Electric-mower GO!
 

So apparently my Aunt and Uncle had an electric push mower that quit working, they told me about it Sunday, and I picked it up today. It's a Black and Decker somethingorother, 24V.

Apparently it's either a board malfunction, or a fault. Not sure which. But one battery appears to be leaking. Not a big deal, I was expecting to replace it anyway. The batteries did spin the motor up when I jumped it.

My goal, hopefully, is to be able to get it running, toss it on the back of the 'mule, (which is how it made it's way home in the first place), and go mow peoples lawns. Maybe if I feel like getting fancy, I'll rig up a series/parallel relay so I can just hook it to the bike to charge on the go, in case I need to do multiple lawns in one day.

Best part is its a plastic deck, so no rust (except for parts of the handle). :thumbup:

Black and Decker recalled most (maybe all) of their push mowers back in 2004 to replace a broken part. You should see if yours was ever replaced.

I have the same one, I got it for free from a guy who never knew they recalled them.

Any idea what part that might be? I saw nothing broken, at least nothing other than the batteries.

It is just described as "an electrical component".

Here is more information, including how to tell if yours is fixed
Toolmonger » Blog Archive » Black And Decker CMM1000 Mower Recall

I have the Australian B&D Stealth mower (12v 36A), bought for $5 as is.
All I did was wire a large horn relay into the handle switch as a stop/go control, mounted an isolator switch on the casing for emergency use (can't be to carefull as the wife uses it) and charge it with a smart charger I already had, and replace the battery with a couple in parallel that I already had, been running for over a year now with no issues.
It's a great mower for suburban use, quiet, no smell, always starts.
Doing the above gets rid of all the original electronics so it is easy to work on in the future.

I'm just about to move into my new house, so for the first time I actually have a lawn to mow. I'm thinking about an electric mower because I'm not a fan of lawnmower noise (I work shift), and I am a fan of EVs. :P

I'm going to have to find one cheap, though. I wonder if there are any in the quokka.

Hi,

An even greener alternative is to get one of these:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...qL._SS500_.jpg
($120 with free shipping at Amazon - click for link)

Our Little Acre: Gilmour Reel Mower RM30 - A Review (Part I)
Our Little Acre: Gilmour Reel Mower RM30 - A Review (Part II)

20" width, ball bearings, self sharpening, spring-loaded blade tensioner, straight handle -- I got two of these for my Quaker Meeting and they work very well. You can use the clippings catcher for small areas, but for large areas go without it.

[Edit: these are much quieter than a power mower, but they do make some noise. Pushing them is pretty easy -- no harder than pushing a non-propelled power mower. If you stay ahead of the growth, you'll be fine -- and if it gets too long, I use a grass whip (double-acting scythe) afterwards!]

It does make a noise like an industrial fan though, just so you're aware. I guess that sound is normally covered by the roar of an ICE, but either way, no midnight mowing.

I have a corded electric mower from Sears, I remember when buying it that it looked awfully similar to the B&D model next to it on the aisle.

It runs a treat. 10 years on, I reckon it's overdue for a blade sharpening.

One thing I've noticed is that my two main lawn care workers (teen sons) are perfectly willing to let go of the deadman switch at the drop of a hat, then start back up again. I've tried to train them out of it, but they keep doing it. I'm 98% certain that's why I've had to replace the switch guts twice, and I know why they do it, too:

They've never used a gas mower. Once you've had to pull the damned engine to life more than twice on one lawn, you learn to do all the branch picking, and dog shoving, and rock shifting before starting the engine.

^ I'd say equal parts lazy kids, and bad switches. I expect switches, regardless of their purpose, to last a minimum of 100,000 cycles. Any less, and the switch was too low quality for my standards.

That could be what killed one of the batteries. Maybe. Dunno.

I gave some thought to having it fixed, but since I'm going to put non-stock batteries in it, I thought it better to just rig up a new electrical system for it.

A woman friend down the street has that same 24V Black and Decker mower.

If you have any specific questions about that mower, I could go take a look at hers, take photos for you or whatever.

She likes hers a lot.

That looks hard to push
 

How easy is it to push one of those? I prefer the riding lawn mower my parents have to mow the yard. Granted it's a few acres.