Someone stole the old, held-together-with-duct-tape, mower that we had for our new house. We need to buy a new lawn mower.
The yard is small, maybe 400 square feet of grass, and I was considering an electric lawn mower instead of a gas one. My goal here is not to save the planet, I just want a low maintenance, easy for my kid to use, mower.
Are electrics push mowers worth buying or are they a novelty?
They work ok, but the cord is damn annoying to avoid running it over. I would sling the cord over my shoulder. Otherwise, it tended to get in the way or unplug from the mower.
I found the best way to mow with electric is to start nearest the power outlet and push in a straight line until you run out of cord. Then, move the mower over a couple of feet away from the outlet and pull parallel to your last line. Move it over and push. Push - pull - push - pull. Don’t try to mow in a spiral pattern.
I have gas now, and I love it. 
It has more power and can mulch leaves instead of raking in the fall.
Mine worked great and I could store it where a gas model couldn’t be stored. The only problem it ever had was when the expensive batteries needed replacing. The underside was a seamless molded plastic that collected almost no grass cuttings, so I never had to scrap it clean. It made a whooshing fan noise, that was almost undetectable. I could have mowed at 4:00 AM and none of the neighbors would have heard me. I haven’t used an AC model. I’ve only used the chargeable battery one. The batteries lasted 5 years of great use.
Mr. Neville does the mowing at Casa Neville, since I’m allergic to grass, so I have no personal experience with this. But he seems reasonably satisfied with our electric mower. I’m happy with it, because it means I don’t have to deal with cans of gasoline. I’m scared to death of them because of all the warnings on the gas pumps, and I would have to be the one to fill them if we had a gas mower, because Mr. Neville doesn’t drive. Since I’m the only one who could get them to and from the gas station, I have veto power, and I said “no gas mower”. I also like that I don’t have to smell that gas-mower stench- I can’t stand that smell.
The one drawback is that we don’t have all the outdoor outlets that we would like. My dad has said that he will install one in the front of our house for us (he is handy, we are not).
Oooo - good point. I’d better check our outlet supply. There’s two on the front of the house, I know, but I’m not sure about the back.
I’ve got one and it’s great. No having to store gas, turns on instantly, quieter. Haven’t had any power issues and I’m really bad about letting my grass get too high between cuttings. The cord’s not really that big a problem; it’s just like vaccuuming. I don’t have any exterior outlect but I have a 100’ cord that I just run from an inside one. I do have a small yard, the back fance line is about 50’ from the kitchen door.
I got one two years ago to replace the crappy reel mover I had. I like it and it does a good job on my small yard. I do wish I had looked into it more and got one with a battery as I find the cord pretty annoying.
I did think the reel mover left a nicer cut but the one I had was so crappy that I had to mow each line both directions and then turn 90 degrees and do the whole thing again. Even with a small yard that adds up. I have been thinking about getting a better reel mower and going back though. With such a small yard this may be something to think about.
We’ve got one. My husband was really dissatisfied with it, but I’m willing to try it again. I think our issue was that we let the grass get too long between cuttings, so cutting the grass was pretty difficult and required more than one pass. If you’re having a really nice, wet spring and your grass it healthy, you’ll probably need to mow 2 times a week. Additionally, it’s hard to mow wet grass even with a gas mower, but much harder with an electric. So you need to make sure the grass is nice and dry before mowing or it might not spring up for the blades.
But, electric mowers (at least ours) tend to be nice and light and with gas so expensive, it sure is nice not to have to buy it. (Though I’m sure the lawn service my husband decided on last year after he tried to mow the lawn - only once! - was far more expensive than a gas-powered mower would have been investment-wise.)
I had one. I ran over the cord. :o
I used one as a teenager when I was ordered to mow the lawn. They defiantely have a lot less power than a gas motor…you need to do more frequent mowing. And the cord is a huge pain unless you’re dealing with a small unobstructed lawn. If you’ve got to weave between trees and bushes and picnic tables it’s a huge headache. But if you’ve just got a small open expanse they work fine, and the advantage is they require a lot less maintainance, and you can start them just by turning them on.
My 9 year old Black and Decker needs a new battery. The original no longer holds a charge.
Before it conked out, it got me all the way through either my front or rear lawn before needing recharged.
You have to stay on top of things because a heavy load on the motor kicks out the built-in breaker and you have to wait about a minute for it to cool and reset. One time, I let things go and had to reset a dozen times to get the front lawn done.
I like the lack of vibration and no maintenance other than periodically sharpening the blade and once replacing a blade that struck a rock–until the battery went. I dislike that it takes a good 12 hours to recharge, so a big yard like mine takes two days to mow.
My other mower is a high-wheel gas mower that is basically an overgrown string trimmer.
I like never sharpening blades and being able to refuel and continue on immediately–a plus when I haven’t got 2 days to mow. I dislike oil and plug changes, noise and vibration.
Design me a 5.5 horse rechargeable electric 22" string-type mower with a quick-remove battery/ cheap spare battery for gas-like flexibility and I’ll buy it!
They’re quite popular here in the UK. I was going to suggest Flymo but they’re not available outside Europe.
Like a gas model you need to buy the higher horsepower electric to cut longer grass. It’s not because it’s electric that it bogs down, it’s because you bought the cheaper one.
I’ve got a Flymo: I do not recommend it. Get one with a decent roller. Over the years your lawn will thank you for it.
For a small lawn, a manual reel mower is perfect. Old mowers are the pits, but new ones, sharp and running smooth, are easier to push than any electric or power mower.
I’ve been using them for decades. All the advantages mentioned are true.
We have an electric mower and love it.
Semi-quiet, no odors other than the smell of fresh cut grass, easy to use (we have a 100 foot extension cord) and only once in ten years have we run over the cord.
If this one ever dies, will most certainly buy another electric mower.
I do wish we had bought a re-chargeable back then - we weren’t thinking clearly - but the cord is really no big deal.
Another vote for a reel mower. Quiet, cheap, allows smugness about your smaller carbon footprint. I disagree that’s it’s easier going than a motorized model, though – it can be a workout. And you can’t let the grass get too long or it’s useless.