DeWalt DCMW564RN Twin 18V XR Brushless 48cm Lawn Mower

My Overview of the DEWALT Twin 18v Lawn Mower

The DEWALT DCMW564RN XR 18v Brushless Lawn Mower was first launched in 2017/18 I purchased mine in September 2023.

This mower is a Push Mower. No propulsion. It takes two 18v batteries to run it at 36v.

If using two 18v, 5ah batteries with the DCMW564RE/RN then you have 36v at 2.5ah and can mow for approx 15 to 20mins, depending on what you are mowing.

I use the DCMW564RN with two 9ah Flexvolt batteries, which allows me to mow for almost an hour. This is on a well-kept lawn that isn’t overgrown or wet.

Dewalt seems to have made a really sturdy mower here with this one. The build quality is excellent.

At-A-Glance Specs:

• Model: DCMW564RN (also available with batteries included)
• Power Source: Twin 18V batteries (36V system)
• Cutting Width: 48cm (19 inches)
• Weight: 19kg without batteries
• Deck Material: Metal (not plastic!)
• Height Adjustment: 7 positions (25-75mm)
• Grass Collection: 45-liter bag
• Battery Life: 15-20 mins with 5Ah batteries / 50-60 mins with 9Ah Flexvolt
• Where I Bought Mine: eBay (new, open box)
• Price I Paid: £400 in September 2023

The Cost: £400 via eBay (New in 2023)

The Community Cleanup Test

Community cleanup work is brutal on tools. I’m not mowing a nice, flat, well-maintained suburban lawn every Sunday (Like my own). I’m tackling community spaces that haven’t been touched in months, sometimes years. The grass is often 6-8 inches tall, hiding broken glass, bottles, dog waste, and all sorts of rubbish. I need tools that can handle neglect, work for hours straight, and survive being thrown in and out of my car boot every weekend.

Can It Handle Neglected Spaces?

Short answer: Yes, better than anything else I’ve tried.

The 48cm metal deck and brushless motor give this mower serious grunt. At Bridle Road in July 2024, I faced grass that was genuinely 7-8 inches tall in patches. The local council contractor had basically given up on it. My old Bosch electric mower would have choked and given up. The DeWalt just kept pushing through.

The key is the metal deck. Plastic decks warp and crack when you hit hidden obstacles (and trust me, there are always hidden obstacles in neglected community spaces). After months of hitting stones, buried bricks, and god-knows-what-else, this deck is still straight and true. Just some surface scratches.

Hidden litter is the real test: When grass gets long, it becomes a rubbish magnet. I’ve mowed over crisp packets, small sticks, tennis balls, and once, horrifyingly, a child’s toy car. The DeWalt has survived it all. The mulching blade chops it up, and it goes into the collection bag. Not ideal, but it keeps working.

How’s the Endurance?

This was my main reason for buying it, and it delivers.

My previous Bosch 36V mower gave me 12-15 minutes max before needing a recharge. In my own 220m² back garden, that meant at least 1 battery swap and hanging around waiting. That was if the grass was already fairly short and well-maintained.

Absolutely soul-destroying when you’re trying to complete a community cleanup project.

With the DeWalt and two 54V Flexvolt 9Ah batteries, I get 50-60 minutes of solid mowing on my home lawn (which is maintained monthly). That’s enough to mow my 220m² back garden three times, with fairly reasonable stripes. And I still have enough battery left to run the trimmer around the edges.

During community cleanups with overgrown grass, Runtime drops to 35-45 minutes because it’s working a heck of a lot harder. For the Bridle Road green space (roughly 450m² of badly neglected lawn), one set of batteries gets me through half the job, but I usually bring a second set as backup. I have to do a graduated cut too, starting with the mower set high, then gradually reducing the height with each cut. Otherwise, it looks horrible and can rip the grass out by its roots.

The battery situation, I invested in eight 54V Flexvolt 9Ah batteries (about £100 each on sale). Yes, it’s expensive upfront, but they work across my entire DeWalt 18V tool ecosystem, strimmer, blower, hedge trimmer, the lot. While one set is in use, the other set could be charging if you have a charger on a solar generator or in your van. However, this setup lets me work all day if needed. No charging on-site required.

If you’re buying this mower fresh with no DeWalt batteries, budget at least £200-300 for one set of proper batteries. The mower with two 5Ah batteries will frustrate you with constant charging stops.

Is It Practical for Transport?

Yes, but it’s chunky.

Weight: At 19kg without batteries (23-24kg with Flexvolt batteries fitted), it’s not light. BUT, and this is huge – it has carry handles at both the front AND rear. This design choice is brilliant. I can lift it cleanly in and out of my car boot by myself without wrecking my back.

Car boot fit: With the rear seats folded flat, it fits in the back of my Kuga with the handles folded down. The handles fold really easily – just pull a pin and fold. It takes up about 120cm long by 50cm wide of space.

Storage: The vertical storage option is great if you have limited space. I store it vertically in my garage and it takes up hardly any floor space.

One complaint: The collection bag doesn’t have a proper mounting system when transporting. You have to take it off and carry it separately, which is annoying when your boot is already full of strimmers, rakes, brooms and other stuff.

Durability After Heavy Use?

After months of abuse and approximately dozens of cleanup sessions:

Still going strong:

• Motor is as powerful as day one
• Deck is solid with only cosmetic scratches
• Handle mechanisms still tight and secure
• Height adjustment still clicks properly
• No electrical issues whatsoever

Showing wear:

The wheels squeak, this started after about 6 months. I’ve oiled them, WD-40’d them, cleaned them. They still squeak. It’s embarrassing when you’re trying to do quiet early-morning cleanups and sound like you’re driving a haunted shopping trolley.

Grass collection bag accumulates a LOT of dirt in between the bottom of the bag and the protection layer underneath. This 1.5″ space has no way to let anything out of it and gets seriously heavy when it fills up with dirt.

The yellow paint has a few chips under the desk, but the top of it is in great condition. A few marks from taking it in and out of the car and mowing up against the edges of fences, but no damage.

Maintenance: Very low. I sharpen the blade once or twice per season with an angle grinder. Clean the deck after every use and especially after messy jobs. That’s it. No oil changes, no spark plug replacements, no carburetor cleaning. The dream.

The Good

Battery Compatibility – The Game Changer

This was my number one reason for buying DeWalt. I already had DeWalt Cordless tools, so needed to keep things simple for my cleanup work. Being able to use the same batteries across my strimmer, blower, hedge trimmer, and mower saves me a ton of money and masses of faff. I dont need different chargers and batteries cluttering up my office.

Flexvolt Battery Performance

When you use two 54V 9Ah Flexvolt batteries, this mower gives you nearly an hour of runtime. That’s enough for any realistic community cleanup job. The smart thing is these batteries work in both 18V and 54V tools, so they’re earning their keep across my entire toolkit.

Metal Deck Construction

Having a proper metal deck is fantastic. It’s tough, stays rigid, and inspires confidence when you’re mowing through unknown terrain where broken bricks might be hiding in the long grass.

48cm Cutting Width

Coming from a 36cm mower, the extra width makes a massive difference. That’s 33% more coverage per pass. On a 150m² cleanup, that’s the difference between 20 passes and 15 passes. When you’re already tired from strimming and raking, those saved trips matter. The wider stripes on my own lawn also look straighter too, and I can cut it with fewer passes so can really get it looking even.

Twin Carry Handles

Such a simple feature, but SO useful. Front and rear handles mean I can lift it perfectly balanced. Loading and unloading from my car is now a one-person job. My old Bosch only had a front handle and I was constantly fighting the weight distribution.

Height Adjustment is Quick

Single-lever height adjustment between 7 positions. I can drop it down for the final pass to get those perfect stripes, then raise it back up for the next cleanup. Takes literally a second.

Excellent Build Quality

This feels like a proper tool, not a toy. Thick, solid plastics, metal components where they matter, quality switches and levers. It feels like it’ll last a decade, not fall apart in two years like some of the budget options. I think I might still be mowing with this when I’m 60.

Size When Folded

With handles folded, it’s long, but not very high. It would fit into a Mini Countryman no problem, the one with the van-like doors on the back  but not a small car like a small hatchback, you’ll struggle to fit this. Fine in any estate car or van.. Being able to stand it up when not in use is also fantastic. My last mower wouldnt stand up at all, it had to be stored on it’s wheels, so took up 3x as much floor space.

The Bad

Those Bloody Squeaky Wheels

Right from day one of just mowing my own back garden, the wheels started squeaking. Loudly. I’ve tried everything – oil, WD-40, grease, cleaning them. They still squeak. It’s not a deal-breaker, but it’s annoying when you’re trying to listen to the radio and keep hearing that “squeeeek, squeek” DeWalt – sort it out.

No Propulsion

This is a push mower. On flat ground, fine. But when you’re dealing with sloped community spaces (and many are on slopes or verges), pushing 20kg+ of mower uphill gets tiring fast. I’d have happily paid £100 more for a self-propelled version. But there wasnt one. The newer versions now have propulsion, and I’m seriously considering switching to one of them, but they dont have the carry handles on them. Plus propulsion eats battery life.

Battery Cost

If you’re not already in the DeWalt ecosystem, the initial battery investment is steep. Good 18V 5Ah batteries are about £60 each, and you need two. Better Flexvolt batteries are £110+ each. Budget an extra £250 on top of the mower cost if you’re starting from scratch. Plus you will want the dual battery charger, which charges two flexvolt batteries at the same time, quietly too. Thats another £90

Collection Bag Void

The collection bag has a weird empty space in between the bottom of the bag and the protective layer on the bottom. It’s only about 1 or 2 inches tall, but its big enough to collect and hold onto over 20KG of dirt when mowing in the summer on dusty lawns.

You’ll feel the bag getting seriously heavy, and a huge amount of soil rolling around in that tiny space in the bottom of the bag with no way to get it out, except to cut a hole in the back of the bag to release it. DeWalt were not interest in this problem at all and did everything possible to avoid even understanding it. They kept palming me off with their off-shore support in Asia who took 3+ weeks to answer an email, incoherently. If your not a big YouTuber, you’re on your own.

Real Cleanup Examples

Bridle Road Green Space – July 2024 (The Baptism of Fire)

This was the first major test. The grass was 6-8 inches tall across roughly 420m² of community lawn that hadn’t been properly maintained all summer. Buried in the long grass: crisp packets, a ton of broken glass, and plenty of random rubbish.

Performance: Honestly, I was curious. I was expecting dissapointment. This was way beyond what you’d do on a home lawn. But the DeWalt just ate it. First pass took about 45 minutes and one set of batteries. I could hear the motor working hard, but it never bogged down or stalled. Collected about 8 bags of grass clippings.

Second pass at lower height took another 45 minutes on fresh batteries. The finished result looked good, went from abandoned wasteland to actual community lawn. Then I tried a third pass at a nice cleaner, lower height and ran out of juice. Hence the photo in the fitst cleanup looking odd.

Lessons learned: Empty the collection bag more often than you think. When grass is long, the bag fills up fast and if you let it overflow, you’re leaving clumps everywhere. Also, even if you do a litter pick before mowing, you will need to pick as you go, as you wont see everything buried.

Shirley Library Lawn – Four weekends of mowing

In September 2024, I started on refurbishing the lawn (about 250m²) outside Shirley Library. This grass is kept relatively short, so it’s easier work.

Runtime: One set of Flexvolt batteries does the whole job. If the grass is short.

What I’ve learned: On well-maintained grass, this mower is incredibly efficient. The battery life stretches out, the work is quicker, quieter, and you get reasonable stripes. This is where the 48cm width really shines – you can bang out a small-to-medium space in no time.

My Home Lawn (220m²) – Monthly Testing Ground

From Spring to Autumn, I mow my own 220m² lawn with this mower. It’s my testing ground and honestly, the place where I’ve learned the least about what this tool can really do.

Standard routine: Height at 50mm, two passes, takes about 40 minutes total. One set of Flexvolt batteries handles it with charge left over.

What this proves: Reliability. I’ve done this routine 100+ times now. Same mower, same batteries, no issues. When tools work week after week, that’s when you know they’re good, but the battering I’ve given this mower on our community spaces is unreal.

Comparison to Alternatives

My Previous Mower: Bosch Rotak 36V

I used a Bosch Rotak 36V for 10 years before this. Here’s the honest comparison:

What the Bosch did better:

• Lighter (about 3kg lighter)
• Quieter operation
• Nothing else, really

What the DeWalt does better:

• 33% wider cutting width (huge difference)
• Triple the battery life with Flexvolt batteries
• Metal deck vs. plastic (durability)
• Battery compatibility with other tools (massive cost saving)
• Better build quality overall
• Carry handles front and rear

The Bosch served me well for almost decade at our previous home where the lawn was only 120m square, but for community cleanup work, it was completely outclassed. The DeWalt is in a different league for heavy-duty use.

Comparison to Petrol Mowers

I’ve used borrowed petrol mowers on a few cleanups. Here’s my take:

Petrol advantages:

• Unlimited runtime
• Usually more powerful
• Can handle even thicker grass

DeWalt advantages:

• Zero maintenance (no oil, spark plugs, carburetors)
• Quieter – I can work earlier/later without complaints
• No fumes – better for health, better for environment
• Lighter and easier to handle
• Starts instantly every time (no pull-cord wrestling)
• No fuel storage/spillage issues

For community cleanup work in residential areas, cordless is the way forward. The convenience and lower noise issues are well worth the slight compromise on runtime.

Who Should Buy This?

Perfect For:

• Community groups doing regular maintenance on spaces up to 300m²
• Street Champions who need a reliable workhorse for frequent cleanups
• Anyone already in the DeWalt battery ecosystem – this is a no-brainer
• People tired of petrol mower maintenance who want to go cordless properly
• Cleanup work in noise-sensitive areas where petrol would get complaints
• Users who need serious battery life and are willing to invest in Flexvolt batteries
• Commercial gardeners working multiple sites per day – An Eight battery arsenal would keep you running all day.

Not Ideal For:

• Very large spaces over 500m² – you’d need multiple battery sets or bordering on ride-on mowers
• Tight budgets starting from zero – the initial investment with proper batteries is £600-700
• People with small cars – it’s quite bulky even folded and heavy.
• Users who need self-propulsion – there’s no powered drive on this model.

The Verdict

After 18 months of genuine punishment, the DeWalt DCMW564RN has earned its keep, and is my go-to mower. It’s tackled everything I’ve thrown at it – overgrown wasteland, weekly maintenance, hidden obstacles, and hundreds of bags of grass cuttings, without missing a beat. It even cut wet grass when I had the blade on backwards for an entire afternoon…

Yes, the wheels squeak annoyingly. Yes, I wish it had self-propulsion. Yes, the battery investment is steep if you’re starting fresh, however, any electric mower needs batteries. But the metal deck durability, massive cutting width, battery compatibility, and genuine wicked runtime with Flexvolt batteries makes this the best cordless mower I’ve ever used for community cleanup work.

At £400 in 2023, it’ wasnt cheap. But it’s a proper tool that’ll last me years, save me a ton of money on petrol and maintenance, and handle the kind of abuse that community cleanup work demands. If you’re serious about maintaining community spaces and already have (or plan to build) a DeWalt battery collection, this is an absolute no-brainer.

Would I buy it again? Without hesitation. Despite the squeaky wheels, this mower it what made my cleanup work possible.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can it handle wet grass?

A: Yes, better than my previous mower, but I avoid it when possible. Wet grass clogs the bag faster, requires more emptying, and drains batteries quicker. If I have to mow wet grass, I raise the cutting height one notch to reduce the load on the motor. It works, but performance drops by maybe 25-30%.

Q: How long do the Flexvolt batteries actually last?

A: On my home lawn (220m²), I get about an hour with two 9Ah Flexvolt batteries. On overgrown community spaces, that drops to 35-45 minutes because the motor works harder. For most cleanups, that’s plenty.

Q: Is the metal deck really better than plastic?

A: For community cleanup work? Absolutely. I’ve hit hidden bricks, kerb stones, and all sorts buried in long grass. A plastic deck would have cracked by now. The metal deck has scratches but no structural damage after 18 months of abuse.

Q: Will regular 18V 5Ah batteries work?

A: Yes, the mower takes any DeWalt 18V batteries. However, two 5Ah batteries only give you 15-20 minutes of runtime – barely enough for a small space. For serious community cleanup work, you really need 9Ah Flexvolt batteries. The price jump is worth it.

Q: Can I sharpen the blade myself?

A: Yes, it’s easy. I use a metal file to sharpen the blade once or twice per mowing season. Takes 10 minutes. Just make sure to remove the batteries first (obviously), take the blade off, file the cutting edges, and make sure it’s balanced when you put it back on.

Q: How loud is it compared to petrol?

A: Significantly quieter. I’d say it’s definately quieter than a typical petrol mower. But I’ve never measured it.

Q: What about the warranty?

A: DeWalt offers a 3-year warranty if you register the product within 30 days of purchase. DeWalt’s support also seems abysmal too. God help you if you need to contact them, as just like every greedy corporate, you’ll be talking to somebody in a far off land that hasnt even seen, let alone used the product your asking about.