ydd@hou5g.UUCP (04/26/84)
When all the talk about lawnmowers was going on I lived in Brooklyn and wasn't interested about the grass growing in between the concrete. Now I find myself in N.J. with a need to buy one immediately. Can anyone mail me some sagely advice about the best 21" self propelled manual start mower? Thanks in advance, Dave Dingott AT&T IS
jad@lanl-a.UUCP (05/09/84)
And woe be unto you if you should accidently run over the 50..100 ft of electric cord. Acting as if he`s done it at least once... Zozzles The Freep cmcl2!lanl-a!jad
reza@ihuxb.UUCP (H. Reza Taheri) (05/09/84)
{}
Lee Gold says:
> It's probably worth mentioning that you don't have to get a gas
> lawnmower. Electric lawnmowers are also available. They require a fairly
> long cord (50' or 100' insulated). They do not, however, require keeping
> gasoline on the premises. They start when you push the on switch. They
> are CONSIDERABLY quieter than gas lawnmowers. They don't put out fumes
> like gas lawnmowers. And they're a whole lot easier to push around than
> manual lawnmowers.
Maybe so. But I have always thought that they are way too inefficient.
On a related note. Last year when I moved to a house, I bought a
lawn mower from a reliable person (my boss!). I ran it when I picked
it up but never used it again till this year. As I had expected it
didn't start when I tried to use it this year. So I took it to Sears
for a little tune-up and service. The mechanic said that it would cost
$108.00 to fix it. She said the valves were burnt and the carb. needed
cleaning, etc.
$108.00 for a lawn mower that started and worked last year. And
the funniest thing was that I could buy a lawn mower in the same Sears
store starting at $120.00, with the model comparable to mine going for
about $190.00 (except that the brand new one had a 1-year warranty,
electronic start, etc.). Now is this a rip-off or is it a rip-off?
H. Reza Taheri
...!ihnp4!ihuxb!reza
(312)-979-1040amigo@iwpba.UUCP (amigo) (05/10/84)
One problem with electric lawnmowers--be sure you don't run over the cord! I did it once, the mower comes to a screeching halt. John Hobson AT&T Bell Labs--Naperville, IL ihnp4!iwpba!amigo (NOTE TEMPORARY MACHINE)
barryg@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Barry Gold) (05/10/84)
It's probably worth mentioning that you don't have to get a gas
lawnmower. Electric lawnmowers are also available. They require a fairly
long cord (50' or 100' insulated). They do not, however, require keeping
gasoline on the premises. They start when you push the on switch. They
are CONSIDERABLY quieter than gas lawnmowers. They don't put out fumes
like gas lawnmowers. And they're a whole lot easier to push around than
manual lawnmowers.
--Lee Gold
--
Barry Gold/Lee Gold
usenet: {decvax!allegra|ihnp4}!sdcrdcf!ucla-s!lcc!barry
Arpanet: barry@BNLdhc@exodus.UUCP (David H. Copp) (05/10/84)
If you have (a) a smallish lawn, (b) with significant amount of ornamentation or landscaping, and (c) you cut it regularly, you might seriously consider a GOOD hand mower. I stress GOOD, because there is, in my uncalibrated opinion, about a factor of two difference in pushing difficulty between an ordinary hand mower and a good one. A good hand mower weighs less than an electric, and is no more difficult to push IF the grass is not excessively long. Honest! I'm not a masochist. There is a hidden time-saving with the hand mower. With a power mower, one is reluctant to take chances and cut really close to hard objects like ornamental rocks, thus there is a need for a significant amount of trimming. With the hand mower there is no risk in cutting VERY close. We don't trim at all after hand-mowing. Secondary advantages: quiet, safety, freedom from the gas station and the repair shop. Oh yes, because of the safety you can give the job to the kids at an earlier age. Drawback: The local teenagers don't believe that it is really easier, thus cannot be hired to hand-mow the lawn. A good hand mower is hard to find. I am using a second-hand Silent Scott. I also have a three broken Clement mowers (out-of-print for many years) that were even better than the Scott. Can anybody else suggest other top-quality brands? -- David H. Copp
wjm@whuxj.UUCP (MITCHELL) (05/11/84)
In my teenage years, one of my chores was to cut the lawn. I used an electric lawn mower and find it to be quite a reasonable option, especially if the lawn isn't too large and you have receptacles on or in the house/garage near where you're working. The advantages are 1) safety - Personally I view gasoline as too dangerous to have on residential premises (execpt in the fuel tank of automobiles) - Of course, an electric motor, like ANY power mower is a potentially dangerous machine and must be used with care. 2) clean air - no fumes 3) easier to start - flip the switch and start cutting (after a safety check of course) 4) less maintenance needed. I've never run a mower through an extension cord - the high visibility orange cords help here. Of course, if you want exercise, there's the traditional manual design. Bill Mitchell Bell Communications Research Inc Whippany, NJ (whuxj!wjm)
grd@iwu1d.UUCP (grd) (05/11/84)
....
In response to the numerous articles on GAS powered or ELECTRIC powered
lawn mowers, I have the following opinion.
When I was a teenager, I cut lawns for income using a GAS mower.
I had quite a business (over 35 customers). While cutting grass I
didn't notice that many customers had outside outlets (Maybe I wasn't
checking too closely). One the nice things I found with the gas
mower was that when I hit a hidden object, the mower would stop (if the object
of some great size). With an electric motor, I wonder if this would
happen also? The lawns I mowed, I had no feeling sometimes what I
would run into. If the electric mowers don't stop, this could be a
safety hazard to be cautioned about. Also my lawn cutting jobs had
a range of weather conditions. Some people wanted their lawn cut
even when it was raining (lightly). I don't think I want to take out
an electric mower in these conditions. With these two things aside,
plus the fact that you have to have a long enough extension, and that
you would have to unplug and plug the mower quite often to get around
fences, trees and other hinders, I did't find the electric mower
very practical at all. I believe though, that it does have its place
for small applications. I don't know of anyone in my subdivision that
has an electric mower.
[ Historical data: I was mowing grass in the late 60's, and early 70's ]
[ Gas was 29.9 cents per gal. (I don't remember oil) ]
[ I mowed with a gas mower for 8 years with very few ]
[ repairs on the mower. (plugs and blade sharpening) ]
Garry Daly
AT&T Technologies
iwu1d!grd
.....spoo@utcsrgv.UUCP (Suk Lee) (05/13/84)
<I hate cutting lawns...>
"One the nice things I found with the gas
mower was that when I hit a hidden object, the mower would stop (if the object
of some great size). With an electric motor, I wonder if this would
happen also? The lawns I mowed, I had no feeling sometimes what I
would run into. If the electric mowers don't stop, this could be a
safety hazard to be cautioned about."
---------
A lady I knew lost one of her fingers
in the following manner. She was
cutting her lawn with an electric
mower. The mower clogged on the
extremely tall grass and stopped.
WITHOUT TURNING IT OFF, she turned it
upside-down and proceeded to unclog it.
Can you guess what happened? Yep. It
started back up and whipped her
finger right off. Remeber that
electric motors (non-synchronous,
anyway) develop the greatest torque at
0 rpm.
On the subject of gas versus electric,
my father bought an electric for most
of the reasons one doesn't choose gas:
gas is noisy, smelly, dangerous to keep
fuel around, etc. Well, after the
electric gave up the ghost, we finally
bought a gas mower because the electric
simply didn't have enough oomph to get
the job done. We bought a Lawn-Boy,
gave it zero maintenance, and have had
zilch problems with it in five years.
By the way, Lawn Boy states in their
manual that if you have to unclog the
mower, not only turn off the ignition,
but UNPLUG THE SPARKPLUG.
--
From the pooped paws of:
Suk Lee
..!{decvax,linus,allegra,ihnp4}!utcsrgv!spoocsc@watmath.UUCP (Computer Sci Club) (05/13/84)
We have used an electric lawnmower (Sears) for years with little problem. The
good ones have well insulated motors and handles so electric shock is
not a major hazzard (even if you run over your cord). The cord can
be a bit of a hassle, but one which you get used to quickly. In return
you get a much quieter, much lighter machine (ideal for hills). If
the area you have to mow is large there is the problem that you have to
use very heavy extention cords or the voltage drop can ruin the motor.
Maintenence is minimal (sharpen the blade once in a while) and they
always start at the flick of a switch (provided you pay your local
power company).
William Hughes
Someone tried to work on electical equipment without disconnecting
the power, (or even shutting it off!!!!). Think of it as evolution
in action.jerry@oliveb.UUCP (Jerry Aguirre) (05/14/84)
I have, over the years, used a ride on gas, push gas, electic, and
currently a reel (manual) mower.
With regard to the efficiency (cost?) of mowing with an electric mower
I would like to see some figures before I believed that. Generally an
electric motor is more efficient to run and maintain than a gasoline
one given that you have electic power available. I have discussed
opperating costs with a friend that has an electric car and the
difference is dramatic even including the cost of batteries.
With regard to gas motors stopping when striking an object, I found
that stalling was the biggist problem with ELECTRICS. Of the several I
used, none could handle heavy grass. I had to make several narrow cuts
if there were weeds or the grass was particularly tall or thick. I
also would be hesitant to buy any mower that used gear belts. My
expirence is that these will break the first time you hit something so
if you have a rough lawn buy extra belts. Also be aware of the new
safety standards that require that the blade stop if the handle is
released. Thats cheap and easy to do on an electric, it just restarts
when you squeeze the handle. The cheaper gas mowers just kill the
engine, requiring you to restart it. The more expensive ones unclutch
the blade from the engine allowing instant restart. I have read that
the reliability of the clutch mechanism can be a problem though.
I would rate an electric as much safer than a gas mower. I have run
over the cord several times and never received a shock. I believe
there are recharchable battery mowers but I don't know any brands. If
you are worried about shock consider getting a "ground fault
interupter" on the electric circuit you plug into. Code currently
requires these on all outside outlets (also garage, bathroom, and
kitchen). Old houses don't have them but they are easy to add.
I currently use a manual reel mower. My lawn area is small and level
so the quiet, safety, and ease of startup outweigh any additional
effort at pushing. I got mine second hand for $12 (cheap) plus another
$10 or so for a new bag. Be aware that the maintenance is not that
much less than a gas as sharpening is much more important and difficult
to do. Anyone can take a file to a rotary gas blade, keeping the
meshing blades of a reel mower sharp and aligned is somewhat like
sharpening a pair of scissors with 8 blades. When sharpened correctly
it should be able to cleanly cut a piece of newspaper for the full
width. Most people have it done each season by a professional, I hack
my own.
Jerry Aguirre
{hplabs|fortune|ios|tolerant|allegra|tymix}!oliveb!jerryron@brl-vgr.UUCP (05/15/84)
Most gas lawn mowers don't even have ignition switched you turn them off by cuting off the fuel supply. Always remove the plug wire when doing anything under the mower. I always stuck it between the cooling fins on the back there so it wouldn't slide back into contact with the plug. As us pilots know: GROUND THE MAGS BEFORE TOUCHING THE PROP. -Ron
bytebug@pertec.UUCP (05/19/84)
The same people comparing gas and electric lawnmowers probably also pay $N/month to go work out at the local health club..