Snapper 1687914 21" SP Walk Mower Kit, Self Propelled, Red/Black

For a battery lawnmower its a beast. Battery strength and milliamp hours depend on how high and wet the grass is just like a gas mower. I have a small (currently weedy) front lawn of roughly a thousand square feet and a 3 thousand square foot back yard and have been mowing every two weeks sometimes three (because I worked a lot and hate lawn care). It has been abused: left out in all weather, blade never sharpened, etc. and I always run it at top speed (its better for mower life) and still works great as if it were new. it takes me about twenty minutes to mow my front yard and at top speed but not always using self propel it takes one battery that's fully charged. I have not noticed the battery becoming weak after two years but its possible. They are expensive. If I have a lot of obstructions and can't use self propel, it works out to about the same. While I'm mowing the front the second battery is in the charger and I'm estimating about 30 minutes to charge it. It takes one battery and half of another to mow the back. If I mow when the grass is short (one week) it still takes about the same. If the grass is more than two weeks high the mower will still mow through it and better than a typical gas mower. Its quicker to change a battery than fill it up with gas (it used to take a tank and a half of gas for my total yard with some left over). I don't use the grass catcher but I'm going to start using it once my lawn improvements take place. This is a heavy mower of 80 lbs. Its no problem if you have a wide open lawn and do not require to mow around stuff. If you have hedges, gardens, bird baths, concrete, sheds etc then self propelled is not being used and maneuvering this lawn mower is very similar to a gas push mower. If your yard is wide open, you will certainly appreciate this mower as mowing becomes pleasurable. I hate storing gas, buying gas, hauling gas or smelling gas. Ive owned corded mowers and there are some good ones out there but they are high amp and circuit breaker was popping if I ran more than the mower on 15 amp breaker. This is the best mower I've owned and I've owned a lot of them. I might sharpen the blade this year and store it in the shed more often but other than that this mower requires nothing after two years. Its a snapper so if you live in the big city you can likely find repair service or replacement easy enough. UPDATE: haven't changed mowing habits - still ashamed of my lawn. I haven't sharpened the blade because I'm lazy. The batteries are still good and take full charge - It takes 1 and a half batteries to mow my lawn and that's still true after 3 years. I don't leave it out in the rain like I used to but it didn't hurt it. This mower is the only thing that makes mowing a little more interesting. UPDATE 07/28/2021: Lowering the rating from 5 stars to 4 for one reason only. The mower is great and still works fine in all aspects except exchanging batteries where it actually hurts the tendons in my thumbs pressing down on the lever to dislodge the battery from the compartment. Sounds stupid, I know. I should be able to release it with one hand but it requires too much pressure and it actually hurts to remove the battery. Its like a sprain in my lower thumb. It has become another excuse to not mow my lawn. I really hate mowing. I can't wait for this mower to quit so I can hire a guy to mow my lawn.... it won't quit. 2023: still running. Haven't sharpened the blade. Batteries (2) both in good shape but maybe a little less mowing area per battery. No rust anywhere but its sat out in the rain more times than I can remember. I'll never buy another gas push-mower. 7 YEAR UPDATE 03/2025: Ugraded ratings from 4 star to 5. The longevity of the mower is way more than I expected and I'm likely going to get at least another 5. The original batteries need recharging sooner that when new but still going pretty strong, I would extimate they are at 75 to 80 percent condition-wise. It should be noted again that I do not maintain it at all. I've never even sharpened the blade. Once I turned it over to clean out some caked up grass. I'm not proud to tell you that but its just the truth. 7 years maintenance free for any lawnmower is unexpected these days. I do not expect to replace this anytime soon unless someoone starts making the perfect robot mower. Update Aug 2025: I've red a growing number of bad reviews mainly for warranty issues. I did not buy mine thinking it had a good warranty. Never the less, if you worry about warranty then I would say don't get a snapper. But if you get a chance to buy a used one with new batteries then I'd do it without worries as I've had this for way longer than any gas mower and its never had any issues. I'd take a star or two off if I was to rate the snapper comapany, but I'm rating the one I have owned for more than 7 years without any problems other than having to buy a spare battery.

This is a lengthy review but worth the read. I used this mower today for the first time. Most fun I've had in a long time. I read some of the reviews prior to purchasing it -negative comments regarding the self propelled feature and replacement blades hard to find, but that did not stop me one second from getting this mower because I've had this same mower, minus the self propelled feature, for a year. Already knew it was, by far, one of the best mowers on the planet. I'm female, age 70 and have debilitating arthritis. Two large fusions in my spine, both knees replaced, shoulders repaired, hands and wrists the pits, and more. Recently widowed so am responsible for the 'joys of home ownership' by myself. Moved into a new house with a yard that has many slopes, some quite steep. So now you're wondering 'if she's in such tough shape why is she in a house with hills that need mowing?' Long story short- moved 2000 miles away, didn't see the house or yard before purchase, only pictures as it was being built - hard to gauge what you're up against with only pictures of dirt and wood. And I have a very hard time asking for help. So I've been pushing this spectacular (non self propelled) mower up those slopes all season and finally decided I couldn't do it anymore. It's no heavier than any other mower but the demographics were doing a job on me. So I started shopping around for a battery operated self propelled - not knowing that my current model came in a self propelled version- and OMG was I a happy camper when I discovered it did. Ordered it with absolutely no hesitation. Here are the PRO'S about the self propelled model (and the non self propelled also) in my opinion -EVERYTHING- it's powerful with an easy to reach lever to adjust forward speed, no gas cans sitting around and no trips to get it , no choking, puking, sputtering engine, no maintenance other than change the blade and give it a bath, lawn looks beautiful, it's quiet, ONE lever height adjustment-no screwing around with 4 wheels, it automatically supplies more power when you get into heavier/thicker grass, easy to clean up, it makes mowing enjoyable. The batterys- charge extremely fast and last the whole 45 minutes each, when they're dead they're dead. No power loss toward the end. I only found one little quirk and that's when you release the self propelled lever to pull it backwards you have to give it a tiny push forward first or the back (propelling) wheels drag. Also people were asking where can you get replacement blades as they are difficult to find online. No info comes up when use the blade number. So you either have your local Snapper dealer order them for you or call Briggs and Stratton - you won't find them on either web site. (Guys- you need to fix this as it is very annoying, especially given that there's no mention in any of the accompanying literature that addresses the blade issue). I ordered 3 so I didn't have to hunt them down for awhile. $18 each- give or take a buck . CON'S - NOTHING. It does the same beautiful job the other one does. Some people griped about having to release the propelling lever to pull the mower backward - That's like complaining because there's not enough raisins in your cinnamon roll. So there you have it. I think Snapper and Briggs and Stratton should be given a medal for developing this fantastic mower, both models. It certainly has made my life easier. Hope my experiences help in your decision making. You will not regret picking up this mower.

Please do not waste your money on this item. I ignorantly purchased this, going by some positive reviews, and I have owned it for a little over a year. It is honestly exhausting to use this battery-operated mower. I cannot use the self-propelled feature b/c that drains the battery far quicker than pushing, which defeats the extra $$$ for self propelled! Just pushing, each battery would only initially last about 20-25 minutes before needing to be charged again. Last season, I would charge both batteries fully, exhaust one, put that one on the charger, fully exhaust the other, and then try to switch them out. A lot of times, the first one hadn't finished recharging before the second one needed charging, so then I had to wait. It then got to the point that the first had to cool down before the charger would even accept it (with a green light)... more waiting. Now, one of the batteries won't even charge... it's BEEN cooled down but still showing a red light every time I attempt to charge it. So, now I'm down to one battery that now doesn't hold a charge for more than 10-15 minutes... then I have to sit it in front of a fan to cool down before the charger light will turn from red to green to accept it... then almost 30 minutes to charge... then another 10-15 minutes cutting grass before repeating the process. I keep looking for replacement batteries, but they're $300 EACH... when I can actually find them! I'm not spending that on ONE battery! That's ridiculous! I'm debating a knock-off battery, until I can save enough money to purchase a GAS mower! My yard isn't even THAT big, and my grass is just like everyone else's grass! I don't cut when wet, don't let it get too tall, and don't cut too low, only level 4 or 5, yet it takes me a full two days with all the stopping and starting to get it finally cut. Before I know it, I'm starting the process all over again in a couple of days! I am not exaggerating when I say it is exhausting, and I'm strong and active... I don't know how older people can rave about how easy this thing is or the "great self-propel feature!" It's simply not true. Snapper was THE brand at one time, but they have sunken so low, in my opinion, after using this machine... it is quite obvious to me that their only motive now is the almighty dollar... they are no longer trying to sell quality products or satisfy customers... and Amazon needs to stop selling their equipment completely! Goodie-goodie gumdrops to those of you who raved about this product... either you got a gem of a product or got incentivized somehow b/c a battery-operated mower is only as good as the batteries that run it... and, they are simply pitiful!

I like my battery weed eater so much, I decided to buy a battery mower. The process of selecting one took me months. I finally decided on the Snapper mainly due to the brand reputation over the other brands I hadn't heard of before. The transition from a 20 year old gas two-stroke mower to the new electric has been...interesting. (NOTE: I hate reading directions, so yes, I deserve everything I got) The mower came in a taped sealed box and I could hear rattling inside - not a good start. I opened up the box expecting to see a previously returned mower, but this mower looked like it was packaged as originally shipped, and I saw nothing amiss. After emptying the box and scouring it for loose parts, I found a plastic bag with a single plastic hand nut in it, and three plastic hand nuts and three bolts loose in the bottom of the box. Weird. The bolts had been loose and rattling about so I worried about damage to the mower body, but I discovered nothing amiss in a fast eye scan. I started assembling the mower - each bolt fit into the handle and a plastic hand nut is used to tighten the handle parts together. All was very easy until I discovered...I only have three bolts...and four nuts... uh oh. I started lifting up the box flaps on the bottom, and stuck to the outside tape was the lost bolt - that was close. There is NO WAY this is how it was supposed to ship. I tried putting the last blot on and the nut just would not tighten on - I took off a different one and the nut fit perfectly, but now the suspect nut did not fit onto the other bolt. After using a flashlight to examine both nuts, it was easy to see one had been threaded and the other had no threads. Sigh. Now I understand why the parts were loose - someone in a warehouse or store had an unhappy customer and so they simply opened my box up, took out the parts for the unhappy customer, and then dumped the returned parts into the box and resealed it. Luckily, I have a tap and die set...it took 5 minutes to correctly size the bolt and cut threads into the nut - all fit perfectly now. This incident cost the rating one star. Operation of the mower is extremely simple, but can be mystifying if you don't read directions first. First make sure you charge your batteries. With a charged battery, insert it into the mower (should be a click when it seats with a little force). On a flat area without tall grass, push the button and depress the upper (NOT the lower) bar - the mower should start right up sounding to me like a vacuum cleaner. I suggest mowing a bit on manual before using the self-propelled feature so you get a feel for the weight and maneuvering. Make sure you put the mower in the lower speed range before invoking the self-propelled more or it might run off... No kidding. Lift the lower bar to invoke the self-propelled feature, and release the lower handle to turn it back off. My release handle turned out to be sticky, and so it did not stop the mower immediately, but more on this in a minute. When you release the self-propelled mode, the back wheels can remain locked - they will move forward but not backward - this is awkward to me as when I release the self-propelled mode I generally want to pull the mower straight back from something (the edging, a bush, a tree, a pole...). I have had to learn to turn the self-propel off a foot earlier so that I move the mower ahead by a foot on manual, thus releasing the back wheel engagement and it can now be pulled backwards from the obstruction. Now for the fun part... Remember I said the self-propelled bar was sticky? Well it turns out the self-propelled feature always works, whether or not the mower blade is turned on. This is a truly great feature if you are expecting it - no more pushing a heavy mower through the yard to the garage after mowing, it propels itself. Anyway, I did not know this...yet...and was showing my wife the controls. With the mower off, I showed her the speed setting (leaving it at the fastest mode of course), and then to lift the bar to engage it to move - and much to my surprise the lawn mower took off across the yard at a really fast pace...and remember the sticky lever? Yup. Anyway I caught the run-away mower before it hit anything and got the lever pushed down. I have lubricated the sticky lever and it no longer sticks so this was just an oddity. I think I can still hear my wife laughing... OK, as for how well this mower actually mows. It is great in straight runs and even gentle curves - with the self-propelled feature I have had no trouble cutting grass going up a steep hill although I hear the mower engine go into a faster or more powerful mode when the grass is tall and I am going uphill. As I mow, the corners become tighter, and I have noticed the mower leaves partially cut ridges on the tighter curves, something my old push mower never did. I just have to square off the corner and disengage the self-propelled, turn the mower, and re-engage the self propelled. The mower is cutting through some medium high grass with no effort (say 4 to 5 inches). The battery lasts longer than I do on a hot summer day, so I have never actually run out of power. I would say under my conditions it is lasting around 30 minutes. I come in the house to cool off, and go back out with the other fresh battery while leaving the first to recharge. I use both batteries to mow my lawn (I am on a corner lot so the front yard is large and most of it a hillside), and by the time I come in with the second battery, the first is already recharged and ready to use. Perfect. This are the 2AH batteries. The mower is actually more difficult for me to manually maneuver around the bases of bushes and such than my previous gas mower - I have decided its the larger wheels. I have a lot of edges and bushes to mow around. I am hoping as I become more familiar with the weight and heft, manual mowing will become easier. I have had a bush limb brush against the speed control and I suddenly go from a decent walk to almost a standstill when this happens. You just have to watch for things brushing the speed control as it moves very easily. For the bulk of my yard this mower works near perfectly. It can propel itself faster than I would ever want to mow (at a jog), it has never bogged down in the grass, and it makes the climb up the hill so much easier than before. I have cut down on the amount of time it takes me to mow (including the heat breaks I take) by at least 25%, possibly more. So, my transition to a battery mower was not perfect, but I do recommend it. This mower seems to be high quality (the bad nut aside) and works very well. Be prepared to adjust as it likely will not behave exactly like the mower you are used to.

I read in two other review about complaints about missing or incorrect bolts, and thought "that won't happen to me." It happened to me. I'm missing one of the four bolts that hold the handle to the mower. Seems like an easy thing for the manufacturer to check to see if all parts are in the box, but what do I know? **** UPDATE ***** I emailed snapper.com, and got an immediate email response, saying they're sending the part out, and apologizing. I tried the mower, sans missing screw, but it worked great. Battery life is not going to be huge on my lawn, but fortunately there are two batteries, and it was easy to change. It was fantastic not being deafened by the sound of a gas engine, plus having to inhale the fumes from the exhaust. So, far very nice mower, sans screw. **** UPDATE 2 ***** Okay. My bad. I found the missing screw, wedged in the grass catching bag that I'm not using. Granted, it was not where it was supposed to be, actually in the handle of the mower, but, whatever, it actually was included in the box. I've now used them mower several times. The battery lasts ~30 minutes of pretty intense mowing, and it's easy to exchange the battery for the second one. Charging takes about the same amount of time to exhaust one, so it's easy to keep mowing for as long as I need, though, realistically, having a break every 30-60 minutes is just fine with me when I'm out in the sun. Overall, I'm really pleased with this mower. It is steel where it needs to be - the base - and pretty solid plastic elsewhere. It cuts acceptably well - not as thorough as a gas mower, but then it is way nicer to use. More quiet, no fumes, easy to move about, easy to adjust speed and cut height. And, a five year warranty built in. I recommend it.

I will put a qualifier that I was cutting taller grass, so this may not happen when the lawn only has a week or two of growth. The bag chute also plugs up well before the bag is full too, which bogs down the blade. I think there is a design improvement that could be done in the chute area. They use the same design as all other mower, but lack the RPM's that a gas mower has to throw the grass to the back of the bag. Overall though I am happy with the mower. It is nice and quiet compared to a gas mower. I was able to hold a conversation with my neighbor as it ran. I also like the adjustable self-propel, the rabbit setting is quite fast. :-) This was my first use, but I like it. I hope it is as durable as a gas mower. Time will tell. Update: I have a large front yard, but still doable with a single tank of gas on a gas mower. The battery on this mower only last about 1/3 of the yard, not great, I expected longer. Thankfully there are two batteries that come with it. So swapped out and continued mowing while the first battery recharges. I did not expect to need basically 3 full battery charges to mow a week's worth of growth (short). So I like the mower, but battery life is lacking. If you do not mind recharging during your mow you should be fine. Thankfully the batteries recharge quicker than the one in use runs out of juice Update2: I may have been a bit hard on this mower in my initial review. I Just mowed my yard for the first time this year and love this mower. The height setting is higher than most mowers, which is good for that first of the year mowing. Also I have found that just using the plug in place of the bag makes this mower a dream to use. No clipping to drag over to the compost or grass bin is nice. I have gotten used to needed to just swap batteries to keep going so ignore my previous comment on that. It is really not a big deal to just keep swapping batteries until the job it done. The charger rocks and generally has the discharged battery charged before or just after I need it. Gives me time to grab a quick drink if it is not quit done charging. :-) Changing my review to 5 stars because it is a very well designed product. Durable and just a quality product.

End of season sale induced me to buy this mower with two batteries. Otherwise, I never thought it would make any economic sense. Convenience. Everybody knows it: oil, gas, smell, upright storage. stigma, tree hugging, etc. Nothing to add here. It is a smug mower. It beats gas. Self propelled. So-so. I thought I would get used to RWD (as opposed to FWD), but I still can't. Why rear wheels?! Now in an era of electric motors mounted on wheels, it is as easy to make FWD as RWD as AWD. It is so counter-intuitive to operate RWD. Also, wheels do lock in certain situations as many other commenters say. Self propelled is lazy. Engage and wait maybe 3-5 sec before it kicks in. Then another 10 sec pass as it gains speed. When it is at full speed, you'd start to wonder if speed lever is on max. It was on max but speed was way too slow. It should be comparable to gas mower. But It is just slow. Applicability. Given the self prop feature troubles, it still makes sense to use it on long runs. If yard is small, self-prop is not useful with it immediacy and speed problems. I'd just save money and get this mower w/o self prop Battery. Will update in 1+ years. Industry standard is 600 discharge cycles or 5 years. Battery 2. Given the prices, I bought batteries with a lawn mower attachment (not the other way around). It would be worth this investment into B+S battery technology, if they had many other attachments. I can justify this purchase if I can spread excessive battery cost over many inexpensive attachments. But Snapper does not make that many attachments and for those they make attachments are very pricey. And this is the biggest draw. 2 powerful large batteries beg for heavy use like in 2-stage snow blower and backpack leaf blower. Instead you have only overpriced trimmer, hand-held blowers, saw and 1-stage snow blower. If you choose different battery company, you may find far more options to use for your batteries. Battery3. Battery is a commodity. There is a youtube video how B+S battery was adapted easily for another brand mower. Point is why B+S goes out of the way to make battery incompatible between brands? If I could use Kobalt attachment that Snapper does not make, why restrict usage by making identical battery incompatible on purpose? Battery4. People complain about hard-to-press battery release lever. Yes, it is very hard to press. I would add that making battery lid not staying upright makes it harder to press the button. Battery5. Judging by how many non-OEM batteries are listed on amazon or ebay, pirates are not convinced B+S battery technology would survive. There are far more non-OEM batteries for other brands from HD or Lowes. To conclude, at full price, Snapper mower is in Honda gas mower territory. Honda will last 20 years without any troubles. Even B+S makes engines not requiring oil changes for life. Snapper's life = battery life = 5 years. When it is up, you have to spend pretty much whole amount again. Even at 350 price, I would now avoid it and go with a better brand and/or gas.

Purchased this mower 7 years ago (2019). Both my mower and batteries are still humming!! While the batteries need to be replaced every half hour or so, one charges up while I’m mowing so there is never lag time. This mower likely isn’t for a yard over 1.5 acres with thick grass; however it’s been perfect for my 1 acre lawn with minimal hills!