This Review of the Snappr XD 82 Volt 21-inch Self Propelled Lawn Mower was not sponsored by Snapper. We decided to review this Snapper XD mower after seeing it on Amazon and thinking, “hmmm, this looks good, let’s find out how true the Snapper company claims are.”

We reviewed the Snapper XD push mower before and thought it was pretty good but what about this self-propelled model?

Is this electric lawn mower right for you? Well This Snapper XD self-propelled mower is in the price range of the best electric self-propelled mowers we reviewed here so far, the EGO select cut 21″ 56V 7.5 Ah self-propelled Lawn Mower, so we hope it will do well.

Let me walk you through the full experience that you will have with your Snapper XD self propelled mower from the moment you take it out of the box to time your battery decides to die then you can answer for yourself with confidence “YES” or “NO” .

Be sure to let me know in the comment section below. We love to hear from our readers!

Full Product Review

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If you are one of our regular readers, you already know we always review the ten pillars of any good lawn mower purchase, observable features, and not just the specs on the mower. Specs sometimes lie! The ten pillars include:

1. Design
2. Power
3. Performance
4. Efficiency and ease of use 
5. Durability
6. Ease of locating replacements for wearable parts
7. Complaints & Praises from buyers 
8. Warranty
9. Customer service support from the company
10. Overall Value

Now let us jump right into the review.

As usual, before we start, we like to show you what the company promised its customers from the mower then we will take a look at how well those expectations played out or if there were some inconsistencies.

Take a look at this video I found that Snapper made to introduce this Snapper XD 82-Volt MAX Cordless Electric 21 in. Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Kit

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Now, let’s dissect.

Design – The good, the bad, and the ugly.

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While we liked a lot of things about the design of this mower, it had its drawbacks also. If you are coming from a gas mower, this will be a joy to use. No fumes, spark plugs, filters, gas, oil, and no cranking up to start.

It comes almost fully assembled. Your only job after purchasing this Snapper 82V self-propelled mower is to attach the handle. Your hands are the only tools required. Simply align the upper and lower handle then fit the bolts into the holes. Next, use the knobs to tighten the bolts and you are ready to go.

Next, we want to charge our batteries for 30 minutes each or until you see the battery indicator giving 4 green lights. All we have to do is plug the charger into an outlet and securely insert our battery and you’ll see it light up green to indicate the level of charge we have going.

After this, you now have the option of bagging, mulching, or side discharge. So all you need to do is attach whichever one you’re going for today.

Next, you adjust your cutting height using a single lever adjustment handle which adjusts all four wheels. You have 7 height options.

Finally, Install one of the batteries in the battery housing. Ensure you see the release button snap in place and if not, just push the battery back a bit further until it does and you are ready to go.

Now let’s dissect each of these design features and weigh the pros and cons.

The Start options and handle controls

Now that you are ready to mow, you push the start button, pull the bail switch, and go. To switch to self-propelled mode, just pull the self-propelled lever behind the handle.

Pros:

➳ Convenient Start option – Push-button start option is a joy compared to the cranking.

➳ Speed control allows you to modify the speed to your pace close to the handle. To increase your speed, pull the variable speed control lever towards the rabbit Symbol. To decrease your speed, push the variable speed control lever towards the Turtle Symbol. Very clever Snapper.

Major Cons

➳ None

Minor Cons

➳ Self-propel trigger handle is placed slightly too far from the handlebar so you have to remove your hand from the handle to grab the starter or just use your other hand to pull it closer then hold. A minor inconvenience in the ergonomics.

The attachments

The mulching plug and chute are both fine – easily attached and easily removed.

Bag–

Pros:

➳ The large 1.6-bushel bag reduces the need to empty ever so often. However,

Cons:

➳ Hard to tell when the bag is full since it is not see-through and there is no load sensing technology present. Mower bogs down when it is full and this is your indicator. Not very convenient.

The deck

Pros 

➳ Steel deck- Very durable

Major Cons

➳ Though the Snapper XD is lighter than a gas mower at 81lbs, the steel deck makes it a lot heavier than other electric mowers of similar performance. Now you might be saying well this is a self-propelled mower so where is the problem? But for people who are getting this to ease the strain on their backs etc, the mower might be uncomfortable to take to and from storage when compared to lighter electric mowers.

The wheels

Pros:

➳ Sturdy material

➳ Nice grooves for maneuverability, no dragging.

➳ Big rear wheels for a decent drive

Cons:

➳ None found

The height adjustments

As I mentioned above, there are 7 positions that you can choose from between 1 3/8 inches and 3 3/4 inches.

Pro:

➳ This should be adequate because the average lawn should be between 2 inches and 3 1/2 inches (5 cm to 8.3 cm) during summer and between 1 1/2 inches to 2″ (3.8 to 5 cm) during the cooler months.

Height Adjustments

• 1st position – 1 3/8 inch
• 2nd position – 1 7/8 inch
• 3rd position – 2 1/8 inches
• 4th position – 2 5/8 inches
• 5th position – 3 inches
• 6th position – 3 3/8 inches
• 7th position – 3 3/4 inches

Cons:

There have been complaints from other customers that the front wheel height does not adjust high enough to even out with the rear when going through the tall grass at very high adjustment heights from 3 and up.

The blade

Pro:

➳ Metal blade – Sturdy

➳ Length – 20-21 – inches offers good cutting width for faster mowing.

➳ Arrives sharpened and ready to cut

Con

➳ Single blade

The batteries and charger pack

Pro:

➳ Lithium-ion batteries are known for longer life than the lead-acid batteries found in some electric mowers.

➳ Powered by Briggs and Straton – Known for quality

➳ Battery protective preset- The charger has a low voltage charging preset where if you leave your battery without charging for a while, the charger automatically goes into slow charging mode. For this charging session, you can give up on mowing for the day because your battery will now take 20 hours instead of the regular 30 minutes to charge. While the wait might be a bother, your battery life expectancy will increase and the next charge will return to 30 minutes.

➳ Comes with (2) 2Ah batteries but the mower is compatible with the 4Ah as well as 5Ah batteries that Snapper has available for larger lawns.

Cons:

➳ Batteries are very expensive so even if you want to pick up an extra battery for a larger lawn, your pockets will feel it.

The motor

Pros:

➳ 1200 Watt Brushless motor technology increases motor life, efficiency and decreases the chance of starting a fire via sparks compared to brush motor.

Power – Torque of gas?

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Not quite. Though it is a 1200 Watt motor, a lot of other factors re the mechanics of the motor would come into play to arrive at a great enough spin to efficiently power through with a clean-cut and deliver efficient mulching. Let us discuss this further under “Performance” and you will understand what I mean.

Performance

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This mower is on the higher end when it comes to price so we expect nothing short of excellence here. What did we get?

You will get 20 -30 minutes run time from the mower depending on if you mow using the self propel feature, your grass is wet, thick or overgrown or the terrain has many slopes. The maximum recommended slope height is 15 Degrees.

If you have a flat lawn, grass that is dry and not too thick or tall, you can expect your 30 minutes from a fully charged battery.

Bagging and side discharge–

The mower does a pretty decent job at bagging and side discharge but as I mentioned above, when the bag gets heavy you will notice that your mower is bogging down so empty and continue.

Mulching –

Pro:

➳ Does well on dry grass. You might have to do a double-take if you have a lot of leaves piled up.

Con:

➳ Some wet leaves will be left behind. This mower is just not powerful enough to suck all of those in.

Self Propelled mode

Pro:

➳ Great cut quality in the self-propel mode at a slower pace but

Con:

➳ Faster speeds will compromise cut quality in tall or thick grass so you will have to settle for a day of slow mowing if you want to use the self-propelled feature for this lawn type.

Efficiency and Ease of use

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How do we maintain the snapper XD self-propelled mower?

If you are coming from a gas mower, maintaining an electric mower will be easy as pie. All you have to do after each use is clean the deck and charge the batteries. Then once per year, you sharpen your blade. That’s it!

➳ To clean the deck, just use a damp cloth.

➳ No need to winterize. Just store your mower in the garage away from corrosive material such as fertilizers and insecticides.

➳ Keep the batteries in a cool and dry place and charge them at least once every 2-3 months.

➳ No cord so mowing is complete without obstacles.

Con:

➳ One con that we found was that when turning sharp corners, you have to release the self propel lever, otherwise, most times your wheels will stick. It can get annoying to keep switching.

Amazon customer testimonial – Verified Purchase

Durability

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This we can depend on. Snapper has done its job where durability is concerned.

➳ The deck is made from 14-Guage steel

➳ The batteries and motor are powered by Briggs and Straton.

➳ The handles, wheels, and blade attachments look very sturdy

➳ There haven’t been any complaints from buyers regarding the durability of the mowers so far

Is it easy to find replacement parts online?

Batteries and chargers, yes. Blades, no.

I have not tried to purchase any replacement parts but there are complaints online that it is a struggle to find replacement blades so I searched, and couldn’t find any. You have to call Snapper and have them send you to the nearest dealer.

Warranty

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For domestic use, the Snapper XD 82V self-propelled mower comes with 5 years warranty on the mower and 2 years warranty on the batteries. This is pretty decent. Most companies come with 3 years on the mower and 1 year on the battery.

For commercial use, you get 90 days on the mower and nothing on the batteries.

The only problem is…

Customer Service 

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From what I have seen online, some customers have complained that it is hard to get to an actual person and when they do, it is hard to get replacements for damaged parts such as this customer below.

Value

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If you are looking for a good electric mower with the added benefit of self-propulsion then Snapper XD could be the mower for you but at a price just shy of 600 USD, it is a bit on the expensive side. If we consider the durability and low maintenance cost of the mower then we’re winning in the end but for now, all I can say is that I hope the prices will drop.

Price Watch

 

My final opinion

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What really matters in any mower is that it can produce a good quality cut for your lawn, function in the way the company said it would, and then last a long time doing so. Then you can say you got your money’s worth. If you were wondering if the Snapper XD self-propelled mower is a good purchase, well yes it is, but only for certain people.

Who would I recommend this mower for?

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This mower is for you if:

➳ You have a lawn of up to 1/ 4 acre

➳ Your lawn is relatively flat (less than 15 Degree slopes)

➳ You are looking for an Eco-friendly, durable alternative to your gas mower

➳ You have trouble lugging around a push mower

This mower is not for you if:

➳ Your answer is no to the first two above

➳ You have trouble lifting heavy weights and you need to lift the mower to the garage.

➳ You do not live near a dealer

Where to Buy

Hot right now:

Amazon dealer 

 

 

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