The Black + Decker BEMW472BH Electric Lawn Mower Has a Handle Like a Race Car Steering Wheel – and It's So Easy to Maneuver

Summer is almost here, and many of us are on the hunt for a new lawn mower to prepare our lawns for warmer weather. As you browse the best lawnmowers on the market, you’ll notice many of these machines look similar.

But the Black + Decker BEMW472BH stands out thanks to an innovative steering assembly that promises easier control. On this mower, you steer with upright handles that make navigating awkward areas, such as nearby trees or plant pots, easier.

I was excited to find out how well it measures up against its advertised claims of "precision handling" and "cutting-edge performance." So I opted to put the mower to the test by using it to mow my lawn on multiple occasions. I used the upright handles to navigate obstacles such as plant pots and I also tested various cutting heights to assess the effect on mowing performance.

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In keeping with most of the Black + Decker yard care products I've used, the BEMW472BH promises effective performance at a reasonably low price point. It’s important to note that this is a corded electric lawn mower, meaning it runs off household electricity. Let's take a look at how this lawn mower worked in my medium-sized yard.

Reviewed by

Reviewed by

Pete Wise

Freelance journalist, Pete Wise, has reviewed hundreds of gardening products for titles including TopTenReviews, Ideal Home, and the London Evening Standard, as well as writing articles on diverse topics for other publications such as The Guardian and BBC Good Food. Pete loves spending time in his yard, where he tested the Black + Decker BEMW472BH electric lawn mower during the spring of 2024.

Black + Decker BEMW472BH: key specs

Price & Availability

One key incentive to choose this Black + Decker lawn mower is price. The BEMW472BH retails for $199 in the United States, but it frequently dips lower during seasonal sales. At the time of writing, the mower is available for that price via Amazon, The Home Depot, Walmart, and the Black + Decker site.

Official replacement blades for the mower are available via Black + Decker and third parties.

Setup

The BEMW472BH arrived in perfect condition and was efficiently packaged in robust cardboard. I was pleased to note that all the materials used to pack the mower were recyclable – except for a few tiny pieces, like the cable tie around the power cable.

Some parts of the mower come flat-packed in the box, so the package is less bulky than it could have been. The mower is relatively lightweight, so two reasonably fit people (or one strong person) should be able to move the box quickly. Just take a moment to get a solid grip around the bottom of the box, as it doesn't have handles.

Setting up the BEMW472BH proved relatively straightforward – although I did encounter a few finicky tasks along the way. Putting together the two halves of the grass collector box was a challenge. Assembling components such as the cable tidies that clip onto the metal bars proved much more manageable. The parts all click together or fasten using the winged screws provided. You don’t need any tools whatsoever to complete assembly.

Overall, I completed the setup (single-handedly) in about 20 minutes, which is fast by my standards! This was thanks partly to the instruction manual, which gives good, clear directions on assembling the mower and using its features in diagram and written form.

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Design

Tough, good-quality plastic is used throughout this mower, except for parts of the handle assembly and the mowing blade, which is metallic. At about 38 lbs (17 kg), it’s pretty lightweight for a mid-sized lawn mower – a big win for users who want to minimize the physical strain of lawn mowing.

This is a nicely finished, sporty-looking machine in Black + Decker’s instantly recognizable black, orange, and gray. The design looks quite elongated due to the upright handle assembly used to control the mower. You’ll notice the added length when you push the mower from behind.

The upright steering controls are by far this mower's most unusual and exciting feature. You can use the sporty-looking handle to turn the mower left or right more quickly than a standard bar-style handle.

I found that feature on this ergonomic garden tool quite helpful when steering around plant pots at the edge of the lawn and I expect it could be a bit of a game-changer if you find it challenging to maneuver lawnmowers with regular handles. Admittedly, it takes a little while to get used to this novel lawn mower steering method.

So, those upright handles could prove helpful – especially for users with potential lawn obstacles, such as trees or mid-lawn flower beds. However, the extra length it adds to the mower has one big drawback: it may impair your ease of movement when mowing in tight spaces, such as in front of overhanging tree branches.

This mower does not come with a cover and is not designed to be stored outdoors. However, the low proportion of metal parts could make it relatively rust-resistant. Still, it is always best to store your gardening tools indoors in a space such as a garage or shed.

I recommend folding the mower’s handle assembly for efficient storage. Otherwise, it will take up a needlessly large space.

Performance

Let's cut to the chase. I was pleased with the Black + Decker BEMW472BH mowing performance. Operating at 1,600W, it offered plenty of power to mow the grass efficiently (and also to cut through tough weeds like dandelions – the bane of my lawn and myself).

Given its ample cutting power, you should be able to use this mower to cut lawns up to 1⁄8 acre (or 600 ㎡) in area. The cutting width of the mower’s blade is similarly well suited to medium-sized lawns, at 15 inches (38 cm) wide.

Of course, because the mower is corded, there’s no fear of running out of power mid-mow – and the affordable price point is due in part to that corded design, too. In other respects, the presence of the power cord is a moderate inconvenience. I found that moving the cable safely around the lawn was a chore, and the need to avoid running over it was never far from my mind during testing.

That said, the BEMW472BH does more to help with cable management than some other corded mowers. The bright orange color of the power cable helped me keep it in sight, while the handle-mounted cable clips reduced the risk of entanglement.

Meanwhile, this lawn mower's 12 gallon (45 L) grass collection box gathers grass clippings pretty effectively, although I did notice some cuttings were dropped during testing. You should expect to empty the box at least a couple of times while mowing a medium-sized lawn, which is what I found anyway. Handily, there’s a status indicator that flips open when the box is getting pretty full, so you’ll know when to empty out the clippings.

The mowing height was simple to adjust using the height selection lever on the left-hand side of the mower. Switching between mowing heights created an appreciable difference in cutting, as you would hope. Shorter mowing height settings seemed to produce a more uniform cut than the highest settings did, during my hands-on testing.

Given that this is a corded electric mower (powered by household electricity), you should not use it in wet conditions due to the risk of electrocution.

In terms of noise levels, this powerful mower sits towards the noisier end of the spectrum. My sound meter gauged the noise level of the mower at somewhere between 79 and 81 dB, which is around the same level as a noisy restaurant.

Maintenance

After mowing, it’s a good idea to clean out the mowing deck using a cloth or brush to remove any leftover grass cuttings. Be careful not to touch the cutting blade while you clean.

The lawn mower blade will need to be sharpened (read about how to balance and sharpen lawn mower blades) about once per 25 hours of use to preserve optimal mowing performance. In terms of mower maintenance, that's about all this mower needs since it doesn't have batteries that require charging or gas engine components that need changing from time to time.

User Reviews

Online customer reviews of Black + Decker's lawn mower are generally good, especially considering its reasonable price.

Black + Decker customers in the United States gave the BEMW472BH an average rating of 3.5 stars, with some buyers remarking upon the mower's easy handling and lightweight build.

Meanwhile, Amazon customers in the US had overwhelmingly positive views of the mower, with ratings averaging out at 4.1 stars from over 3,000 users. Like me, many buyers highlighted the mower's light build and maneuverability.

Would I Buy the Black + Decker BEMW472BH?

Buy It If...

Don't Buy It If...

How Does the Black + Decker BEMW472BH Compare?

While Black + Decker's mower is well worth your consideration, there are plenty of other mowers out there that we can recommend, too.

How I Tested the Black + Decker BEMW472BH

• I tested the Black + Decker BEMW472BH by using it to mow my lawn on several occasions during spring 2024, including that difficult first cut of the year.
• Used rigorously for several springtime mows.
• Because the mower is advertised as easy to steer, I tested it in awkward areas around the edge of the lawn, including near plant pots and the bases of tree trunks.