My electric lawnmower died yesterday. When I bought it, an electric lawnmower made sense, but now I have a bigger yard, and lot’s of plantings to mow around where having a cord is a real pain. I’ve been planning on getting a gas mower*, but Mrs. Beam doesn’t like the idea of having gasoline in the garage (Yeah, she parks her car there. What’s your point? ;)). So she was hoping we could get a cordless electric. I’m worried it will have less power than our current electric, and I already wish I had more. Does anyone have experience with both corded and cordless electric lawn mowers? How’s the power compare?
Background info: Current mower is 12 amps, 3.5 HP (equivalent). Another corded electric is not going to happen. Cordless electric model is 24 Volts, not sure of the amps or power. It was at Lowes, although they’re out of stock until Tuesday. Two other stores didn’t have decent cordless electric mowers available. My yard is about 5,000 square feet, 3,000 front and 2,000 back. Yeah, I probably can’t mow it all on one pass, but the front and back yards have different grass, and I already often mow them on different days, so this isn’t a deal-breaker.
*OK, eagerly looking forward to this day for a couple of years now. But I swear I didn’t sabotage my old mower. I even tried to fix it, but I think the motor is shot.
I had a Ryobi cordless maybe 8-10 years ago. Really liked the quiet, compact storage, and not needing to mess with gas.
However, it certainly was not overpowered. Our 50x200 lot would pretty much use up a charge, especially if the grass was very long or wet. My BIL had a cordless (not sure what make) and had similar complaints of it being underpowered.
In the second year, the battery seemed to hold less of a charge, making the power issue more significant.
What made us get rid of it, tho, was the third spring after the first use, it wouldn’t charge. it was covered by warranty, but the shop said it would take 6 weeks to fix. Faced with six weeks of springtime growth, I bought a reel mower, and never went back to the cordless electric. When my son started mowing our lawn and a couple of others, we got him a gas mower.
In years since I think I heard they had made improvements in both the power and batteries. If so, I really liked the cordless electric mower. But one thing you really REALLY want in a mower is reliability.
For this small of a yard, I would consider a reel mower. It would solve your problems of not having gasoline around, and would never need maintenance apart from blade sharpening, which you can do yourself.
A new cordless electric will satisfy all your needs in terms of power and run time.
Battery and electric motor technology expands greatly every 1-2 years. The batteries and motors available for all rechargable electrics are miles ahead of were they were 3-5 years ago. Manufacturers will also recommend a mowing area for their electric recharge models, so check it out.
Right, and I think the biggest concern these days (since batteries are very good) is keeping the blade sharp. You might think the battery is failing earlier than it had in the past when in reality it is working harder because the blades are dulling.
I’ve had my Craftsman cordless electric since 1998. I can’t recall the electrical specs right now, but I never had a problem with my 1/3-lot yard (40’ x 110’ or so, I think), and that was using it exclusively as a mulcher. If I were negligent and let the grass get too long, then it’d poop out before finishing the yard, but that was my own fault. The only thing I don’t like about it is the charger doesn’t work unless I plug into the mower first, and then the wall. That means I can’t just leave the charger plugged in all the time. I finally had to replace the batteries in 2004, as it wouldn’t hold a charge long enough to do the yard. They were $70 total, and installation was simple enough.
I only used it a couple of times before we bought a house with a yard too large to use a push mower. The house came with a beautiful riding mower, though, so the electric is pretty much relegated to mowing where I can’t get the rider, like around the mail box post and around the tiny, almost-dead apple trees. I really wish the rider would mulch like the push mower, though.
Are batteries really better? Well, I know there are better batteries, but are they actually being used in cordless electric applications?
Ni-Cad and NiMh batteries are replacing the old 12v lead acid batteries.
The bitch is when you have to replace the batteries. It cost about $150 for the model I have. I guess that’s why it’s still sitting there waiting for new batteries after 4 years.
we use the ecomower http://www.enviromower.co.nz/index.shtml which has I believe a lead-acid battery. Made in Australia. It is fine for a medium section dry grass, but couldnt handle long wet grass.
I really bought it because I used to hate the petrol fumes and the problems with getting my old mowers started with the hand pulls.
Mow 5,000 square feet of lawn with a push mower? Not going to happen.
Thanks all. We’ve decided to go ahead and get the cordless electric