It feels so good driving the prius, I thought perhaps I could get an equal high mowing my small yard without polluting too. Can anyone recommend a good electric mower?
How about a push mower? The newer models are very light, easy to push, and much quieter than a gas or electric model. Apparently, they're also better for the lawn. If you really want to go green, turf the lawn altogether and plant native shrubs around your new vegetable garden.
I have to second hyo's advice... the whole go electric because it feels good can be overdone. Unless your power plant is running off nuclear or renewable resources or you get a solar electric lawnmower, it's not really helping as much as we'd like it to. In general, an electric lawnmower is still going to produce much less net pollution even with a coal power plant (far less energy used for extraction vs some years ago...no transporting oil overseas - and some 3% of electricity comes from petroleum... etc))... nothing can beat the manual option as far as emissions go!
"... the whole go electric because it feels good can be overdone." True, but if you have a small yard, an electric mower makes sense. There is low noise and no pollution from a two cycle engine that affects the person doing the mowing (me). You won't need to wear hearing protection. I have a push mower also, but it doesn't do the job, it tends to bend the grass blades even when sharpened. Lowes and Home depot carry electric mowers, I've had a Black and Decker for four years now and also a Ryobi electric "weed wacker". No noise or blue smoke is a plus.
However, I would think the latest manuals would work better? Don't get me wrong - I'm a huge fan of electrics - but nothing beats conservation of energy. Period. (concerning pollution and energy)
I'm with Mirza and Hyo. Halving your lawn and planting natives is one of the best things you can do for the environment. Fertilizer and herbicides from our residential lawns wind up in water systems far, far removed from our houses and we never even think about the ramifications associated with this. So far as push mowers, I own one. It's great in the front yard and crappy in the back. We have lots of large trees in the back constantly dropping branches and little twigs that get caught up in the push mower blades which make it come to an abrupt halt. For your amusement, you can find me running through my back yard so as to build up enough momentum to splice the twigs more efficiently. Great for a workout and for a comprehensive cussing vocabulary.
Exactly and don't even think of mowing with a manual under a walnut tree. I do have a new push mower and was disappointed in it, thinking it would be better than the old one I had. I am getting rid of more grass each year as I expand the garden, but I have the electric mower for the grass that's left..
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SSimon @ Apr 1 2007, 06:16 PM) [snapback]416107[/snapback]</div> Yes,I can picture that. We have a large fir tree that drops lots of cones, with help from the squirrels, so I usually end up raking before I mow. I don't rake after, but leave the clippings to enrich the lawn, so it really isn't any more work. I also use an electric string trimmer, which leaves a nice tidy edge. For the amount of lawn that's left, it's almost not worth the effort.
