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Electric Lawn Mowers - Pros and Cons

What Are The Best Electric Lawn Mowers?

QUESTION: What's my best "green" lawn mower option? Human powered reel mowers are fine and all. But I'd prefer to buy something that runs on more than my push power alone.

So you want to go green huh? Good idea. Especially given the fact that gas-powered lawn mowers while small in size account for 5% of all air pollution in the U.S. according to the EPA. Which could be why more environmentally friendly electric lawn mowers are starting to catch on.

While we're talking stats, I saw another report that said your typical lawn mower puts out as much pollution in an hour as 11 cars do. Seems like a lot. Which I guess is why new regulations limiting these polluting exhaust fumes are hitting in a couple of years. Which I'd expect would begin to level the playing field when it comes to purchase price of gas vs electric powered machines.

Okay but you asked about eco-friendly lawn care alternatives. And if you want something beyond a push or reel mower than your best bet, you guessed it, is an electric mower.

Should You Go Cordless or With A Corded Electric Lawn Mower?

A cord can be a real pain unless you've got a quick snap in your wrist to keep it out of the way. Which is why most seem to prefer cordless mowing. Although having the option is considered appealing too. For when the battery is drained and you've still got grass to cut.

Now with today's top rated cordless models it's no longer true they are under powered or don't hold a charge long enough to cut more than a postage stamp sized yard. Of the mower choices currently on the market, all should last for about an hour on a full charge.

But as they say your mileage may vary. Rechargeable batteries of all stripes are known to lose ability to hold a charge as they get older. That and the time it takes to charge grows longer the older the battery.

Electric Lawn Mowers the Pros and Cons

Pros

The best things are there is no gas to spill, no oil to change, and no air filter to worry about. In other words you've got none of the maintenance chores you have with gas mowers.

Electric lawn mowers are a basically quiet lot. About as loud as a box fan at its highest setting. So they're basically not bad noise-wise, especially when compared to the loud roar of gasoline engines.

Nearly zero assembly is typically required. Which means you can get started mowing without having to wade through the manual while assembling the thing.

Lower operating costs means you save money as charging is MUCH cheaper than filling with gas - at these prices.

Generally these mowers start right up - often with the turn of a key much like a car or even better at the push of a button. Giving you instant on/off control of the mower. Which also means no chord to yank. And yank and yank in some cases.

Most offer a mulching option with side discharge or bagging of the clippings possible too.

Cons

Except for the price difference with a gas powered model most drawbacks in reviews deal with problems of powering your mower. Especially if you're depending on battery power. While if you've got a model with a chord - whipping that around isn't exactly a plus either.

But if yours runs on a battery you may experience battery issues. Like how long it lasts when mowing and the life of the battery overall. As often the running time declines to something less than what it was when you first got the mower.

The battery literally takes hours to recharge. It's also adds to the weight you have to push around when cutting the grass. Corded models will obviously weight less.

Some models are self propelled others not so much. And they will bog down in really thick, wet grass. But so will gas powered models.

And lightweight is not necessarily a word you'd associate with an electric mower.

Other Electric Mower Considerations

A few other things to watch for when considering purchasing an electric mower.

A battery life indicator is a plus. Gives you an idea of how much longer you can keep mowing.

While horse power is how to gauge a gas powered engine, you want to keep an eye on amps to compare the power of electric motors. Generally the more amps the more juice you've got going to the blades to slice through your grass.

Swappable batteries would be another good thing since you could take out the spent battery and replace it with a freshly charged one. Which brings up another thing to ask - how easy is it to remove the battery. And how much does another cost.

It's probably not a good idea to let your battery freeze. Doing so can shorten its life. Stored inside or in a heated garage will keep that from happening.

Anyway I'd expect most mower manufacturers like Toro, Honda and Deere to slowly get in on the enviro-mower act. As more and more consumers clamor for greener ways to cut the grass. For now electrics are available from Black and Decker, Craftsman and Homelite plus newcomers like Epic and Neuton.