Gas or Electric (cordless) Lawn Mower

I just bought a house with a big yard and need to buy a lawn mower...I'm intrigued by the cordless lawn mowers...has anyone had any experience with these? Any suggestions?

 

Do you have children? I got my son a push along one.

 

I have a friend who has one - he can't keep a charge long enough to finish his entire lawn.

 

He has about a 1/2 acre of grass. That would be helpful, I suppose.

 

How many children does he have? Its not unreasonable, surely, to have a couple of strong sons mow up to half an acre once a week? Giving them power tools to do the job just encourages childhood obesity one would think.
Jazz - possibly a goat would be an option? (if he has no children)

 

I don't see how any of that is relevant to reviews of an electric lawn mower. That's the question here - not how to help my friend mow his lawn.

 

Gas. Electric yard tools (especially chainsaws) suck a fat one. When you need to get the job done in 2011, you use something powered by fossil fuels.

 

The truth, right here.
I have an "issue" with chain saws so I am using my battery powered reciprocator out in the woods to clear some brush.
Works well.......for about 20 minutes. Then back in the house for a recharge.
That's fine for occasional trail clearing like twice a year, but would not be cool for a weekly chore like mowing.

 

Gas definitely has the power behind it, battery technology has come a long way but its not where it needs to be to rival a gas mower right now... plus, you get a work out pulling the cord...

 

My neighbor used to mow with a corded electric mower. It was quieter and did the job.

I still like the robotic electric lawnmower idea. If I had a lawn, I would look into them. But, I don't plan to ever have a grass lawn anymore.

 

We have a big yard (lot is just under an acre) and I got a riding mower.
The idea of emptying the bag every 5 minutes and the wheel barrow every 15 just wasn't going to work for me. Didn't want to spend half the day mowing. Other option with a push mower was raking after. Not gonna happen.
Even with the riding mower, still takes a couple hours to do the entire lawn.
...and then there is the trimmer.....

 

When I had a lawn to mow (which was ages ago) I used an electric mower. It was corded. I can't imagine using a cordless one.

I had a pretty good sized yard and it would take me about 30 minutes to mow the whole thing. The electric mower had more than enough power, I never had to worry about gassing it up, It was a lot quieter than the gas mower I used at my summer job and I never managed to run over the cord.

The cord was never really all that much of a hassle. You just need to keep an eye on it... and I had a three-year-old to help keep it out of the way AND hold my beer for me.

 

When I had a tiny lawn (about 6 mtrs by 4 mtrs) I had a push mower and shears for the edges. Now I'm looking at buying 100 acres it's going to be mowed by sheep.

 

I'm going to disagree. I get about 2 years out of any 2 cycle engine before it needs a $50 tuneup, toss in another $20 for a new blade. A 14" electric capable of dropping 17 trees ran $49.99. The only issue is really the cord length, once you pass 100' the voltage drop is enough to cause the motor to get hot.

 

Yeah, I'm talking actual chainsaw work and not something you can do a short shot away from your garage. They don't put electrical outlets in parachute pack trays. If I'm going to buy a chainsaw, I'm going to buy one bigger than 14" (a little small for old forest) that I can use more than a football field away from my home and that operates during a power outage. We've obviously got a different mindset. I understand that less is more for most situations but sometimes you just go big for those 1% scenarios. It's why I carry a tow strap and gunshot kit in every vehicle. You never know.

That and Ash (Army of Darkness) would have been fucked if he'd used an electric.