package at that price.
Editors Note (8/20/2019): The 40V Redback battery-powered mower can now be purchased directly through the Redback website for $139.99.
The boys over at OPE Reviews put this one to the test, including a solid runtime breakdown. Head over there for the full details.
Redback Battery-Powered Lawn Mower Specifications
- Model: Redback 107478
- Power Source: Redback 40V battery
- Deck Size: 19″
- No Load Speed: 3300 RPM (from the manual)
- Cutting Height: 1″ – 3″, 7 positions
- Bag Capacity: 60 L (1.7 bushels)
- Wheel Size: 7″ (rear), 6″ (front)
- Weight: 52 pounds without battery
- Estimated Runtime: Up to 40 minutes
- Warranty: 3 years
- Price: $139 with two 4.0 Ah batteries and charger
