Electric Lawn Mowers

What To Look For In Electric Lawn Mowers

If you're planning on buying a new lawn mower, you might be consider electric lawn mowers rather than gas. They have a lot of advantages over gas-powered mowers but there are a few drawbacks as well. Let's look at what you should consider when buying an electric mower.

First, how much space do you have to cover? Because electric lawn mowers generally have to be plugged into an extension cord, you have a limit on just how far you can go from a power outlet. And since the power delivered to the mower drops off as you get longer cords, stringing multiple cords together or even just using a really long one isn't the best option.

You can get around this issue with a cordless, battery-powered mower like the Black & Decker CMM1200 or the Toro 20360, but the battery charge may not last long enough to cover your entire yard if you've got a fair bit of space to cover. And if you're cutting longer grass or weeds, it requires more power which will run down the rechargeable batteries even faster.

One of the big advantages of electric lawn mowers in comparison to gas-powered models is the ease of maintenance. Gas powered mowers have a motor that works on essentially the same principles as the one in your car. And as a result, it needs more regular maintenance than an electric model - an annual tune-up, so to speak.

Plus, there's nothing worse than getting halfway through your yard and running out of gas, only to find you don't have any more in the gas can. Having to run to the nearest gas station to refill the can really adds to the time it takes to cut a lawn!

Electric lawn mowers are also less expensive than gas models, in general. They typically range from around the $150 mark for a mower like the Snow Joe MJ401E, to upwards of $400 for cordless models like the Black & Decker CMM1200. A good mid-range mower that typically gets positive reviews is the Black and Decker MM875, which costs around $250.

There are lots of well-known brands to choose from, like Remington, Toro, Lawn-Boy, Homelite and "house" brands like Sears Craftsman or Home Depot. If you really want to avoid doing any work, you could even choose an automatic model like the Friendly Robotics MM200, which does it all for you.

Comments page 2 of 2
Click here to add a comment
Bryan
Posted 597 days ago
Sharell's comment brought something to mind. Doesn't equipment have to work harder when the extension cord is longer? How long a cord can you reasonably expect to use with an electric lawn mower?
Sharell
Posted 607 days ago
If our yard was a little smaller, I'd go with an electric mower over our gas model, but it's just too much of a hassle dealing with a cord long enough to stretch around the yard.
Kirstie
Posted 611 days ago
One of the things I really like about my electric mower is no more gas spills and smelly hands. It's a little thing, but it just seems a lot cleaner to use and maintain.
Sade
Posted 626 days ago
I had to trade my electric mower in for a gas model. Our yard has a lot of slopes and the grass can get pretty long between cuts sometimes. The electric mower just wasn't quite powerful enough to manage it.
Gonzalo
Posted 633 days ago
I bought the Snow Joe MJ401E you mention in the article and I'm happy with it, even though it was on the cheaper end of the scale. It's been reliable and works great for our yard.
Rex
Posted 635 days ago
How do you guys find the battery life on those cordless mowers? Our yard isn't huge, but it's a reasonable size lot so I've always wondered if the battery would last long enough to get the whole job done.
Jeane
Posted 645 days ago
Yeah, I'm really happy with my B&D cordless lawnmower too. I never really minded the cord on my old one, but now that I don't have it I don't think I could go back to a standard electric mower.