Last Updated: 16 / 3 / 2023
I was researching the best cordless lawn mowers recently and had the chance to look at one of these Snapper XD electric lawn mowers thanks to our neighboring nursery here in California. In our Snapper XD mower review, we're going to be looking at its specs, comparing it to two relatively cheaper lawn mowers I own and explore why it might be worth the high price ticket.
- 45-minute run time
- Push-button start
- 21-Inch Steel mowing deck
- Loud
Snapper self-propelled lawn mower
It's a 21 inch, battery-powered, cordless, brushless motor, walk behind lawn mower that offers 45 minutes of mow time with a single charge.
It features a 21inch wide cutting blades, a solid steel deck, comes with adjustable self-propelling speed. And 2x 2Ah batteries with a quick charger. You could simply swap out batteries when you run out of juice and continue mowing while the other one is still charging. Now, this is a feature I haven't seen elsewhere. But Snapper XD 82V did it, and the batteries are included in the price too. Although it does have a grass bag, you could let the grass clippings remain on the ground as a mulch using the side discharge.
California just banned using gas-powered lawn equipment such as lawn mowers and leaf blowers in the bay area, which pushed me into purchasing a well built and reliable alternative to my Honda gas lawn mower. The amount of pollution that a gas mower makes is astounding. Apparently, these devices produce more toxic gas emissions than diesel gars. According to the research, 1 hour of mowing with an average gas lawn mower produces the exact same amount of smog-forming pollution as driving your Toyota Camry from LA to LV! The situation is even worse for gas leaf blowers for some reason. Running your gas leaf blower for just an hour creates about the same emission as 40 current generation cars!
Read about the research here: https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/fact-sheets/small-engines-california
So I've been very happy with the time I spent with this electric lawn mower after the initial adjustment. We have a relatively mid-sized nursery here at Columbia Florist. For us, noise, ease of use, and performance and, of course, cost were the most critical decision making factors in my evaluation. Also it fits great in our vertical storage rack.
I'll just jump straight up to what I like about the Snapper XD Lawn Mower:
Snapper Mower vs Honda vs Husqvarna
First of all, it's much quieter compared to my Honda, measuring at just under 82dB according to my Android, whereas my four stroke engine Honda would reach up to 110dB. The difference might not seem too big, but you definitely feel the difference after half an hour of mowing. In its electric cordless lawn mower class, it's quite a bit quieter than Husqvarna as well, about 10dB! But still don't expect to hold meaningful conversations during mowing.
Our customers and neighbors are really going to appreciate the Snapper!
Snapper XD Batteries
Like I mentioned before, it comes with two lithium-ion batteries, and they're so much lighter, smaller, and stronger compared to previous generation huge acid batteries other lawn mowers are still using to this day. If you use the quick charger, it's going to recharge your battery in just about 30 minutes, which ensures you'll never run out of battery and can mow as long as you want, considering it has mowing time of 45 minutes on a single charge.
Snapper XD Electric Lawn Mower Safety
I've had this mower for two weeks now, and I had the chance to use it for about 2 hours. It's straightforward to start and reaches full power in just 3 seconds. Just snap in the batteries, put in the safety key push and hold the safety lock, pull the bail lever and you're ready to go.
Just know that if the step sense lock button is unlocked and you accidentally push the handle forward, it could jump forward on you even when the mower is turned off! That really surprised me and could be a software-related issue specific to my model.
Snapper XD Performance
The speed of the blade is 2800 RPM. It has load sensing technology built in to adjust the power level for maximum efficiency and to save on battery. So what it means is, when you're cutting through thicker grass, the engine will pick up and give more power and speed to the blades and cut it down when much power isn't required.
It has step sense auto-drive system and has a rear-wheel drive. Step sense is what Snapper calls their self-propulsion technology. Same thing, different names. But its sensing technology does an outstanding job keeping up with your mowing speed. So whether it's casual Sunday afternoon mowing speed or I-need-to-drop-kids-off-to-school-or-we-are-gonna-be-late-again speed, it'll just work good enough.
Snapper Lawn Mower Manual
Conclusion
So overall, I'd rate the Snapper XD 82V Max push behind mower at 4 stars out of 5, or what I would call a B+.
It's not a bad mower at all, but it just doesn't rise to the top of the class when you consider there are better battery-powered mowers out there with more competitive price tags.
Snapper Q&A
What oil does a snapper mower take?
Snapper electric lawn mower doesn't take any oils since XD has a Briggs stratton 82V motor and is powered by a lithium-ion battery.
How to start snapper mower?
It couldn't be easier with the push button! Simply place one of its batteries inside, put in the safety key push and hold the safety lock, pull the bail lever and you're ready to start mowing.
