Cordless Lawn Mowers - the basics?

[Stephen Tashiro]

What are basic facts about using and maintaining cordless lawn mowers?

From reading online reviews of cordless lawn mowers I only get a hazy idea. In particular:

Reviews mention having to "winterize" the mower by doing something to the battery. Removing it? Recharging it every 30 days during the winter?

Do cordless lawn mowers need an oil change every season like gas mowers?

Reviews mention that mower batteries can be left charging for only so many hours, so people put the charger on an electric timer. Is "the charger" built into the mower? or is it a separate piece of equipment?

Do the batteries plug into the mower like batteries on a cordless tool? Or do you connect them with cables like on a car?

[John C Lawson]

We had a Neuton mower, and I can answer some of your questions.

"Winterizing" - no clue, we never did anything.

"Oil change" - no, no engine, only a motor

The charger plugs into the wall, like with electronic equipment. Likewise, if you over charge the battery it loses its ability to hold a charge over time.

The battery goes in the mower and is taken out to charge. We always kept two batteries and swapped them, since we couldn't quite finish the job with one.

[terry mccammon]

I had a lawn boy that I purchased when we moved to our present home about 14 years ago. We have a small lot. I kept it plugged in all the time, summer and winter. Other than cleaning the underside and sharpening the blade, no maintenance. It was quiet and did not smell. It will not cut high grass, so if it gets long you need to set the mower to the highest setting, cut and then come back set where you want it. I used it with a bag. My lawn service graduated from college and went on Active duty so I retired the mower and use a local service.

[Steve Baumgartner]

My daughter has a Black and Decker battery-operated lawn mower. She doesn't like the noise of gas mowers and something about their vibration makes her hands go tingly. She doesn't feel safe dragging a cord around the yard while mowing. So, battery it had to be.

To answer your specific questions:
- We have never done anything other than putting the mower in the basement for the winter. I can't imagine what you would do to "winterize" the battery. She doesn't bother to charge it periodically during the winter, though that probably wouldn't hurt.
- There is no oil to change.
- The battery is sealed lead-acid mounted inside the housing. You never remove it except for replacement if it fails, and the connections are more like a car than a cordless tool.
- The charger on this mower is a separate unit, very similar to a laptop computer charger. It gives a relatively slow charge (like 12-16 hours full charge) with no indicator when it is full, so I suspect it is close enough to trickle charge that you could leave it on a long time without doing any damage. Lead-acid batteries are very tolerant of trickle charge. But I wouldn't leave it charging for weeks on end!


We got this mower about 6 years ago and it is still going strong. I don't know if by now they are making ones with lithium-ion batteries, but if so that would overcome the main objection to the one we have: it is *heavy*, significantly heavier than a gas mower. If you have hills on your lawn, that could be an issue. Also, like any battery-powered tool, there is a limit to how much you can do before it needs to be recharged. My daughter's lawn is about 1/8 acre and it easily mows it twice on one charge. This is important because the recharge is quite slow.

[Curt Harms]

We use a corded mower. There are only 2 maintenance items I do. Sharpen the blade periodically and I replace the brushes as required. I assume battery powered mowers would have brushes as well.

[Myk Rian]

Get a HF float charger for winter. http://www.harborfreight.com/automatic-battery-float-charger-42292.html
That's all you need do to them, other than keep the blades sharp.

[Pete Duffy]

Mine is cordless. Has a Briggs engine, change the oil a couple times a season...

Sorry, just couldn't pass it up.

[Brian Ashton]

What are basic facts about using and maintaining cordless lawn mowers?



You talked about batteries a bit but didn't bring up that they all (I repeat, all, no matter what the retailers say) will be pretty much useless in about 2 years or less. Probably less considering what a lawnmower will need from them in the way of power... I like the concept but I wouldn't buy one for any price. I have a pretty tight yard that would suite a narrower and lighter lawn mower than my present gas mower and plan to buy one in the near future but it will have a cord. And one things absolute. The replacement batteries will cost more than a newer mower when it comes time to replace them - that is if you can find them.