Hi everyone – I really wanted to get this week off to a good start on the blog. I have so much to write about (as mentioned in my last post), but unfortunately not enough time to write about it.

I figured I could start off with a nice easy post about my new lawn mower, and go from there!

When we first moved into our current house (our first home, I might add) three years ago, we had to buy a new lawn mower for the sizable lawn that came with the property. We certainly don’t live on a palatial estate by any means (it’s only a semi-detached, in fact) but it is a corner lot with decent sized backyard.

I wasn’t nearly as much of an enviro-person at the time as I am now, so it seemed only natural to me to buy a powerful, gas-guzzling push mower, with what I thought was a reliable Briggs and Stratton engine. For the first couple seasons it seemed to work just fine, but unbelievably by the next year it was already giving us trouble. Luckily I managed to get it in for some repairs just before the warranty expired last year.

Long story short – despite the warranty work, it ended up completely dying on me this spring. At the WORST possible time – just before going away for a two week trip! Luckily I was able to borrow my dad’s mower for a quick cut before leaving.

As frustrating as it has been to own a ‘lemon’ of a gas lawn mower, it seems all the trouble was a blessing in disguise. With the crummy gas guzzler out of the picture for good, I no longer had an excuse for postponing my purchase of a rechargeable mower – something I had planned to do at some point.

The mower we decided to buy is the Black & Decker CMM1200 24 V rechargeable. I had read a number great reviews, and have been quite happy with other B&D rechargeable products. I actually already owned a B&D rechargeable weed whipper, and while it’s certainly not as powerful as my gas powered one, I really love the fact that I don’t have to mess around with mixing gas with 2-stroke oil etc etc.

Despite all the great reviews, I must admit to feeling somewhat nervous when I first tested the mower out. I was very worried that it wouldn’t hold its charge for my entire lawn (which, as mentioned, is quite large). It generally had taken me an hour or more to do it with the other mower. The B&D claims to be able to run for at least an hour on a single charge – but you know how these claims can end up being a bit of an exaggeration once you actually start using it.

Well, I am happy to report that the mower performed BEAUTIFULLY! A single charge definitely gets me more than a full tank of gas would have with the other mower. I was able to mow my entire lawn, go back and touch up spots, then even mow part of the backyard at a lower setting before it started to die on me! I was blown away!

I am certainly not going to claim that rechargeable mowers are incredibly environmentally friendly – after all, my power has to come from somewhere in the first place, and there is the manufacture and disposal of the batteries to consider. Nevertheless, I do feel it is an improvement upon gas-powered mowers. Even just for the simple facts that it is much easier on my ears, and won’t require me to go buy gas (or store it for that matter) makes it well worth it in my mind! I now actually look forward to mowing the lawn – certainly an improvement over the cursed-filled lawn mowing sessions of my recent past.

Bottomline, if you are in the market for a new mower, I highly recommend you consider one of the growing list of rechargeable mowers now on the market! I think you’ll be glad you did!

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