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silverfalcon81

Electric vs. Gas

silverfalcon81
11 years ago

Alright, I have read a few of the threads on here, most of which appear to be a bit old so I want to try this.

I am debating the purchase of a decent electric mower. That said, I would like to provide some background here.

1) I own a nice briggs & stratton, 26" deck, 6.5 hp, rear drive gas mower. I love my mower. I clean it after every use and it looks as new as the day I bought it. I have lovingly maintained it, sharpen the blade 3 times a year, and don't let anybody touch it but me and my wife (under supervision).

2) My lawn is not great. I redid my entire property two years ago, reseeded it with a few bags of slower growth (blue grass & fescue mix I think) grass. I lost my job, things got tight, and I wasn't able to really maintain it beyond mowing it for a year. Now money is still pretty tight, but the weeds are back in full force and my once beautiful lawn looks like crap.

3) I plan on weed & feeding it and throwing some more seed down next week to try and fill in the bare spots and choke out the weeds. My wife has never had a nice lawn in her entire life and I am damned and determined to give her and my son a beautiful lawn to play in.

4) That said... my wonderful mower is killing me. I am spending somewhere around $9.00 a week on gas (at current prices), which is pushing $40.00 a month, and because of our climate I have to mow for about 8 months of the year, so conservatively I am paying out about $320 a year for gas plus around $25 for maintenance supplies and blade sharpening.

5) Earlier this spring I bought us a Earthwise TC70001 11-Inch 8-1/2 Amp Electric Tiller/Cultivator to work the garden and prepare my flower beds. I was a bit worried that it wouldn't have the oomph to pull it off... but I have fallen in love. That little thing just tears up everything in it's path, requires no gas or oil, and is just a little beast. I followed that purchase with a Earthwise ST00015 15-Inch 6.25 amp Electric String Trimmer which I have also grown quite fond of.

6) That means the only gas outdoor device I have left is my mower. I love my mower, but the cost is killing me. So I am looking into trading my beloved mower in for an electric. That leads to my overall question. What electric mowers are good, not built to cheap disposable standards, and have the power to do the job. I will add a few notes:

a) I don't care about self propelled. I do have it on my existing mower, but I find I rarely if ever use it. I have a nice flat lawn now with no dips or hills, so it is easy to push (and helps me lose weight!)

b) I DO NOT want batteries of any kind. Batteries are a pain to charge, tend to die after a few years, are rather expensive, and frankly are just a hastle I do not want to deal with.

c) I prefer a larger cutting deck, but I don't mind spending my time mowing (again trying to lose weight).

d) I want it to bag or mulch, I usually bag it because I hate having grass on my feet when I walk through my yard to the chicken coop. Plus the chickens LOVE to pick through the pile of grass clippings I throw in their coop.

e) I have already wired plenty of outlets around my property and at no time will I require more than 75' of cord, though I have several 100' heavy duty cords to use if need be.

So... given that information... any ideas? Please don't flame me. I understand the electrics are not as powerful as the gas mowers, I am looking for honest and helpful critique please. Thanks!

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