My power mower is on its last legs. I like the idea of a cordless mower, but there isn't a lot of choice locally - pretty much either Home Depot or Lowes. None of them have the lithium ion batteries, which I'm guessing might be better due to less weight, quicker charging, and full power to the end of the cycle. Maybe longer life, too. It's getting harder and harder to do online research. Seems like the search engines just aim you at the big retailers. I figure I'll have to order something online and have it shipped. Anyone have recommendations?

How big is the yard? That's the deciding factor.

Pretty small yard, I don't want to deal with a power cord. I know I'll run over it. Grass grows like crazy in the spring, then when (if) it stops raining I let it go brown. I just don't want to buy a cheap lead acid battery mower, then have to replace it after 2 or 3 years. It also seems like the cheaper mowers are all made of plastic.

I bought a Neuton cordless about 5 or so years ago. It came with two removable batteries and one is still strong. I just replaced the other one this season along with new blades. It has been worry free all these years. The body is plastic, but I don't think I've ever seen one that wasn't. It's well made and the battery holds a good charge. I have two acres but only use the Neuton for smaller areas and a few hills. I can do all the mowing on one charge. I don't remember what model it is, but they have new ones anyway. I think I paid around $350 for it. I can recommend it.

Quote
Wags
Pretty small yard, I don't want to deal with a power cord. I know I'll run over it. Grass grows like crazy in the spring, then when (if) it stops raining I let it go brown. I just don't want to buy a cheap lead acid battery mower, then have to replace it after 2 or 3 years. It also seems like the cheaper mowers are all made of plastic.

I have a smallish Worx that's "all made of plastic" and it's been absolutely fine. Also, the lightness helps greatly as I am constantly up and down stairs with it.
When this topic comes up there's the occasional participant that reports they got 5 years out of their cordless mower batteries but 2-3 years is more like the norm.
From the research I've done, many of the manufacturers who use Li_Ion batteries cheap out on them and they're low capacity to keep costs down, so the question of yard size is critical.

---

MR/F Guestmap: [www.mapservices.org]

This solar powered grass mower can be had for as little as $100 it auto fertilizes and you can milk it too.

---

Athens, OH

Here's a self propelled Ryobi with a steel deck

[www.homedepot.com]

Here's another but not sure of it's self propelled:

[www.ryobitools.com]

---

Grateful11

Quote
mstudio
I bought a Neuton cordless about 5 or so years ago...I can recommend it.

I don't remember when I bought my Neuton but I'm sure it was more than 5 years ago. It's been great, and the plastic construction has not been a problem at all. The mower may have seemed more expensive at first, but it's been totally worth it.

Unfortunately, they are sold out for 2012:
[www.neutonpower.com]

When I was going to replace my gas mower it was going to be with a neuton. I only hand mow between the grape vines.

My brother had a black and decker and it wasn't so great, kinda narrow and really bogged down if the grass got just a little bit tall and/or wet.

I had a honda gas mower with a plastic deck and except for the self propel transmission being a POS I had no problems with the plastic deck except for scratches made the red plastic painted grey seem odd.

---

[www.freethegrapes.org]

norwegian wood reality TV

[www.youtube.com]

FYI, Buyer beware with gas mowers...

[www.peoplepoweredmachines.com]

[environment.about.com]

We could ban them.

and lose all that gasoline tax revenue ?

---

[www.freethegrapes.org]

norwegian wood reality TV

[www.youtube.com]

I know that the one I tried (Black and Decker) sucked. I live in Florida, where grass grows like crazy in summer. And if you have St. Augustine grass, you can forget an electric mower. We tried it on a rental we have that has a small yard, and is mostly weeds. After using it twice, I took it back. It just wasn't powerful enough.

I always recommend (but few are interested) a reel mower.

---

I have the Worx 36V self-propelled, a 60x100 lawn, and I can mow front and back twice on one charge.
I previously had the Worx 24V push mower and liked that alot too.

Worx sometimes sells directly on eBay at a reduced price.

Quote
M>B>
FYI, Buyer beware with gas mowers...

[www.peoplepoweredmachines.com]

[environment.about.com]

Those figures don't really surprise me too much, if they're accurate. Our JD X720 burns about 1.5 gallons of
gas per hour and it takes about 2 hours to mow with a it's 54" deck. It uses more fuel than the 40hp tractor.

---

Grateful11

Quote
A-Polly

Quote
mstudio
I bought a Neuton cordless about 5 or so years ago...I can recommend it.

I don't remember when I bought my Neuton but I'm sure it was more than 5 years ago. It's been great, and the plastic construction has not been a problem at all. The mower may have seemed more expensive at first, but it's been totally worth it.

I'll third the Neuton. Mine is from 2005; bought with two batteries; one became very weak a couple years ago and I got a new one. I have a 14,000 sq foot property and at least 10,000 of that is lawn (driveway, house, garage and landscaping take up the rest) but one battery on a full charge handles the whole lot. My older model is pretty lightweight and I have no trouble with the 15 degree grade hill that slopes through a third of the lawn. I've sharpened the blade two or three times and lost a couple screwed from the plastic casing but aside from that and the inevitable grass stains it works like new.

I could be convinced to part with mine if you really want one... I can always get the newer, bigger model for next year.

I think the BEST selling point of the Neuton is that it's really quiet. I can easily hold a conversation on my cell phone headset while mowing, listen to music at a normal volume, talk to neighbors, et cetera. It's nothing like an annoying gas-powered mower!
g=