Here's what happened when we tried this cordless lawn mower from Greenworks - it even folds down for easy storage

Greenworks is one of the few companies that started out making battery-powered garden equipment, rather than moving into it from another power source, such as mains electric or petrol. While they might not be as well-known as Flymo or Stlhl, when it comes to the best lawn mowers, they do have quite a large range. Greenworks actually supply their tools on three different voltages: 24V, 40V and 60V. This is made slightly more complicated because they also offer tools that take two 24V batteries together and run at 48V, so it's really three and a half ranges. 

This offering is from the 40V range and represents the middle of the pack when it comes to Greenworks mowers. Not as powerful as the 60V, but more powerful than their smallest model which runs on 24V. 

We tested this mower on a variety of different grass types and felt that it was a capable machine. It made a good job of the grass and it feels like it would be well suited to medium and larger gardens. However, we did think it was a very heavy machine and there were a few build quality issues that did let it down. We also think you need to consider which battery system you want to go on, because there is a lot of choice. 

Greenworks G40LM41 40V 41cm Lawn Mower Specifications 

• Voltage: 40V 
• Motor: Brushed 
• Cutting width: 41 cm 
• Deck material: Plastic 
• Mulching: Yes 
• Sound power level: 90,3 dB 
• Sound pressure: 86 dB 
• Runtime (2Ah): < 23 min 
• Runtime (4Ah): < 46 min 
• Vibration level: < 2.5 m/s2 
• Weight: 18 kg 
• Max. cutting height: 80 mm 
• Drive system: Push 
• No. of cutting heights: 5 (min cutting height 25 mm) 
• Collector volume: 50 L 
• Side discharge: No 
• Foldable handlebar: Yes 
• Sound power level uncertainty: 1,97 dB 
• Sound pressure level uncertainty: 3 dB 
• Rec. cutting area (4Ah): < 600 m2 
• Rec. cutting area (2Ah): < 300 m2 
• Vibration level uncertainty: 1,5 m/s2

First impressions 

The first thing you notice about the Greenworks G40LM41 40V 41cm Lawn Mower, even before it is out of the box, is the weight. This is a very heavy machine and you may want to get a friend to help you set it up. The packaging, in line with other products from Greenworks is very smart, showing images of the mower on the side and graphics explaining the various features of the machine. As ever, Greenworks are very keen to emphasise the ‘green’ in everything they do. 

When you open the box up, the mower is very well packed and there is cardboard reinforcement to protect and separate the components. There was more plastic packaging than we would have liked to see where “green” is the emphasis and we hope that this will be reduced in the future.

As well as the mower, you also get two 40V batteries and a charger, with both UK and EU adapters. We like the inclusion of two batteries, because it means that you can use one while the other is on charge and then swap them over without having to wait. 

One thing we immediately noticed before we even removed the mower from the box was the quality of the plastic. Or, to be more accurate the lack of quality. The top of the mower is covered with a piece of Greenworks’ signature bright green plastic and this was already showing signs of stress. We are not sure if it was damaged during transit or if this was a production fault. However, on closer inspection of the mower we discovered various scuffs and marks on the plastic simply because it was so soft. This was an immediate red flag and does not inspire confidence in the longevity of the mower. 

We were also concerned about the foam on the handlebars. While we like the idea of putting foam on the handlebar to make mowing more comfortable, we really don’t think that it will last for much of the life of the mower.

Getting started

We were very pleased to see that the Greenworks G40LM41 40V 41cm Lawn Mower needed very little assembly. The main body of the mower is complete and the upper and lower handlebars come laid on top. No tools are required, you just have to push a couple of bolts through the bars and they are already in position. When setting up the handle bars, you have two choices for length and you choose the angle of incline.  

The grass collector is somewhere between a box and a bag. It is made of canvas type material wrapped over a square frame. It requires no assembly at all and simply clips to the back of the mower. Like most mowers, a flap on the rear of the machine lifts up and rests on the grass collector. There is also the option of a ‘mulch plug’ instead of grass collection. 

The Greenworks G40LM41 40V 41cm Lawn Mower’s easy assembly was something we were pleased to see, because not everyone has their own tool kit or wants to spend too long putting things together. Even the most un-technically minded person will not need to spend more than 10 minutes from start to finish.  

The only other thing to do before you start is to charge the battery. Again, there is no real room to get this wrong. The charger plugs into a cable, the cable plugs into a wall socket and a green LED tells you when the battery is full. 

What its like to use 

We tested the Greenworks G40LM41 40V 41cm Lawn Mower on a variety of different grasses and thought that it performed quite well. It made a good job of the different grass types we tried it on and it didn’t feel like it was struggling with anything we threw at it. However, the blade did not cut as close to the edge of the machine as we would have liked, which means putting garden edge ideas into action is difficult. 

Over more prolonged use, we did find that it was quite heavy, especially on an incline and we also noticed that it left deep, noticeable tracks in the lawn as it went. We would have preferred that, given the weight, there could have been a roller on the back so we could make the neighbours jealous with some fancy lawn stripes. 

Operating the Greenworks G40LM41 40V 41cm Lawn Mower is very straightforward. There is a safety switch on the handle that needs to be depressed before squeezing the bar switch on the handlebar and then you are top and running. We were slightly unimpressed that the switch worked using an exposed ‘brake cable’-type wire. Very functional but gives the mower a cheap feel and would have been better with some sort of sheath over it. 

You have the option of either collecting grass in a box/bag on the back of the mower or letting it fall using a ‘mulch plug’ that comes included. Clipping on the grass box/bag is very easy and takes literally seconds. 

One thing that we did find interesting was the adjustment of the mower cutting height. The majority of mowers we have tested have a handle, often like a small version of the shifter in an automatic car, which allows you to select the cut height you want. It works by raising or lowering the body of the mower to achieve this. The Greenworks G40LM41 40V 41cm Lawn Mower mower, however, has a release button that when pressed allows the mower height to be adjusted by pushing down on it, or not. A marker on the side of the mower shows you which cutting level you are at. We are not saying that this is better or worse than other methods we have seen, just that it was new to us. 

Emptying the grass box was a bit of an issue. Greenworks and Ryobi have full width openings on their grass boxes with no lip at the base. This means that when the box is removed from the mower, a small amount of grass always falls out. Pretty trivial, but very annoying if you are left with a pile of grass on the patio. We have seen smaller openings on grass boxes made by Flymo and Stihl and have found these less messy to use. We also found the metal bars that stick out either side to clip the box the mower we quite sharp and could be easy to scratch yourself on.

When it comes to putting the mower away after you have finished, its simply a case of folding down the handles so they rest on top of the body of the machine. Just make sure that the mower is in the final position when you fold down the handles, we tried to pull ours into the shed on its wheels and managed to scuff the flap on the back. 

Ease of use 

The single biggest benefit of this mower, in terms of ease of use, is the battery power. The fact that this mower is for larger gardens means that its main alternatives would be powered by petrol rather than by mains electricity. 

Battery power avoids the hassle of buying petrol, mixing oil and general routine maintenance. It also makes using the mower a more pleasant experience. There is no pull cord to start and there is no vibration or exhaust when the mower is running. While the motor will generate some heat, it will be negligible compared to that produced by an internal combustion engine. Overall, better for you and kinder to your neighbours. The trade-off, however, is it won’t be as powerful as a petrol engine would be. 

Monitoring the battery power is you go is easy. You simply lift the cover and push the button to check the charge. While this is not as convenient as being able to check the charge on the handlebar, as you can with the Cobra MX41 40V, it is far better than having to take the battery out to test it like you have to with the Ryobi 40cm Cordless Brushless Lawn Mower. 

About the biggest issue, in terms of ease of use with this mower, is the weight. It is a heavy machine to push and, while for some users this may not be a problem, we do think that many people will struggle. We were also left to wonder whether, even if you can push a mower of this weight, does it actually cancel out the benefit of the wider cutting diameter? We suspect it may actually be less effort overall to push a lighter mower, with a smaller blade, up and down the garden a couple of extra times to achieve the same result.  

We thought the handlebars on this mower were fairly easy to use, although not the best in class. The clips used to fold and unfold them are easy and quick to use and (we thought) a better design than the smaller Greenworks G24X2LM36 we tried. However, we still preferred the telescopic design offered by Ryobi and think that this is currently about the best design on the market. We did, however, like the soft foam grip on the handlebar and felt that it made pushing the mower a more pleasant experience than a bare metal bar.

We were a little disappointed that the Greenworks G40LM41 40V 41cm Lawn Mower did not pack down smaller for storage. While the handles do fold down, other models such as the Flymo Easistore and the Ryobi 40cm Cordless Brushless Lawn Mower can be stood on end, whereas the Greenworks G40LM41 40V 41cm Lawn Mower cannot. However, this is probably academic as anyone buying a bigger mower is far more likely to have more space in which to store it. 

Accessories 

The accessories you need this mower will largely depend on what it came with when you bought it, as there seem to be a number of different options. Ours was packaged with two batteries and a charger included so there isn’t really anything else you’d need.

If you buy one without a battery, and you are not already on the Greenworks battery system, then obviously you will need to buy one separately. 

 How does it rate online?

Our research showed that the mower received a rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars on Amazon across 57 global reviews. Many people praised the mower for being good for medium sized gardens. A few, surprisingly to us, commented on what a light machine it was. However, at one of them said that this was compared to a petrol mower, so it is a matter of context. There was also praise about the price of the machine against competitors from other brands. The main criticism of the mower was about the battery life. A lot of people felt that they did not get long enough out of a fully charged battery and thought that this let the mower down. 

Final verdict - Should you buy the  Greenworks G40LM41 40V 41cm Lawn Mower?

Having tested the Greenworks G40LM41 40V 41cm Lawn Mower fully on a variety of different lawns, we were only prepared to give it 3.5 out of 5. On the plus side, we thought it made a good job of the grass and the collection of lawn clippings was also acceptable. We liked that it came with the option of either using a mulch plug or a grass box. We thought the battery life was acceptable, and it depends entirely on what you are using the mower for. For the average gardener giving a medium lawn a frequent cut, it will be absolutely fine. Even a large lawn should be fine split between the batteries. However, if you are trying to cut down foot high grass over several acres, you are going to want a bigger machine.  

The thing that really let down the mower for us was the build quality. We just can’t get past our concerns about the poor-quality plastics. While this mower is not priced at the top end of the market, we still don’t want to see plastic that it is so soft it is marked before it is even out of the box. We’ve also seen better design features on a a number of competitor models such as grass collectors and handlebars. 

As ever, this mower cannot be viewed in isolation, because buying it means buying into Greenworks proprietary 40V battery system. Buying into any company’s battery system will influence your choice of gardening tools for the next few years, so it is important to look at the rest of the range before making a decision. 

It is also worth noting that Greenworks don’t just have one battery system, they have three: 24V 40V and 60V. So, if you are tempted to go for a Greenworks product, make sure you go on the right battery system for your needs. 

About this review, and this reviewer

In line with how we test at Ideal Home, this Greenworks mower was tested at home by gardening expert Steve Bradley before he came to the conclusions in this review.