Reviving a free, dead 12V cordless Black & Decker mower - Page 10

wogga · 11-10-11, 04:43 PM

Hi There: What a neat site and your projects are after my own heart!

Anyway, I have this mower (or a similar one) and I absolutely love it. Mine was 'dead' because the orange safety 'key' was missing. It's been running 4 years on the same as-found battery. I power it entirely off 5W or 10W solar panels that amazingly are 'plug and play' once you get the right connector. I've detailed it on this wikisorta page:

solarpowermower.wikia.com

wogga · 11-10-11, 04:43 PM

sorry for having to cheat the 'no url's thing for new posters. Boohoo!
and for making me wait 30 secs to repost!

MetroMPG · 11-10-11, 05:16 PM

Hi Wogga - welcome to the site.

I'm planning to solar charge the mower next year too.

And thanks for reminding me: I need to look after the battery this winter so it doesn't self-discharge and die.

MetroMPG · 09-21-12, 06:22 PM

End of season update, 1 year later:

Another year of happy electric mowing. (Well, I'm not exactly happy to be mowing, but you get the idea.)

The mower had less work to do this year than last, since I installed a driveway and did some landscaping that exposed a good amount of granite bedrock in the front yard. Which means: yay, less grass to cut! Also, we had a severe drought which caused the grass to go dormant for much of the summer.

The old battery pack is holding up: it's still enough to do my small-ish property on one charge if I hustle (~15-20 mins), or over 2 charges (over 2 days) if I take my sweet time (usually how I did it).

MetroMPG · 06-03-13, 09:16 PM

3rd season for the free, previously dead, 12v lawnmower has begun!

I've only used it 3 times so far this year, but I think one of the pair of batteries might be acting up. I've been seeing some wonky voltage readings when charging & running. Have to investigate further...

Daox · 08-30-13, 11:15 AM

Looking for an update. How have things been going with the mower? Did you get the voltage issue sorted out?

MetroMPG · 08-30-13, 11:25 AM

It's been working just fine!

Fortunately, the wonky voltage issue turned out to be an instrumentation issue: intermittent flaky connection to the permanently attached voltmeter/display.

The mower has seen regular weekly service this year, unlike last summer when we had a serious drought that gave me a month or two break from mowing!

And I haven't done any more landscaping this year, but the plan for next year is to replace more lawn to give me & the mower even more time off. The less lawn, the better!

MetroMPG · 05-27-14, 01:35 PM

Just thought I'd post that the freebie mower has gone back into service ... beginning of its 4th season.

The batteries are getting tired for sure. I've only used it 3 times, and haven't been able to do both the front & back yards on a single charge. Though it's possible they may "wake up" a bit with a few cycles after sitting all winter with just an occasional top-up charge.

Doesn't bother me too much, really - I let it charge up and come back to it later.

I haven't shrunk the lawn area any further which would accommodate the declining battery capacity, though that's an ongoing goal (for other reasons). I'll probably do more of that later this summer.

MetroMPG · 07-03-14, 09:52 AM

Funny story:

A neighbour emailed me recently saying he was searching for battery replacement options for his Black & Decker mower and found this thread.

He ended up going with a new, OEM style replacement instead of messing around like I did.

Daox · 07-03-14, 09:53 AM

How much did that set him back?

11-10-11, 05:16 PM	#93
MetroMPG Infrequent noob Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: 1000 Islands region, Ontario, Canada Posts: 402 Thanks: 37 Thanked 20 Times in 19 Posts	Hi Wogga - welcome to the site. I'm planning to solar charge the mower next year too. And thanks for reminding me: I need to look after the battery this winter so it doesn't self-discharge and die. __________________ . To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

09-21-12, 06:22 PM	#94
MetroMPG Infrequent noob Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: 1000 Islands region, Ontario, Canada Posts: 402 Thanks: 37 Thanked 20 Times in 19 Posts	End of season update, 1 year later: Another year of happy electric mowing. (Well, I'm not exactly happy to be mowing, but you get the idea.) The mower had less work to do this year than last, since I installed a driveway and did some landscaping that exposed a good amount of granite bedrock in the front yard. Which means: yay, less grass to cut! Also, we had a severe drought which caused the grass to go dormant for much of the summer. The old battery pack is holding up: it's still enough to do my small-ish property on one charge if I hustle (~15-20 mins), or over 2 charges (over 2 days) if I take my sweet time (usually how I did it). __________________ . To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

06-03-13, 09:16 PM	#95
MetroMPG Infrequent noob Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: 1000 Islands region, Ontario, Canada Posts: 402 Thanks: 37 Thanked 20 Times in 19 Posts	3rd season for the free, previously dead, 12v lawnmower has begun! I've only used it 3 times so far this year, but I think one of the pair of batteries might be acting up. I've been seeing some wonky voltage readings when charging & running. Have to investigate further... __________________ . To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

08-30-13, 11:15 AM	#96
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	Looking for an update. How have things been going with the mower? Did you get the voltage issue sorted out? __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

08-30-13, 11:25 AM	#97
MetroMPG Infrequent noob Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: 1000 Islands region, Ontario, Canada Posts: 402 Thanks: 37 Thanked 20 Times in 19 Posts	It's been working just fine! Fortunately, the wonky voltage issue turned out to be an instrumentation issue: intermittent flaky connection to the permanently attached voltmeter/display. The mower has seen regular weekly service this year, unlike last summer when we had a serious drought that gave me a month or two break from mowing! And I haven't done any more landscaping this year, but the plan for next year is to replace more lawn to give me & the mower even more time off. The less lawn, the better! __________________ . To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

11-10-11, 04:43 PM	#91
wogga Lurking Renovator Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: boston area Posts: 7 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Hi There: What a neat site and your projects are after my own heart! Anyway, I have this mower (or a similar one) and I absolutely love it. Mine was 'dead' because the orange safety 'key' was missing. It's been running 4 years on the same as-found battery. I power it entirely off 5W or 10W solar panels that amazingly are 'plug and play' once you get the right connector. I've detailed it on this wikisorta page: solarpowermower.wikia.com

05-27-14, 01:35 PM	#98
MetroMPG Infrequent noob Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: 1000 Islands region, Ontario, Canada Posts: 402 Thanks: 37 Thanked 20 Times in 19 Posts	back in action... season #4 Just thought I'd post that the freebie mower has gone back into service ... beginning of its 4th season. The batteries are getting tired for sure. I've only used it 3 times, and haven't been able to do both the front & back yards on a single charge. Though it's possible they may "wake up" a bit with a few cycles after sitting all winter with just an occasional top-up charge. Doesn't bother me too much, really - I let it charge up and come back to it later. I haven't shrunk the lawn area any further which would accommodate the declining battery capacity, though that's an ongoing goal (for other reasons). I'll probably do more of that later this summer. __________________ . To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

07-03-14, 09:52 AM	#99
MetroMPG Infrequent noob Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: 1000 Islands region, Ontario, Canada Posts: 402 Thanks: 37 Thanked 20 Times in 19 Posts	Funny story: A neighbour emailed me recently saying he was searching for battery replacement options for his Black & Decker mower and found this thread. He ended up going with a new, OEM style replacement instead of messing around like I did. __________________ . To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

07-03-14, 09:53 AM	#100
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	How much did that set him back? __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.