Marvelous mower
Written: Oct 06 '03 (Updated May 11 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Cuts as well as my old corded electric without the hassle of the cord.
Cons: Heavier than a corded electric, must be stored with charger connected at all times.
The Bottom Line: For small lawns, the B&D cordless mower sure beats the hassle of gas powered or corded electric mowers.
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| cartan's Full Review: Black &Amp; Decker Cordless Mulch Mower Cmm1000 |
Having used the same Toro corded mower for 30 years on my small lawn, I wanted to stick with an electric mower as a replacement, rather than revert to gas. The price of the Black & Decker cordless mower seemed prohibitive, until I found a "factory reconditioned" one at a B&D "Factory Outlet" for $229. This pristine unit never touched a blade of grass, and I couldn't see a mark on it where it might have been repaired. It seemed to have a full charge.
Brought it home and it cut my entire lawn (est. 3000 sq. ft.) with the charge that was already on it. Plugged it into the charger, and the next day, it was ready to go again.
I prefer to bag the clippings and like the convenience of a rear bagger. My old Toro had a side chute which limited the way I could go around the yard. The cordless mower does a good job of throwing the clippings all the way to the back of the bag so that the bag is full before the chute starts to clog.
The mower sounds about as loud as my corded mower did, much quieter than any gas mower. Without a cord to drag around, my mowing time is cut in half.
On my front lawn, I have Zoysia, a very thick, tough grass. The cordless mower cut through the Zoysia as well as my corded mower did. On my back lawn, which is heavily shaded, I had recently overseeded with new shady lawn grass seed, which had grown to about 4 inches and was ready for its first cut. I checked the blade, and although new with no dings, it was not to my razor sharp standards. I sharpened the blade, and then proceeded to cut the new grass. The mower did an excellent job, without tearing the grass. Since it was dry, the mower didn't even leave any wheel marks.
My recommendations for anyone considering a cordless electric mower are:
the lawn should be 6000 square feet or less,
a second blade should be purchased, so that one can be kept razor sharp and ready to replace the one on the mower as soon as it gets the least bit dull,
the grass should only be cut when it is dry,
and don't expect the mower to do the job of a bush-hog. Cut the grass before it gets too long.
The instructions recommend keeping the mower on the charger all the time, so that power should be available wherever the mower will be stored.
Update: May 11, 2005
The mower has spent two winters in my shed on the charger, and works like new when I drag it out to cut grass the rest of the year. I just recently learned of a recall of these mowers, and the serial number of mine was on the list. The instructions were to "stop using the mower immediately and take it to an authorized B&D repair facility". Here it is the Spring of 2005, the grass is growing inches per day, and I'm supposed to take this mower back, at the start of the mowing season, to a repair facility, and wait.... and wait... and wait??? No information from Black & Decker on exactly what the electrical problem was. Nine mowers out of 200,000 had fires. The recall was initiated in October 2002. I bought my mower from a B&D outlet in Oct 2003. Would they have sold a defective unit a year after the recall? Does the "F" appended to my serial number indicate that the unit was already repaired under this recall? It was a "factory reconditioned" unit, and perhaps this explains why the unit had never touched a blade of grass when I purchased it. Nine out of two hundred thousand??? I think I'll take my chances and keep on mowing. I have a higher risk of being in a car accident taking my mower to a repair facility, than of having a defective mower.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
cartan
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Reviews written: 27
Trusted by: 3 members
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