Earthwise 60120 Review

(Rated: 3.9 / 5) Review by Frank Lowery
Noise
Ease of Assembly
Maneuverability
Balance And Handling
Cut Quality
Check Price
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These days, homeowners are becoming increasingly concerned about the impact on the environment their lifestyles have. This is apparent in the surge in popularity of hybrid cars, solar and wind power, and energy efficient appliances. Lawn mowers are no exception to this trend, and as a result, electric lawn mowers are becoming more and more popular. Unlike gas mowers, which dump tons of carbon emissions into the atmosphere – literally – electric mowers produce zero emissions and do not use fossil fuels. They eliminate the need for storing smelly gas cans or messy oil cans in the garage, and they do not fill your yard or saturate your clothes with gasoline fumes when you cut your lawn.

The Earthwise 60120 is a compact, efficient, cordless electric mower that provides all of the benefits afforded by moving away from gas mowers and then some. The 60120 comes with a powerful 24 volt, removable, rechargeable battery that provides enough power to cut through even the toughest grass. When it is fully charged the battery powers the 60120 for up to 45 minutes of runtime and the mower can cut up to a third of an acre on a full charge. The 60120 has a twenty inch deck size and the price tag offers a great value for homeowners who are looking to go green with their lawn care.

Review Summary

There are a number of great features offered by the Earthwise 60120. First of all, unlike a gas mower, the 60120 never produces any emissions when you are using it. The EPA estimates that five percent of all carbon emissions produced by American households come from gas powered lawn mowers, and that these mowers emit high levels of carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides. These are greenhouse gases that contribute significantly to pollution – as much as 11 cars that are operated for the same duration. Besides that, the cost of fueling a gas mower is significantly more than that of a similar electric mower, and you can wind up spending hundreds of dollars a year on fuel costs and maintenance with a gas mower. With an electric mower like the Earthwise 60120 you spend a fraction of that amount.

The 60120 comes with a 24 volt, removable, rechargeable battery. The battery has a run time of 45 minutes when it is fully charged and can provide enough power for the mower to cut up to 1/3 of an acre on a single charge, which places it on the higher end of the range for cordless electric mowers. This is enough power to cut an equivalent area to five professional tennis courts, and more than enough for the average American homeowner. The battery is efficiently designed to be viable for up to 500 charge cycles, which means you will be able to use it for many years without replacing it. In addition to that, the fact that the battery is removable means you don’t every have to worry about running out of charge on a larger property: simply swap the battery out for a backup battery, and you will be back to mowing your lawn in a matter of minutes.

The 60120 has a wide, 20 inch deck with and durable steel mower deck that is designed to make sure it provides efficient and dependable performance for many years. It has oversized rear wheels that contain ball bearings in order to provide greater maneuverability over uneven terrain and a longer life. There is a convenient ergonomically shaped handle with a cushioned grip that is designed to reduce strain while you are operating the mower. Overall, this is a great cordless electric mower for the average homeowner who wants to go green, save money, and make cutting the grass easier.

Specifications

The Earthwise 60120 has a twenty inch deck size and a tough steel mower deck with dimensions of 39.8 x 22.8 x 35.7 inches. It has a removable, rechargeable 24 volt battery that fully charges in fifteen hours and is good for up to 500 charge cycles. The 24V battery can provide enough power to run the mower for up to 45 minutes and cut up to 1/3 of an acre. The 60120 comes with three grass clipping management options included in the initial purchase price: it can mulch clippings bag into the lawn, discharge grass clippings out the side of the mower or collect them in a rear bag for disposal or adding to your compost pile. The 60120 is a manual push mower, but it conveniently has ball bearings in the wheels for negotiating uneven terrain, and it has an ergonomically designed V-shaped handle with padding to reduce strain on your wrists and forearms while you are operating it. The handle also folds down for compact, easy storage.

There are seven height settings between 1.5 and 3.75 inches, which is an excellent range for dealing with variable grass heights and ensuring you are giving your lawn the healthiest possible cut. The height of all four wheels is easily adjusted with a single one touch lever. The front wheels are seven inches tall and the rear wheels are 9.5 inches tall. That means the rear wheels are larger than those on many comparably sized mowers, and makes the 60120 better equipped to deal with uneven ground. The 60120 has an easy to use key and push button startup mechanism, and the mower starts reliably the first time, every time. The mower weighs 92 pounds, and comes with a two year warranty. Overall the Earthwise 60120 is an excellent cordless electric mower for the average homeowner.

Description

The Earthwise 60120 is a cordless electric lawn mower with removable, rechargeable 24V batteries. Right off the bat, switching to an electric mower eliminates all of the drawbacks of using a gas mower, from priming the engine and repeatedly yanking a heavy pull cord to get it started, to having to keep smelly gas cans and messy oil cans on hand in your garage or tool shed, to filling your yard and saturating your clothing with gas fumes every time you use it. If you are looking to go green, switching to an electric lawn mower will go a long way to cutting back on your household’s carbon footprint. The EPA estimates that gas mowers produce well over a million tons of carbon emissions every year. In addition to the environment, the 60120 will save your wallet hundreds of dollars a year on fuel and maintenance costs, and you will never have to change another spark plug or clean another air filter on your lawn mower again.

Unlike plug in electric mowers, the Earthwise 60120 is powered by a removable, rechargeable 24V battery that will be fully charged in fifteen hours and is good for up to 500 charge cycles. That means you will never have to worry about missing an extension cord in taller grass and either tripping over it or even worse, running over it and damaging either the cord or the lawn mower blade. You also do not have to deal with the hassle of winding up or untangling long, heavy extension cords or having a cord suddenly yank out of the plug when you are halfway across the yard.

And if you have a larger property, and you think that a battery charge that can power the mower for 1/3 of an acre is not enough, that isn’t a problem either. Simply invest in an affordable spare battery, and if your main battery runs out of charge, swap it out for the backup battery. The battery easily lifts out of the mower and you can swap in a new one in just a few minutes.

The Earthwise 60120 has a powerful, twenty inch deck width and a heavy duty steel mower deck that can deal with even the toughest, densest grass, like St. Augustine or Bermuda grass, and provides dependable performance for many years. Because the deck width is twenty inches, it will cut your lawn in fewer passes than smaller mowers, which in the long run means you will save time and money.

The large back wheels, which are equipped with ball bearings for better maneuverability, will be able to handle uneven terrain much better than mowers with smaller rear wheels can. And because the handle on the 60120 has an innovative, ergonomically designed V-shape for more comfortable steering and padding to reduce shock and strain on your hands and forearms, you will find that mowing the lawn no longer makes you stiff or sore.

The 60120 is a very quiet lawn mower, which means that unlike gas mowers you will not be making a huge racket every time you cut your grass. So you do not have to worry about annoying your neighbors when you are mowing the lawn – even if you decide to do it at the crack of dawn while they are still asleep. You can get out there and finish the job before the summer sun is baking the backyard, and be relaxing with a cold beverage while your neighbors are just getting started cutting their grass.

Unlike a lot of other lawn mowers, the Earthwise 60120 comes with three grass management options right out of the box and included in the initial price. There is a side discharge feature, a mulching plug that allows you to mulch clippings back into the lawn, and a rear bag for collecting grass clippings for disposal or composting. The three options are very easy to change between, so even if you want to mulch your front yard and collect the clippings in your back yard, you can swap from one to another in the middle of the job in a matter of minutes.

Finally, the 60120 is very reasonably priced, falling somewhere on the lower end of the price range for cordless electric mowers. Along with its superb features, ergonomic design, wide deck size and ability to run for 45 minutes and cut up to 1/3 of an acre on a single charge, this is a great purchase. If you are interested in going green and do not want to deal with the hassle of extension cords, and you have an average sized property, this is a great mower for your needs.

Pros

There are a number of aspects of buying a new lawn mower that are important to keep in mind. Every lawn mower is going to be slightly different from others with similar specifications or a comparable price range. The Earthworks 60120 has a number of distinct advantages where cordless electric mowers are concerned. Of course, this mower will be less expensive to keep powered up and to maintain than a gas mower would be, not to mention the fact that it is much better for the environment. It also is going to offer advantages over other electric mowers, in particular plug in electric mowers. But in terms of ease of maneuverability, the area it can cover, the power of the blade, and the deck size the Earthworks 60120 simply blows a lot of the competition away. Here is a list of some of the areas where this lawn mower really shines.

1. Powerful 24 Volt Battery : In terms of sheer power, the Earthwise 60120 has a lot to go on. The mower comes with a powerful 24 volt rechargeable, removable battery that packs enough power to run the mower for 45 minutes on a single charge, and can keep the mower running long enough to cut a third of an acre of grass. That is the same area as six professional tennis courts, and it is more than enough to keep the average American homeowner’s property looking beautiful all season long. The battery has a life that can support up to 500 charge cycles, which means that even if you were to cut your grass every week for ten years, you would still have a working battery. And because it is removable, if you ever run out of power, you can easily swap it out for a replacement battery pack.
2. 20 inch, durable cutting deck : The Earthwise 60120 comes with a deck width that clocks in at a full twenty inches. Where cordless electric walk behind mowers are concerned, that is a fairly wide deck size. Deck size is a measure of the width of the mower’s cutting swath, and a wider deck size allows the user to get the lawn cut with fewer passes and in less time than a narrower deck width. A mower with a twenty inch deck width will cut a lawn in 75% of the time the same job would take with a fifteen inch deck. That means it will save you time, labor and money every time you cut your lawn. In addition, the cutting deck is made of durable steel, which means it will continue to cut even the toughest grass for many years without needing repairs or replacement.
3. Ergonomic design in the handle and wheels : The 60210 has a uniquely designed handle that is meant to be as ergonomic as possible in order to prevent wrist and upper arm strain while you are using it. The handle has an innovative V-shape that is aligned more naturally to the way your wrists work, and as a result it is also easier to maneuver. In addition, the handle has ergonomic padding on it to keep you from getting jarred or jolted if the mower runs over a rough patch, and the handle is easier to steer with. Add to that the fact that the rear wheels are over an inch taller than those on most other models, and are equipped with ball bearings to make them better suited to maneuver on uneven terrain, and the 60120 is clearly one of the more comfortable to maneuver walk behind push mowers available on the market today.
4. Quiet and compact mower : In addition to being greener and cheaper than gas powered lawn mowers, electric mowers like the Earthworks 60120 are much, much quieter as well. That means you will be able to cut your grass as early in the day as you like without worrying about whether you are disturbing your neighbors if they’re still in bed or just sitting down to breakfast. You will be able to cut your lawn before the summer sun makes the yard unbearably hot, and then you will be able to relax with a refreshing cold beverage in the shade while your neighbor is just starting to cut their lawn. Additionally, the 60120 has compact dimensions that make for easy storage, which can be especially important if you do not have a lot of space in your tool shed or if you are a very serious gardener with a lot of tools and equipment in your garage. The handle on the 60120 folds down so you can store the mower under a work bench or on a lower shelf in your garage. You can even store it upright without having to worry about draining gas or damaging the engine.
5. Reasonable price tag : Because of everything that goes into designing and manufacturing a cordless electric mower, a quality machine can often cost a lot of money. This is not the case with the Earthwise 60120. It carries a price tag that is towards the lower end of the price range for similar mowers. That means that you will not only be saving the environment from harmful emissions, you will also be saving your wallet from high prices when you buy this mower. In addition, electric mowers in general and the 60120 in particular will save you lots of money in the long run. You will never have to spend money on gas or oil again; you will never have to buy new spark plugs or air filters for the engine, and you will never have to pay for costly maintenance or servicing fees. All in all, the Earthwise 60120 is a bargain.

Earthwise also offers a two year limited warranty on the 60120, so you can be assured that if you do have any problems with this model, they will repair or replace it without any problems. But the craftsmanship and durable steel materials the mower is made of mean that in all likelihood you will not need that warranty. The batteries can be charged to full capacity and ready to go in fifteen hours, which is pretty much overnight. The batteries also last for as many charge cycles as you will probably be using the 60120 for – more than ten years. And if you buy a backup battery, you will be able to easily swap it out if you do run out of power while you are cutting your grass. Because the 60120 is such a quiet, compact, and powerful cordless electric mower, with such an ergonomic design and wide, durable cutting deck, it will be a reliable, lawn mower that will take good care of your lawn care needs for many years to come.

Cons

At the same time, there isn’t a mower on the market that is completely perfect, and consumers have certainly had problems with all of the ones I’ve reviewed. That is true for every lawn mower you could look for online, but it is still wise to take stock of the more commonly mentioned drawbacks of a machine that you are considering purchasing in order to have a full picture of what you are buying. In order to offer such a powerful mower and still have it be battery operated – yet able to run for 45 minutes and cut up to 1/3 of an acre, the manufacturer is going to have to make concessions in certain areas in order to keep the price affordable. Here is a rundown of the most common problems consumers faced with the Earthwise 60120. By comparing these to the pros listed above and also perusing the product comparison chart below, you should get a good idea of whether the 60120 is the right mower for your needs.

1. The mower is rather heavy : At a whopping 92 pounds, the Earthwise 60120 is one of the heaviest cordless electric mowers on the market. That is mainly because, in order to support powering the machine for up to 45 minutes and cut up to 1/3 of an acre, it has to have a big, heavy battery pack. But it is also because of the wide deck size and the fact that the cutting deck is made out of steel. These are going to contribute to the overall weight of the lawn mower, but they are also going to make it a tougher, more durable machine. Still, if you are of a slight build, or if you are worried that you will have trouble maneuvering such a heavy machine around your property because there is a slope in your yard or simply because you are not very burly, this may not be the right mower for you. Even with the ergonomic design, a very heavy mower can strain your back and legs if you are not used to working with one.
2. The battery requires periodic maintenance : During the winter months, when the grass does not need to be mowed as often and in some areas does not need to be cut at all, your lawn mower will sit unused in your garage for months. It is generally a good idea to be sure you bring the battery indoors during these months, but it is also important to make sure you plug it in periodically to keep it viable. A number of users either were not aware of this fact or else simply found it to be a general hassle. Users who left the battery and lawn mower in the garage over the winter were disappointed to find that when they tried to use it the following spring, it was dead and took a very long time to recharge fully.
3. The charger does not shut off automatically : The charger for the Earthwise 60120 is not configured to turn off automatically after the battery is fully charged, which a number of users found to be problematic. If they did not turn the charger off when the battery was fully charged, it would continue to try to push charge into the battery, which ran the risk of overcharging, overheating and subsequently damaging the battery. This is an issue for a lot of cordless electric mowers, and it should be taken seriously. Be sure you are plugging in your charger at a time that will allow you to check on it periodically to make sure you are not overcharging the battery. Otherwise, wait to charge it until you can monitor it.
4. The cutting blade slows down in taller grass : A number of users have pointed out that the cutting blade will slow down when it encounters very tall or very thick grass. This is important to keep in mind if you are in an area where tough grasses like St. Augustine and Bermuda grass are commonly grown (such as the Southern United States and coastal areas). Many battery powered electric mowers tend to have trouble with taller, thicker grass, especially if they have a wider deck size. Of course, this mainly means that you will simply have to walk more slowly when you are mowing your lawn, but the obvious drawback to that is that mowing your lawn it going to take a lot longer than it normally would with a more powerful model.
5. Battery life may be overstated : By far one of the most common complaints from users was that the battery died sooner than they expected. It is difficult to use this as a blanket condemnation of the Earthwise 60120, because it’s impossible to know how often they were using the mower, how large their yards were, or whether they were consistently cutting grass that was extremely thick or tall. This mower is not intended to be overused, and it is important to maintain the battery as described above to keep it viable. This problem can also be avoided by allowing the battery to drain completely before you charge it the first time.

We should keep in mind that consumer product reviews are a self selected and therefore very subjective measure of product performance, as well as remember that the majority of online reviews of the Earthwise 60120 are overwhelmingly positive. Consumer product reviews are bound to have a sample that is unsatisfied with the product, and this is no exception. But by considering the pros as well as the cons of this lawn mower, you have a fairly complete picture of what you might be able to expect from it. If any of the cons seem to be too much of a risk to take when compared to the pros, then it may be wise to consider another model. But if you find the pros greatly outweigh the potential drawbacks of the 60120, then it might be the right model for you.

Product Comparison

A more objective means of determining if a product is right for you, instead of relying solely on consumer reviews, is to compare the product you are considering with similar ones in its category. By weighing the individual strengths and weaknesses of a machine against those of its competitors, you can get a fairly clear picture of where it stands out and where it is surpassed in different areas. Each model will have its resources concentrated towards delivering higher quality in one area over others, such as battery power, deck size, weight, or grass clippings management options, and the best policy is to determine which features are most important to you and then find the model that combines the majority of them for the right price. In order to help you do this, here is a comparison table that stacks the Earthwise 60120 up against the Greenworks 25292 and the Worx WG775.

	Earthwise 60120	Greenworks 25292	Worx WG775
Dimensions	39.8 x 22.8 x 35.7 inches	30.9 x 17.2 x 20.1 inches	26.8 x 16.1 x 13.2 inches
Power	24V Removable Battery (Inc. 1 battery)	40V Removable Battery (Inc. 2 Li-Ion batteries)	24V Removable Battery (Inc. 1 battery)
Charge Time	15 Hours to 100%	3 Hours	5 Hours to 100%
Deck Size (cutting swath)	20-inch	19-inch	14-inch
Mulch/Bag/Discharge	Mulch, bag, and discharge	Mulch, bag, and discharge	Mulch, bag, and discharge
Cutting Area	up to 1/3 acre	up to 1/2 acre	up to 1/4 acre
Runtime charge (conditions may vary)	up to 45 minutes	up to 60 Minutes	up to 30 minutes
Drive System	Manual Push	Push	Manual Push
Starter	Key + Push button	Key + Push button	Key + Push button
Height Adjustment	Single lever (7 positions)	Single lever (6 positions)	Handle (6 positions)
Height Settings	1-1/2- to 3-3/4-inch	1-1/4 to 3-1/8-inch	1-4/5- to 3-1/3-inch
Wheel Size	7-inch front / 9-1/2 inch rear	7-inch front / 8-inch rear	6.5-inch front / 6.5-inch rear
Weight	92 pounds	49 pounds	32.2 pounds
Warranty	2 years	4 years on mower 2 years on battery	2 years

As you can see, the Earthwise 60120 has the widest deck size of the three models, at a full twenty inches. It also has the widest range of height settings, from 1.5 inches – 3.75 inches. At the same time, the 60120 is on the high end of hours to fully charged, at fifteen, and it has the second longest runtime, at 45 minutes. The Greenworks 25292 boasts a runtime of 60 minutes, and the Worx WG775 has a runtime of only 35 minutes. The Greenworks mower also has the most powerful battery, a 40 volt lithium ion battery, while the other two mowers have 24 volt conventional batteries. Finally the Earthwise 60120 is the heaviest of the three mowers, at 92 pounds: the Greenworks mower is 49 pounds and the Worx WG775 is a mere 32 pounds. Generally speaking , the Earthwise 60120 falls into the middle in terms of how all of its features stack up against the other two mowers. It is important to note, however, that the Greenworks 25292 tends to have a price tag that is significantly higher than the Earthwise mower. It’s important to keep your wallet in mind when you are comparison shopping as well, after all.

Conclusion

When you are in the market for the right cordless electric mower to use for years to come in your backyard, the most important considerations are whether it is going to be able to handle the amount of grass you need to cut, whether it is powerful enough to cut the kind of grass you have, and how much it is going to cost you. Beyond that, you want a mower with a deck size that will help to minimize the number of passes you have to make to finish the job, and you want a design that is going to save your wrists and back. In these areas, the Earthwise 60120 definitely steps up to the job.

Conclusion Pros

1. Powerful 24 volt rechargeable, removable battery pack.
2. Twenty inch deck width and durable steel cutting deck.
3. Ergonomic design in the handle and wheels.
4. Quiet when running and compact for easy storage.
5. One of the more affordable cordless electric mowers.

Taking each one in turn, you can see that the pros of the Earthwise 60120 are pretty good: it has a powerful 24 volt, rechargeable battery pack that can be easily removed for overwintering indoors or for swapping out for a new battery. It has a twenty inch deck made of durable steel that falls at the high end of the range for deck size and should last for many years. It is designed in order to provide the most efficient and comfortable experience to the user. It runs very quietly when compared to gas mowers and is small enough to be easily stored in your garage or tool shed. And it is one of the more inexpensive cordless electric mowers available today.

Conclusion Cons

1. The mower is rather heavy.
2. The battery has to be plugged in periodically if it is not used.
3. The charger must be monitored so it does not overcharge the battery.
4. The cutting blade slows down in taller or thicker grass.
5. The battery may have problems lasting as long as 500 charge cycles.

At 92 pounds, this is one of the heaviest cordless electric mowers on the market, and that can be a considerable drawback if you have a slight frame or do not want to be pushing a heavy mower up or down gentle grades in your yard. Over the winter, you will have to plug in the battery periodically to make sure it does not die entirely, and this can be a hassle. There is also no way for the charger to shut itself off when the battery is fully charged, which means that if you do not monitor it, it could overheat or overcharge the battery. The cutting blade tends to slow down when it encounters thicker or taller grass, which will mean it’s going to take more time to cut this kind of grass. And some users found the battery did not last for as many charge cycles as advertised.

Final Word

If like many of use you are interested in making your household and gardening more environmentally friendly, an electric lawn mower is a huge step in the right direction. And a cordless electric mower allows you all the benefits of going green without forcing you to deal with the hassle of long extension cords. All told, going for a quieter, zero emissions, cordless mower is a great move. And it is also smart to get one that will not drain your wallet, but that will also be dependable and durable for many years to come.

The Earthwise 60120 fits the bill for all of these categories and more. It is perfect for the average homeowner who has a property that is less than 1/3 of an acre in size. It has a powerful 24 volt, rechargeable, removable battery that packs enough charge to run the mower for up to 45 minutes and cut up to 1/3 of an acre. That is more than enough for the vast majority of properties in the United States today. It has an ergonomic design that is meant to save on your wrists and forearms while making it easier to steer and more maneuverable over uneven ground. Add to that the quiet running noise, fold down handle for easy, compact storage, and wide deck size that allows you to cut your lawn in fewer passes and less time, and you can see why so many people love the Earthwise 60120.

Best Price

As I have mentioned already, the Earthwise 60120 is also not going to put too much strain on your wallet. It tends to be priced reasonably and generally falls on the lower end of the price range for cordless electric mowers, which means it will be affordable for most homeowners who are in the market for a new lawn mower. Machines that have a wide deck size and solid craftsmanship can often cost quite a bit more than the 60120. But Earthwise has produced a well-engineered, powerful cordless mower that manages to save your wallet as much as it saves the environment.