This Sun Joe MJ401C-Pro 14 in. 28-Volt Cordless lawn mower review is a part of our new review series focusing on lawnmowers for small lawns. Sun Joe is known for making very affordable electric mowers but how well will this mower perform? At roughly $200, I must say I wasn’t expecting much from this mower but let’s keep an open mind.
Do you know what to look for when purchasing a cordless electric mower? No? Well, we’ve got your back.
What should you be looking at when purchasing a good self-propelled electric mower?
Well, these are the areas that must be closely examined to make a good purchase:
- Design
- Power and Performance
- Efficiency and ease of use
- Durability
- Ease of acquiring replacement parts
- Warranty and quality of customer service
- Is this mower right for your lawn type?
- Overall value for your bucks!
Read more about how to choose the best cordless electric mower for your lawn here
Review
Product: Sun Joe MJ401C-Pro 14 in. 28-Volt Cordless Walk Behind Push Mower Kit with 4.0 Ah Battery + Charger
Model: MJ401C-PRO
Manufacturer: Sun Joe
Warranty: 2 years ( See full document here)
General Price: USD 200
Best Deals Online: Home Depot or Amazon
What’s in the box?
- Cordless Mower
- Rear discharge chute
- Grass collection bag
- Grass collection bag support rod
- Upper handle
- Upper handle bolt and knob assembly (x2)
- Lower handle
- Lower handle screws (x2)
- Spanner
- Screws (x2)
- Cable clips (x2)
- Battery charger
- Manual and registration card
Company Claims:
Sun Joe seems very confident that this mower will do great on small to medium-sized lawns of up to 10,000 sq ft.
Take a look at this video of Sun Joe’s Company claims and then we’ll discuss what the mower actually does.
Now let us scrutinize…
Design – Has its flaws but for this price, I’m not complaining
The design is very good for the price. It is a comfort just to slide this Sun Joe MJ401C-Pro mower effortlessly down the lawn when compared to the heavier gas mowers. It does not come preassembled but the only tool required to assemble this mower is the spanner for tightening the screws, which is included in the box. It features adjustable cutting heights, a rust-resistant deck, a comfortable handle, a metal blade, and a safety lock to protect your kids from toying with danger.
It was designed to tackle small to medium-sized lawns of up to 10,000 sq ft of moderately grown grass. With this in mind, take a look at some of the main features in the table below, and then let us discuss the pros and cons of this mower.
Pros and Cons of the Sun Joe MJ401C-Pro 14 in. 28-Volt Cordless Walk Behind Push Mower Design:
Pros :
- Eco-Friendly option to your gas mower, no smell of gas.
- The push-button – pull lever option beats the cranking up required for gas mowers any day.
- Safety key protective mechanism ensures that your kid will not take it out for a spin without your go-ahead.
- Very quiet so you will not disturb the neighbors.
- This mower is very light compared to other cordless electric mowers. This makes it ideal for people with back problems or for your younger ones to start mowing the lawn.
- Stealth design makes it easy to maneuver in those hard to reach places such as the edges of your pool or under your swing sets, small walkways, around garden patches, etc.
- It uses lithium-ion batteries which are built to last through the seasons with recharges
- You do not have to remove the batteries to charge. Simply plug in your charger
- It has an effective color-coded battery indicator so you know when your mower is fully charged and when it is running low
- Easily assembled
- Easy to replace blades
- The mower has a brushless motor that is less likely to overheat and cause all sorts of problems and is a lot more energy efficient than motors with brushes.
- Wheel design makes it easy to take sharp turns
Cons:
- No headlights so even though your mower is super quiet, you cannot do any night mowing unless your lawn is well lit. But many people prefer daytime mowing anyway so not a big turn-off. I prefer the option to mow at night because that is when I have the most time.
- No safety mechanism to prevent overcharging
- Not weatherproof so storage temperature is very important for your battery to last
- Maximum height adjustment good for moderately well-kept lawn but harder to mow tall grass
- Handle height not adjustable.
- If your battery dies while mowing, you do not have the option to switch out the battery. Instead, you have to wait for the battery to charge for approximately 4 hours before it is full.
- Plastic deck, though lighter is not as durable as a steel deck.
Power – Is this little mower packing any power?
Performance – Does this cheap mower even work?
This Sun Joe 28V mower gets the job done. It does not leave half the lawn with trampled, bent, grass, like the way some of the electric mowers you see on the market today do. This Sun Joe 28 V mower, though only packing 28V, it bags efficiently as it goes along sucking up grass and leaves from your dry lawn. However, on a wet lawn, not so much.
Pros:
- Good quality cut
- Picks up grass clippings so no raking required. Note however that for a regular maintenance cut it might be better for you to leave the clipping to fertilize your lawn.
- No ugly patches left behind
- The large 10.6 gal bag holds a lot of grass so no need to be constantly emptying.
- Reduces the amount of edging you have to do
- Gets into hard to reach spaces
- Very quiet
Cons:
- Because of how light the mower is, it starts to tilt back when the bag is almost full but we can live with this. At least you know it is time to empty the bag.
- The battery dies fast on a thick, wet lawn (approximately15 minutes) then takes 3- hours to charge. The waiting can be quite frustrating if you do not have a backup mower because you cannot buy an extra battery for this mower this the battery is not removed to be charged. If you only have a small patch of lawn then 15 minutes should be enough for you. If your lawn is well kept then you should not encounter this problem.
Take a look at the short video below
Efficiency and ease of use
Pros
As you can see in the video below, it is easy to assemble, very light, and easy to use. It glides effortlessly over your lawn with little strength required from you and then when it is time to put it away there is no heavy lifting involved.
Anyone can use it. If you have any issues walking or pushing a heavy mower, short of a self-propelled or robotic mower, this might be the guy for your small lawn.
Cons:
- It is not really a con as much as it is a preference but a single lever adjustment bar would have been my choice to adjust the wheels instead of flipping over the mower and adjusting the wheels.
- For easy storage, a telescoping handle would have been nice.
Take a look at the video below
Durability – How many mowing seasons will you get out of this Sun Joe mower?
Well, color me surprised. I was a bit skeptical about the plastic deck and how light and toy-like this mower seemed but it has been on the market for over 3 years and the plastic deck seems to be lasting through the test of time. There have not been any battery issues and the wheels are just fine. The motor is still running at full capacity and the grass cut is still of good quality. Keep the blades sharp or replace if they wear out since they are cheap online but otherwise, no complaints from this mower.
Tips:
Do:
1. Get rid of stones and debris from the lawn before the mowing session
2. Keep your deck clean
3. Protect your mower from the elements. Store in a cool, dry place.
Do not:
2. Do not over-charge your battery as the mower does not have any protective mechanism put in place to protect it from overcharging damages. So do whatever you have to do to remember to unplug. Set an alarm if you must.
Ease of acquiring replacement parts
This is no task at all. Like the mower, the parts can be ordered on Amazon and delivered to your front door.
Replacement chargers, wheels and assembling parts, blades, etc are found separately on Amazon however if you ever have a problem with the mower battery or motor it is advised by the company, in the manual, that you call the company and get further instructions. Never attempt to fix it by yourself!
Customer support from Sun Joe
The company now seems obsessed with customer satisfaction, which is good for us. If you make it known that you have a problem with your purchase, they will try to make it right in a professional and friendly way.
Is this Sun Joe 28V cordless electric mower right for your lawn type?
You should buy this mower if:
- You want to “Go Green” and leave the smelly gas mower behind, this is an Eco-friendly option.
- You have a small to medium lawn – up to about 1/4 acre lawn size
- You have problems with your back and cannot manage to push around a heavy mower or you have to lift your mower to the storage area and you have problems lifting a heavy load. Its plastic deck makes it very light compared to other steel deck mowers.
- You hate the noise of the usual gas mower, this is a relatively silent alternative.
- You mow often
- You want the kids to start pitching in.
- You are on a budget. This is one of the cheapest mowers out there that can handle the job without falling apart.
- You have a riding mower but now you just need a simple mower to get to the hard to reach places.
This mower is not for you if:
- Your lawn is bigger than 1/ 4 Acres and you plan on mowing it in one session. You will need to take a 3-4 hr charging break.
- . You do not mow often and you always have tall, thick grass on a larger lawn. Your battery will drain very fast in this condition and it will take a few charging sessions before you get through your entire lawn.
Overall value for your bucks – My final opinion
This is one of the cheapest mowers on the market and the only one that we have reviewed so far with such a low price that really works. I recommend this lawnmower for anyone fitting the description above, so if you need to maintain your lawn by yourself with little effort, go out and get yourself one of these little guys.
Is this the right mower for you?
>>UPDATE – DEAL ALERT – Get this Sun Joe 14-inch 28V cordless mower Online at Home Depot, FREE 2-Day Delivery.
Let me know in the comment section below.
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