The result is an easy-to-use, set-it-and-forget approach to self-propelled drives.

Rather than using a pressure-sensitive throttle, the Kobalt 40V mower opts for an adjustable lever throttle. Feature Set Adjustable Self-Propelled Drive I wish that my neighbor – who believes that 6:45 on a Saturday morning is an appropriate time to start mowing – would hop on the cordless train. What’s even better, with mowers running at this sound pressure level, you can likely run your mower early in the morning or later at night without disturbing your neighbors. Actual cutting, particularly when the motor calls on additional speed, will create a little more noise. Keep in mind that’s a no-load test to see how much noise the mower makes on its own. 79 dB(A) is quiet enough that you don’t really even need ear protection according to OSHA standards. That’s why the 79 dB(A) coming from the Kobalt 40V cordless mower is so nice.

The less sound pumping from your mower, the less you need to worry about damaging your hearing. The benefits of having a quiet mower are plenty. In this particular case, you’re looking at being able to mow right around 1/4 acre on one charge of the kitted 40V battery. While all of that power might is welcome, if it costs you in a big way with your runtime, is it worth it? It really depends on the size of your lawn. If you let your lawn go much longer, you need to cut higher and work your way down or cut partial swaths to get it back under control. It handles your weekly cut well and has the power to push through a couple of extra days worth of growth.

Kobalt’s cutting power is pretty standard for cordless mowers. If we pull out just the 40V class (36V/40V Max), only Stihl brings more blade speed to the table when things get tough. As the mower felt more resistance, it ramped up the power to 3174 RPM, or 181.7 MPH blade tip speed for a mid-pack finish. However, when we threw the Kobalt 40V self-propelled mower under a heavier workload, we saw the blade tip speed accelerate 22.6 MPH higher. Certainly, this is fast enough to get through a maintenance cut easily enough, but it was one of the slower models we tested.

Its 19-1/4″ blade whipped around at 2780 RPM, which pans out to 159.1 MPH blade tip speed. Simulating a normal weekly maintenance cut, we tested the Kobalt 40V mower under a light load.

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