Back in mid May I was just sick of having starting problems with the old gasoline lawn mower. So I went out looking for a new mower. We have 3.75 acres here but only have about 1/2 acre to mow so when I found out that a cordless battery operated lawn mower would run for an hour on one charge I knew it was something we needed. Meg and I are always looking for greener ways to live our lives and not having to deal with the carbon and pollution released by a gasoline mower seemed to fit our lifestyle perfectly. So I bought the 20 inch Homelite 24 volt cordless battery operated Lawn Mower.
After 2 1/2 months of testing it once a week or so, I thought I'd fill you in on the pros and cons of having a cordless.
Pros:
#1 Starting it is way too easy, just pull out the handle, it does have a safety key in case you have children. To stop it just let go.
#2 it is light and moves easily over level ground, edging with it it does well.
#3 The battery does last an hour if the grass is not too high. Deeper grass will reduce the mowing time on the battery.
#4 Meg lets me store it in the basement, no gas fumes or fire hazards.
#5 We don't have to buy gas or worry that it gets water in the gas. Also no trips to buy gas and deal with the gas can in your car.
#6 No emissions virtually pollution free.
Cons:
#1 It will only mow about an half acre a day on one battery charge.
#2 The battery takes 15 hours to get a full charge. You can get about a 70% charge in 5-6 hours.
#3 Seems rather cheaply made, how available would parts be to get it fixed?
#4 It cost about $100 more than gas mowers of it's size.
#5 Not self propelled.
#6 You have to charge it and remember to unplug the charger after it is charged.
Starting the mower is easy just pull the trigger below. Notice the plastic key for safety.
So you might ask what are those tall grass like plants I've mowed it through?
Bamboo Grass, Microstegium vimineum Our worst nightmare here in North Carolina. This patch of it was dirt after we re did the septic field in the woods a year ago. Now it grows 2 foot tall in about a month. Our garden has it everywhere, it creeps up and grows 4 times faster than anything.
We pull this by the wheelbarrow full all season when we have the energy. Since our garden is organic we don't use Roundup or anything like it. I have a friend that used Roundup on it and shortly after it all died it just came back.
18 comments:
Hi Randy,
Mowing grass, such a bittersweet chore. I do like these types of mowers, they don't stink so bad. We had one in Nebraska and it was pretty nice not to worry about gas.
That Bamboo grass sounds NASTY!
Whatta chore!
Very interesting info on the electric mower. I don't think it would work for my one acre here but good to know the pros and cons. How on earth did you get bamboo grass in your yard? It looks most soft yet something that aggressive deserves to be taken out for sure. Good luck with it.
Very interesting. I may try out a mower like that one for the lawn. I hate gas-powered mowers as much as I hate stiltgrass.
Rosey, Tina,
Bamboo grass is everywhere in our area. The parks even in the wildest of places you can find it taking over. It is pretty but in the garden nothing can out grow it. We planted one flower bed and just gave up, now it's 3 foot high bamboo grass.
Sweet Bay,
The mower is quieter also. Meg can start it too without asking for my help, now if I could get her to mow the grass.
I'd love to have an electric that could mow my yard but the lawn space is just too big for that. It might make it as a trim mower. Did it come with a bag attachment?
Dave,
Yes all the brands come with a bag attachment, mine is gathering dust in the shed I'll never use it.
Thank you for this very informative post! We've been thinking about getting an electic mower. It would probably work well for us as we have a relatively small suburban yard.
Hi Randy, interesting post. I am not the one who does the grass cutting... at least not with power mowers. Used to use a rotary push mower in Germany-- on a postage stamp sized yard. I still think if the blade is sharp and if they made them a bit wider, a rotary push mower wouldn't be too bad to use. We have some stilt grass in our area though I don't think it grows as fast as yours.
Hmm, have you thought about getting a couple of goats? Just kidding, but it does seem that the pros you listed definitely outweigh the cons. I'm glad I just have to get the string trimmer out once a year - annual droughts do have their advantages.
Too bad they don't make them with removable batteries, that way you could always have a charged one on hand.
This was really interesting. I'd wondered about these cordless ones because I'm not sure how much life our gas mower has left in it. That bamboo grass sounds like it must be a pain to deal with!
Great move on the cordless mower, Randy! I have always wondered what people really thought of those. Seems like it does the trick without too much change around. And good for the environment to boot!
Hi Randy,
As you could tell by my previous comment, I can be scatterbrained. I just got caught up from where I left off, and remembered I'd been here before. You're the Randy who identified my moth.
Your photos are awesome! I enjoyed reading about the lawn mower, too.
I have been thinking about an electric mower. Thank you for the pros and cons...I will pass this on to my husband who does the mowing here.
The bamboo grass does look to be invasive and frustrating.
Sherry
I know I'm a bit late on this comment, but I have an electric mower that the city exchanged for an old gas mower several years ago. It cost $100 on exchange, I think. It is small and somewhat flimsy but has worked fine for a small piece of grass in the back. More recently I have started using it to shred the magnolia and avocado leaves that I use as mulch. I dump the leaves on the side where I want them and just quickly run the mower over them - it leaves a much better looking mulch. As noted by others, I'm not sure this mower would be up to a large lawn.
i thin this cordless battery for lawn mower is really great, so we can walk for every site of our backjard cordless that is amazing!!
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