Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
If someone made a decent aluminum, self propelled, corded electric mower of about 22" cut, I'd have one in a heart beat. But nobody makes anything like that and no, batteries suck. Batteries, if you're lucky, will last a couple of years tops. Then new batteries cost as much as the entire mower did. Nope, there won't be a battery operated POS at my house. So far, the old gas 1986 Honda HR214 I bought new is still working just fine. I've bought a few since 1986 only to return them for one reason or another. Nothing cuts a yard near as good as the old Honda, including a new Honda. BUT, if they made a self propelled corded mower, I'd have one real quick as long as it wasn't the usual plastic crap of the current electrics.
Actually if you get a popular brand batteries are not an issue because by the time your battery dies completely there are after market brands that are usually much cheaper.
I have a push reel mower, and I love it. It works perfectly for me because my front yard and back yard are neither one very large--it takes me 20 minutes to mow both of them combined. Plus, I dislike the noise made by gas and electric mowers. I always have (and having a near-accident with a gas one didn't help my feelings towards it any.) Plus, I'm an early bird--so the push reel means I can be up at the crack of dawn, mow my yards, and get on with my day. My neighbors who have power mowers have to wait until nine (and it's usually hot by then.) And I figure the push reel is good exercise, which I sorely need.
I was just thinking they should be able to make a riding electric. Should be able to carry a crapload of batteries given it's a rider.
I have a eGo mower and this is my second full year using it. It's maybe 95% as good as the gas mower it replaced. The main issue I have is it doesn't have much lift of the grass so you get bits of grass sticking up here or there. This is with thick fescue. I'd trade running time for a blade with more suction power in a minute. Otherwise, form a smallish yard of just under a fifth of an acre, it's great.
I do use my bag as it seems to extend the battery life, mulching make it work harder so the charge goes faster.
I'm using the mulched grass to help thicken the growth. Where its been mowed with this mower it already shows more grass and a lot more green. The 'grass' here is more like a hodgepodge of grass, weeds, something which looks like small ivy, something tallish which gets sticky puffs on it, and this fine stemmed plant. Where I've been mowing it and mulching the grass is filling up more dirt than the others. I'm fine if I don't get too far.
I'd really like to have a backup reel to reel with more umpth than the small one I have, since of all of them I like the look of the result best with this, not so short and ground off.
I intend this next spring to get some real grass seed and toss it into the 'lawn' and let it crowd out some of the misc Oklahoma groundcover in all its determined vigor.
I have a small yard and used a manual reel mower for the last 15 years or so.
I'm getting old, and my back yard has about a 45 degree slope with several bushes to go around. I was beginning to have a difficult time mowing that with the reel mower - I got a sore back every time.
So I got a corded electric mower this year, and it works great.
I chose it on the basis of how light it was and thus easy to wrestle on the slope.
I have about 5300 sq ft to mow, so I use a push-type gas mower. I used a self-propelled once, but it chewed up the grass on slopes. One oil change a year is no big deal and I have to go to the gas station anyway.
Location: Removing a snake out of the neighbor's washing machine
3,095 posts, read 2,042,389 times
Reputation: 2305
Quote:
Originally Posted by cyphorx
I have all 3, for me electric seems best overall each has strengths and weaknesses, personally gas powered is at the bottom of the list, the hassle of going to get gas for it, changing oil, yanking on a cord to get it started, the tune-ups and the noise is not appealing, My reel mower is 2nd on the list, no fueling, no charging, just pull it out and start pushing, sharpen the blade once every few years and you are good to go. but the draw back is the fact that it only cuts grass, a twig will stop it in it's tracks so while it's great for my front yard 95% of the time since I have no trees in my front yard it's a nightmare in my backyard unless I want to spend the day raking before I cut back there. and sometimes I get twigs from my neighbors trees in the front.
Hands down my sunjoe electric cordless mower wins, cuts good enough, twigs and even sprouting trees are cut with ease, no walks to the gas station in the texas heat, no yanking a cord for 10-20 minutes I just push the button and it starts, plus it is quiet sounds like a box fan, so I can avoid the hot sun all together and cut my grass at night without waking the neighbors. in fact when I was cutting the grass on the side of my house my window unit AC was actually making more noise than my mower yes electric mowers have shorter run time mine only lasts 25-30 minutes(depending on length) but it only takes about 10 minutes to cut my front yard and 15-20 to cut the back. but if I had a large suburban yard I may feel differently.
I have watched those videos before. My problem is my total area to mow is about 2 acres, so it's right at the max limit. I'm OCD and I can't leave part of mine unmowed, it's either do all of it or none of it... many times I'm trying to get it all mowed before rain moves in.
I have watched those videos before. My problem is my total area to mow is about 2 acres, so it's right at the max limit. I'm OCD and I can't leave part of mine unmowed, it's either do all of it or none of it... many times I'm trying to get it all mowed before rain moves in.
Here are my problems with this mower and admit I have never used one. By the Ryobi specifications it takes 12 hours to charge. I did not see any quick change batteries available for this unit or did I even see if it uses conventional car batteries? My feeling is that some people that have acreage, close to their 2 acre max, might have to finish cutting the next day.
Then there is the price at about $2,500. We can buy a pretty powerful riding, gas powered, mower for half the cost. Then there are the battery/s. Typical battery warranty is 2 to 5 years. I did see that Ryobi sells some batteries that have a 3 year warranty. Whether you have a gas mower or electric mower you still have to replace belts and blades or sharpen the blades. Yes the service on gas mowers can be expensive; but most will give the owners years of trouble free use with minimal home owner maintenance. Batteries run down over time and especially if the equipment is stored in unheated sheds. Of course that can happen to gas mowers also; but I would bet the electric mower's batteries are more expensive or they use more of them.
On the positive side, from the Ryobi website; I saw mostly strong positive reviews. There was one review that claimed the mower did not give a clean, uniform, cut and that it did not have enough power for his grass. He might be like me and be another diehard gas mower fan?
I have watched those videos before. My problem is my total area to mow is about 2 acres, so it's right at the max limit. I'm OCD and I can't leave part of mine unmowed, it's either do all of it or none of it... many times I'm trying to get it all mowed before rain moves in.
You can cut before you sleep and finish when you wake.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
