Conscious Choice: Cordless Mowers

August 2000 | Sensible Home

Cordless Mowers

by James Dulley

Dear Jim: I would like something more convenient than my noisy, hard-to-start gasoline lawn mower. I am considering a rechargeable cordless one or even a robot mower. Will these new mowers push up my electric bills much? — Al R.

Dear Al: You will barely notice the increase in your electric bills from recharging the mowers. Over the entire summer, it costs only about $20 to $30 for the electricity to recharge the batteries. Operating a typical gasoline lawn mower, with regular maintenance, costs about $50 to $60 per year.

I have a third-acre lot and I have used cordless lawn mowers for many years. When my legs are too old to push the mower, I will consider a gasoline one. Actually, I will use an automatic robot mower and watch it cut from my hammock.

The advantages of cordless mowers are many. First, they cut very quietly. I can talk on my cordless telephone while I mow. This is also a plus if you like to cut grass early in the morning or later at night when it is cooler.

Second, a cordless mower always starts and requires no maintenance. Just sharpen the blade each year and you are good to go. Third, you create no air pollution while you cut. Even the best new overhead valve (OHV) gasoline mower engines produce a substantial amount of pollution.

Cordless mowers are available in 12-volt, 24-volt and 36-volt models. The 36-volt models can cut a large lawn (up to a half acre) between recharges, but they are heavier with the third battery. Although it takes about 24 hours to fully recharge them, they reach 70 percent power in four hours to use it again.

The newest designs of rechargeable robot mowers work very well. These have computer chips that allow them to stop at a perimeter-sensing wire that you lay around the edge of your yard. The technology works in a similar fashion to an invisible dog fence. Sensors in a bumper make the machine turn if it hits a tree.

There are two basic designs of robot mowers. The simplest one looks somewhat like a regular mower without a handle. It has a remote control to drive it out into your yard. Once out there, it will run for about two hours, crisscrossing the lawn until the grass has been uniformly cut. It has three small rotary blades.

Other more sophisticated designs sense when the batteries are running low and go to a recharging station automatically. Once you put one out in the yard, you seldom have to even think about it. This design uses a tiny blade that nips at the grass continuously so it always looks just cut.

If you prefer a self-propelled gasoline mower, select one with an OHV four-stroke or a low-maintenance two-stroke engine. The most convenient models have a gearbox that automatically adjusts to whatever speed you are walking.

Write for (or instantly download) Update Bulletin No. 416, a buyer’s guide to rechargeable cordless and gasoline walk-behind and robot mowers listing speeds, OHVs, horsepower, cutting path, weight, cutting height, and mowing tips. Please include $3 and a business-size SASE. James Dulley, Conscious Choice, 6906 Royalgreen Dr., Cincinnati, OH 45244.

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