I used a Black & Decker corded mower for over 12 years on Florida St. Augustine, 1500 sq ft front yard with about the same in the back. No mower maintenance at all 'cept sharpening the blade, just plug in and go. I'd second the opinion to skip the battery model. Start cutting closest to the outlet and go back and forth working away from the cord. I could cut all the grass in 30 min including take out & put back of equipment. I bought a new B&D electric after a dozen years just for the new style, the deck was plastic but I never had a problem with it. Nice green instead of the old almond metal. These mowers might cost a very little more than the cheapest Kmart gas unit but your break even point will be less than 18 months. Thinking about it, they have less maint than a vacuum cleaner. When I was a kid I pushed around a Sumbeam twin blade electric. Wonder what happened to it? Now that I'm all growed-up I spend 45 min cutting with the Lawnboys then hours and hours tinkering with them. If I was in your situation, and just wanted to do a good job of cutting the grass and be done with it, I'd go electric in a heartbeat, which is not quite as fast as a N.Y.Second.

I've had one for five years or so. I replaced the battery this year for the first time. I think it was $70 with the old battery as a "core." $120 if you don't have an old battery to exchange. Mine is a Black and Decker. I cannot give it extremely high rating for cutting quality. It seems the blade does not spin fast enough. It is very nice to never have to worry about points, condenser, spark plug, gas, air filter, oil, smoke, and noise.

I plan to do a 36 inch smoothtop electric cooktop (not induction) over a wall oven. No huge criteria for the oven other than that it must fit under the cooktop, and I'd like to be able to fit a turkey in there with some other dishes as well. Don't care about induction. Any recommenations?

I'd advise you to go to a specialist mower outlet where staff know what they are talking about and you can try the machines for weight and handling. Too many people end up with a mower that isn't up to coping with their size of lawn. A mower that struggles is a pain. Do make sure that the grass box is large enough so that emptying is not too frequent an event. It's difficult to make recommendations when you don't know a person - their size, strength etc. You I think will be the best judge of what is right for you. I hope you find the ideal machine.