lawn mower

We Do the Math: Will an Electric Mower Trim Lawn Care Costs?

Dr Penny Pincher — Wed, 02 Aug 2017 08:30:11 +0000

When the recoil starter on my old walk-behind gas lawn mower broke again this spring, I decided not to spend time and money repairing it, even though I had just changed the oil and replaced the spark plug and air filter. In fact, I decided the best way to avoid problems with the recoil starter in the future was to replace it with a mower that does not have a spark plug, motor oil, air filter, gas tank, or starter!

My new lawn mower is powered by a rechargeable lithium battery instead of gasoline. Running my lawn mower on electricity means I can avoid some of the hassles of maintaining a gas engine, such as:

Trips to the gas station to fill the gas can
Oil, air filter, and spark plug changes
Pulling the cord and adjusting the choke to get it to start

While there are clear potential benefits of switching to an electric lawn mower, can you also save money? Let's look at the total cost of ownership for gas versus electric walk-behind mowers to see if switching to electric could save you money. (See also: Here's How Much Getting the Greenest Lawn Will Cost You)

Gasoline vs. electric push mower

If you want to replace your gas push mower with an electric push mower, you have two options: a corded electric mower or a cordless electric mower.

Corded electric mowers

You can get a corded electric mower that plugs into an extension cord. Using this can be feasible if you have a small yard that is within reach of an extension cord. Corded electric mowers are the cheapest option for electric mowers in terms of initial cost, and you never need to worry about replacing batteries.

Cordless electric mowers

If you have a larger yard, or if you don't want to mess around with an extension cord, you can get a cordless electric mower. These use rechargeable electric batteries — typically lithium batteries. If you have a larger yard, you may need more than one battery to mow the whole yard in one go. Rechargeable batteries typically have a life expectancy of around five years.

Initial cost

There's a wide variety of push mowers available with different features and levels of capability. Depending on the model you choose, you can find a corded electric mower for about the same price or even less than some gas push mowers. By contrast, a cordless electric model can run $100 or more over the price of a similar gas model. For the purposes of comparison, I've chosen examples of machines with similar capability that could mow a typical medium-sized yard.

Poulan Pro 21-Inch Hi-Wheel Gas Push Mower: $235
Greenworks 12 Amp 20-Inch Corded Electric Push Mower: $179
Black & Decker 60V Max 20‑Inch Cordless Electric Push Mower: $315

Operating costs

The main cost to operate a push mower is fuel — either an average $2.30 per gallon for gas or around 11 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity to run a corded electric mower or to charge the battery. This works out to a fuel cost of about:

Gas push mower: $1.50 per half-acre
Corded electric push mower: $0.50 per half-acre
Cordless electric push mower: $0.10 per half-acre

Let's say you mow your half-acre yard once per week for four months, or 16 times per year. The annual cost works out to:

Gas push mower: $24.00
Corded electric push mower: $8.00
Cordless electric push mower: $1.60

Now, let's say you own your mower for 10 years. The total fuel cost over 10 years works out to be:

Gas push mower: $240.00
Corded electric push mower: $80.00
Cordless electric push mower: $16.00

Maintenance costs

Of course, batteries don't last forever. Let's assume you'll need to replace your rechargeable battery after the first five years, once during the 10-year life of the mower, at a cost of $75.

A gas mower will need regular maintenance that electric mowers do not require. Let's assume you change the oil once per year, and change the spark plug and air filter every other year for an average maintenance cost of $15 per year.

All of the lawn mowers will need to have the blade sharpened or replaced periodically, and let's assume that costs $20 every other year, or $10 per year on average.

10-year total cost of ownership

Here is an estimate of the total cost of ownership of a push mower for 10 years.

Gas push mower: $725

$235 initial purchase + $240 gas + $150 engine maintenance + $100 blade sharpening/replacement = $725

Corded electric push mower: $359

$179 initial purchase + $80 electricity + $100 blade sharpening/replacement = $359

Cordless electric push mower: $506

$315 initial purchase + $16 electricity + $75 battery replacement + $100 blade sharpening/replacement = $506

With either a corded electric push mower or a cordless electric push mower, you will save a significant amount on gasoline and routine maintenance each year. There is a periodic cost to replace batteries as they wear out for cordless models, but the savings on gasoline and engine maintenance outweighs this expense over the life of the mower.

Depending on the model you choose and the size of your yard, a cordless electric push mower can save you money compared with a gas powered push mower. And a corded electric push mower will save you money over both of the other types of mowers.

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This article is from Dr Penny Pincher of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Stuff We Love: A Lightweight Electric Lawn Mower

Elizabeth Lang — Fri, 27 Sep 2013 10:22:21 +0000

We recently moved from a house with a tiny yard to one with a much larger yard. At our old house we used a push reel lawn mower (which was awesome because it cut the grass well, I got good exercise using it, and it required no gas or electricity to run). With our new house and a much larger yard, not to mention a giant hill, we knew there was no way we could continue to use the push lawn mower. So we bought an electric lawn mower.

Why I Chose an Electric Lawn Mower

Knowing we would need a new lawn mower for our new house, we started looking at options. The smell of gasoline fumes makes my spouse sick, and as I did not want to be the sole person in charge of our lawn, we started looking at corded-electric and rechargeable-battery lawn mowers. After a bit of research we decided that we didn't want to worry about the battery wearing out and not holding a charge in a few years, so we opted for corded electric. After spending hours and hours reading reviews we decided on the GreenWorks 3 in 1 Electric Lawn Mower.

What's Great About It

The best thing about the GreenWorks Electric Lawn Mower is that it's not a gas mower. There is no gas to remember to buy and then stink up your yard on a nice night. But beyond that, this electric lawn mower has a number of great features. It's easy to assemble right out of the box (it pretty much just unfolds). Here's what else I like about it.

It's light and easy to maneuver (even up a hill).
It cuts grass to a very low setting (1.5 inches) to a quite high setting (3.75 inches).
It has a 20 inch cutting width.
It comes with a 4 year warranty.
There are three settings for the discharge: mulch, clippings (bagged), clippings (unbagged).

What It Compares To

There are a large number of corded electric lawn mowers on the market. Black and Decker offers several as does Earthwise. However, after reading the reviews and considering our options, we decided that we wanted a 20 inch cutting path (most others range from 16-19 inches). Our previous reel mower was only 16 inches wide and those extra inches add up quickly. Also, we wanted a mower that had an option for bagging if we wanted it. (Right now we just use the side mulch.) And ultimately, at the price point ($175) for the only electric lawn mower with as many good reviews as the GreenWorks has, we decided we couldn't go wrong.

Who It Is Best For

The GreenWorks electric lawn mower is best for someone who is looking for a corded electric lawn mower who has any size yard (except a huge yard, see below). It has zero gas emissions and is lightweight and easy to use.

How It Could Be Better

The one thing that I don't like about the electric lawn mower is the cord. Due to the size of our yard we bought a 100 foot extension cord. It is always tangled when I go to mow the lawn (no matter how good of a job I did putting it away the previous time), and I have a hard time mowing the lawn in just the right pattern to avoid the cord. But, I would have these problems with any electric lawn mower; they are not unique to GreenWork's design.

What They Don't Tell You in the Manual

There are two things to know about buying a corded electric lawn mower for a larger backyard with a hill.

First, regardless of the size of your yard, you want to start mowing from the point closest to the electric outlet. As long as you are always mowing away from the outlet you won't run the cord over. My spouse can do this perfectly. I, on the other hand, constantly seem to have the pattern in such a way that I have to move the cord.

Second, if you have a hill, you should mow across the hill and not up and down. You don't need a self-propelled electric lawn mower (this mower is not, like most), even for a hill, because the machine is light enough that it's very easy to push. But, if you're using it on a hill you will definitely want to cut across the hill and not mow up and down it.

Bottom Line Recommendation

If you're in the market for an electric lawn mower, the GreenWorks mower is the best mower you can get (at a great price).

Where to Get Yours

You can buy the GreenWorks electric lawn mower on Amazon for about $176.
You can also buy it on Mowers Direct for $199 and on Sears.com for $169 (plus tax, depending on your state.).

Get yours today!

Do you have an electric lawn mower? How do you like it?

This article is from Elizabeth Lang of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

The 6 Best Lawn Mowers

Jeffrey Pu — Thu, 01 Aug 2013 09:48:38 +0000

Having the right machine can make mowing the lawn significantly easier. There are a lot of factors to think about when choosing a new lawn mower, so here at Wise Bread, we've narrowed down the selection to our top six. (See also: Shopping Calendar: The Best Time to Buy Anything)

What Is a Lawn Mower?

A lawn mower is a machine that uses rotating blades to cut grass down to an even height. There are many different types of mowers, so make sure to take your specific needs into account when making a decision. Manual-reel mowers are inexpensive, don't pollute, and don't require an external power source aside from your own strength; however, they do tend to cut slightly less evenly than powered mowers. Electric mowers perform well, but not quite as well as gas mowers in tall or thick grass. Gas mowers, while great at cutting lawns evenly, come with the side effects of being noisy and producing exhaust emissions. Finally, lawn tractors are available for those with serious lawn mowing needs.

Best 6 Lawn Mowers

Honda HRX217VKA

Great performance and ease-of-use makes this Honda lawn mower a top recommendation among self-propelled gas mowers by Consumer Reports. Aside from being able to cut through tough grass, the Honda HRX217VKA also performs well in mulching and bagging, which makes maintaining a nice, clean lawn remarkably easy. Quick start, easy handling, and five different drive speeds also make this model extremely simple to use, which is well-appreciated among users. It's also relatively quiet compared to other gas mowers, clocking in at 89 decibels. (Hearing protection is still recommended for anything beyond 85.)

Cub Cadet SC100 11A-A92J

Another Consumer Reports Best Buy, this gas Cub Cadet push mower excellently handles mowing, mulching. and bagging and is perfect for small to medium-sized lawns. Another stand-out feature of this Cub Cadet model is its top-notch engine and easy handling, making pushing, pulling, and turning a breeze. However, like other push mowers, it lacks a blade-brake clutch, which allows you to stop the blade but not the engine if you need to a pause while mowing.

Black & Decker LM175

An extremely well-reviewed electric mower, the Black & Decker LM175 excellently handles smaller yards that come in at under 10,000 square feet. Users agree that its cut quality is superb, and it is capable of side-discharging clippings as well as bagging with an optional catcher. However, this Black & Decker model does not include a mulching feature. Users love how easy it is to use this lightweight, durable, and extremely quiet mower, but its electric cord can be a bother for some. Currently $148.99 on Amazon.

Black & Decker CM1936

The Black & Decker CM1936 is one of Consumer Reports' top choices for those looking for a no-hassle, cordless electric lawn mower that is perfect for small lawns. This battery-powered model does an excellent job of both cutting and mulching and performs admirably in bagging and side discharging. Users like that it is easy to use, with a straightforward process for removing and replacing the battery. Currently $379.99 on Amazon.

Fiskars StaySharp Max 6201

A highly recommended choice for manual reel mowers, this Fiskars StaySharp Max model is known for being well-built, safe, and better at cutting tough grass than other manual mowers. While it fares well against most lawns, it will struggle with some taller, thicker stalks of grass. Nonetheless, users note how easy it is to use this Fiskars lawn mower, which includes adjustable height and a comfortable grip. Finally, folks who prefer manual lawn mowers love that it doesn't require an external power source or produce exhaust emissions, and they appreciate the bit of exercise that pushing the mower provides. Currently $199.00 on Amazon.

John Deere D110

As mentioned before, lawn tractors are for those with serious grass cutting needs. They are significantly more expensive and require much more investment than your typical walk-behind lawn mower. Having said that, for those who need it, the John Deere D110 is a highly recommended choice from Consumer Reports. With even cutting in all three mowing modes and excellent mulching, bagging, and side discharging features, this John Deere is an all-around top-performer. This model also includes other features to make it easy to use, such as a number of different drive speeds that can be changed without shifting and the ability to check fuel levels without leaving your seat.

These are our choices for the top six lawn mowers for you to consider. Be sure to check out the Wise Bread Shopping Calendar to learn when and how to buy just about anything!

This article is from Jeffrey Pu of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

10 Out-of-Fashion but Totally Frugal Old Tools

Mikey Rox — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 10:24:13 +0000

We all love the convenience that modern technology affords, but that convenience often comes with a hefty price tag.

You don’t have to pay top dollar for newfangled devices, however. You can save a sizable sum by swearing off appliances and other tools with batteries and cords in favor of their old-fashioned counterparts that only need a bit of elbow grease to get the job done.

Time to get nostalgic then. Here are 10 such tools. (See also: The Best 10 Items to Borrow)

1. Push Reel Mower

This early lawn mower design makes me laugh because it’s probably one of the most dangerous devices ever made. I’m sure some fingers and toes were lost in the '50s and '60s due to curiosity and negligence. But if you're smart enough to know that you shouldn't stick your digits anywhere near spinning, exposed blades, you'll be OK. The push reel mower is powered by forward motion, so you're saving money on gas versus a modern-day push mower or an extremely expensive riding mower. Plus you'll get lots of exercise trying to push it around the yard to get the job done. This frugal device is not for the faint of heart — it's a serious workout. Bring water.

2. Washboard

The first thing I think of when the image of a washboard pops into my head is “Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas;” I think it was a beaver who used this tool as his instrument of choice. While you’ll be hard-pressed to find a washboard outside of an antique store, this is a frugal tool that I can totally get behind. A lot of my clothing is delicate — wools, cashmeres, etc. — so I sometimes prefer to wash single items by hand. The washboard can help release the stains much quicker than trying to scrape them out with your fingers or a quarter (and don’t act like you’ve never done the latter).

3. Eggbeater

While it’s called an eggbeater, this device is a multipurpose beater that preceded your handheld electric mixer or that coveted Kitchen Aid. I’m not sure why it was even used for eggs in the first place — a fork works just fine to beat eggs in my house, as I’m sure it did for the pilgrims — but the beater came in handy for other mixtures (like cake batter) that required more beating gusto than a fork can produce. While the old eggbeater is frugal, it’s also a tool that requires strength and stamina. Have you ever tried beating anything with this device? After about 30 seconds you’ll realize why it’s extinct.

4. Paper Maps

Confession time — I have never used a paper map to get anywhere because I don’t know how to read a paper map. Does anyone, really? The only examples I’ve seen of people using paper maps end in them arguing and crumbling it up — which is not a sign of people who are getting along fine with the map. (Besides, by the time I reached driving age, MapQuest was invented.) The benefit to paper maps over your phone or GPS, however, is that there are few errors. Paper maps are painstakingly created so they’re virtually perfect, whereas today’s technology can malfunction and send you off course.

5. Meat Grinder

If you want to avoid paying premium prices for ground beef, invest in a meat grinder and turn cheap cuts of beef into hamburger patties with just a few cranks of the handle at home. A meat grinder is ideal for any kind of meat that you want ground up, and some versions have an attachment so you can turn ground meat into homemade sausages. Throw those puppies on the grill, and you'll definitely wow the crowd with your culinary skills.

6. Payphone

Are you as surprised as I am when you see a payphone? And when did they all disappear? It was like some covert government operation eliminated all the payphones one night while we were sleeping. In any case, the payphone is infinitely cheaper than your cell phone when you compare how much you actually talk on the phone by how much you pay for it. The base rate of my cell phone plan (just to make calls) is $46.99 a month. Last month I talked for 42 minutes total, which means that I paid $1.11 per minute. If I didn't like texting so much or reading Wikipedia at night under the covers while my husband is snoring, I'd definitely drop my mobile plan and seek out a payphone when I need to make my two phone calls a month.

7. Typewriter

There are plenty of arguments on why the computer is superior to the typewriter, but if you have no use for the Internet and you don’t mind producing documents spotted with Wite-Out, by all means return to using the typewriter and save. Plus, a typewriter has that retro-cool thing goin' for it. It's also the perfect device to use if you want to be crafty with gift tags or individual thank-you cards.

8. Floor Sweeper

Dyson does an excellent job of making a vacuum cleaner look sexy; people think I’m crazy when I ask for these newfangled products for Christmas. (Yes, I might be the only boy in the world who is happy to receive appliances and cookware as gifts.) However, if you don’t want to spend upwards of $400 dollars on that brilliant ball design, a floor sweeper will pick up all the same crud from your abode for much less. Other benefits include no cord to trip over or wrap up and no noisy motor to send your dogs into a tizzy.

9. Abacus

One of my Facebook friends suggested this old-fashioned-but-frugal tool, and I agree 100%. Anybody who was in high school in the late ‘90s knows that most modern curriculums required a high-priced, huge calculator designed by — for the most part — Texas Instruments. (I should have bought stock in that company 10 years ago.) The truth is, though, my purchase of that calculator was a major waste of money because I couldn’t care less about any kind of math beyond basic arithmetic (and because I mostly used it to play games in math class). I didn’t need algebra, calculus, or trigonometry then, and I sure as heck don’t need it now. Long live the abacus and its simple, cheap system of teaching us how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide.

10. Can Opener

Another confession — when I was living on my own for the first time, I had no idea how to operate a manual can opener. It was foreign to me because I grew up with an electric one. But just because I didn’t know how to use it doesn’t mean that I don’t think it’s a valuable tool. In fact, I think an electric can opener is probably the most useless modern device mention on this list. I also think it was invented by the laziest person on the planet. Comparably, how much faster does an electric can opener open a can than a manual opener opens a can? Like five seconds? Come on. I’ll stick with the thing that costs $3 instead of the one that costs $30.

Time to chime in. What other old fashioned, frugal devices can you think of? Do you still use any of them instead of the modern devices? Let me know in the comments below.

This article is from Mikey Rox of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

7 Ways to Improve the Life of Your Lawn Mower

Annie Mueller — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 10:24:05 +0000

When I first got married, I couldn't have told you the difference between a carburetor and an air filter. That's one of the things I love most about marriage, actually — how educational it is. My husband is a small-engine mechanic with multiple certifications and shop manager at the family business, Arco Lawn Equipment. I never knew how much there was to know about lawn mowers, but I've picked up quite a lot. This list is compiled from my husband's top tips for getting the most use out of your lawn mower. (See also: 6 Slick Tools to Save Money on Car Repairs)

1. Maintain Your Lawn Mower Every Season

Lawn mowers are getting cheaper and cheaper, and many people see them as disposable commodities now — purchase, use, and just get a new one in a couple of years when the old one wears out. That's one way to think about it, but it's not the smart and frugal way. Even if you purchase the cheapest lawn mower out there, you can extend its life and get better performance from it by maintaining it regularly. It's not too difficult to do an at-home service, either. The basics you should cover are changing the oil, putting in a new spark plug, checking (and replacing, if necessary) the air filter, and lubricating the machine.

2. Keep the Blade Sharp for Better Cutting

A dull blade on your lawn mower will tear off the grass rather than slice it cleanly. Torn grass will turn yellow or brown at the tips, making your yard look like it has some sort of horrible disease. Not exactly the lush, green look you want. Keep your blade nice and sharp. You can sharpen it yourself, or you can remove it and take it to a lawn mower shop and get it sharpened for usually under $10. Make sure it's tightened back on properly.

3. Use Your Owner's Manual

When you purchase a new piece of equipment, spend fifteen minutes reading through the owner's manual. You'll find out all sorts of interesting tidbits, like where and how to lubricate the mower, what kind of oil to use and how often to change it, how to tighten the blades down, how to troubleshoot minor problems, and other tips. Don't assume that your new mower works just like your old mower. Some lawn mowers need to be lubricated around the gears, wheels, and axles; others have a "closed system" and don't need to be greased, and that's just one possible difference. A few minutes doing a bit of reading can save you lots of time and money.

4. Use Fresh Fuel and Keep It Fresh

Gasoline has a high percentage of ethanol in it, and that ethanol decomposes rather quickly. For a lawn-mower engine, this can be problematic; the old, broken-down fuel creates this gunky kind of varnish that can cause the whole fuel system to act like it hates you. If your machine is starting and dying, revving up strangely, or just refusing to run at all, fuel varnish might be your problem. Purchase a handy little item called fuel stabilizer, and add it to the gas can every time you fill it up. It's cheap, and it will keep your fuel stable longer.

5. Check the Oil with Every Use

Yes, that's right — every single time you use your lawn mower. It takes 30 seconds to pull the dipstick, wipe it, and do a quick check. Keep the oil filled to the correct level, and use the right kind of oil. Too much oil will make your lawn mower smoke, and too little oil will cause all sorts of problems, most of them expensive.

6. Clean Wet Grass Out From Under the Deck After Every Use

Those clumps of wet grass can cause corrosion on your lawn mower deck, which will end up shortening the life of your lawn mower unnecessarily. It's not difficult to get it out from under the deck, especially if you do so as soon as you're finished mowing. Use a stick or a screwdriver to encourage those stuck-on clumps to come off. If you hose your mower down, be sure you let it sit out in the sun to dry thoroughly before you park it back in the cool, dark garage.

7. Get to Know Your Local Lawn-Equipment Shop

I'm a little biased here, admittedly, about how much cooler family-owned shops are than big box stores. But seriously, even if you purchased your mower at the big box store down the street, you can benefit from the expertise of the employees at a smaller shop that specializes in lawn equipment. If you're someone who likes to tinker with stuff yourself, you can get help finding the right parts. Many smaller shops also run regular specials; my husband's business offers annual deep discounts on pickup and delivery, which is a huge savings as a pickup/delivery service can run up to $50 in our service area.

This article is from Annie Mueller of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread: