Lawn mowing goes electric

I joined the growing ranks of homeowners this spring who switched from gas to electric lawnmowers. So far, so good.

It all started back in April after the first time I mowed the lawn with my old gas mower. It needed an oil change and filter, a task I had always dreaded because of the mess it caused and then I had to find a place to discard the old oil. Plus, I’d inevitably have a leftover half bottle of oil I didn’t need which joined the ranks of other unused oil on the shelf in the garage. The old mower was running OK, but I’d had it for a number of years and decided now was as good a time as any to make the switch.

Several friends had gone electric in the last couple years and were happy with their new mower, There are now quite a few models out there, but I bought an Ego because it received good reviews from consumer groups and friends who use them. Mine was on sale locally and I got it up and running without any trouble.

Most full-featured electric mowers cost $500-$600, but you can find some as low as $300, which isn’t much more than a gas mower nowadays. When you consider there’s no gas, no oil, no spark plugs, no maintenance, the overall cost to own and operate an electric is probably cheaper than gas.

Electric mowers aren’t a new idea. I remember as a kid in the 1960s seeing a few electric mowers around town, usually on smaller lawns, but they needed power cords that trailed back to an outlet at the house. You always ran the risk of accidentally mowing over the cord and cutting it, so they never really caught on.

Electric mowers today are battery operated. They run for about an hour before they have to be recharged. It takes about two hours to mow our lawn, and I got two batteries with my mower, so it works perfectly. I could get by with one battery — mow the front yard, eat lunch, and finish the back.

Batteries are expensive, however. They sell for upwards of $300, so I was happy that I got an extra battery free as part of the sales promotion.

The cutting quality is comparable to a gas mower, but the maneuverability, particularly on slopes, is much easier with the electric since its deck is lightweight composite compared to a gas mower’s steel deck. At age 74, that makes a difference to me.

The other advantage is the electric mower starts instantly. No pulling the starter cord until your arm throbs.

This isn’t my first foray into electric lawn tools. Over the years I’ve accumulated a saws-all, hedge trimmer and string trimmer and like them all. The only problem is they’re all from different manufacturers, so none of the batteries are compatible. Great foresight on my part. At least the batteries for these smaller tools are much less expensive than for the mower.

Over time we’ll likely see the disappearance of gas-powered lawn equipment across the nation. California, Colorado and Washington, DC, have already limited their sale; Illinois and New York are considering bans, as are regions in Massachusetts, New Jersey and Vermont because they pollute the air. Not to mention they are particularly annoying when you’re trying to sleep. Although the electric mower is not as noisy as the gas, it’s not exactly whisper quiet.

I keep mowing my own yard because it’s good exercise. I walk about three miles behind the mower each week and that makes my doctors happy.

Happy Father’s Day to all of the dads out there! I’ll enjoy it happily mowing.