Neuton Electric Mower

17 years ago

About this time last year I was searching for a new mower and was interested in an electric, but could not find much information here or elsewhere. For those in the same position, I thought it might be useful to give feedback on the mower we bought. We're in the Northeast and have about 2/5 of an acre, mixed terrain, with one nasty slope.

Although my wife was deeply skeptical I ordered a Neuton electric mower, and told her not to worry because they had a half a year return policy. We've been extremely pleased. Easy electric start, low noise, light enough to use on a heavy slope, cuts tough grass, the battery is easy to take out and charge, I love not having to deal with gas and oil, etc. We have not problem cutting .4 acres with one charge, and we often let the grass grow fairly long. With a battery, the harder it has to work, the shorter the charge will last.

It's more expensive than comparable gas mowers. If you wait for one of their deals or get a refurbished model you can get it for under $350. In the long run, you'll get the difference back from lower operating costs. They say a full charge runs only about 15 cents, much better than gas and oil. The machine does not need yearly tuneups and I'm guessing will not be in the shop for engine work like my neighbors.

If everyone in my neighborhood bought one, we'd have quiter weekends.

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Comments (9)

rdaystrom
17 years ago
Must be a different feeling using a quiet mower.
gentrify1
16 years ago
I'm considering the Neuton CE 6.2, a 19 inch mower. Are you still as positive about your Neuton now as you were in 06?
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This is my second season with the Neuton (the cheaper, less-powerful one). I bought it both for the environmental benefits and because it's light and easy to use. I love this mower. My lawn takes less than an hour to mow, even with the smaller cutting width of the Neuton, so the smaller cutting width didn't matter to me. Like the poster above, I love that it's lightweight, ridiculously easy to start, and easy to push. I haven't had any problems at all with the Neuton, even when the grass is a bit overgrown or damp. Though because it's so much easier to use, I don't mind mowing more often. Speaking of tbe environmental impact, I understand it costs about 15-20 cents to charge the battery. And I know they're burning fossil fuels to get the energy I use to recharge, but they're doing it a lot more efficiently than is done on thousands of individual mowers, and there's some regulation as to fumes. And if you're going to compare the effect of throwing out one battery every 5-7 years to the gallons of gas and oil used in the gas mower, you should also compare the environmental impact of the mowers themselves. The Neuton is almost entirely recycleable, and easily so. I could tear it apart pretty easily andput almost everything in curbside recycling.
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I have had many lawn mowers over the years - the large wheeled ones I did not like it seemed like the wheels always got loose - the metal rod holding them got bent or something. I don't like self-propelled because the self-propelled part will eventually give out and then you will have a lawn mower that weighs a ton and trying to push it on your own. I have trouble with gasoline mowers, nothing more frustrating than getting all worked up to mow and then not being able to get it started. But part of that is probably me, maybe my arms aren't long enough to pull it out all the way. I had a couple of lawn mowers that developed fuel line leaks which can be quite dangerous/disastrous. So I finally gave up and bought a Neuton Electric Mower and I loved it - had it for quite a while - it recently gave up the ghost though and if I buy a new one that would be what I would get. No worry about gasoline, no cost of gasoline, they are light and easy to push, they are much quieter and much safer I think. it lasted far longer than any gasoline mower I had although I never bought one of the very fancy more expensive models. I didn't buy bottom of the line either. Maybe a Lawn Boy like my dad had would have been better if you can afford the price if you want a gasoline mower. I really liked and am sold on electric, no nasty fumes and when everyone else was prohibited from mowing because of ozone alert, I could still go out and mow!
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"I'm looking for an electric mower for my small, .2 acre yard. It would be nice to have a cordless mower, but I am not sure if its worth the extra cost and hassle of dealing with batteries since I have such a small yard. " "Questions: 1. Will the corded 12 amp mowers like the Black and Decker MM575 and MM875 offer better cutting performance vs. the CMM1200 cordless mower? " Likely so because it uses a more powerful motor. "2. Why is the larger MM875 cheaper on Amazon than the MM575? Am I missing something, or are these two almost identical except the 1 inch larger deck on the 875? " The exception you mentioned is not trivial. "3. Why are the Neutons so much more expensive than other cordless brands? Are they that much better? " They do an excellent job of marketing their lawn mower.
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Time for a bump for this green thread in the relatively dead "Going Green" section. I bought a Gilmour 20" mower from Amazon a few years ago and actually like it in spite of having the worst kinds of grasses and weeds for such mowers. SW Florida here with a lawn full of several types of tuff grasses and lots of scrub weeds. The reel mower is a good device for when grass isn't growing much but I have found that the rainy/growth season overwhealms it. In the dry season I have areas that are dormant and a few low areas where the grass needs to be clipped every few weeks. The reel mower is easy to put to the task at a moments notice to knock down the trouble spots while not having to wrestle the gas mower out of the shed and deal with fuel and oil checks. This year I decided not to use the gas mower at all but instead purchased a Neuton battery electric mower. I still use my Gilmour push mower some but with that thing I often have to mow each path twice to get that perfect look. It misses some blades unless the grass is sparse or areas of tender stuff. The Neuton really kicks butt in that one pass does the job and it's about as quiet as the reel mower, just a different sound. Kind of like a fan. Both the electric and reel mower are better for my allergies. I have sneezing fits almost always when I use the gas mower. Never with the reel or electric. The battery powered mower makes sense for me. It cuts this tuff mess of southern "grass" nicely on the first pass and it doesn't make the ragheads richer or pollute the air. The electric rotary mowers (or any rotary mowers) will cut the seed staulks that none of the reel mowers can get without doing a special dance turning the mower pivoting on one wheel. I have a large solar power system that makes a bit more electricity then I use so it's kinda cool to have a solar powered lawn mower. My yard is fairly large so I bought two batteries so I can cut the place without losing cutting power and not drain either battery down more then about 50% of charge level so the batteries are not cycled hard and should last. Time will tell on that. Still, if I had softer more tender types of grass like I remember feeling so good on my feet as a child in the North, I would bet the reel mower would be perfectly fine for full time duty. For me in the South, it serves as my Winter mower. Oh, and when people walking past stop and ask me what makes the thing go, I tell them it's Beer powered. LOL
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roadbike
16 years ago
Interesting. How well does it mulch and bag.
dcavner
15 years ago
An update or comments from other Neuton owners would be great! I'm able to trade a gas model for a discount on a Neuton or B&D electric (http://www.aqmd.gov/tao/lawnmower2009registration.html) but am finding mixed reviews everywhere I turn. I always trust this forum to get the straight scoop.
roadbike
15 years ago
Some half-truths from the Neuton website.

"Makes less than half the noise "
Yes, I'm sure it is quieter than a gasoline mower. I'm guessing that the generating plant is not particularly quiet though.

" Emissions - free"
Nonsense unless the owner has figured out a way to transform energy into electricity without creating pollution in the process. A tall order for sure...
"Push-button start"
Not much of a benefit over a key start gas mower.

"Only 69 lbs"
A powered gasoline mower requires little effort and weighs maybe 30 pounds more. A 69 pound mower has to be pushed around no matter whether it uses gasoline or electricity to spin the blade.

"Plenty of Power"
Gasoline mowers have plenty of power to spin the blade too. And many of them have sufficnent power to power the mower up hills.
CaptTurbo
13 years ago
For me it would truly be emmission free and from power that was silently generated. I have a 10.12 KW solar system that powers my home and generates about 20% more then I use which I sell to the grid.

I'm taking my time but will eventually buy a battery powered mower. If the neuton had a bit larger deck I think I would grab one.
drew_in_va
13 years ago
captturbo - check out the Toro "e-Cycler" 36v (3 x/ 12v motorcycle batteries) w/20" deck. I am very pleased by how it cuts and mulches the steel deck is the same as a regular push mower.
CaptTurbo
13 years ago
Actually I went to my local ACE Hardware to look at the E-cycler a couple days ago. They didn't have one. They had all the gas models but no electric ones. I'm thinking that the Toro might be a bit heavier then I want to push. I might be wrong. I was hoping to get to see one in person.

I like the idea of using the plastic housing (Neuton) for weight reduction and corrosion resistance. I have an aging Toro Recycler now but have not been using it much. Instead I have been using a 20" Gilmour manual reel mower, That mower gives a very nice cut if you don't mind making two passes in places.

Ive been using the reel mower more for the excercise then the "green" factor. It does push very easy and the lack of fumes and dust is nice too. A light cordless mower would be nice to add to my fleet of mowing equipment. I just don't have any neighbors that have one that I could check out so ordering one would be taking a bit of a chance.

If you would, please give me more details on what the E-cycler is like to run. Can you remove the battery pack to recharge it away from the mower? How is it on slopes? Is it easy to push up hill? I have some back injuries that can cause some pain at times pushing a heavy mower for too long at a time. Thanks for any infor you can share.
mazda626awd
11 years ago
I bought the CE-6 (19" deck) mower back in 2008. It was on sale and came with some accessories and a discount on the spare battery and string trimmer attachment. Even so , it still was expensive. Its been a love hate relationship. I have .22 acres to mow with many obstacles. It takes a little over an hour and I needed the second battery even when they were new. At the time I bought it, the spare battery was $75. Yesterday one of my batteries died. The new Duracell goes for around $130. However, if you remove the 2 screws on the end of the battery pack, you will find (3) Kung Long WP10-12SE sealed batteries like those used in UPS computer back up power supplies. When I removed the batteries, I found they had buldged and split. I don't know if it was from trying to push the mower beyond the power charge or from keeping the battery connected to the charger. The best price I've found for the replacement batteries was $24.20 each with a shipping charge of around $15. A bit cheaper than buying from Neuton.
On the love hate issue. I complained about this just after I got my mower, but the issue didn't provoke me to return the mower within the 6 month trial period. I live in Northren Neck VA. near the Potomac River. Even when the grass seems dry, the clay soil still holds a lot of moisture. This causes the grass to stick to the underside of the mower. I tried waxing the area and other ideas that might prevent sticking but nothing has worked. I have to clean the grass out almost every lap around the yard. The grass build up causes the blade to use more energy and shortens the charge in the battery. Also using the side discharge shoot doesn't propel the clippings very far and this shoot is so close to the ground that it digs in almost everytime you pull the mower back toward you. As far as noise goes, its a different frequency than the gas mower, but the pitch and decibels are such that I recommend hearing protection.
Ease of use, I think this mower is rather heavy to manipulate. We have ditches where our yards meet the roadway and it is hard pushing this mower around and into them. The mower is light until you put that nearly 30lb. battery in place. Than the mower is heavier then the 20" Murray I use as a back up. And if you are using the string trimmer attackment, you are really moving the nose of this mower around to get the trimming done.
The mower being made out of plastic presents a small problem due to the thickness of the sides and the axle space at the nose of the deck preventing you from getting close to things.
The best thing about this mower is the low profile, no gas and oil, the one lever wheel adjustment, easy handle bar adjustment and little metal to corrode.

Neuton Electric Mower

Comments (9)

rdaystrom

gentrify1

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