TulaneLSU's electric lawn mower review after four years of use

Friends,

When my trusted five horse powered Honda Harmony died in the late summer of 2018 after twenty dutiful years of service to us, I was as lost as the Szalinski kids in their own backyard, surrounded by building-sized grass blades with the blade of a remote controlled Snapper in hot pursuit. Sadly, I had run over a large root that cracked the crank shaft making it essentially unrepairable according to a friend who is an expert in small engine repair.

That Honda grew up with me. It was the vehicle behind which I made my first $10 cutting a neighbor’s yard. Though I transitioned to a cut-at-no-charge service over the years, I still have that ten dollar bill in my nightstand. I love cutting grass, but come Front Day, most years, my service wound down for the late Autumn and winter before returning in late February or early March, usually around the time of Mardi Gras.

I wanted to get a good replacement and was doing my research when Advent and Christmas came around. I think I was leaning toward replacing it with another Honda, but Christmas morning of 2018 came. It, like all Christmases except one, was such a joyous occasion. It started in bed at 4:00, which is my normal rising time. I awoke with a smile and a chest of excitement.

Mother does not allow me to come downstairs on Christmas morning until 6:00. And so, patiently I sat in my bed, under my full sized Pendleton Glacier NP wool blanket, with my lamp on while I read the Christmas liturgy and lectionary from TBOCP, 1928 ed. When I finished it, I jumped into Letters from Father Christmas, which I enjoyed much more than LOTR. Memories of past Christmases filled my head, like when Uncle got me my Schwinn Black Phantom in 1995. As 6 finally arrived, I ran down our front staircase to the sitting room where I found a large rectangular box wrapped. Beside it were many unwrapped but boxed Christopher Radko ornaments that I briefly examined.

My interest, though, was in the box. When Santa does wrap my gifts I know they are going to be good and I know he is going to use two rolls of tape to make me work for it. Mother and Uncle had both been in the kitchen preparing the breakfast when they heard me. They entered the room and watched as I struggled to get to the box itself. And when I did, Uncle told me to hold it up and he took a picture of it.

The box was heavy. It was red and on its outside read the words Craftsman Electric Mower 60V. I was so excited and, at the same time, cautiously concerned that this mower might not be the best thing for my service and clients. I had read zero reviews on an electric mower that were more than a year old. There simply was no data on how good these devices would be three, five or ten years later.

Uncle encouraged me to charge up the battery, which took about an hour or so. Meanwhile, I changed into my Christmas suit and prepared my football outfit for later in the day when our family and friends met on Roosevelt Mall in City Park for our Christmas football game.

By 8:00 the battery was ready and I took the mower for a five minute spin. The weather was perfect, around 55 degrees. The grass was already dormant, so the short maiden voyage was entirely ceremonial. But I liked what it felt and sounded like.

Here we are now, four cutting seasons in, and I am ready to give you, my friends, my review of the Craftsman push mower with 60V battery. Let us start with the negative so that we can end on a high note.

As with rechargeable battery-powered machines, the number one complaint is always that one must plan ahead for use and charge the battery at least an hour ahead of usage. Planning is never a bad thing, but for some, planning ahead an hour is so inconvenient to them as to make the entire enterprise an annoyance they will not tolerate. The second knock on the electric device is that the battery can run out.

Most of the yards I cut are under half an acre. Most are either Saint Augustine of Hippo or Zoysia. Only once did I run out of juice before finishing. And that yard was in Bucktown and it had not been cut in three weeks through the last two weeks of July and the first week of August. It probably would have taken two to three tanks of gasoline with my old Honda to finish that job. I keep an extra 60V battery on hand, but it was only this one time I had to use it for one yard.

Those are the only two drawbacks I have in four years. Now, let us talk about the good. My favorite thing about the electric mower is its weight. My old Honda weighed 88 pounds with a full tank. My Craftsman weighs 65 pounds with battery. Those 23 pounds make quite a difference. I have always used self-propelled only, and think those boosted mowers are cheating for cutting, so jettisoning that extra weight makes the push job much, much easier. While I would regularly get blisters on my hands using my Honda, in four years I have zero blisters from mowing with my electric.

My second favorite feature of the electric mower is the noise. I do not know what the decibel readings are, but the electric is significantly less, perhaps 30-40 db less. Noise pollution is a major problem in our day, and anything we can do to reduce the noise we create is a gift to our neighbors. Thanks to the reduced noise level, I no longer wear ear defenders while mowing. This allows me to have actual, yet brief, conversations with neighbors and mail deliverers as they pass. It also allows me to mow early in the morning without waking up my neighbors. For instance, this morning I was cutting by 5 and finished by 6, having hardly broken a sweat. Be sure to do a test run with your neighbors. I did several years ago to ensure that my early electric cutting would not wake anyone, and so far, so good.

My third favorite aspect of the electric mower is its cleanliness. What a joy it was to get rid of my gas can. It always emitted noxious fumes, and it is estimated that Americans spill over 17 million gallons of gas refilling their mowers every year, more than the loss at Valdez! Even worse, is the fact that gas mowers, according to the EPA, emit 5% of all air pollution in America. Considering how little gas mowers are run compared to other things like cars, heating, and cooling, that 5% is a shockingly high number and points to the absurdly terrible standards our government has on gas mowers. It is reason enough for me to transition from gas to electric. No more oil changes. No more filters. No more carburetors getting flooded. No more burning my fingers on spark plugs or having to change them.

My fourth favorite reason I recommend electric mowers now is the ease of cleaning it and storing it. It folds up so easily, making cleaning and storage easier. I fold it and place it against the shed wall, taking up less than a fourth of the space a regular mower requires. Even if you have ample space, maximizing your space through thrift by folding the mower gives any space a tidier appearance.

I remember 2009 when we received a letter from the US government telling us that our 40” Sony Triniton television, purchased at Alterman Audio in 1992, would become obsolete when the transition from analog to digital was complete in June. We were horrified because we all loved that television. We wrote letters to our Congressman and Senators to no avail. The transition happened. Although we did not replace the TV and now go without a television in the house, most will agree that the switch from analog to digital was worthwhile for the population. So too would I argue that such a switch from gas to electric for our mowers would benefit the vast majority of people, save perhaps those who live on large estates.

Four Gulf Coast cutting seasons in, and 500+ cuts completed, I am as big a fan of electric mowers as anyone. I strongly recommend it.

Yours,
TulaneLSU