Wow! Amazing data organization! Thanks very much. I downloaded it all and will see if I can't get one of these - I'm awfully sick of gas mowers.

I hadn't considered cordless, I always assume tools without cords don't have as much oomph as ones with cords, probably not true anymore. My yard is really small, especially the lawn, which is getting smaller all the time, so I could probably get away with a corded model. My mom had one but gave it to her neighbor - it was too heavy for her to push. (Heck, she's 90!)

Let us know how you like yours, if it ever dries up enough to mow the lawn again.

Oh, on that spreadsheet, the first chunk of mowers are listed in the order that Consumer Reports ranked them. (yes, I am really organized)

Even if your lawn is small enough for a corded mower, cordless is going to be sooooo much more convenient. You will just have to justify the price difference. I use a corded leaf blower and its do-able, but really a drag dragging that cord around and keeping it untangled.

I used my new one a little bit yesterday just to see how it worked on the really tall part where the dog "fertilizes" it and the grass is 10 times taller than the rest of the lawn. It worked fine. I will report on a full blown mowing.

I bought a Neuton mower this winter, the smaller CE 5 model, when they were giving a bit of a discount. We got it at a store in Merrimac, NH. The previous season or two we used a non-powered reel mower, which works well except when the grass is too long, or if there are a lot of twigs in the grass.

I've used it once so far, last weekend. It seemed to do a nice job, though I want to reserve judgment until I have more experience, but here are some initial observations:

The pro's:
- Because our lawn is tiered we got the smaller version to save weight. The ability to easily pop out the battery and carry it separately also helps hoisting it up steps. It's not as light and maneuverable as the reel mower, but did OK.
- It's easy to adjust the height with a lever in the front. I had to adjust it a couple of times, the initial setting was awfully low. But one part of our yard is grass between paving stones and it looks better with the grass short, which the reel mower just couldn't do. The Neuton will work great for that.
- The battery easily lasted for the time it took to mow our admittedly small yard. If you have a bigger yard they suggest getting a second battery.
- I really like the fact that the battery pops out easily and can be charged away from the mower, so you don't have to store the mower near an outlet.
- It handled twigs OK, though I'd be nervous about trying it with bigger sticks.

Possible cons:
- I put in the mulching plug, but did end up with some clumps in the lawn that needed to be broken up/kicked around. However, the grass was perhaps a bit on the long side, and still a little wet from all the rain we've had. I'm going to reserve judgment on that until I can use it in better conditions.
- It definitely cuts a narrow path. I'm used to that from the reel mower, but if you're coming from a gas mower you'll need to make more trips.
- You'll need an edger, it doesn't get real close to walls. I guess no lawnmower is great on that, though.

My neighbors were certainly intrigued!

We switched to an electric mower three years ago. It took me the longest time to persuade DH to make the change. The old gas powered mower was always such a pain to start, not to mention all the environmental drawbacks and rather then buying one with an electric starter the next time around, we went with an all electric with a cord. DH thought the cord was going to be a pain, but it has been very easy. Our property is probably just right for it, rectangular, level, 1/4 acre. DH has repeatedly said to me, he is so glad I talked him into it. Music to my ears. :-)

well, I did my first mowing with my new toy. Here's the review. FIrst some background

- Neuton 6.3 36V 19" deck
- lawn size guestimate 8000 sq feet (1 bag fert not enough 2 bags too much)
- lawn is definitely not thick and lush. many thin sparse areas. Got a good look at all of them too! The height was erratic. First mow of the season.
- operator total novice! I have not mowed a lawn ever... some vague childhood memories of a push reel mower in urban setting

THe results:

- battery had more than enough power. At end of job, it had just started to go in the "yellow" zone (gauge split in thirds: green,yellow,red)

- I filled almost 4 bags. The salesguy said it would be 2. The bag got harder to remove the tired-er I got. The lid over the bag should have a way to stay put while removing the bag.

- Took 1.5 hours total, but I took 5 breaks! I'm not used to this. My lawn is partly sloped and even though I went across the slope, it was still an effort overall! I suppose it will get easier in time. I do feel like I got a good workout, which is a good thing. THe Neuton weighs in on the low end of all of them, so I'm sure this part is me, not the Neuton.

- a breeze to setup and use. Absolutely nothing involved but press a button and start. I had already had the handle adjusted to my height as well as the wheels.

-I also like that the battery comes out so I can keep the mower in its spot and bring the battery over to the outlet near the door.

- the fact that you have to keep the handle depressed the whole time was a pain. I would have liked a lock feature like broadcast spreaders have.

- Overall, I prefer the lawnmowing service - LOL, but under the circumstances ($$$), I guess this will be okay. Although when its 95 humid degrees out, I dunno... I think I will not be fertilizing or watering too much any more! I don't want it to grow too fast!

- I still have to get a trimmer for the edges. I saw that Black and Decker has a line of battery tools for the outdoors, including a string trimmer. THe Neuton does have a trimmer attachment accessory available as an option, but I think a separate stand alone trimmer would be more practical.

- quiet enough I guess....at least compared to gas mowers.

I'll give it 2 thumbs up for now. I think anyone's rating will be dependent on what they are comparing it to.. I'm comparing it to not doing it at all!

This is great info.

>- the fact that you have to keep the handle depressed the whole time was a pain. I would have liked a lock feature ...

LOL, Wendy, welcome to the 21st century! All power mowers have this now, it's a safety feature.

>I'll give it 2 thumbs up for now.

2 out of ... 2? That's pretty good - or are these dog thumbs, in which case it's be 2 out of 4?

Seriously, thanks for the info. Since my requests for an irrigation system for my birthday continue to be ignored, I think I'll try asking for one of these this year, just for a change of pace. DH picked out a new gas mower last year, which was a tactical error on my part; I do most of the mowing, and I suspect he just picked the cheapest mower at the local hardware store. It's an awful beast.

THought I would update the info now that I've used the Neuton awhile.

It made it through the horrendous rainy season we just came through, although it was a bit of a challenge at times. The grass was getting long and it was never sunny enough to dry it out so I had to mow kinda long and wet a couple of times.

- In the worst (longest,wettest) section I was forced to raise the height (from 2.5 to 3") or it would not handle it. Understandable.

- I was going into the "red zone" way too early and had to split up the mowing in two sessions. Not a problem for me, but it might be for some. With the excessive growth I think that was understandable. It charges to almost full in a couple hours so I can do pre-supper and post-supper mowing no problem.

- ALso, I've noticed that after a full charge the battery gauge is not quite at the full mark anymore.

- the charger doesn't indicate when it is fully charged, so sometimes I leave it in a few days just to be sure. the manual says something like 12-72 hours, which has got to be an exaggeration.

- Just mowed this morning (slight dew), not excessive growth and it was entering the red zone after 2 bags. Not good. I got about two-thirds of the lawn done and will finish up after a re-charge.

- To recap, first time out 4 (very full) bags used less than half of battery. today, 3 bags (not full) used most of battery. I think I will call the dealer and talk about this battery. I had a conversation with them awhile ago with a battery question and it sounded like they would readily replace it if there was any problem.

- I finally got the hang of emptying the bag easily. It is easier if it is not jam packed, like I was doing in the beginning.

- Overall, I really like this mower despite any negatives. Compared to using a service, it was great that I could mow precisely when there was an opportunity with so much rain we had, rather than being at the mercy of their schedule. I like the activity itself. I can be mindless and not think about anything if I want. (unlike gardening activity is filled with decisions and thinking and planning) I'm conditioned to the physical part of it so I am not getting the good workout any more, but it still is good exercise.

Did you get one?

Thanks for bringing this back to the top, wendyb. No, I didn't get one, because I was away for all of June and haven't had to mow. What the lawn looked like during my absence is anybody's guess ...

We are struggling with our gas mower, new last year from the local Ace hardware; it never ran right and I think DH will be kicking it to the curb soon. Since I hate gas mowers I may preempt him by picking up one of these before the gas guzzler meets its fate.

The battery problem is a worry, since that's the environmental weak spot with a lot of hybrid and or
electric devices. Could you keep us posted on that if you learn more?

Just to report again, that we just didn't want to go with a rechargeable primarily for cost reasons. We have a property that is level and rectangular with outdoor outlets so we thought it might work. Once you get the hang of positioning the cord out of your way with turns, no one has been complaining that it is such a big deal. Everyone agrees it is an improvement over the gas. An ordinary outdoor cord is allowing us to reach all points of the lawn with no problem at all. But the farthest point is not that far out I suppose.

Cordless mowers would never work for our two acre lawn, but I bought a cordless string trimmer (actually 2 trimmers since I wanted a spare) and I am in love with it/them. They are a no-name brand that cost 1/3 the price of the black & decker. They are so light weight and start instantly, no pulling a starter string until my shoulder is dislocated. I have 4 rechargable batteries and each lasts about 20 minutes before needing a recharge. All my flower beds and fences are neatly trimmed and I'm so happy!

I have a trimmer, but don't really have a use for it. I guess I'm happy about that! My lawn, what's left of it, is all bordered with brick edging - the beds are all rectangular, since this is a small, in-town garden.

My favorite "cordless" tool is my flame thrower, which does a pretty good job killing weeds in the paved areas - especially the gravel driveway.

Speaking of which, where is that thing ... I see the weeds have really enjoyed all this moisture; the driveway looks like a meadow.

I'll give a followup as well on our first season with the Neuton mower, the small version. So far so good. It's hard to find a time to cut the grass this summer when it's not at least a LITTLE wet, and since we're not bagging the clippings I have to occasionally kick around the gobs the mulching blade doesn't break up enough. My husband is enjoying it, he usually beats me to the punch with it. We've been keeping the battery plugged in all the time between mowings, though that's probably not the best practice. My only other warning is to be careful with the height adjustment: the lowest setting will REALLY scalp your lawn if you don't notice, or pull the lever the wrong direction.
All in all it's been a good purchase.

Is your flame thrower one of those specifically made for weed killing, Digging? I've eyed them over the years wondering how they would work. Now that I have my rechargable trimmers I'm not really in the market for one, but they've intrigued me. I think it would be fun to singe the evil weeds, but then in my situation I'd be more likely to start a brush fire.

Don't the weeds invade your brick edging? My weeds just laugh at the patio bricks in my flowerpot garden and come up between and around them, despite the tarpaper under the bricks.

The flamethrower is specifically made for killing weeds. I think there are bigger and better ones that throw more flame, but this one is still enough fun that my kids liked using it when they were teenagers. I don't think it would work very well in the garden, but on brick or better yet gravel it's perfect. It can discolor the brick, so that's a bit of a problem, especially in the wrong hands. DH once tried to use it to edge a brick patio; that was a disaster.

Yes, the weeds infiltrate the brick edging, but it gives me a target when I go through with a spade and slice off the grass. Recently I've been laying the edging with one row of bricks on edge, parallel to the border, and inside that a row laid perpendicular to the outer row. If that makes sense ... Anyway the on-edge row has a little more depth, and slows down the grass quite a bit.

lovesummer, how big is your lawn? How much battery drain? Does the small model have the battery gauge on it?

I just spoke to the dealer and they said to bring in the battery and charger for testing. "Could be a circuit board problem in the battery". However, I too have to wonder about the overall battery technology. I use rechargeable AA's in a lot of things and I have trouble with them. They seem to not last so long or maybe my charger is bad.

For a trimmer, I got the B&D cordless. It comes with a spare battery so that an extra can always be charged and ready. I have yet to run out. I only use about a half-battery at a time.

If I'm reading my assessment right, I've got a 7,000 sq. ft. lot (including house footprint). Fairly small, in other words, though we sometimes also do a bit of the neighbor's property that abuts ours. No, the smaller Neuton doesn't have a battery gauge so I can't tell how much juice is left when we're through.

I agree that rechargeable batteries are hit or miss. My current AA ones that I use in a digital camera are great, hold a charge a long time, but a previous pair was lousy. Plus I'm never sure which devices should be drained totally before charging to increase battery life, and which it doesn't matter.

> Plus I'm never sure which devices should be drained totally before charging to increase battery life, and which it doesn't matter.

I know what you mean. The newer/better/longerlasting (Neuton) batteries are lithium ion . And they do NOT need or want to be drained completely -- according to the neuton dealer.

The other kind are nickel metal hydride (NIMH) and they do best if they ARE drained completely before recharging.

My trimmer is the latter and the mower is the former. I put a little reminder note on my charging area to help me remember.

I would rather remember fertilizer stuff and bloom-times than tool stuff.

Neuton one year later. I think this says it all:

To: Neuton Technical Support
Date: March 24, 2010
Subject: battery price

I bought a Neuton 6.2 last spring and wasn't too happy with the battery performance as the season progressed. I spoke to my dealer a couple of times about it and they offered to test and replace the battery if necessary but I never was able to get back there.

This year I planned to check out the battery in the spring and I was contemplating purchasing a backup battery.

However, I see this year the price has gone up $30 for a new (allegedly improved) battery. Will you honor last year's battery price as a courtesy? The dealer would not.

Otherwise, I am considering returning the mower to the dealer within my extended risk-free period.

Wendy

======================================

Dear Customer,
Thank you for contacting us.
Were sorry that you are experiencing difficulties with your NEUTON Battery.
We have placed an order for a replacement Battery to be sent out to you under warranty. You should receive it shortly.
Charge the new battery for 24 hrs when you receive it and please follow these updated charging instructions.

If you are going to use two batteries, they should be alternated and charged for 24 hrs after every use regardless of how diminished they are but they should never be completely depleted. They should also not be left charging continuously because doing so may reduce their lifespan.

However, the batteries should not be neglected for months at a time during the winter because they will slowly discharge if not used and may lose their charge capacity if left unattended for long periods. We recommend charging them periodically during the off-season, every other month or so.
Be advised that we expect the battery to last 3 to 5 years but it is considered a wearable item and the warranty is only for one year.

====================================

<... periphery conversation deleted...>

======================

To: Neuton Tech support:
Date: April 22, 2010

I got my blade sharpened and attempted my first mowing of my 2nd season with my 2009 battery. A-W-F-U-L. It had barely any juice and is virtually useless. I followed all the winter charging instructions. It was indoors from October and charged fully once a month.

The grass is still thin and not very long and the mower huffed and puffed to fill maybe a quarter of a bag. When it hit a single tall thick patch of grass, it gave out.

Although you earlier kindly sent me a replacement battery for a somewhat-sluggish-but-still-functional battery (I thought), I had planned on rotating between the two batteries this year. That will not be possible.

So I reiterate my original request: I would like to purchase a 2nd battery honoring last years price - $99 - which my dealer was not inclined to do.

2nd problem: the battery gauge is broken. Even using the fresh battery, it sometimes flickers to yellow momentarily (if I toggle between auxiliary/off/on), but it basically stays motionless in red. Is this easily fixed/replaced? What is the warranty period for that?

-Wendy

Wendy,
I also have a neutron, loved it the 1st year but cant get it to start this year. Everything says its fully charged but I get no ignition, have you heard from the company as to your request? Thanks for the contact info as well i needed it as i could not find my paperwork. Let us know your results.

Thanks
Mark

What a downer. I really want an electric or battery mower and remembered the beginning of this discussion last year. I think a black and decker got a top review somewhere recently. Whatever mower we get has to be able to mulch leaves in fall. I am a convert to this method of leaf management, esp since we have maples all along the perimeter of the yard. They mat down in winter and just create a leafy soggy desert. Chopping them fine in fall creates lovely duff and more plants I like have begun to seed in.
But it is a stinky noisy polluter. And it starts every single spring without fail and just keeps going and going and going.

I think we are going into our fourth year with our electric cord mower. We are very happy with it and noone that uses it to mow the l*awn complains about the cord. We have not had one difficulty with it at all. We also use ours for chopping leaves in the fall. We just pour them onto the lawn and mow over them.

We got the new B&D (model CM1936, 19-Inch, 36V Cordless) this year. The directions say we can leave it plugged in all the time; the salesman also said lots of people had been having problems with older kinds of electric mowers because they were not fully charged going into the winter.

So far, we love this mower, but we know that may change as it gets older. I'll keep you posted.

dtd, does the B&D have a removable battery? the older models did not. Where is the mower expected to stay over the winter? I can't imagine that it would be good to leave it in the cold all winter long even if it was fully charged starting off. Yet it sounds like that's the deal.

Update: This year my new replacement battery was GREAT!!!!!!! I have never gone below the "green" zone (from green/yellow/red) all season. Yesterday I just mowed and the grass was high and damp and I mowed short--about 12-14 bags (usually 3-4). I only used HALF the Green zone. Amazing! Last year at this time, it would have been sputtering to do all that, flirting with Red zone halfway into it.

They never responded to my last questions, so cust service is iffy, but the warranty replacement battery was the answer. Apparently, the battery that came with the mower was not up to snuff.

I also am making sure that I don't overcharge it. The original instructions were vague - up to 72 hours to recharge. I now make sure no more than overnight, especially cause I hardly use any juice in the first place. Maybe thats related to better longevity...???

dtd: how is your B&D going?

Sorry I missed this back in April. We still love out B&D; we leave it plugged in all the time, in the garage, and have had no problems with it. I'm going to check the B&D web site and the manual before I decide what to do over the winter. I don't even know if the battery comes out, and I'm not sure what we'd do with it if we removed it...