Ego Power+ 1000 LM2236SP Review

We tested the Ego 2236 in various ways to get a good grasp of its strengths and weaknesses. This mower excels at pure cutting performance and boasts an extra-long battery life (over a full hour of runtime). It is downright pleasant to use, unless you plan on trying to twist and turn around obstacles. The mower does best sticking to ruler-straight stripes across your yard.

Mowing

If you demand the best mowing capabilities out of your mower, look no further. The Ego excels at the raw cutting, bagging, and mulching, and was passable across different terrain types.

When it comes to cutting the grass, the Ego 2236 outperforms any other mower in our lineup, including gas powered models. The 10.6 foot-pounds of cutting torque makes short work of grass, weeds, leaves, and anything else in its path. There are also three blade speeds to choose from: normal, turbo, and eco. We cut on normal mode most of the time, and never ran short on power or battery life, but it's nice to know you have the other options if needed. Turbo mode really amps up the blade speed for powerful cuts. There are 8 different cutting height positions, from one to four inches. We cut broad strips with the wide 22" deck, and didn't notice any striping or mohawks left behind as long as our grass was mostly dry.

Whether you want to cut, mulch, or bag your grass, the Ego 2236 has you covered. There are two blade options that come with this mower: one for normal cutting and mulching, and one that's designed to help lift clippings if you're bagging. There's also the ability to adjust between 5 different settings for max mulching or max bagging. The bag catches most clippings, and mulch mode leaves finely chopped clippings behind to help feed your yard.

The Ego is best suited to large, flat yards. The same large deck size that promotes stability and quick cutting on flat yards struggles across dips or bumps in the yard. In some cases, it was too large to successfully navigate dips, forcing us to bring out a string trimmer to tidy up. The Ego does great on hills, though; the powerful self-assist powers right up inclines, and the base is wide enough to let you mow across a side slope without fear of tipping over.

Power Performance

Another strength of the Ego 2236 is its power performance. We evaluated each mower's total run time on a single tank, or charge, as well as the time to refuel or recharge. The Ego lasts around 75 minutes and charges up in around an hour, offering some of the best performance in our entire lineup.

The Ego 2236 comes with one of the largest Ego batteries we've used, a massive 10Ah battery. We used this battery to mow our half-acre yard 2 times over, and there was still charge left. It's compatible with other Ego batteries, but the 10Ah is ideal for powering this mower.

If you're like us, remembering to fill up that little gas can in the corner of your garage can be tricky. Having a battery on hand that, at worst, we need to charge up before mowing for an hour completely negates that nagging chore. This mower comes with Ego's Power+ 700W Turbo Charger, which quickly charges the 10Ah battery from 0 to 100% in around an hour. It also charges up every other kind of Ego battery quickly.

Handling

The Ego 2236 is incredibly easy to start and stop, and requires very little effort to use. It struggled significantly during maneuverability testing; it was difficult to navigate around obstacles or perform tight pivot turns.

Gone are the days of mixing fuel, priming engines, and pulling a starter cord. Battery-powered mowers start and stop with the touch of a few buttons. Like gas mowers, a bail bar is included in the process for safety, and the Ego 2236 has a two-step start sequence, with helpful instructions printed on the handle. Squeeze, push, and you're mowing.

The self-propulsion on the Ego 2236 has some pros and cons. We loved that you could adjust the speed from a crawl all the way up to a brisk walk. On the downside, it isn't really a variable speed that reacts to your pressure. You select what speed you want, and it's either on or off. This makes coming into turns or navigating obstacles more challenging. There's also a slight lag before the propulsion kicks in, especially when transitioning from reverse to forward. Without the propulsion assist, the Ego is still relatively easy to manually push, but it is a big mower despite the light composite materials.

The Ego 2236 is a large mower, and as such, can be challenging to navigate throughout small yards or around obstacles. All four wheels are also the same size, which makes pivot turns difficult. We struggled to cut tight against edges or around obstacles. Even on a flat yard, spinning the mower in a 180-degree turn isn't easy, especially if you're used to keeping the power-propel engaged the whole time.

Ease of Use

We considered initial setup, adjusting settings, safety features, and any maintenance concerns. The Ego 2236 impressed us again, with incredibly easy setup and adjustments.

Unboxing the mower is quite easy, and the Ego 2236 requires almost no assembly out of the box. We struggled a little the first time we tried to attach the mulching bag and had to break out the instruction manual, as there are no helpful icons on the mower itself. We loved the icons and instructions on the handles for starting the mower up.

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Adjusting the various settings on the Ego 2236 is easy. Whether it's the touch buttons on the handle or the large knobs and levers to adjust cutting height, cutting mode, or collapse the handle, all were easy to do one-handed. The bail bar on the Ego is easy to use, too, and stops the blades quickly (though not instantaneously). It's hard to accidentally start the mower. Since it is a battery mower, the only maintenance concerns are charging the battery and keeping the blades sharp.

Noise

We can't express enough how much we love the lack of noise that battery lawn mowers make. We measured the decibel readings at ear level while running the mower, and while they definitely prove that battery mowers like the Ego 2236 are quiet, it doesn't convey just how quiet they seem compared to a gas mower.

The Ego 2236 registered at 75 dBa. That is quiet enough that we don't need noise-cancelling earbuds or ear protection, and it's also quiet enough to have a normal conversation over the mower, without shouting. This makes it not only safer on your ears but nicer for your neighbors and a lot less scary for dogs.

Should You Buy the Ego Power+ 1000 LM2236SP?

If you're seeking the ultimate cutting performance and have a large yard that needs a powerful mower, we highly recommend the Ego 2236. It absolutely crushes in outright mowing capabilities, and its large size plus long battery life make it ideal for even large yards. It's great for sloped yards, too, with its self-propulsion that moves at a brisk walk, so you can get your steps in without completely wearing yourself out pushing uphill. While it doesn't handle quite as easily as smaller mowers, it more than makes up for it with its performance and ease of use.

What Other Lawn Mower Should You Consider?

If you still want a powerful battery-powered mower, but need a little more maneuverability, the Toro 60V Max Super Recycler is our runner-up for best battery-powered mower. The smart self-propulsion is much more intuitive than the Ego's, though it lacks just a little bit of that raw cutting power. The other self-propelled Ego in our lineup, the Ego Power+ LM2135SP, is an inch narrower than the Ego 2236 and offers fewer features, but still performs reasonably well for less money. For maximum maneuverability in a battery mower, the Greenworks MO60L419 is a compact model that cuts reasonably well, is incredibly nimble, and is more budget-friendly.