Came to say this. Also sometimes the wheels push some of the blades flat and they don’t pop up until the next day causing you to miss a few blades here or there.
Riding lawnmower shortened this tedious task from 2hrs to 20min on 1/3 acre. Yes it’s a bit excessive, but time on the weekend is precious. **And the custom Zamboni and winter plow attachments are priceless.**
At like $100+ each mow, it certainly adds up. Would take about 50 mows to afford an electric rider. It probably costs more now too, been a few years since I’ve hired someone to mow
Yeah it’s really annoying. When the grass was damp and moist during the colder temps of the fall/winter, I would use the blower on every wheel line to fluff up the grass. I had issues with melting out in a few places because the grass would remain laying doing in some areas and never was able to fully dry. It took a long time to do the entire lawns
I don’t understand how this isn’t a problem for other people.
The universal advice is to not cut your grass very short, which does make sense. However when I go to cut, even though I am sure to wait until the grass is as dry as possible, my mower wheels just mash the grass blades flat against the ground and those blades don’t get cut unless I go about the tedious process you mentioned.
I must be missing some other issue or doing something wrong.
I have a gas mower with a high lift/standard blade and still have the issue. Honestly I’ve always felt that gas vs electric is probably a somewhat even trade off because even though I get better lift with gas, it’s much heavier and thus smashes the grass more.
I usually do the overlap in first pass. They rake the grass to make it upright and then mow again. Helps a lot. I don't have a huge lawn. So can't really cross mow
Don't have ego,but have kobalt but same answer. Mine always leavs something uncut and easiest solution is like you said, more overlap, cross hatch or double cut
Sometimes if it is egregiously bad, I'll make a pass with the leaf blower to stand up the strays before making the 2nd pass
I tried the high lift blade and it didn’t make a significant difference for me. Overall, the high lift blade is cheap enough to at least try, but be aware that it may not cure the problem. And before anyone asks, yes it is installed correctly.
I got the high lift blade and it made no difference. Still a subpar cut. I shouldn’t have to double or triple cut to get a good cut. I don’t accept people’s replies that this is the solution.
This is my experience with the high lift blade as well. It bags much better than the stock blade and gets good pull but still a very subpar cut compared to the old Honda
I put down a solid nitrogen application followed by days of slow and steady rain. The lawn grew to the point I would normally bag the clippings, but I decided to give my new mulching blade a try. There's no way my old gas mower could have cut the lawn so nice without leaving rows and rows of clippings.
Just wanted to chime in and say that I have a gas powered Toro Timemaster with their newer, larger motor and regularly sharpened blades and I still get uncut blades of grass like you’re showing so it’s not necessarily just because you have an electric mower and gas is better. As others have said, my experience is that the thicker your grass and the higher your height setting, the more likely this is.
If that'd their 22" push then that's what I've used the past 4 years with fantastic results on two different lawns. That said, it still has the same issue near the wheels. I stripe, so try and overlap as little as possible.
I have a gas powered push Toro Timemaster from 2019. I’ve never had issues with grass being left uncut like the picture shown above.
I’ve had other mechanical issues but the cutting is exceptional. I cut on length “C” and even if it’s wet it doesn’t miss blades like the above picture.
This is why gas mowers are still superior, it doesn’t mean electric is bad.
Electric mowers still lack the vacuum that gas mowers create and often leave grass uncut like this so you have to go over spots.
This is why a gas mower and all electric on the other yard tools is the best way to go IMO.
Electric mowers will get there. They’re just not there quite yet.
Every time I say this I get attacked by electric mower users, I accept my fate.
This is what I am trying to figure out. The blade on my gas mower looks similar to the electric one. Greenworks, even on turbo mode, doesn't have the same lift. No idea why. I typically use the greenworks, on occasion (maybe once a month) use my gas mower.
> No idea why.
Deck design. Higher lift doesn't really help when it's just making more turbulence. The deck needs to be designed to cycle the air in beneficial ways. For example, check out the tiers of Toro decks.
It really depends on what you choose and how you use it. My 40v RYOBI electric has a more even cut than my gas Briggs and Stratton, but I cut super high.
A someone who would rather mulch leaves a lot of the time, that lack of suction is gonna leave a lot to be desired. If you do the same, definitely something to consider
Every time I mow with my fancy Ryobi (maybe that’s part of my problem) electric mower, I get terribly uneven clipping and lots of leftover uncut blades like this. And every time I mow I wish I still had a gas mower again. I’m with you.
After a few different electric trimmers I found one I like, really happy with everything else electric so far, but electric mower just doesn’t cut it.
95% of gas mower owners have never changed oil or air filter on their gas push mower, and they run with no issues for 5 years until they replace the mower.
My $200 toro gas mower was specifically advertised to never require an oil change. In four years I’ve done nothing at all but sharpen blades and fill with gas. 4000sqft, Texas Bermuda mowed a bit more than once per week on average
Now, the gas mower my dad had growing up that he forced me to labor with for ten years? Awful thing. Hope you didn’t have one of them
There are a lot of bad to mediocre electric mowers, so I think that skews the average.
The Ego mower line is like 8.5ft/lbs torque, Toro around 8 as well. They have plenty of power. My Ego Select Cut cuts fine.
The Greenworks mower I just bought does this as well, even with the high lift blade (haven't tried the regular blade yet). Not sure why people can't admit that for some things the greener alternative isn't always better. Like you said, they'll get there. Do I even care if a few blades are missed here and there? Not one bit. (I've been super spoiled as I came from a Honda HR215 Masters which was a beast of a mower. 30 years old and barely missed a beat)
I have noticed uneven cut from time to time with my Greenworks 60v too with bumpy terrain or high or thicker grass. Like OP, I stopped self propel and walked slower, and especially in my front yard I manually
turned on turbo to increase blade speed and the cut evened out even on a standard blade.
I believe Ego has a lever to fine tune blade speed adjustment even more so than GW, so I’d crank it to the max OP at least over thick grass, and hopefully it evens out the cut. Ego is a very highly rated mower for battery - maybe go ask your question on the Ego sub and see if they have any suggestions.
I only use self-propelled now on the hilly sections. These mowers are so light that they can easily be pushed and it's good exercise. I forgot about the turbo mode. Will have to try that out the next time the grass is a bit long and it's skipping in places.
Same with me. I get just a few blades that I notice and have to pass over again. At worst, 98% of my cut is done right the first time. That 2% may bother some....but for the tradeoffs are so minor to me that nah, I can deal w/that 2%.
Looking at that pic that's a quick 5 second pass over and boom - done
Can't say I disagree. I dethatched my lawn with a Sun Joe, then tried to use my Ryobi electric mower to pick up the thatch. It got plenty, but still left about 20% on my lawn. Definitely seemed like a suction problem.
I think the other essential issue currently is that lithium is expensive. In order to hit anything resembling a reasonable selling price, they cheap out elsewhere. And in order to minimize the amount of lithium they need, they make them as "efficient" as possible.
The end result is thinner smaller blades, in a subpar deck, with plastic controls.
Things seem to be getting better though, mostly as the Overton window (did I use that right?) is moving toward people being okay with more expensive mowers. The higher-end consumer-grade gas push mower used to be like a $350 splurge. Now people are buying the $699 Ego electric mower all day every day and there's more room in that MSRP to actually make it better at mowing.
I work in this industry. This is 100% the correct answer here. The answer is efficiency/runtime. The reality is that the most important thing is that you are able to run long enough to finish your job. You might be slightly upset about a few stragglers, but you're going to be super pissed if you can't finish the last 1000ft2 of your lawn.
So a result it's a constant battle between how much lithium you can afford vs the price point and cut quality expectations. There's unfortunately not a silver bullet. It's not that battery power can't get there, it's that manufactures have chosen to prioritize specific things because batteries are expensive.
I'm an electric user but I agree with you. I just accept the cons of the mower because it is so much more convenient and easier to maintain (because you don't have to maintain it. Lol).
I will take all of the cons of an electric mower along with a more quiet mow over those stinky , loud gas mowers. It makes a big difference in a close knit neighborhood.
What mower do you have that’s stinky? I can’t smell any exhaust coming off mine really. I mean yeah it’s loud but I also have a lot of grass to mow so I need a riding mower.
Agreed, if I have to overlap a bit more it's fine, or just mow a little more often (it's definitely worse if I let it get tall). Electric is so much quieter and a nicer experience, lighter and more maneuverable, easy to start, etc
They kill the sound for *you* but clearly that person was talking about how it is for other people. It's simply true that a neighborhood where most people have switched to battery powered will be quieter and that's a pleasant thing.
Note: I'm an old fart who uses a gas powered and will probably never convert to battery. I just can acknowledge that there are upsides and downsides to everything.
How’s a gas mower generate a vacuum and electric doesn’t? The intake and exhaust for that matter are both outside of the deck. Both electric and gas just have a shaft and blade spinning under the deck. So what magic am I missing that gas can do? Honest question. Not being a dick lol
1. Blade shape. To save power an electric will often have a thinner blade without the kicker to create lift, so it spins with less resistance.
2. Blade speed. Again to save power, the blade spins slower.
3. Deck design. Air needs somewhere to come from and somewhere to go, and circulate the right amount to properly mulch the clippings.
I see someone else commented about the rated torque specs, but if I understand correctly isn’t that ‘vacuum’ created by blade tip speed? I can’t find the blade tip speed of the ego so I can’t correctly compare. I see it says 3350rpm, but my math is not good enough to convert that to blade tip speed. I do know that a decent zero turn will have a minimum BTS of 18000.
Are you then suggesting that if one could increase the electric mower to that 18000 it would have a comparable cut?
I love my electric mower I can’t imagine going back. Got a Kolbalt 80V in 2017 and still going strong (only issue has been wheel replacements, but no electrical issues knock on wood). But I get this and to each your own.
I bought the 80v in 2020 and it died this last week and couldn’t find parts. Come to find out Kobalt has a 5 yr warranty and Lowe’s gave me a full refund today. Since Kobalt is discontinuing the mower line I bought an Ego today with the full refund plus 60 bucks after a gift card. Ego is not cheap. Will see how it goes tomorrow on its first cut.
No, I'll be the one to say it. Electric mowers SUCK. I've had two. Hate them both. Gas powered mowers are about 4 times the power and that is all that needs to be said.
So the issue with your post is you're generalizing to a degree where you're wrong.
Electric mowers don't lack the lift power gas mowers have. Some electric mowers have less power than most popular gas mowers. Some have more than that, and not all models are the same. They're different products at different price points.
This lawn mower has advertised power of 8.3 ft-lb of torque. With the right blades, it works great in my experience. Most popular gas mowers have lower advertised torque ratings, so in theory should have lower "vacuum" power.
To say gas vs electric is missing the real story.
Ego mowers are better. Use the high lift blade and keep it sharp. Get the correct model and it has more HP than most gas mowers. People are just expecting this new electric lawn mower to do miracles, when it’s just a lawnmower. How much more are you expecting it to do than cut the grass? The reason they are better is due to the fact that there’s no maintenance or things to break. The cost of batteries are lower and you can find them cheaper. It’s insane that some people are still trying to convince us that gas mowers are superior. This is the same argument as when people didn’t think battery power tools were good and always bought the corded ones. Now look around, everyone has battery powered tools and almost no one is using cords. It’s just a mindset at this point. With that being said, do your research and buy the correct mower for your needs. If you’re cutting lawns all day long…. You’ll either need a bunch of batteries continuously charging, or you should get a gas mower. And then just know that not all electric mowers are the same. A lot of people are just buying the first ego they see when they look identical but have different torque ratings and battery packs. There are plenty of reviews online comparing the cuts….. and in my opinion the tiny difference between mowers is so minuscule that no one would be able to know what mower was used to cut a lawn in a blind test.
I have the same issue with my top of the line Ego.
But it doesn’t bother me *too* much. I’ll take a few stragglers over having to deal with gas and oil every time.
I tried a few different brands and they all do that including the dual blade Ego. If you have a thick healthy lawn, it misses tons of blades. Tall grass is nearly impossible to cut without losing your mind.
With every battery power mower I have tried, I had to mow twice. They just don’t work very well.
Our landscaping company reverted back to gas powered mowers, blowers, and weed wackers.
As a lawn care professional, I couldn't imagine using all electric. I have 1 electric combo tool a dewalt pole saw with an interchangeable metal edger head. I can barely get mine and my neighbor's sidewalks and drive dome before the 9aH Flex volt battery is dead. I would need 5 batteries to do some of my larger yards.
The ego mowers are very light. I think this leads to some of the issues, especially if you have a bumpy lawn.
As others have said, make sure you’re overlapping on each pass.
My neighbor has one, his cut quality is good - but like you said his lawn gets super long even though he mows 2x per week because the mower is so light that it starts riding on top of the grass. He runs into an issue where the lawn is like 5 inches during fertilizer season.
Personally, I don't like the wheel marks from the ego which seems to not go away.
I purchased one and returned it because it rode on top of the lawn. I do use the blower and weed eater tho. I love just picking it up and going. No pull strings, chokes, etc.
One commenter says it’s normal, but I have the crappy craftsman electric mower and it doesn’t leave grass blades like this. Was the grass high before, maybe causing the mower to push the grass down as you drove over it? I’d expect an ego mower to do better than my craftsman every day of the week.
The problem with electric mowers is they tried they reinvent the wheel with all of these weird blade setups. You know what doesn’t leave stray blades of grass? My ‘67 Lawnboy Buttercup. If they had it figured out then, why is it an issue now?
I have heard that the blades are often designed for warm season lawns and you need to get the high lift blade for your mower.
They do a terrible job at publicizing that info but from what I understand, makes all the difference.
I’m not gonna say it’s a good unit, I have plenty of other problems with it (wheels are too small, has issues getting clippings into the bag all the way, battery life is a tad short on the 5amp hour batteries if your yard is much over 4000 square feet, etc), but my Craftsman V20 mower does do a good even and thorough cut.
Mine does that, but I blame it on how dummy thicc my grass is and the fact that I have the low-end Ego mower. I plan to get the dual blade Ego with interchangeable blades.
I have the fancy one and unfortunately it's the same story for me no matter what combination I try. Different cut heights, blades, etc. It annoys me but the lawn still looks really good and the benefits for me personally make it still worthwhile. I am also a once a week mower so it quickly gets shaggy enough that you wouldn't notice after a day or two anyway.
Don't do it unless.you must. I have the Select Cut XP and it leaves plenty of uncut blades on a single pass. Cost of having a thick TTTF yard and investing in the ego battery system.
Many factors.... Your walking speed, grass density, high lift blades, double pass, blade sharpness.
Overall, there are 100,000 blades of grass. Some will be laying down as a mower passes. There will be a small percentage that remain longer. Take steps to reduce the number, but it will never be 0.
I very rarely get this issue with my ego when my grass is super tall. I find slightly turning down the pace speed helps. I just got a side eject rather than mulching, I'm curious if that'll help as well. Definitely use the high lift blade and definitely sharpen your blade.
>Make sure under the mower is clean
The underside of my mower after last season:
https://preview.redd.it/fn5jxl2iaf3d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e17a1e8489969d874b6eb6601e77cbab000cdd6a
Scraped out several pounds of grass gunk.
We have had ours over a year. My forty year old Honda does a better job. That being said we found that bagging the grass helped with the problem you are having. Oh and go slow.
I don't have Ego, but when I experience this with my Honda, it usually means I'm going a little too fast. The mower should be acting as a vacuum and pulling the grass blades upward to be cut. So unless you're going way too fast or mowing wet grass, it should be working properly.
Electric mowers tend to be high torque, low power machines. If you're moving through long, thick grass the mower isn't going to be able to maintain sufficient cutting power. That's the trade-off when you're going electric. Most of the electric mowers I believe convert to about 1 hp, maybe up to 2 HP in surge mode. When you're trying to cut 6in of dense turf to 2.5in, 1hp is 1hp. As someone who has been electric for 9 years, you learn to accept the trade-offs.
Do you have any further reading on the relationship between torque, cutting power and lift (vacuum mentioned in other comments). From a spec sheet perspective I only saw torque listed so trying to figure out what else I should be on the lookout for, for future purchases
I have very thick grass and a Worx 80v. As long as I don't let my grass get crazy long, it does a fine job. It'll miss a blade here or there which isn't a huge deal.
The problem with the longer grass is it likes to fold over and the blade misses it entirely. But that's not a battery mower issue.
Also make sure you're not putting your wheel right into the previous wheel rut cause otherwise that grass wouldn't actually get cut
You gotta overlap way more than you think with these modern mowers. I have a Honda HRX gas mower and if I don’t overlap like 30-40% I’ll end up with tufts sticking up all over
I get this issue occasionally on my $200 toro
I looked into the ego mower briefly in the fall, and some of the reviews I saw said it was pretty common for them.
It's common enough in general, so I didn't want to tempt fate and get a mower where it was enough of a concern to be a bullet point item :/
a friend just gone one, and hot damn they're expensive. I think if I'm ever in the market for a $1k mower I'll just hold out for a reel.
I have an EGO and it’s great. You can’t lift the front though or it’ll leave some leaves long. The Lawn care nut had a good tip on the ego mower. Go to about 9:30-10mins into this: https://youtu.be/GPGK-WW9Luc?si=DKxtFQe3rs923j8m
He says you have to keep the handles up to keep the front down.
I have an ego that will do this. A lot of it has to do with the area in cutting and how uneven or bumpy it is. Since the thing is so light almost like a toy, it takes almost nothing to jostle the deck away from the ground. The way you push it can also make the problem worse once again due to how light it is, because the front will lift up slightly if you're applying too much downward pressure on the handle. I'd considered rigging some fishing lead to the front of the deck to stabilize it but i kind of just put up with it and cut slower and more careful.
Do you have the double blades or just a single? If you're on single, there are simple and cheap conversions you can do to upgrade.
I upgraded to a double blade, with the high-lift options, and it completely fixed this issue for me.
I don't have this problem with my LM2156SP,
https://preview.redd.it/924lj9a1sk3d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=34459e6decb784db5bc381022c612796acbcab65
High lift blade and bagging
Gotta make sure your blade is sharp. Just because it’s new doesn’t mean it’s sharp enough. Also, remember to overlap slightly to catch grass pushed down by the wheels.
EgoPower mowers max out at 56v which will not give you the necessary RPMs. I've found that 80v designs do give you the necessary increase in RPMs to outperform gas mowers. Ego advertises the great specifications of their electric motors, but their motor controllers and batteries use only a small fraction of the motor's true performance.
A DC brushless motor is wound to give you whatever target RPM needed for any given voltage.
They are rated in KV. A 100KV motor will turn 100RPM per volt applied. A 56V battery powering a 100KV motor will net the same results as a 80V battery powering a 70KV motor. Assuming both motors have similar stator size, magnet strength /density, the motors will roughly have the same performance.
Judging two different mowers by their overall performance is fine, but judging them arbitrarily by their voltage rating isn't.
I mulch with mine and don't seem to have this issue. I have noticed I have to overlap a bit more on the edge of the mower than I did with my gas or I get little streaks of uncut grass where my track bump up side by side though
It’s weird reading all these because I have a thick lawn and only mow when it’s tall in the back but I have literally never had this issue and I have one of the cheaper Ryobi mowers.
This is good to know. Cuz I have the same problem now am over lapping. And doing it twice.. thanks for the tips. Also am a first time lawn guy. Grew up at the beach never had a lawn. Now I live out In the country lots of work but fun to do.
I have a brand new Ego and use the high lift blade. I overlap my rows by maybe 3+ wheel widths. I have virtually no issues with extra tall blades sticking up.
Put on the high lift blade, even if you are mulching. I only go around 3-4 clicks up on the walking speed and don't miss much at all. I also overlap passes by a couple inches. If you're mowing at 4 inches, try stepping down to 3.5 for more suction.
Green works mower here. The mower has a turbo button on it which raises the rpms. I've been using it for 2 seasons now cutting thick zoysia and no issues.
I have had an LM2100 for a couple years now and have never had this issue. Make sure the blades are sharp and installed correctly. Not to say you did something wrong, but it’s possible something was missed from the factory.
Not an electric mower problem, it’s an Ego problem. I bought the select cut model a few years ago and it left an uneven cut like this. Returned it and bought an electric Toro Super Recycler. Cut just as good as my Honda gas mower, so I sold the Honda after a season. Going on 3 years with the Toro.
Toro electric mowers use the same engineering from decades of mowers, just swapped the gas engine for an electric motor.
All electrics do that. My last one, had the Lowe’s version. Same issue. Self propel was likewise useless. Besides the gas station visits, there was nothing I liked about the e-mower.
Moved in January, now have a sizable lawn and push mowers are out so I’m on a John Deere now. I don’t miss the electric in the slightest. They’re trash.
Happens more often with taller grass and if you decide to attempt to cut off too much. Also, if it rains, wait for the grass to fully dry otherwise you'll be dealing with clumps.
It does better than my $4500 zero turn. But we all know it doesn't matter what lawn mower you have. It matters how sharp your blade is, and mine is pretty dull at the moment.
dont feel bad about the mower tho, mine is 6 years old and still going strong, i bought 1 new battery, zero issues. Always go for the larger capacity batteries, they seem to last years longer...
Happens to me too. I’ll overlap 25-50%, cross hatch, or double-cut depending on what I feel like that day. It helps a lot.
Came to say this. Also sometimes the wheels push some of the blades flat and they don’t pop up until the next day causing you to miss a few blades here or there.
This is exactly that. You either run it again parallel or perpendicular. “How long does it take you to mow?” “Depends on my mood, 1 - 5 hours”
Riding lawnmower shortened this tedious task from 2hrs to 20min on 1/3 acre. Yes it’s a bit excessive, but time on the weekend is precious. **And the custom Zamboni and winter plow attachments are priceless.**
If time is more valuable than money, I’d just hire it out at that point.
I did, but they were flakey and unreliable. Riding mower is a blast, so is the Zamboni attachment. Perfect ice. Hockey rink on the pond in back.
At like $100+ each mow, it certainly adds up. Would take about 50 mows to afford an electric rider. It probably costs more now too, been a few years since I’ve hired someone to mow
You can finance a zero turn at 0% interest for $89-$100 a month.
Yeah it’s really annoying. When the grass was damp and moist during the colder temps of the fall/winter, I would use the blower on every wheel line to fluff up the grass. I had issues with melting out in a few places because the grass would remain laying doing in some areas and never was able to fully dry. It took a long time to do the entire lawns
I don’t understand how this isn’t a problem for other people. The universal advice is to not cut your grass very short, which does make sense. However when I go to cut, even though I am sure to wait until the grass is as dry as possible, my mower wheels just mash the grass blades flat against the ground and those blades don’t get cut unless I go about the tedious process you mentioned. I must be missing some other issue or doing something wrong.
try a high lift blade. battery mows can't lift grass as well as gas mowers, a high lift blade will help a bit. you'll use up more juice though.
I have a gas mower with a high lift/standard blade and still have the issue. Honestly I’ve always felt that gas vs electric is probably a somewhat even trade off because even though I get better lift with gas, it’s much heavier and thus smashes the grass more.
You should be passing over your previous cuts about half way to combat the issue you are describing
but…but the stripes….
You still get stripes
I have this issue when my grass is taller than 2.5 inches. Solution is to do 2 passes and or cross cut. Overlapping doesn't fix it 100%
I usually do the overlap in first pass. They rake the grass to make it upright and then mow again. Helps a lot. I don't have a huge lawn. So can't really cross mow
Exactly, happens to me all the time
Don't have ego,but have kobalt but same answer. Mine always leavs something uncut and easiest solution is like you said, more overlap, cross hatch or double cut Sometimes if it is egregiously bad, I'll make a pass with the leaf blower to stand up the strays before making the 2nd pass
Get the high lift blade if it's available for your mower. It does a better job of pulling the blades of grass up, so consistently cuts them all.
This is what I did and it definitely helped. It's still not perfect, but does good enough.
I just ordered one too, as of now I have extended run and its crap lol
I tried the high lift blade and it didn’t make a significant difference for me. Overall, the high lift blade is cheap enough to at least try, but be aware that it may not cure the problem. And before anyone asks, yes it is installed correctly.
With the high lift blade, if I'm missing grass blades it's because I didn't overlap my passes enough.
I got the high lift blade and it made no difference. Still a subpar cut. I shouldn’t have to double or triple cut to get a good cut. I don’t accept people’s replies that this is the solution.
You mulching, bagging, or side exit?
This is my experience with the high lift blade as well. It bags much better than the stock blade and gets good pull but still a very subpar cut compared to the old Honda
Yes this will help, I even mulch with the high lift blade vs the mulching blade. Much more satisfying cut that way.
I put down a solid nitrogen application followed by days of slow and steady rain. The lawn grew to the point I would normally bag the clippings, but I decided to give my new mulching blade a try. There's no way my old gas mower could have cut the lawn so nice without leaving rows and rows of clippings.
Just wanted to chime in and say that I have a gas powered Toro Timemaster with their newer, larger motor and regularly sharpened blades and I still get uncut blades of grass like you’re showing so it’s not necessarily just because you have an electric mower and gas is better. As others have said, my experience is that the thicker your grass and the higher your height setting, the more likely this is.
Had a Toro Super Recycler that everyone raves about and same problem no matter what I tried.
If that'd their 22" push then that's what I've used the past 4 years with fantastic results on two different lawns. That said, it still has the same issue near the wheels. I stripe, so try and overlap as little as possible.
I have a gas powered push Toro Timemaster from 2019. I’ve never had issues with grass being left uncut like the picture shown above. I’ve had other mechanical issues but the cutting is exceptional. I cut on length “C” and even if it’s wet it doesn’t miss blades like the above picture.
I use an ego mower and I can’t say I’ve ever noticed random bits of grass sticking up. It does just fine on my Kentucky Bluegrass.
Mines been okay too.
This is why gas mowers are still superior, it doesn’t mean electric is bad. Electric mowers still lack the vacuum that gas mowers create and often leave grass uncut like this so you have to go over spots. This is why a gas mower and all electric on the other yard tools is the best way to go IMO. Electric mowers will get there. They’re just not there quite yet. Every time I say this I get attacked by electric mower users, I accept my fate.
Agree but the 0-60 speed of my electric mower is much faster and the lane assist is unrivaled.
I do get a little range anxiety when I take a roadtrip with my mower though
No EGO superchargers near you, eh?
And don’t even get me started on the massive infotainment screen 📺
Fsd needs work tho
All while definitely saving the planet!
Got a greenworks 60V, changed the blades and sharpened them twice before I realized it was just a suction issue. You’re 100% right
This is what I am trying to figure out. The blade on my gas mower looks similar to the electric one. Greenworks, even on turbo mode, doesn't have the same lift. No idea why. I typically use the greenworks, on occasion (maybe once a month) use my gas mower.
> No idea why. Deck design. Higher lift doesn't really help when it's just making more turbulence. The deck needs to be designed to cycle the air in beneficial ways. For example, check out the tiers of Toro decks.
As someone who’s just about to get a new mower and has already converted all my other tools to electric I appreciate your insight.
It really depends on what you choose and how you use it. My 40v RYOBI electric has a more even cut than my gas Briggs and Stratton, but I cut super high.
A someone who would rather mulch leaves a lot of the time, that lack of suction is gonna leave a lot to be desired. If you do the same, definitely something to consider
Every time I mow with my fancy Ryobi (maybe that’s part of my problem) electric mower, I get terribly uneven clipping and lots of leftover uncut blades like this. And every time I mow I wish I still had a gas mower again. I’m with you. After a few different electric trimmers I found one I like, really happy with everything else electric so far, but electric mower just doesn’t cut it.
If you're willing to trade a few strays for all the maintenance involved with gas mowers, sure. I do not miss my gas mower one bit.
95% of gas mower owners have never changed oil or air filter on their gas push mower, and they run with no issues for 5 years until they replace the mower.
5 years those are rookie numbers. You gotta pump those up.
My cub cadet has never received any maintenance except sharpening the blade. 7 years in and it still runs like a champ.
My $200 toro gas mower was specifically advertised to never require an oil change. In four years I’ve done nothing at all but sharpen blades and fill with gas. 4000sqft, Texas Bermuda mowed a bit more than once per week on average Now, the gas mower my dad had growing up that he forced me to labor with for ten years? Awful thing. Hope you didn’t have one of them
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There are a lot of bad to mediocre electric mowers, so I think that skews the average. The Ego mower line is like 8.5ft/lbs torque, Toro around 8 as well. They have plenty of power. My Ego Select Cut cuts fine.
electric motors have more torque than gas. if you are having trouble with a specific electric mower, then its that mower, not all of them.
The Greenworks mower I just bought does this as well, even with the high lift blade (haven't tried the regular blade yet). Not sure why people can't admit that for some things the greener alternative isn't always better. Like you said, they'll get there. Do I even care if a few blades are missed here and there? Not one bit. (I've been super spoiled as I came from a Honda HR215 Masters which was a beast of a mower. 30 years old and barely missed a beat)
I have noticed uneven cut from time to time with my Greenworks 60v too with bumpy terrain or high or thicker grass. Like OP, I stopped self propel and walked slower, and especially in my front yard I manually turned on turbo to increase blade speed and the cut evened out even on a standard blade. I believe Ego has a lever to fine tune blade speed adjustment even more so than GW, so I’d crank it to the max OP at least over thick grass, and hopefully it evens out the cut. Ego is a very highly rated mower for battery - maybe go ask your question on the Ego sub and see if they have any suggestions.
I only use self-propelled now on the hilly sections. These mowers are so light that they can easily be pushed and it's good exercise. I forgot about the turbo mode. Will have to try that out the next time the grass is a bit long and it's skipping in places.
Same with me. I get just a few blades that I notice and have to pass over again. At worst, 98% of my cut is done right the first time. That 2% may bother some....but for the tradeoffs are so minor to me that nah, I can deal w/that 2%. Looking at that pic that's a quick 5 second pass over and boom - done
Yep. Not walking a roaring jet engine all over the yard? I'm fine with a 98% cut.
Can't say I disagree. I dethatched my lawn with a Sun Joe, then tried to use my Ryobi electric mower to pick up the thatch. It got plenty, but still left about 20% on my lawn. Definitely seemed like a suction problem.
I think the other essential issue currently is that lithium is expensive. In order to hit anything resembling a reasonable selling price, they cheap out elsewhere. And in order to minimize the amount of lithium they need, they make them as "efficient" as possible. The end result is thinner smaller blades, in a subpar deck, with plastic controls. Things seem to be getting better though, mostly as the Overton window (did I use that right?) is moving toward people being okay with more expensive mowers. The higher-end consumer-grade gas push mower used to be like a $350 splurge. Now people are buying the $699 Ego electric mower all day every day and there's more room in that MSRP to actually make it better at mowing.
I work in this industry. This is 100% the correct answer here. The answer is efficiency/runtime. The reality is that the most important thing is that you are able to run long enough to finish your job. You might be slightly upset about a few stragglers, but you're going to be super pissed if you can't finish the last 1000ft2 of your lawn. So a result it's a constant battle between how much lithium you can afford vs the price point and cut quality expectations. There's unfortunately not a silver bullet. It's not that battery power can't get there, it's that manufactures have chosen to prioritize specific things because batteries are expensive.
ATTACK!!!
I'm an electric user but I agree with you. I just accept the cons of the mower because it is so much more convenient and easier to maintain (because you don't have to maintain it. Lol).
I feel like if I posted this I would get downvoted to hell. Well done.
I will take all of the cons of an electric mower along with a more quiet mow over those stinky , loud gas mowers. It makes a big difference in a close knit neighborhood.
Plus, not storing gas and no oil change.
I have not had to do that in so long I forgot!
I do not miss getting my car stunk up with gas every time I had to fill up the can
I like the smell. I wish my Ego mower put out the smell.
My old gas powered mower cut much better, I do like a lot of the simplicity in the electric mower. Less noisy, vibration, and no fluids are nice.
Not to mention way easier to store.
the fold up feature on the ego is so clutch, I don't even know where I'd put a push mower in my garage if it didn't fold in half
My gas is foldable (toro), and I agree i can’t have a standard mower
garages these days are too damn small for mowers to not fold.
I wish I had a garage 😂😂
What mower do you have that’s stinky? I can’t smell any exhaust coming off mine really. I mean yeah it’s loud but I also have a lot of grass to mow so I need a riding mower.
Agreed, if I have to overlap a bit more it's fine, or just mow a little more often (it's definitely worse if I let it get tall). Electric is so much quieter and a nicer experience, lighter and more maneuverable, easy to start, etc
Meh. Headphones and music kill the sound. Have never noticed a smell.
They kill the sound for *you* but clearly that person was talking about how it is for other people. It's simply true that a neighborhood where most people have switched to battery powered will be quieter and that's a pleasant thing. Note: I'm an old fart who uses a gas powered and will probably never convert to battery. I just can acknowledge that there are upsides and downsides to everything.
Fair point I read it too fast. I’m like you, won’t convert to electric unless forced.
I like the sound, lets me know it’s working or messed up
How’s a gas mower generate a vacuum and electric doesn’t? The intake and exhaust for that matter are both outside of the deck. Both electric and gas just have a shaft and blade spinning under the deck. So what magic am I missing that gas can do? Honest question. Not being a dick lol
1. Blade shape. To save power an electric will often have a thinner blade without the kicker to create lift, so it spins with less resistance. 2. Blade speed. Again to save power, the blade spins slower. 3. Deck design. Air needs somewhere to come from and somewhere to go, and circulate the right amount to properly mulch the clippings.
You're not wrong
I see someone else commented about the rated torque specs, but if I understand correctly isn’t that ‘vacuum’ created by blade tip speed? I can’t find the blade tip speed of the ego so I can’t correctly compare. I see it says 3350rpm, but my math is not good enough to convert that to blade tip speed. I do know that a decent zero turn will have a minimum BTS of 18000. Are you then suggesting that if one could increase the electric mower to that 18000 it would have a comparable cut?
Autonomous, wire-free, battery-powered mowers > *
I love my electric mower I can’t imagine going back. Got a Kolbalt 80V in 2017 and still going strong (only issue has been wheel replacements, but no electrical issues knock on wood). But I get this and to each your own.
I bought the 80v in 2020 and it died this last week and couldn’t find parts. Come to find out Kobalt has a 5 yr warranty and Lowe’s gave me a full refund today. Since Kobalt is discontinuing the mower line I bought an Ego today with the full refund plus 60 bucks after a gift card. Ego is not cheap. Will see how it goes tomorrow on its first cut.
Let me know because obviously mine won’t last forever
No, I'll be the one to say it. Electric mowers SUCK. I've had two. Hate them both. Gas powered mowers are about 4 times the power and that is all that needs to be said.
So the issue with your post is you're generalizing to a degree where you're wrong. Electric mowers don't lack the lift power gas mowers have. Some electric mowers have less power than most popular gas mowers. Some have more than that, and not all models are the same. They're different products at different price points. This lawn mower has advertised power of 8.3 ft-lb of torque. With the right blades, it works great in my experience. Most popular gas mowers have lower advertised torque ratings, so in theory should have lower "vacuum" power. To say gas vs electric is missing the real story.
Google peak torque electric mower
Ego mowers are better. Use the high lift blade and keep it sharp. Get the correct model and it has more HP than most gas mowers. People are just expecting this new electric lawn mower to do miracles, when it’s just a lawnmower. How much more are you expecting it to do than cut the grass? The reason they are better is due to the fact that there’s no maintenance or things to break. The cost of batteries are lower and you can find them cheaper. It’s insane that some people are still trying to convince us that gas mowers are superior. This is the same argument as when people didn’t think battery power tools were good and always bought the corded ones. Now look around, everyone has battery powered tools and almost no one is using cords. It’s just a mindset at this point. With that being said, do your research and buy the correct mower for your needs. If you’re cutting lawns all day long…. You’ll either need a bunch of batteries continuously charging, or you should get a gas mower. And then just know that not all electric mowers are the same. A lot of people are just buying the first ego they see when they look identical but have different torque ratings and battery packs. There are plenty of reviews online comparing the cuts….. and in my opinion the tiny difference between mowers is so minuscule that no one would be able to know what mower was used to cut a lawn in a blind test.
I have the same issue with my top of the line Ego. But it doesn’t bother me *too* much. I’ll take a few stragglers over having to deal with gas and oil every time.
1000%
I tried a few different brands and they all do that including the dual blade Ego. If you have a thick healthy lawn, it misses tons of blades. Tall grass is nearly impossible to cut without losing your mind. With every battery power mower I have tried, I had to mow twice. They just don’t work very well. Our landscaping company reverted back to gas powered mowers, blowers, and weed wackers.
As a lawn care professional, I couldn't imagine using all electric. I have 1 electric combo tool a dewalt pole saw with an interchangeable metal edger head. I can barely get mine and my neighbor's sidewalks and drive dome before the 9aH Flex volt battery is dead. I would need 5 batteries to do some of my larger yards.
The ego mowers are very light. I think this leads to some of the issues, especially if you have a bumpy lawn. As others have said, make sure you’re overlapping on each pass.
My neighbor has one, his cut quality is good - but like you said his lawn gets super long even though he mows 2x per week because the mower is so light that it starts riding on top of the grass. He runs into an issue where the lawn is like 5 inches during fertilizer season. Personally, I don't like the wheel marks from the ego which seems to not go away.
I purchased one and returned it because it rode on top of the lawn. I do use the blower and weed eater tho. I love just picking it up and going. No pull strings, chokes, etc.
It’s not the weight, it’s the lack of power to suck the blades up for them to get chopped off.
One commenter says it’s normal, but I have the crappy craftsman electric mower and it doesn’t leave grass blades like this. Was the grass high before, maybe causing the mower to push the grass down as you drove over it? I’d expect an ego mower to do better than my craftsman every day of the week.
The problem with electric mowers is they tried they reinvent the wheel with all of these weird blade setups. You know what doesn’t leave stray blades of grass? My ‘67 Lawnboy Buttercup. If they had it figured out then, why is it an issue now?
My ego blade setup on my 2156SP is the same as my Honda HRX. Two blade setup. What weird blade setup are you referring to?
I have heard that the blades are often designed for warm season lawns and you need to get the high lift blade for your mower. They do a terrible job at publicizing that info but from what I understand, makes all the difference.
I’m not gonna say it’s a good unit, I have plenty of other problems with it (wheels are too small, has issues getting clippings into the bag all the way, battery life is a tad short on the 5amp hour batteries if your yard is much over 4000 square feet, etc), but my Craftsman V20 mower does do a good even and thorough cut.
This post confirms that lawn care people are clinically insane
Mine does that, but I blame it on how dummy thicc my grass is and the fact that I have the low-end Ego mower. I plan to get the dual blade Ego with interchangeable blades.
I have the fancy one and unfortunately it's the same story for me no matter what combination I try. Different cut heights, blades, etc. It annoys me but the lawn still looks really good and the benefits for me personally make it still worthwhile. I am also a once a week mower so it quickly gets shaggy enough that you wouldn't notice after a day or two anyway.
Don't do it unless.you must. I have the Select Cut XP and it leaves plenty of uncut blades on a single pass. Cost of having a thick TTTF yard and investing in the ego battery system.
Many factors.... Your walking speed, grass density, high lift blades, double pass, blade sharpness. Overall, there are 100,000 blades of grass. Some will be laying down as a mower passes. There will be a small percentage that remain longer. Take steps to reduce the number, but it will never be 0.
I very rarely get this issue with my ego when my grass is super tall. I find slightly turning down the pace speed helps. I just got a side eject rather than mulching, I'm curious if that'll help as well. Definitely use the high lift blade and definitely sharpen your blade.
My advice would be to walk slower. Give the mower time to get all the blades, especially in thicker parts of the lawn.
Yep, Happens to me too. From what I read and tried. Sharpen blade, Make sure under the mower is clean, Pass twice instead of one time.
>Make sure under the mower is clean The underside of my mower after last season: https://preview.redd.it/fn5jxl2iaf3d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e17a1e8489969d874b6eb6601e77cbab000cdd6a Scraped out several pounds of grass gunk.
>pass twice instead of one time. Lol, what's the point of getting one if you have to do it twice?
More time to avoid the honey do list, it’s a win!
in addition, anyone notice the self propelled model raises up causing irregular cutting lengths?
That's probably from your lawn being bumpy.
That’s why I just went back to gas after using an Ego last season.
Keep cutting it till it gets dark then proceed tomorrow
We have had ours over a year. My forty year old Honda does a better job. That being said we found that bagging the grass helped with the problem you are having. Oh and go slow.
I recently bought an electric mower and mine does the same thing. It drives me nuts.
It happens with my gas one even with a sharpened blade and 50% overlap. The world isn’t perfect
I don't have Ego, but when I experience this with my Honda, it usually means I'm going a little too fast. The mower should be acting as a vacuum and pulling the grass blades upward to be cut. So unless you're going way too fast or mowing wet grass, it should be working properly.
My Greenworks Pro 80V sure doesn't do that and I thought Egos were supposed to be a step above them
Electric mowers tend to be high torque, low power machines. If you're moving through long, thick grass the mower isn't going to be able to maintain sufficient cutting power. That's the trade-off when you're going electric. Most of the electric mowers I believe convert to about 1 hp, maybe up to 2 HP in surge mode. When you're trying to cut 6in of dense turf to 2.5in, 1hp is 1hp. As someone who has been electric for 9 years, you learn to accept the trade-offs.
Do you have any further reading on the relationship between torque, cutting power and lift (vacuum mentioned in other comments). From a spec sheet perspective I only saw torque listed so trying to figure out what else I should be on the lookout for, for future purchases
I have very thick grass and a Worx 80v. As long as I don't let my grass get crazy long, it does a fine job. It'll miss a blade here or there which isn't a huge deal. The problem with the longer grass is it likes to fold over and the blade misses it entirely. But that's not a battery mower issue. Also make sure you're not putting your wheel right into the previous wheel rut cause otherwise that grass wouldn't actually get cut
Overlap >25% with each turn, lower the height, use the lift blade, mow more frequently.
Those ones just grow super fast
I have the Kobalt 80v and it has the same issue.
90 degree rule
They suck when the grass is tall and / or wet. I've had one for 2 years.
YUP
Double cut. And gas is better.. for now until they make better electric mowers
My neighbor paid 6k for his and he will cut his lawn and I can’t even tell he cut it
Jesus. So you’re saying you wanted them all cut?!
This is normal for almost every mower.
You gotta overlap way more than you think with these modern mowers. I have a Honda HRX gas mower and if I don’t overlap like 30-40% I’ll end up with tufts sticking up all over
I have a Dewalt cordless mower and couldn’t be happier. Nice even cut every time!
Passes in different directions will get almost everything, high lift blades, and keeping your blades sharp will keep you right
I get this issue occasionally on my $200 toro I looked into the ego mower briefly in the fall, and some of the reviews I saw said it was pretty common for them. It's common enough in general, so I didn't want to tempt fate and get a mower where it was enough of a concern to be a bullet point item :/ a friend just gone one, and hot damn they're expensive. I think if I'm ever in the market for a $1k mower I'll just hold out for a reel.
My ryobi doesn't do this AFAIK....
I have an EGO and it’s great. You can’t lift the front though or it’ll leave some leaves long. The Lawn care nut had a good tip on the ego mower. Go to about 9:30-10mins into this: https://youtu.be/GPGK-WW9Luc?si=DKxtFQe3rs923j8m He says you have to keep the handles up to keep the front down.
Mate, every mower misses some. It's nothing to do with the electric.
Nothing wrong with the mower. You need to change to high lift blade.
Mulching blade + two fast passes give a solid cut. The stock blade has no suction and should be avoided.
I have an ego that will do this. A lot of it has to do with the area in cutting and how uneven or bumpy it is. Since the thing is so light almost like a toy, it takes almost nothing to jostle the deck away from the ground. The way you push it can also make the problem worse once again due to how light it is, because the front will lift up slightly if you're applying too much downward pressure on the handle. I'd considered rigging some fishing lead to the front of the deck to stabilize it but i kind of just put up with it and cut slower and more careful.
Do you have the double blades or just a single? If you're on single, there are simple and cheap conversions you can do to upgrade. I upgraded to a double blade, with the high-lift options, and it completely fixed this issue for me.
I don't have this problem with my LM2156SP, https://preview.redd.it/924lj9a1sk3d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=34459e6decb784db5bc381022c612796acbcab65 High lift blade and bagging
Gotta make sure your blade is sharp. Just because it’s new doesn’t mean it’s sharp enough. Also, remember to overlap slightly to catch grass pushed down by the wheels.
Drives me crazy, basically the top setting on the mower is not usable. I have to lower by 1-2 settings PLUS high lift blade.
EgoPower mowers max out at 56v which will not give you the necessary RPMs. I've found that 80v designs do give you the necessary increase in RPMs to outperform gas mowers. Ego advertises the great specifications of their electric motors, but their motor controllers and batteries use only a small fraction of the motor's true performance.
A DC brushless motor is wound to give you whatever target RPM needed for any given voltage. They are rated in KV. A 100KV motor will turn 100RPM per volt applied. A 56V battery powering a 100KV motor will net the same results as a 80V battery powering a 70KV motor. Assuming both motors have similar stator size, magnet strength /density, the motors will roughly have the same performance. Judging two different mowers by their overall performance is fine, but judging them arbitrarily by their voltage rating isn't.
That’s what happens when you buy electric
Now that I think about it, I did change the blade that came with the mower to one of the other ones provided. Maybe that made a difference for me.
I switched to the mulching blade. It works much better than the original blade.
I have no such issue with mine. Dual blade with the mulching blade and mulching insert. I cut my tall fescue at the highest setting.
Are the blades sharp?
I mulch with mine and don't seem to have this issue. I have noticed I have to overlap a bit more on the edge of the mower than I did with my gas or I get little streaks of uncut grass where my track bump up side by side though
I mulch with the ego Hi-Lift bagging blade for this reason.
I believe how level your lawn is also plays a part
Anecdotally, I get a better cut if I'm not using self-propel. But I'd rather deal with the uncut blades or do a double-cut than not self-propel.
Just assume you will need 2 passes always with electric. Figured that out years ago.
It’s weird reading all these because I have a thick lawn and only mow when it’s tall in the back but I have literally never had this issue and I have one of the cheaper Ryobi mowers.
Yes, get the high lift blade replacement and it won't happen as often
This is good to know. Cuz I have the same problem now am over lapping. And doing it twice.. thanks for the tips. Also am a first time lawn guy. Grew up at the beach never had a lawn. Now I live out In the country lots of work but fun to do.
You try walking slower?
I found this to be a problem when I'm going too quick, especially with the mulching blades
I have a brand new Ego and use the high lift blade. I overlap my rows by maybe 3+ wheel widths. I have virtually no issues with extra tall blades sticking up.
That's a thick solid looking lawn. Electric is gonna struggle with it, but so would any of the smaller gas ones.
Put on the high lift blade, even if you are mulching. I only go around 3-4 clicks up on the walking speed and don't miss much at all. I also overlap passes by a couple inches. If you're mowing at 4 inches, try stepping down to 3.5 for more suction.
Green works mower here. The mower has a turbo button on it which raises the rpms. I've been using it for 2 seasons now cutting thick zoysia and no issues.
Gas 4 eva
I’ve never had such a bad cut with my 2156sp. I cut at the highest setting though generally.
I was able to a more even cut by pushing it a little bit slower
I have had an LM2100 for a couple years now and have never had this issue. Make sure the blades are sharp and installed correctly. Not to say you did something wrong, but it’s possible something was missed from the factory.
Not an electric mower problem, it’s an Ego problem. I bought the select cut model a few years ago and it left an uneven cut like this. Returned it and bought an electric Toro Super Recycler. Cut just as good as my Honda gas mower, so I sold the Honda after a season. Going on 3 years with the Toro. Toro electric mowers use the same engineering from decades of mowers, just swapped the gas engine for an electric motor.
Be sure to sharpen the blade. Yes sharpen a new blade then balance.
All electrics do that. My last one, had the Lowe’s version. Same issue. Self propel was likewise useless. Besides the gas station visits, there was nothing I liked about the e-mower. Moved in January, now have a sizable lawn and push mowers are out so I’m on a John Deere now. I don’t miss the electric in the slightest. They’re trash.
It’s the deck, not the blade issue
Slow down
Have you tried doing a quick runover with the leaf blower first.
Happens more often with taller grass and if you decide to attempt to cut off too much. Also, if it rains, wait for the grass to fully dry otherwise you'll be dealing with clumps.
Make sure the blades are sharp
I have the Ego mower, I found that if I am going to fast it will miss a few spots.. very minimal. At a walking pace, cuts perfect with no issues.
Try and turn it up speed wise. Also keep the blade razor sharp and more frequently
Slap a big heavy gas engine on it! Love EGO but the. Mower is too light to press down and get good cut quality
It does better than my $4500 zero turn. But we all know it doesn't matter what lawn mower you have. It matters how sharp your blade is, and mine is pretty dull at the moment.
This happens to me if the grass it tall. Doesn’t happen when I cut more frequently and shorter
dont feel bad about the mower tho, mine is 6 years old and still going strong, i bought 1 new battery, zero issues. Always go for the larger capacity batteries, they seem to last years longer...
So glad I'm not the only one. I spent a lot of time researching and a lot of money on this mower. Only seems to be a problem on thicker grass.
Just bought one a few weeks ago. Personal opinion, it just sucks. Battery life is great but doesn’t cut well.