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Old 05-29-19, 09:41 AM   #115
MN Renovator
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Daox View Post
Necro bump. But, having your experience, would you recommend a battery powered mower over a gas powered mower?
I don't have direct experience but I've used a corded Black and Decker electric mower that I got for about $20 with a bad top bearing that caused the rotor to grind into the permanent magnet and tore apart the magnet a bit and jammed it into the rotor. I fished out all of the broken chunks of magnet and replaced the top bearing with a random grease type ball bearing on the top. I didn't expect it to work and the bearing was very draggy but it worked. I used it for two years consistently until I got a gas mower from my mom's house.

I love that it can grind through grass twice as high as my "6.5 horsepower" 21" lawn mower and I can actually get the mowing done on tall grass 10 minutes faster than the gas mower because I can walk as fast as I want because it won't stall out or even really slow down like a gas engine does.

With the experience I've had of using the corded model, I've always wanted a cordless one but I just couldn't justify replacing a working gas mower with one in the $200-650 range. It's getting mighty enticing though because the newest cordless mowers have 21" mower decks instead of the 18" mower decks, they have self-propelled and mulching functions and advertise being able to cut a 1/3 acre of grass. So basically now the cordless mowers are now a non-compromise option with all of the standard features you'd expect in a mower. I suppose I've always wondered how much juice my 1/4 acre lot uses. I know some market themselves as coming with a battery and having a caddy so you can swap in a second battery but don't come with that second battery, which makes me wonder if I need a second battery or not and I don't see the guidance on either runtime or average cut sq footage on a charge. If I get 75% done with the yard and need to plug in for an hour to do the rest, it wouldn't be worth it if it means I'm shelling out for a bigger battery, but I don't know what to expect.

I wouldn't touch a lead-acid one though unless I had a NiMh or lithium retrofit project planned for it, I'm sure I'll do what I normally do and wait to find a used lithium one on Craigslist from someone with a bigger yard than mine and ask about the battery performance.
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