Just seen the advert with the Gtech guy showing off his new battery mower, now I think battery mowers are not new but some of the things he was saying was an advantage could be questioned by some of the traditional guys..
No smell of petrol...
No tricky pull starting...
Hang on these are all the things some of us LIKE about playing with the mower! Don't take that 60 minutes of me time away!
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I notice the adverts for the bike don't show a price.
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My mower is 30-something years old. I know that, because it still has the chocolate block I put into the cord when I ran over the cord circa 1983.
Had the blades done once or twice since then, still cuts like a demon.
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My mower's B&S engine starts very easily. No hard pulling.. just a gentle tug on the rope.
No smells of petrol. Copes with wet long grass.
I looked at electric lawnmowers 2 years ago. With over 1/3 acre of grass, you need to be able to cope with two weeks' growth... No electric lawnmower big enough (20" cut) was available then .. and if it is now then £££...
I cut my neighbour's grass. With his and ours, that's two hours cutting every week. If the wheels are not driven, then I cannot cope ..
Last edited by: madf on Sun 29 May 16 at 06:07
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Not sure how big a market there is for a battery powered lawn mower. I wonder how long the battery lasts?
We just use an electric mower and an extension cord, the garden isn't very big but big enough for us. It's about 15 yrds by 20 yrds.
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My US friends have one. I've used it several times when sponging off them... Household & gardening chores in exchange for free lodging ( and use of cool tub & smokes!)
It has a removable battery, rather like a 3/4 sized car battery and when it is out of charge having mown half their extensive lawned area I fit the spare.
Personally I would prefer a petrol mower, but they are tree huggers ( in the nicest possible way). It leaves a nice cut and stripes
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My parents had one of these from around 1965 until eighties:
www.oldlawnmowerclub.co.uk/mowers/moms/mp036-atco-battery-mower-1950s60s
Performed rather better than the article suggests in that it would normally just about finish their large (at least by modern standards) lawns on one charge. Used what was essentially a car battery but with a second +ve terminal allowing a 9volt supply for slow manoeuvring. Took a good 24hrs to charge though and there was a spill hazard with the acid electrolyte if the mower turned over for any reason. Tha was a hazard at home as it needed to be powered up a ramp over steps up tp the raised rear lawn area.
Manufacturers tried to sell rotary hand propelled machines in the early noughties using leakproof lead acid gel cells but they were hampered by poor performance and long recharge times. Bought one when we moved here and only used it for a couple of years before interrupted cuts led me to dump it for a petrol.
Modern versions with 36v LiOn batteries and 90 minute recharge look a better bet for those wanting cordless without the noise smell and vibration of petrol.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Sun 29 May 16 at 08:44
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Neighb has a Husqvarna battery mower, big 20" thing, jist as well it's self-propelled, as she is 77 and has an arty fiscal hip + recent full knee joint replacement surgery.
I've recently purchased a battery vacuum cleaner. I only goddit to do the tiled floors in the kitchen etc. but it appears to work much better than I first ass-umed.
I would consider buying a battery mower, as I have several battery operated devious devices which work well, but for the amount of lawn I have here, I'll be a'sticking with my 9 year old 18" Izy for now.
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I too have a G tech vacuum. Bought two + years ago. A brilliant piece of kit. Best domestic appliance I have by far.
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Don't you have "people" for that sort of thing LL?
Takes all sorts I suppose.
;-)
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We have a Gtech sweeper, like the old Ewbank with rotary brushes that flirt the dirt into an on-board hopper. Good performing bit of kit, mostly used on the plain burgundy carpet in the dining room when a certain member of the household has finished his lunch.
It sits in it's own charger and is as light ass a light thing to use. No lawn though ! Thinking of removing a rectangle of flag stones and having a false grass panel in their place. Might be able to use the Gtech on that !
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Slightly off topic...but related to petrol mowers, I'm just in the process of changing my camping stove over from paraffin to white-gas (looking for something a bit cleaner to burn) and the Aspen range of fuels seem quite popular for 2 stroke and 4, very clean burn without many of the fumes. I know my son was going g to try it in his chainsaw but it is expense for 5 litres (4t = £28).
White-gas (Coleman's) is naphthalene so I'm trying car panel-wipe which is the same stuff but at the fraction of the price, looks good so far, clean burn with little soot and if you spill any then it evaporates without any residue.
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>> I too have a G tech vacuum. Bought two + years ago. A brilliant piece
>> of kit. Best domestic appliance I have by far.
>>
+1
No tripping over the blasted cable as it tangles under your feet.
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We have a corded Bosch Rotak 43cm, nice and light, that SWM uses in the little front 'lawn' and the piece immediately behind the house.
I use the self propelled 21" Izy on the rougher stuff furthest from the house, usually an hour's mowing if I don't collect the grass, nearer two if I put the grass box on.
There's a battery version of the Rotak, so I assume there's a big enough market for them somewhere even if it isn't the UK. We're on our second mains one, the first one seized up somehow but we'd had it a good few years so we bought another. It's less than half the price of the battery version and quite powerful. I can't believe a 36V 4Ah battery will have the same punch. From the reviews, people like them although one or two mention that the grass has to be really dry.
43cm cordless w 2 batteries www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00S4Z8BUE
Mains version www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004JMY4SO
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>>Mains version www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004JMY4SO
Ever-so slightly cheaper.
8-)
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What I'd like in a mower is one that has the wheel track less than the cutting width, so that when you drive close to an edge the blade overhangs a few inches but the wheels don't run into the ditch.
If they need a wide track for stability then the overhang could just be on one side only.
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Go to the Bosch Professional stuff and 2 grand buys you one of these monsters, 0.5kWh of battery, and a charger.
www.lawnmowersdirect.co.uk/product/bosch-gr53-professional-battery-powered-lawnmower
and in action: www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8n6HLjD0XU
Last edited by: Lygonos on Sun 29 May 16 at 20:21
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My Friend has two Rabbits in a pen that she drags to a different patch every other day, creates an unusual textured - looking lawn!
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What, all the piles of little brown rabbit poo? :-)
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Same with our hen ark. I thought the by-products might enhance the grass over time bit it doesn't seem to be working, even though they get the moss out with all their scratting. The eggs are OK though.
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>>What, all the piles of little brown rabbit poo?
I could always bring my two dogs along ... they'd eat it.
:-(
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Battery lawnmower - bathtub tom
