I decided to retire my Toro Personal Pace self-propelled gas mower after learning about the emissions that gas mowers produce.
Here's an interesting fact:
"Testing found that operating a typical gasoline mower with a four-cycle engine produced as much [Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons] (PAH) as driving a modern car about 150 km or about 95 miles. This means that unless you drive more than 95 mph, your mower actually produces more pollution per hour than your car!" Not to mention, the concentrated dose of several types of pollutants experienced by the mower operator.
Needless to say I was on the lookout for a zero emissions mower that was battery powered; I didn't want to deal with long cords. I narrowed it down to either a Neuton Battery Powered Mower or a Black & Decker Cordless Mulching Mower. The Black & Decker cordless mower had the added benefit of being an energy star product. The other difference was the cutting path; the Neuton product was only 14 inches while the Black & Decker product cut 19 inches.
Home Depot was having a summer sale and they had recently marked down their Black & Decker cordless mower from $449. They also price matched Walmart and I got the mower for only $386 ! Home Depot also carried the HomeLite 22" cordless mower which was listed at a much lower price of $349 (compared to $449).
Over the weekend I assembled the Black & Decker mower and it was as easy as taking the mower out of the box and unfolding the handle. The mower weighs about 80 lbs which is about 20 lbs less than my other gas mower. It is small and compact and comes with a full 2 year warranty. It's also got a sleek, aerodynamic look.
I read through the instruction manual and noted that it takes approximately 9 hours to fully charge the battery. Black & Decker went as far as to include tips on mulching and maintaining the lawn. By keeping the grass 2.5 to 3 inches and mulching it every time, mowing the lawn becomes a breeze.
Yesterday, I took the mower out on the lawn. My biggest concern was the life of the battery. My back yard is about 1/3 of an acre and that's the maximum size that the mower recommends. I adjusted the height to about 3 inches using their one touch height adjustment system and mowed the lawn in less than an hour!
There are other benefits over the gas powered mower as well. For one, my ear drums didn't take a beating; it was so much quieter. It's also easy to start without the need to do multiple pulls. The cordless mowers are less powerful than the gas mowers but if you maintain your yard it shouldn't be a problem.
I'd recommend the Black & Decker Cordless Mulching Mower if you are thinking of reducing your emissions and going green.
I think I'll retire my edge trimmer next !
