Electric Lawn mowers

[ratchet]

My son has just moved into a new villa and has a small lawn

recently there has been some adverts about various electric lawn mower that can be suitable for small lawns

do we have anybody with FIRST HAND experience with an electric lawn mower to make my purchase easier

[BobL]

My son has just moved into a new villa and has a small lawn. recently there has been some adverts about various electric lawn mower that can be suitable for small lawns. do we have anybody with FIRST HAND experience with an electric lawn mower to make my purchase easier

After seeing them in the USA we've had a 12V motorcycle battery powered mower (Masport) for 3 years. It's basically an electric motor and a battery on wheels.

On one charge it easily mow's 75 m^2 of lawn (2 areas of couch and one of velvet buffalo) and there is enough charge left to mow about the same area of brick paving (driveway and very uneven pergola paving area). Now I'm sure you will ask, Why do I mow the brick paving? This is because the mower on it's lowest setting is a half reasonable vacuum cleaner and sucks up sticks and twigs that can't be lifted by basic garden vacs.

The main thing with this mower is you can't let the grass grow too high or else it bogs the mower down too much for a single pass mow. What you have to do then is double mow. On highest setting first and then drop it down. This is no big deal as 75m^2 is hardly much more than a hanky. If you

Initially I rated the construction of this mower as marginal being nearly all plastic but no single part has broken in 3 years and the way it is going I reckon I should get at least another 2-3 years out of it. Whenever it's not in use I keep it under the hourse where I have added a powerpoint so that it can be charged up.

I would definitely buy another and recommend it for small lawns. No fumes or smell, no remembering to get fuel, its about as loud as the quiet 4 stroke mowers, and no cord to run over!

Cheers

[journeyman Mick]

I lived in a share house (rental) years ago that came with a large, deep (3M) pool and a lawn that was barely big enough for a couple of bikini girls to sunbake on. (We used to have lots of pool parties ). It came with a plug-in electric mower, can't remember the brand, but it was well constructed, cast alloy base, good qulaity wheels and bearrings etc.

Pros:
starts first time, every time
quiet
adequate power
compact
no fuels or oils required

Cons:
not suitable for a large yard
you need to lay the cord out in a manner which allows you to mow the lawn safely and you may need to shift it several times. If you share a house with a "some-mothers-do-'ave-them' type bloke with sexy fingers then sooner or later he will manage to mow over the cord resulting in a spectacular but brief fireworks display.

Mick

PS. Just rmembered, it was a "Sunbeam" brand and would happily mow through ankle deep grass.

[Dangermouse]

I've got a fairly small lawn and got myself one of the black & decker electric mowers (cord) for about $90-ish from big W. Cords require a bit of care in case they get run over, but with a bit of common sense they can be handled quite easily. Like most electric mowers, it's whisper quiet, compact (easy shed storage) but as Bob mentioned, dosnt like long grass. I'd definately recommend one for a small lawn - they're about half (or less) of the price of a petrol mower and usually much smaller. If you've got the money for the battery ones like Bob mentioned, go for it, otherwise, the corded ones are a nice cheap alternative.

[bsrlee]

I too have a B&D mower on a string. Its light, no swearing required to start it, just hang onto the safety lever. Remember not to pull it over your toes or the power cord.

I have several small patches of lawn about 20 ft vertically apart, so light & easy to carry is very handy.