Lawn mowers

[46er]

I went to start my trusty Snapper and it let me down. It's been happening a lot lately. This time, after taking good care of it for the winter, I filled the tank, primed it, and it started right up. Then the smell of gasoline pouring out of it. It always happens with a full tank. Clamped the fuel line and banged on the carburetor bowl. Same thing. It is maybe 20-25 years old. Took a look at the Home Depot web site and ordered a battery operated one; Ego 21" self-propelled, on sale for $100 off, less than a gas replacement. Picked it up, snapped a couple pieces on it, charged the battery and cut the grass today. Pleasantly surprised. It's nice not to smell like a refinery, but I will get the Snapper running again, nothing beats it when the leaves begin to fall. But the new one just might.

 

[Broke Jeep Joe]

how long does a charge last? and how big is the lawn you're cutting?

 

[46er]

The charge is said to last about 60 minute or so, that's what the info says and its born out on the reviews. A recharge takes about half the time, at least the first one did. I don't have much grass, maybe 4-5k sq ft, but there is a lot of 'natural' stuff I try to keep at bay. I do not bag it, just mulch everything, which they say takes more juice. The battery still showed a green indicator, meaning it still had a good charge, when I was done. I'll see how long its useable before I charge it again, but I do not foresee an issue. It is louder than I thought, but compared to gas its a whisper. So far its a

 

[Teegate]

I see many more people using them than in the past. I guess the battery issues have become less.

 

[GermanG]

It so happens I'm going to my local shop for a mower today. I've gone through quite a few in my 30 years at this house, some cheap and some pricey. The only one that lasted as long as I liked was my Honda, which I just gave to my son. The only thing wrong was a deck that started rusting through. Still starts on first pull though, after almost a decade. He's going to patch the deck. I might either pay the extra for one of the models with a composite deck or take better care of this one. Just like me, if I knew it would last so long I would have taken better care of it.

 

[vlpronj]

I've had an Ego push mower for a few years. I'm now back on enough property that my riding mower is used more, but the lightweight, always ready push mower is nice for hitting the little spots, and for the long "hillock" that the riding mower can't quite traverse safely.

What really showed me the difference between old and new battery powered lawn tools was the leaf blower. My old 18v B&D was only good for running the batteries down before recharging (something that is of questionable value anyway). I could turn it on and run down a battery in two minutes or less. The EGO 56v lasts for awhile, and actually has plenty of power, too. So I've got the push mower, string trimmer, blower, and chainsaw. Still looking to get the hedge trimmer - I got most of mine used or as bare tools, and found deals here and there on batteries.
I was given a B&D string trimmer and hedge trimmer, they both run off 40v batteries. They're good, but I think the tools running 56, 60 or more volts are the way to go. I also get the impression that many of the newer tools are designed a bit better.

(edited to add)
I have 3 batteries, so if I know I might run all three down, I throw the first one on the charger and it is usually charged again when #3 dies. That's with the yard tools, so it's time walking around and cleaning up also. It's very rare that I run all 3 down, and the 1st one again. With the mower, if I was to try and mow a good sized lawn, I'd probably run the third one down and also run the first one back down again if I was mowing constantly. They do make a fast charger that takes, maybe 15 minutes? Not sure. They also make higher capacity batteries, but I don't have any of those - I probably wouldn't need more than two batteries total. Again, because of the deals I was finding when I got into this, I think all but one are the lowest capacity batteries.

Handy thing about the model of mower I have is that you can stick a battery on top of the mower deck, sort of tucked into a built-in handle, and have it right there to swap out.

 

[46er]

The one I bought has the 7.5 amp battery and the quick charger. The battery is heavy, 6-7 lbs, I can't see it being useable on a handheld tool for any length of time. They also have 2.0, 2.5, 4.0 and 5.0 amp batteries. I updated my post to the mfg stated run and charge time, and it appears from my experience so far their numbers are pretty accurate. Its real test will be in the fall for leaves, I have my doubts. The Snapper has an attachment, Snapperizer, that shreds heavy layers of leaves at a good clip, makes great garden mulch and compost. Have not seen anything that works as well for this chore. Having the Ego will give me the time to RorR parts for the Briggs & Stratton on the Snapper; partially disassembled it yesterday.

 

[Zach McGarvey]

I have the B&D Li-Ion string trimmer, which gets the job done, and prevents me from having to mix up 50:1. I work on vehicles for a living and the last thing I want to do on my free time is tinker with little gas engines that don't want to start, so eliminating that hassle is valuable to me. However, it doesn't look like an electric unit will be replacing my mower anytime soon- I have some very thick Zoysia grass that nearly stalls the gas mower unless I make multiple passes, beginning with a very high deck setting.

I just bought a new Craftsman mower at the beginning of 2017, maybe by the time that one is due for replacement the battery and motor technology will have advanced enough to be up to the task. I really like the idea of it-- especially since our gasoline seems to be getting more and more detrimental to the inner workings of small engine fuel systems.