Cordless Electric Lawn Mowers: Where Green Didn't Make It

While the Green movement is in full swing and battery power is becoming more practical, electricity has the environmentalists in its reigns. This has become true of just about every once-gas powered machine and all the advocates are now touting the new cordless, electric lawn mowers for keeping a neat and tidy yard. While the electric mower has been around since the early 80's or before, it has always been admonished for the cord. Sooner or later, that cord gets run over and it's another trip to the hardware store before the mowing can be completed. With the new batteries, we now have several cordless models on the market and they are being pushed strongly by the environmentalists.

Although I am a green advocate, I have always been persistent against the use of electric weeding, gardening, and lawn equipment. This is because I come from a family in West Central Illinois and we all have ferociously large yards and gardens with plenty of weeds and hardy grasses. The electric models just don't cut it. The same holds true for the new generation of cordless mower. I wish I could say different, but I simply can't. There are some jobs in which electricity is not up to par. The better solution would be some sort of hybrid device like the cars, but for some reason, we have skipped right over that option.

That being said, the cordless electric mowers are not too much different from each other in how they handle. If you own a condo in the city or you have a tiny yard no more than a quarter acre, this might do the trick, especially if your lawn is in the shade and you raise the mower height to maximum. What happens is that the lower grass and the grass in the sun holds a lot of moisture and it sticks to the blade and undercarriage. No problem for most gas-powered engines, but for the electric units, it sucks the juice right out of them. The only solution is cleaning with each pass, which makes for a long and tedious job.

Let's take a look at three of the best cordless electric mowers:

The Black & Decker CMM1200. This is the big orange machine. It is the heaviest of the three at 76 lbs. and requires a little effort for some to push. Remember, there is no such thing as self-propulsion in the world of the electric cordless. The cutting height adjusts from 1.5 to 3.5 inches, but I suggest you keep it on high. The 24 Volt battery is sealed in the mower and cannot be removed. A full charge takes between 10 and 16 hours for about 20-30 minutes run time. The CMM1200 retails for $595.00.

The Remington Powermower. Remington makes a machine that looks like it can handle the rough and tough, and it does outperform most because it is the first and only to use a 60 Volt battery that is said to provide 60 minutes of run time. It weighs in at 60 lbs., making it a little easier to push and the battery is removable, so you can have a spare handy. Also, the Remington has a corded option in case of emergencies. This unit sells for $399.00.

The Neuton CE 5.2. This is the little green machine. It is sleek and looks like a grasshopper. It is energy efficient, but barely above the league of a toy. It weighs only 48 lbs. so it is light and easy to handle. It supposedly gives 60 minutes of performance on its 24 Volt removable battery, but I have yet to see that happen. It's hard to call what it does a performance anyway. It might be ok, if you have only a couple light rows, 15 minutes tops. Other than that, it really has no use out in the field. The Neuton sells for $399.00

While I am all for the Green revolution, I am not going to lie to you. There are some products and jobs and that are just not ready for what our technology has presented. Lawn mowing is one of them. I am sure we can do better, but so far we haven't got it.