An inconvenient purchase

We are now edging, trimming, and mowing our lawn with a zero carbon footprint (aside from the impact of the manufacture and shipping process). We've been using corded (not cordless) edger and trimmer for years. By paying a little extra to the local utility company, all of our electricity comes from renewable sources (wind, solar, etc). And the mower I just bought today is a corded electric Black & Decker mulching mower. I'd actually bought a Neuton cordless mower, but it didn't have enough power to cut the St Augustine grass here in Florida, so I returned it. Well, now that I've tried the Lawn Hog, I'm real glad that the Neuton didn't work out.

The Lawn Hog was US$229, $184 less than the Neuton (the Neuton was $359 plus $20 for a mulching kit, plus $34 shipping). The price difference makes some sense, since this new mower has no battery. Batteries are expensive to buy, and also would have to be replaced every 2 or 3 years. By using a corded mower, we have no lead battery to deal with, no charger running 24x7, and this thing is powerful. I was amazed that it cuts better than our 6.5HP gas-powered mower! The first grass I tried it on was the small remaining patch in the fenced back yard, that needed about 3 inches of height cut off. The Lawn Hog hummed right through the tough St Augustine grass, and mulched it up with no problem whatsoever (we have no use for the rear bag, since we let the mulched clippings fall to the lawn).

Now, some folks don't like having an electric cord hanging from their mower. I can understand that. It is definitely inconvenient. But the very first mower we owned 25 or so years ago was an electric that we'd bought at a garage sale, so I was comfortable with the cord thing. And it's worth it to save money on the purchase, save hassle and expense on the maintenance of the mower going forward, and best of all, to know that mowing my lawn is no longer polluting the air. Oh, and it's quieter and doesn't stink :)

Comments

[Pat]

I bought an electric hedge trimmer awhile ago, and accidently clipped through the cord. I'd probably do the same with an electric mower. Happily though, with the lack of rain, I haven't had to mow that much.

[Kevin]

I own the exact same one... and it DEFINITELY needs to be used tonight. I keep putting it off because the grass finally looks green after such a dry summer here.