New Honda Cordless Electric Mowers

[MowerMike]

Honda Lawn Mowers | HRX HRN HRC HRS Mowers | Honda Power Equipment

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So, as many of you probably know, Honda stopped manufacturing gasoline engine powered lawn mowers in 2023 and has replaced them with a new line of cordless electric mowers that use the same decks and self-propel belt drive systems (except the blade stop models use a separate electric motor to drive the rear wheels). I recently bought the HRN-BV model, which retails for $899, but found one discounted 44% to $499 at a local Northern Tool + Equipment store. This is their lowest priced model and Honda no longer offers a less expensive push model. As a back story, I recently turned 80 and all my lawn mowers have been push type, so I wanted to get a self-propel model. I have always wanted a Honda mower, but until recently they were gas powered and I have long since adopted electric tools. The Hondas have a well deserved reputation for high quality, durability and reliability. They are more rugged than other brands in many ways. For example, most brands like EGO use plastic ring and pinion gears in their self-propel drive systems, but Honda uses a steel pinion gear and a metal sprocket in the wheel instead of a molded plastic ring gear. The only real wear part that I can see is the drive belt, which should last many years and is relatively inexpensive. Another factor in my decision to buy a Honda mower is their MicroCut twin blade system which does a far superior job mulching grass than any single blade setup. I know it works because my previous push mower (60v Greenworks) also has stacked dual blades). The HRN-BV kit includes an 8 Ah battery that is supposed to offer 30 minutes of runtime and a 2A charger that takes over 4 hours (250 minutes) to recharge the battery. This might be a problem for someone with a larger lawn, but mine is just 0.15 acres, and I can easily get it mowed in under 30 minutes. I haven't had a chance to test it yet, since my grass is past the growing season. Once I get to test it more completely, I'll return to add my experience.

 

[MowerMike]

Update on my Honda HRN-BV mower. Used it today to mow my entire .15 acre lawn and used just half of the battery charge. There has been very little growth since I bought it eight weeks ago, so it didn't have to labor a lot to mow and propel. The mowing is clean with no stragglers or clumps and the mulched clippings are very small. The self propel was a bit jerky at first until the belt broke in and is now very smooth. Initially I used it without gloves but found it very uncomfortable since the handlebar has no padding and the blade bail bar is rectangular with sharp edges. So I finished up with some padded grippy gloves which works fine. My front yard is rather bumpy which is quite noticeable with the small eight inch wheels, especially in the rear. I'm confident that when the grass is longer, thicker and wetter I'll still be able to complete mowing on a single charger of the battery, so I won't be needing to buy a rapid charger.

 

[Auto Doc's]

Man, that is a lot of plastic and money for an HD drill motor with a blade. The last couple I have dealt with broke the motor field magnets and locked solid just out of the warranty period.

 

[Oddjob]

Glad you like your new mower. Let me suggest a solution for the uncomfortable handle. I have a Honda mower with a similar square shaped handle. I wrapped it with handlebar tape, the stuff used on racing bikes with down-turned handlebars. You can get it at any bike shop in any color and consistency.

 

[MowerMike]

Glad you like your new mower. Let me suggest a solution for the uncomfortable handle. I have a Honda mower with a similar square shaped handle. I wrapped it with handlebar tape, the stuff used on racing bikes with down-turned handlebars. You can get it at any bike shop in any color and consistency.

Thank you for the suggestion, I will try this.

 

[fbirch]

I bought the same mower, also from Northern Tool, on sale. I’ve used Honda gas mowers for decades, including an HRN216 gas mower for the past six years. Earlier this summer I tried a Greenworks 60V battery mower, purely for noise reduction reasons. That mower had some nice attributes (quiet, smooth running, no fumes, etc.) but it fell short in a few other areas. I then bought the Honda battery mower last month. It’s on a different level of build quality compared to the Greenworks, and it mows my St Augustine lawn just as perfectly as my trusty old gas Honda.

Looking at the parts diagrams for the gas and battery Hondas, the transmission assemblies carry identical part numbers, the rear wheel assembly is identical, drive control paddle is identical, blade holder is identical, drive belt is identical, many parts on the deck assembly are identical, etc. The battery mower looks, feels and operates just like its gas predecessor, because so much of the mechanical content is identical. That means it benefits from all of Honda’s development on their gas line, it should be very robust, and parts will be widely available if/when anything does break or wear out.

This is the first battery mower I’ve tried that truly feels built to the same standard as a Honda gas mower. I plan to keep my old gas Honda as a backup that I will use occasionally, but I believe the new model could be a totally suitable replacement.

 

[Auto Doc's]

Hello F.,

It's known as repurposing with minimal engineering design changes.

Have you ever wondered why same make/brand mowers could be found with different engines and look practically the same?

As battery technology advances to provide longer run times and power, I still have to wonder about longevity. Batteries only have a limited number of lifecycles.