[DIYGST]

I am considering electric lawn mower which is only used for the backyard, the
furthest lawn away from the house is about 35 ft, first 10 feet is the patio.
maybe 30 ft across. so under 1000 sq ft.

75'-100' cord? Would it become really annoying?

I am thinking the electric mowers are smaller and lighter and I may also be bringing it between properties.

 

[joecaption]

Concider a battery powered one instead. I can not see draging around an extention cord when mowing a lawn. At some point you will run it over.
http://www.bing.com/shopping/search...=battery+powered+lawn+mowers&FORM=HURE#x0y265

 

[DIYGST]

it's hard to consider a battery powered one
I always feel the battery will run out before the job is done, or the quality of the battery degrade quickly, maybe they have gotten alot better but that happened with my trimmer.

 

[user1007]

A girlfriend had a battery mower. Black and Decker I believe but don't trust my memory. It used golf cart type batteries and they had no trouble doing 1,000 sf of lawn between charges. As I remember, they only lasted a couple seasons though. The machine had nice torque. Most corded mowers do not seem to have such.

Nothing against corded mowers save for the cord always seems to get in the way no matter what you try. It is certainly easy enough to work around. They are what they are.

There are some new and improved person powered reel mowers out there these days. I have seen people fly through mowing their lawns with the things.

 

[SPS-1]

they only lasted a couple seasons though

I was going to say they last 5 or 6 years. The batteries die, and then you don't want to spend the money on an old mower to fix it. Plenty of capacity to do most yards though, and no cord. Maybe they have better batteries now.

 

[jbfan]

Get a robotic lawn mower, and never cut grass again!:laughing:

 

[user1007]

Get a robotic lawn mower, and never cut grass again!:laughing:

Will never forget an early one that made a run for it! Some rich guy in Champaign Urbana had one and I guess it got confused by a silent dog fence and could not recognize the frequency that was supposed to keep it in the yard. Off it went merrily mowing neighboring lawns.

 

[ddawg16]

I keep hoping my gas mower will die so I can go cordless......

With cordless....there is:
No gas to put in....
No air filter to clean....
No oil to change....
Quiet....
No smell of gas in the garage when storing it...

If you look at the total cost of ownership of a cordless vs gas....cordless is cheaper....add of the cost of gas....and the time and gas to go fill up the gas can....much more than the electricity to charge the mower....

 

[Rav]

I have a Black and Decker CMM1200 battery-powered mower, which I've had now for almost 10 years. It started life as a CMM1000, and in 1996 B&D had a recall for it due to an electrical problem, and they converted it to a CMM1200, totally for free (at a local equipment rental place that does warranty repairs). I love it. No cords, no gas. I have a total of 2,900 sq. ft. between the front and back yards, and it doesn't run any slower by the end of mowing it all, so it has capacity to spare. I don't think they make that particular model anymore but a quick check on their web site shows a number of CM models they offer now. They're not inexpensive but I think they're worth it.

 

[paintdrying]

I am waiting for the one that you screw on a propane cylinder. http://www.popsci.com/environment/article/2010-02/tech-reborn-greener-pastures

 

[Missouri Bound]

I keep hoping my gas mower will die so I can go cordless......

With cordless....there is:
No gas to put in....
No air filter to clean....
No oil to change....
Quiet....
No smell of gas in the garage when storing it...

If you look at the total cost of ownership of a cordless vs gas....cordless is cheaper....add of the cost of gas....and the time and gas to go fill up the gas can....much more than the electricity to charge the mower....

Since you can purchase 4 gas powered mowers for the cost of one electric...I'd say gas is more economical. Plus if you skip a week or two of mowing the electric probably will struggle, the gas will not.

 

[ddawg16]

Since you can purchase 4 gas powered mowers for the cost of one electric...I'd say gas is more economical. Plus if you skip a week or two of mowing the electric probably will struggle, the gas will not.

Slight exageration?

A quick check using Amazon......

Prices for the cordless range from $179 to $379
Prices for gas powered.........about the same.....

So....I can buy a cordless mower for about the same price as a gas powered...not sure how you came with with 4.

 

[Missouri Bound]

Using your $379 number. Gas mowers can be bought here for about $80 at Walmart. Your $179 battery mower probably won't last too long, wheras a Walmart $80 "special" will run as long as you put gas in it. Battery manufacturing and the associated costs to produce the energy for that process are also more costly to the environment. laughing: thought I would throw that in)

 

[paintdrying]

I cut a fairly big yard with a plug in mower. It worked well, takes a lot longer moving the cord, but, after a few months you learn exactly the pattern to move in and it is not so bad. Nice not having fumes and gas and all that. I would buy a corded one if I still cut my own grass

 

[av-geek]

I say go reel mower. They are actually lighter and easier to push than a powered mower. You do need to keep actual grass growing though. Reel mowers don't go through stalky weeds and stuff good, they just leave them standing.

 

[Seattle2k]

I have a Ryobi battery-powered mower. My lawn is maybe 1000sqft and the battery has just enough juice to get it done. I think it has a smaller capacity battery than the Black & Decker, but it works well. It even has a 5 year warranty, which includes the battery.

Prior to the Ryobi, I used a cheap corded mower. Dragging that cord around, making sure it didn't get hung up on stuff, then having to wrap the cord back up....I'm much happier with the battery-powered mower.

 

[Neverenoughtool]

I say go reel mower. They are actually lighter and easier to push than a powered mower. You do need to keep actual grass growing though. Reel mowers don't go through stalky weeds and stuff good, they just leave them standing.

X2 ! The exercise is good as well, unless you let the grass grow really long, then you'll work your butt off cutting it.:thumbup: