Sun Joe iON16LM 40 V 16-Inch Cordless Lawn Mower with Brushless Motor

Bullie76

Forum Newbie
Joined
Jul 1, 2017
Threads
1
Messages
2
  • / Sun Joe iON16LM 40 V 16-Inch Cordless Lawn Mower with Brushless Motor
Any one own one of these? I have a small yard totaling 1500-1600 sq feet. Last year my old gas mower played out and I bought a 16" reel mower.....don't laugh. It has actually done a good job but early season weeds were a pain to deal with and I'm not so sure I want to deal with the heat and humidity of late July and August using a reel. I've seen mostly good reviews with the SJ but a few negatives as to looking and being as light as a toy. To me......being light is an advantage(I'm 63) for easy use and hopefully extending the battery life a bit.

Anyway...was hoping someone might own one here and have an opinion. Home Depot has it on sale for $229 through 7/5 which is a good deal as compared to other vendors.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-YlXgnnr1I
 

MowerMike

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 5, 2012
Threads
85
Messages
964
  • / Sun Joe iON16LM 40 V 16-Inch Cordless Lawn Mower with Brushless Motor
Be aware that the Sun Joe 16" cordless mower is a bagger only, so if you want to mulch it won't work.
 

Bullie76

Forum Newbie
Joined
Jul 1, 2017
Threads
1
Messages
2
  • / Sun Joe iON16LM 40 V 16-Inch Cordless Lawn Mower with Brushless Motor
Be aware that the Sun Joe 16" cordless mower is a bagger only, so if you want to mulch it won't work.

Here is SJ's response to mulching. I found this on Home Depot's question and answering section. I also emailed SJ and they basically said the same.

Even though we do not claim it to be a convertible mower/mulcher as is, it technically is one, due to the fact that removing the rear bag cause the rear hatch to fully enclose the deck, causing grass clippings to remain in contact with the blade until light and small enough to drop behind the cutting path in the form of mulch. In this way, no mulch plug is needed, yet it converts between a mower with bag and a mulcher.
In the near future, we are releasing a mulch blade kit (model# ION16LM-MB) to further utilize this capability, so keep an eye out for that!
All the best,
Snow Joe + Sun Joe


This was posted 2 years ago and I still see no mulching blade on their site. So not sure what's up with that. I actually bought the mower the other day during HD's sale and mowed my yard yesterday. Utilizing bagger only. It did a fine job and I only used about 1/2 a charge. Seems to be well built and it's easy to use. I plan to mow w/o bagger next time to see if there truly is a mulching like cut. Even if that does not work out well, not a big concern to me as I never have mulched much. Biggest question is how well battery holds up over the long haul. Of course that's the question with any of these.
 

MowerMike

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 5, 2012
Threads
85
Messages
964
  • / Sun Joe iON16LM 40 V 16-Inch Cordless Lawn Mower with Brushless Motor
Here is SJ's response to mulching. I found this on Home Depot's question and answering section. I also emailed SJ and they basically said the same.

Even though we do not claim it to be a convertible mower/mulcher as is, it technically is one, due to the fact that removing the rear bag cause the rear hatch to fully enclose the deck, causing grass clippings to remain in contact with the blade until light and small enough to drop behind the cutting path in the form of mulch. In this way, no mulch plug is needed, yet it converts between a mower with bag and a mulcher.
In the near future, we are releasing a mulch blade kit (model# ION16LM-MB) to further utilize this capability, so keep an eye out for that!
All the best,
Snow Joe + Sun Joe


This was posted 2 years ago and I still see no mulching blade on their site. So not sure what's up with that. I actually bought the mower the other day during HD's sale and mowed my yard yesterday. Utilizing bagger only. It did a fine job and I only used about 1/2 a charge. Seems to be well built and it's easy to use. I plan to mow w/o bagger next time to see if there truly is a mulching like cut. Even if that does not work out well, not a big concern to me as I never have mulched much. Biggest question is how well battery holds up over the long haul. Of course that's the question with any of these.

I think SJ's response is bs, because a mulch plug is needed to get a smooth circular inner deck, so that the clippings don't get stuck in the rear outlet to the bag and stop circulating. Also, you need a mulching blade to get enough sustained lift to allow the clippings to circulate multiple times to get cut down to a small size before being dispersed back into the lawn. One of my mowers is like yours that lacks a mulch plug and has a similar blade, and it won't mulch at all. I'm thinking the reason SJ never offered a mulching blade is that they realized it wouldn't work without a mulch plug. Anyways, it doesn't sound like this is an issue with you, and I'm glad you are happy with your purchase.
 
Top