Bosch Rotak 430 LI Ergoflex Review

Motor and Battery

Powered by a large 36V 4.0Ah lithium-ion battery. Bosch has been leading the line when it comes to lithium-ion battery technology in lawn mowers, and the Rotak 430 LI has some of their best performing batteries to date.

This isn’t always the case with cordless mowers and is certainly a welcome addition. It effectively doubles the runtime, which in turn means being able to mow a much larger lawn than you would with just a single battery.

Battery runtimes each offer 35-45 minutes of mowing (around 90 minutes combined), which is up there with the top cordless lawn mowers on the market. When fully charged and working at maximum efficiency, you can cover an area roughly 600sqm, which is certainly on the large side for a garden lawn!

Of course, these batteries aren’t anywhere near as useful if they take several hours to charge. Thankfully this isn’t the case, with each battery taking a respectable 70 minutes to fully charge, which is a good time but not as short as some of the other high-end cordless models.

However, the Rotak 430 LI Ergoflex batteries can both be charged to 80% capacity in 70-80 minutes. This is much quicker and unless you have a huge garden that is close to 600sqm then 80% capacity should give more than enough time to finish mowing. 

There is also an energy efficient mode you can turn on that starts to conserve battery power by reducing the power when less is needed (such as mowing shorter grass), allowing the runtime to be extended by around 15%.

In terms of power, the Rotak 430 LI Ergoflex is a machine that can handle long and short grass with ease. The PowerDrive system provides plenty of torque in all conditions, meaning the mower can even handle overgrown or wet grass.

Cutting Width

With a 43cm cutting width it has one of the wider blades that makes mowing much quicker. When combined with the impressive battery life, the cutting width is perfect for larger lawns (although works great in small and mid-size lawns too) as it the wider cutting deck means fewer passes.

On the other hand, narrow spaces may be a bit of an issue, as the wider cutting width means that the lawn mower deck is on the larger side. This means navigating around tight areas can be a bit of hassle, although the fact it is cordless does help offset this issue.

Related: Gtech Cordless Lawnmower 2.0

Cutting Height

There are ten different cutting heights available, which is nothing short of amazing. Ranging from 20mm to 70mm, you can adjust the blade to precise heights that aren’t available on most other models, giving complete control over how much grass length to remove.

The ability to switch between so many heights allows you to set the blade to the ideal height no matter how long or short the grass is, making it much easier to get the right finish throughout the year.

It’s also very easy to adjust the cutting heights, with a large red lever on the left side of the cutting deck being adjusted to move the blade up or down.

Ergonomics

The 430 LI places a lot of importance on ergonomics to ensure smooth operating for every user – they put the name Ergoflex in there for a reason!

For example, the dual handles are ergonomically designed for comfortable use, featuring large handle grips and a power button for easy operation – you don’t need to hold down anything just press a single button and the mower is up and running.

Better still, the handle frame can be adjusted to accommodate different heights and positions to suit your height. This helps avoid back strains and other aches and pains developing from overstretching, something that happens all too often with mower handles that aren’t adjustable.

When combined with the surprisingly low weight (13.9kg), the Rotak 430 is easy to push around the lawn without feeling too heavy or cumbersome. The cordless design also means you don’t need to constantly worry about cutting the power the cord!  

Grass Box and Grass Comb

Given the impressive runtime and cutting power, it makes sense that this Rotak model has a large 50L grass box to gather all the clippings from large lawns. This won’t need emptied often (if at all) when mowing, although there is no level indicator which means you might need to stop mowing to check its capacity.

Another cool feature is the grass comb edging. This basically fits the cutting deck with metal combs that gather up those stray blades of grass that are often missed around the edges, saving the hassle of going back to trim the spots the mower missed.

Pros

• Two batteries offer good runtime of up to 90 minutes
• Cordless and lightweight design for better manoeuvrability
• Ergonomic handles for comfortable operation
• Suitable for large lawns up to 600sqm
• PowerDrive offers high torque to easily cut long and damp grass
• Very large grass box
• 10 height settings for year-round mowing

Cons

• Grass box doesn’t have a fill indicator but is large enough that it will rarely fill to capacity