Electric Corded or Battery-Powered Lawn Mowers, Trimmers, and Edgers

[roo_ster]

Any of y'all have experience with these?  If so, care to share?

My lawn mower has been on the raggedy edge for a couple years and I am thinking about replacing it and the other equip with electric corded or rechargeable.  I do not have a large yard and my current 21" mower is more than adequate and any riding mower overkill.

Saw this corded bugger at Lowes:
http://www.lowes.com/pd_421868-53393-25213_4294747212__?productId=3997499&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%3FgoToProdList%3Dtrue%26Ns%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&facetInfo=

Saw this rechargeable at Lowes:
http://www.lowes.com/pd_421871-53393-25302_4294747211__?productId=4363447&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%3FgoToProdList%3Dtrue%26Ns%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&facetInfo=

FTR, I have enough extension cord to reach all of my property.

[Harold Tuttle]

We ran a corded black and decker for a decade on a 1/5 acre lot
Can you splice together drag cords? :)

it was very quiet and effective, but you needed to wrangle the cord as you mowed.

[MillCreek]

http://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-SPCM1936-Self-Propelled-Removable/dp/B004JMZH3A/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1366208865&sr=8-3&keywords=black+and+decker+cordless+lawn+mower

A couple of years ago, I bought this from Amazon for $ 450.  It does a wonderful job, and cuts the thick, often damp grass on my 6000 sq. foot lot on one charge.  It bags and mulches, and it is a joy not to hassle with a succession of essentially disposable gas mowers.  I still have a gas weedwhacker for trimming.  I did the corded mower thing for a few years, and it did require some finessing to manipulate the cord.  A skill my teenage son apparently was unable to learn, based on the number of times he mowed over the cord.

[mtnbkr]

I've used an electric lawn mower on my postage stamp townhouse yard for the past 9 years.  I've used the same model, a B&D "Lawn Hog" or some such.  Maybe this one.

It works great.  I have no complaints with it at all.  You do have to wrangle the cord, but otherwise, I prefer it to a gas mower for our size yard.  I don't baby it and it lives outdoors under our deck.

Chris

[Azrael256]

I have the corded version of the one MillCreek mentioned.  MM800-something, IIRC.

I *love* it.

I pull it apart and sweep out the crud periodically and sharpen the blade.  That's it.  It's extremely light.  I hold the handle with my right hand and wrangle the cord with my left.  It's less like mowing and more like vacuuming.

One tiny issue is that the cord management is made for an inadequate cord.  My model is 10A (I think newer ones are 12), so I have a good 12ga 100' cord, but it won't lock into the holder.  I just plug it in and hold it in place in my right hand with the handle.  Never had it come loose that way.

[Tallpine]

If you can still find one of those little basic 18" 3.5 hp B&S mowers for about $120, that is still the best deal IMO for a small yard.

No cords and no recharging.  They are lightweight and you can wiggle them sideways to get in tight places.

I had one for ten years and it was still running.  Left it with the house in town when we moved out here, but now I sort of wish I had kept it.

We had a corded electric for a little while and I hated it.

[Jamisjockey]

My experience is circa early 1990's.  I'm sure the tech has come a long ways since then.

Had an electric mower when I lived in AZ.  Worked for the grass there that wasn't very thick.

Minding the cord is a pain in the ass.  My BIL was a teen ager then, and when I was deployed he cut the grass for my wife....and ran over my 100' cord.     My FIL fixed the cord and I still have it to this day, with the same electrical tape on it!

[roo_ster]

http://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-SPCM1936-Self-Propelled-Removable/dp/B004JMZH3A/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1366208865&sr=8-3&keywords=black+and+decker+cordless+lawn+mower

A couple of years ago, I bought this from Amazon for $ 450.  It does a wonderful job, and cuts the thick, often damp grass on my 6000 sq. foot lot on one charge.  It bags and mulches, and it is a joy not to hassle with a succession of essentially disposable gas mowers.  I still have a gas weedwhacker for trimming.  I did the corded mower thing for a few years, and it did require some finessing to manipulate the cord.  A skill my teenage son apparently was unable to learn, based on the number of times he mowed over the cord.

How is your battery pack doing?  Still get the same run time as before?  Does your charger balance the cells?

The pack for these battery powered mowers in the $400 range run ~$120, nearly as much as a new corded electric.

It seems the corded options are not good for hte younger crowd.  Do you think your mower could be operated by a 10YO (weight, complexity)?  (The age I started mowing lawns for $$$.)


For those of you with the corded models, have you tripped a breaker running your mower?  I can not run a 15amp compressor on any 15amp circuit due to other items on that circuit and the rather sad Federal Pacific breakers & box. 

Cord cutting seems ubiquitous among the younger crowd.

[MillCreek]

How is your battery pack doing?  Still get the same run time as before?  Does your charger balance the cells?

The pack for these battery powered mowers in the $400 range run ~$120, nearly as much as a new corded electric.

As I have used it, I think the battery has conditioned, and I get more mowing time out of it than I did when it was new.  Although I have not yet researched it in depth, I had read that it uses a battery commonly used in electric wheelchairs, and this would be a cheaper replacement than the OEM battery pack.  I am using the charger that came with the mower, and I have not the faintest idea how it works.  During the lawn mowing season, I keep it plugged in at all times, so I can mow the lawn when the mood strikes me.

[mtnbkr]

For those of you with the corded models, have you tripped a breaker running your mower?  I can not run a 15amp compressor on any 15amp circuit due to other items on that circuit and the rather sad Federal Pacific breakers & box. 

Very seldom.  It used to do it years ago, but it has since stopped.  Probably because we removed some other devices from the same circuit.  The outside outlets are on the same circuit as the basement, garage, and the bathrooms, so it never caused any problems.

Chris

[Neemi]

As a kid we had an electric corded lawn mower - I quite enjoyed it.

My dad, however, did not appreciate how many cords needed replacing after my 10 year old self had mowed the lawn...

Just something to keep in mind if you have kids who will be 'helping.'

[mtnbkr]

Even if you don't run over it, the frequent dragging it around the yard will wear the outer covering faster than your typical uses.  The orange cord I use with my mower is starting to look like it has tiger stripes with the frequent black wraps of electrical tape to cover the cracks and such in the outer insulation.  That cord is about 8 years old.

Chris

[Azrael256]

The trick to not running over the cord is simple. Don't reel out cord as you need it.  Lay the cord around the perimeter of the area you're mowing and work your way inward.  When you have an obstacle to get around, you're already holding the cord, so flip ot out of the way as you back out.

I picked up a Husky cord.  It's not the super heavy duty one, but it was the one with the hardest jacket.  The heavy-duty Rigid cord has a much softer jacket that I could see tearing more easily.

I've never popped a breaker, but there's nothing running on that circuit when I mow except the sprinkler timer.

[Boomhauer]

The corded black and deckers are the *expletive deleted*it

[Lee]

I might give the cordless ones a shot at some point, but truthfully, in 30 years of home ownership, I have only owned three mowers (and all 3 were gas). They were all still running when I got bored and bought their replacements. Gas has it shortcomings, but I hate keeping track of batteries (or remembering to charge them) and dragging cords around. My Toro started first pull tonight, after sitting full of gas all winter. Probably. Hanged the oil two years ago. BTW - what is this bagging stuff? :)

[Harold Tuttle]

have yall seen the raven hybrid lawn tractor gas genny atv at lowes?

http://youtu.be/-BQBLNvWwUA

[Boomhauer]

have yall seen the raven hybrid lawn tractor gas genny atv at lowes?

http://youtu.be/-BQBLNvWwUA

Saw it would not buy it.