My old Toro push mower is on it's last leg, so I began shopping around for a new grass-whacker. Knowing that 2-cycle engines are notorious polluters, I began looking at electric options. Having an extension cord following me around the yard was less than desireable, then I found the Neuton mower

Fully rechargeable, promises over an hour of cut time, my yard usually takes me about 45 minutes, should be fine.

I'll give you guys a review after I receive it and have a few chances to use it.

 

"I'm sorry Honey. The mower needs to be recharged"

Smart move, all the way around

 

There are also fully automatic robotic computerized electric lawnmowers avaliable: http://www.friendlyrobotics.com/NewSite/index.htm

Stake out your boundries, turn it on and sit down in your favorite chair and watch it do all the work for you.

Personally I don't have it but two of my collegues have had them for a few years and love them. Turn it on manually or at a preset time/day and it leaves the charging station, cuts the lawn then returns to the charging station for next time.
They "learn" your lawn using GPS and other on-board sensors to go around bushes, trees etc.

Pretty cool is what I've heard if you have a smaller lawn.

 

I have a Neutron, and I love it! It is great for smaller lawns, and I get 3 weeks of cut grass on one charge. It is quiet enough to use at any time of day without worrying about bothering anyone, and it starts without pulling that doggone cord!

pt

 

Great to hear that someone else has had a good experience with the Neuton!! Mine is scheduled to arrive on Thursday, So I'll charge it up, and give the grass a mow on Friday!!

Eric, good thinking, but unfortunately I also bought the spare battery, so not sure that excuse will work for me.

Then again, the missus doesn't know about the extra battery. hmmmmm.

 

So I'm curious here, it says it's got a 500 watt electric motor, which is about 0.66 horsepower. My Briggs & Stratton has a direct coupled 5.5 horsepower motor. How exactly does the electric one get the job done with so much less power? Is it only able to cut grass or somethign? I can run over all sorts of weeds, extremely dense brush, thick fallen twigs, huge bushels of acorn-like droppings from my trees, and so on without much more than a hiccup from my gas mower. Does the electric simply choke when you suck up really hard stuff?

 

Pretty much what I was planning on doing with it.

 

Well, I always liked not having to clean up the yard before mowing it. The gas mower can tear up anything that my trees and shrubs drop on the lawn and spit it out in the grass catcher bag. I guess it wouldn't be the end of the world to have to rake first, but it means spending more time on the lawn than I currently have to.

 

The Neuton does best on dry grass that is lower than 6" tall. It could cut taller grass, or damp, but you would have to slow down and let it work its way through the rough spots. It'll eat up small twigs and such, but any significant obstructions will need to be picked up. Some reviews I've seen say it is good at picking up dry leaves, but I haven't had it long enough to try that.

Also remember that if you have a big yard, the Neuton may not cut it all on one charge... the battery is supposed to last 45 min, but I get longer - enough to cut my small lot 3 times before a 24hr recharge.

 

It's all about torque & rpm... it's torque that allows the blade to cut through stuff, not raw horsepower. The site talks about 'advances in cordless screwdrivers/drills' for batteries, but those advances also came with sophisticated gearsets to supply lots of torque...my 18v drill can twist my arm more than my corded drill.

Also- the blade is only 14 inch diameter. That's a big part of how they can deliver reasonable results at the blade tip.