Cordless lawn mower

[Don Kondra]

Anybody have any experience with these ?

We purchased a cordless from Sears last year for my mother.

It would do the whole yard in one charge. We left the battery in the lawn mower but plugged it in once a month over the winter (as per manual).

This summer we're lucky to do 1/3 of the yard on a charge.

At $100 a pop is it usual to only get one season out of a battery ?

Cheers, Don

[Lost in the Woods]

I had a Toro cordless that I bought 11 years ago and got rid of when it needed its third battery about 7-8 years later. The first battery died within months of being 3 years old, and was actually covered under warranty. The second one cost almost $200 dollars and lasted into its fourth year, but was struggling to complete the 5-6000 sq/ft required of it, especially if the grass was getting longish.

While quiet running, and not having to deal with gas and oil changes, I would not get another one. Try contacting both the manufacturer for warranty, or Sears possibly also. One year is not right. May have been old stock.

[jaywood1207]

I'm surprised they recommended you leave it outside for the winter even with the charging. I had a cordless trimmer and the battery died after I left it outside for the first winter. My mother has the exact same one and she brings her's in every winter and it has lasted 3 or 4 years now and she has about 2 acres that she is edge trimming each week.

[Wayne - Oakville]

My son got 2 years out of the original battery on his CTC Yardworks, and either 1 or 2 out of the replacement (cost over $100) -- a very small lawn. When the battery wouldn't operate this spring, he bought an electric corded and is very pleased with it.

...Wayne

[Lost in the Woods]

Yeah, I should mention also that I brought mine in for the winter and kept it in the furnace room. I can't recall what the manufacturers recommendations were for winter storage, but I never did a monthly cycle, although that may have been required, I can't recall. Can't even recall if it was left plugged in or not over the course of the winter months.

[Wally in Calgary]

Anybody have any experience with these ?

We purchased a cordless from Sears last year for my mother.

It would do the whole yard in one charge. We left the battery in the lawn mower but plugged it in once a month over the winter (as per manual).

This summer we're lucky to do 1/3 of the yard on a charge.

At $100 a pop is it usual to only get one season out of a battery ?

Cheers, Don

Don -- I've had the B&D 24 volt for 3 yrs. now and never plugged it in over the winter and left it in an unheated shed. It still cuts the lawn and the neighbors --3 times before needing a charge.

[Don Kondra]

Geez Wally, you got a good one

I called the store and all they could tell me was check the manual for the warranty.

And they don't stock the battery, you have to order it. They also don't have a battery tester...

About what I expected, sigh...

Pretty sure the manual says charge once a month if left outside, will have to check that.

The reason for buying the battery powered was because my mothers care giver is too tiny to start the gas one

$100 worth of gas would go quite a bit further than even one battery every two years.

Cheers, Don

[John Bartley]

Our B&D 24v mower lasted over 5 years before the batteries started to weaken. It lasted almost 10 years before we couldn't use it anymore. We'd leave it in the garage without plugging it in - never failed on us.......

cheers

John

[Wally in Calgary]

Geez Wally, you got a good one

I called the store and all they could tell me was check the manual for the warranty.

And they don't stock the battery, you have to order it. They also don't have a battery tester...

About what I expected, sigh...

Pretty sure the manual says charge once a month if left outside, will have to check that.

The reason for buying the battery powered was because my mothers care giver is too tiny to start the gas one

$100 worth of gas would go quite a bit further than even one battery every two years.

Cheers, Don

I researched the cordless mowers when I bought mine and the best product and reviews (in North America) were the B&D 24 volt. I was very surprised but I'm convinced now. My neighbour left his for 2 weeks when he was away and my mower didn't even slow down cutting it. Now they have the 36V but I haven't looked anything up on that.

[Don Kondra]

We didn't have a choice, sigh...

Mom has had Craftsman mowers forever but the new gas one she bought was too much for her caregiver to start.

Sears would understandably only give a store credit against the new "used" gas mower.

Cheers, Don

[glenF]

I have the Utopia lawnmower. It's cordless, self-propelled, has a brusless motor, and works with 2 regular lead acid batteries like those in your car. Battery replacement costs 100$ (50$ each but they sell them in pair)

I've also researched the cordless mowers when I bought mine and it's the one I ended up chosing based on its performances. Not the cheapest either, in fact the most expensive: 550$ at the time. RONA and Home Depot carried it under different names (Solaris, Epic, Utopia) for about 2 years but they didn't bring it back this year. I guess it was too expensive and customers picked the cheaper B&D that uses Nicad batteries that will go bad after 3-4 years just like with our cordless tools. More volts doesn't mean more power... Check here.

It's been 2 full years now for me, I'm starting my 3rd year, and I haven't noticed any difference yet in terms of battery capacity. There are 5 LED and when I'm done with my lawn, I have 3 or 4 lights still on depending on how long and wet the grass was. I do bring the batteries inside my house every time and I keep them on the charger all the time 24/7/365 (as per their instructions). Ok, I disconnected it a few months during the winter...

The only drawback of this lawnmower. It's pretty heavy and a little hard to manoeuver but it's self-propelled so the weight is far from being a problem. Aside from that, I'm very happy with my purchase.

Hope this helps,

GlenF

[Lee Brubaker in Edmonton]

I have never for a moment considered a cordless lawn mower. I bought a Honda Hydrostatic self propelled gas lawn mower in 1987 which has the conversion to mulching blades doing away with the rear bag. The cuttings continue to fertilize the lawns all summer & the lawns are like walking on a carpet. $20 worth of gas lasts two years & covers both the mower & the snow blower. The mower ALWAYS starts on the second pull of the rip cord. For the times the mower ran close to $1100 to buy & when the sales guy quoted the price I said to him I want a mower not a car. So lessee, 24 years of excellent use comes to $ 45.43 per year plus the oil changes & fuel. So how many cordless lawnmowers would be thrown away in a 24 yr. time span ?

Lee

[ArtMulder]

...the new gas one she bought was too much for her caregiver to start.

Why is a gas or cordless the only choice? Is the property that large?

A regular electric mower with a cord should be able to do most any city lot, I would think.
I've never had any issues with the cord. If you always start at the house and mow away, then the cord is always on the already-cut grass and almost never in the way.

Otherwise I'd consider a neighbourhood boy looking to earn some money, and after that a lawn service.

[billh]

When my knee was acting up I had the neighbourhood boy and that certainly is a great solution. Then he got a real summer job and since my knee was better I resumed the cutting- not as great a method but to be honest, I need the exercise so I'm still at it.

At a previous house I had a electric mower with the cord. A bit of a nuisance but once you figure out the best way to do it not a big problem at all. The property size isn't the only issue though. If you get an extended period of wet weather where the grass grows well and you can't get to cut it, the electric mower can have problems doing a good job without a couple or more passes. The second problem is how wide-open is the lawn area, my current house has various gardens and shrubs scattered throughout the yard which is fairly large and I don't think I'd want to fool with a cord.

On the gardens and shrubs: I few years ago I bought a self-propelled mower and it is great for the open areas. Doing the areas around the shrubs and obstacles is a PITA effort if you have to pull the mower backwards. I even took the gears out of the wheels so they run freely but the thing is obviously heavier than a regular rotary mower. Maybe newer ones are better?

billh

billh

[Don Kondra]

Why is a gas or cordless the only choice? Is the property that large?

A regular electric mower with a cord should be able to do most any city lot, I would think.
I've never had any issues with the cord. If you always start at the house and mow away, then the cord is always on the already-cut grass and almost never in the way.

Otherwise I'd consider a neighbourhood boy looking to earn some money, and after that a lawn service.

The lot is a full acre !

Cheers, Don

[ArtMulder]

The lot is a full acre !

well that's a different story! That's riding-lawnmower size!!!

[Glenn from Winnipeg]

I used to use an electric corded lawnmower - the cords are a pain to move around and constantly watch out for. We had 3 lots together, my parents, my uncle and my grandparents so you ended up hauling around about 300 feet of cord. We rented out my uncle's property in order to keep the connection to my grandparents. anyway, the rental neighbor offered to cut the grass one day - about 10 minutes later I ended up making 2 cords after he ran over it. I wouldn't give a corded mower to an older person - especially if that person MIGHT pick up the cord to find out what was wrong with it. And, yes I know we have ground fault interruptors, (but not in the 1960's.)

When we moved (1988) - like Lee - I bought a honda self propelled at the suggestion of several of my new neighbors. Never regretted it. Started first pull every time - except beginning of the season. Two years ago, the starter cord ripped, had it replaced and the engine tuned - but it was never the same. Now I have snow/lawn guys doing it. What used to take me 2+ hours - takes 3 of them about 20 minutes. Havent regretted that move either.

[Lee Brubaker in Edmonton]

Don't know if they still do but Honda used to make an electric start gas lawn mower. Honda mowers are not cheap but they sure do make a good mower.

Lee

[jim in Halifax]

If you bring the battery(s) inside and put them on a concrete floor they will go 'DEAD"
Have to put them on a piece of wood....J

[jaywood1207]

How bout this?

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