Changing from petrol mower to cordless electric

[woody1]

I've always had petrol ones. Currently got an AL-KO 18" which has been brilliant but is now coming to the end of its life (corroded steel deck).

When I bought it, many years ago, I did consider cordless electrics but they were very pricey for a similar cutting width and decent run time. They've come down a lot since then.

Our lawns total about 300sqm. Presumably whatever area the manufacturers claim can be cut with a single charge should be taken with a pinch of salt? Maybe halve it ie. go for one that can do 600sqm?

Anything else to consider before switching from petrol?

Thanks

[ladymuck]

Do you have, or plan to have, other cordless electric gardening tools, like hedge trimmers, etc? Getting a battery that's interchangeable between lawnmower and other tools will make life much easier in the long run.

Always get at least one spare battery so you have one charged and ready to go when you run out in the middle of the lawn. A second charger can be useful too but less essential.

My Dad always had petrol mowers and was very happy when he went over to a small Bosch number. That said, the lawn size at the parentals is very small in comparison to yours.

[woody1]

Do you have, or plan to have, other cordless electric gardening tools, like hedge trimmers, etc? Getting a battery that's interchangeable between lawnmower and other tools will make life much easier in the long run.

Most of the bigger mowers seem to take 2 batteries, and they're pretty hefty, so I don't know if they would be interchangeable with smaller tools but I'll look into this.

[hobnob]

You might also want to look at autonomous lawnmowers, e.g. the Landroid. (Basically, the outdoor version of a Roomba.) You'd need an outdoor plug socket for the docking station to connect to, and the idea is that it will automatically go back to recharge whenever necessary.

Aside from area, it will also depend on the slope of your garden, i.e. whether it's flat or on a steep hill.

[b0redom]

I've had a Bosch Rotak 43 Li in .... checks email.... 2016. It's been absolutely faultless. Way less hassle than the petrol mower it replaced. Doesn't ever need servicing. Starts first time every time.

Don't cheap out and it'll likely last you for ages. I think mine was ~ £380 when I bought it. If you've charged up the battery fully before you start, you should be able to do the whole lawn, and replacement batteries are readily available.

[malvolio]

I volunteer at a National Trust property where the gardening team are switching to electric mowers for the smaller lawns (they use ride ons for the bigger ones). Beast of choice is an 18" Hayter Harrier. They love them

[WTFH]

I do our edges with a Hayter Ranger 56.
Because we already have 3 AK batteries, then I suspect we'd go with a Stihl cordless mower (e.g. https://www.terriertools.co.uk/Produ...rs/WA210111400 ) when the Hayter finally dies. Likewise when my Kombi engine gives up, I'll replace it with a the AK version of it - since the tools are all compatible.
The battery life seems to meet the claims in terms of run time, although on the AS system tools my wife has, the pruner (10cm chain saw) eats batteries when I use it on stuff it wasn't designed for.

What brand(s) are you looking at that take 2 batteries in the mower?

[quackhandle]

I went from petrol to electric for my hedge trimmer but it just wouldn't cut clean so I went back to petrol, like a knife through butter.

One thing I did find out was the ethanol in petrol can corrode the pipes over time in 2/4 stroke garden machines but then I found out about Aspen fuels.

I use Aspen 2 for the trimmer and Aspen 4 for the mower.

qh

[sadkingbilly]

wot? - no gardener??
AYSYCOTBAC?

[Snooky]

When our trusty old petrol mower finally gave up the ghost (bodywork completely rusted through) we decided to try a cordless electric one. We got a Screwfix Titan one with a 41cm wide cut. Their code was 600PT but I can't find it - or anything with a cut that wide - on the website now, max seems to be 34cm.

It's been really good, the battery last ages and it cuts nicely and is very quick to use. It was quite reasonably priced.

One tiny piece of advice - measure the width of cut of your old mower and make sure you get one at least that wide, otherwise you'll be cursing how many more times you have to go up & down the lawn!