I use a small electric mower..will buy a larger electric or cordless mower during the summer..last Sunday I gave my yardman my gas powered self propelled mower ..barely used.. Becuz it's too heavy and does not self propell the way I want it to..I don't want to push at all..I want to walk behind while it moves..

We have a small yard and just got an electric battery run mower. We liked the battery snow blower so much we decided to buy the mower too.

2.3 acres, so it's a JD riding mower (10 years and counting - great machine). We use a smaller gas mower for clean up work. We also have a battery powered mower for clean up, as well.

I have a small urban yard and use a reel mower. The amount of time to mow is about the same as when I had a gas mower.

NancyB., how much snow is that battery operated snowblower able to handle? Do you have to remove the snow before it begins piling up and can it handle what the street plow pushes into your driveway? Desperate times in Boston area are calling for desperate measures.

I hate the noise pollution from the electric and gas powered movers. We have a push mower and as long as the blades are kept sharp it does a fantastic job (and gives a bit of a work out:-)

Gas or electric? Really? We use non other than a push mower. It does a great job, is environmentally friendly and provides us with a great workout!

ASVinteriors, were it illegal everywhere! A legislated day of peace & quiet! Is this an association rule or a city ordinance? First I ever heard of a Robomow. Houzz can be quite educational!

Gardener

Hi capeanner ... It's swiss law! Federal. They have all sorts of interesting laws like not allowed your wash your car on Sundays.

In this day and age finite resources are being used to maintain manicured lawns? I use a person-powered reel mower for the half acre we call yard. Good exercise and I'm not burning gas or electric energy, not breathing gas fumes or enduring the maddening roar of engines. Twice a summer we bush hog the rest w a tractor. How I wish we had legislation against Sunday power mowers.

Battery, 1/4 acre

HI - We are actually re-doing our landscaping so we don't have to use a mower . All ECO friendly too.

For the past 5 years I have been using a lawn mower with a rechargeable battery. Love it

my comments are identical to reno2009. it is easy, quiet, efficient, green - perfect.

Gas, baby...Toro zero-turn! I just fired it up and made first cutting of the year yesterday. Woo hoo!

Rechargeable battery. It's lightweight and no hassle to start up. We have a gardener but decided to have our own mower as all kinds of crab grass was getting carried in and we blamed his mower. Still, it's pretty much unavoidable but we've had way less since we got our own mower.

Capeanner -- You made me think of the time I did my first ocean dive in order to get certified for SCUBA, and it was on Cape Ann on April 8, like now, with all of this snow still on the ground. S-s-s-s-ooooo c-c-c-c-cold!

Corded 20" electric used with a 100 ft. cord, but thinking of a cordless should this one burn out. And, like Jannie above, every year I try to put in a new planting bed or replacing grass with ground cover. Living just a couple of blocks from the ocean, trying to keep a healthy green lawn is just too much work! But as a general note, I love electric outdoor tools. My only complaint is that the path widths tend to be narrower than gas models, which comes out to more laps back and forth.

Had gas mower first, then switched to B&D $150 electric (corded) and was thrilled! Now, 3 years later I am growing tired of the cord and just today while mowing the cord plug got wet (damp grass) and tripped the breaker. Mower has been amazing and totally worth the money.

Now, I've been researching battery powered mowers and buying one this week - they have come a long, long, way. If you have under an acre, a gas mower is over-kill.

We have a lot of land, so it's a gas lawn mower in the yard areas and tractor in the field. A gas weedeater for around trees, rocks, and other areas the mower or tractor can't do.

We've used a reel mower for the last 8 years, and I love it. We have a quarter acre lot, but minimal grass. It works best on level lawn. You have to go back and forth more, from multiple directions, and the grass needs to be fairly dry, but I love it -- quiet and just enough of a workout.

ASVinteriors, it figures. Northern Europeans seem so much more civilized than Americans. Maybe they're just smart enough to know if you're going to live in close quarters you need to be considerate. But car washing seems like a pretty unobtrusive activity.

Barnhart, I've become such a wimp I probably won't return till May! Am told there is still too much ice in front of the garage to get the car out. Will be ice chopping one day and mowing the next!

jrt3 just make sure you test them out if you can on non concrete. Our battery electric is so heavy to push. It's the battery that is the heavy part so you could even just take the battery out and lift it. Ours is black and dekker I think. The charge doesn't last to do both sides of our front lawn. Which is about an acre. Before we got the ride on I would have to do one side then charge it and do the other side the next day. If grass is longer it uses up more battery life as well. Someone commented above how they hate gas because when you left go it turns off. My battery electric does the same. To me that's a safety feature though. Eventually that battery will also need replacing, they don't last forever.
The good points are that it's quiet and it can be charged at times when electricity prices are lower. So you can mow even when it's peak hours. There's no bad gas smell when you use it. You don't have to worry about running out of gas and picking up more.

Push mower all the way!

We have a small lot and use a reel mower. Only downside is that you have to mow more often. It's far quicker than other options, because you just grab it and go. I appreciate the eco friendly aspect, and that I don't have to buy gas or charge it, etc.

Just bought a Kobalt Battery Powered Mower! The best! No smell!

Hubby-powered!!!~ :)

Changed to an electric mower last year. It is the best thing I ever did to help with managing this chore. Have two batteries so one is always in reserve.

How about a robotic lawn mower pretty interesting wanted to share this, if interested click here

Have always had gas and likely always will. However, I'm considering purchasing a manual reel mower if I can't find a bargain on a powered reel mower. In the event I do buy a manual reel mower, I still intend to keep my gas rotary mower for back-up after weeklong rains and other unavoidable mowing delays.

you think??

@Linda Foss, Not everyone with acreage can afford veterinary fees for livestock, or wants and is able to handle the responsibility of caring for livestock. I think we've all seen enough Humane Society of the US commercials on TV to encourage getting unwanted livestock.

Also, regarding the safety handle on lawnmowers, although I wouldn't recommend it, you could always just tie it down.

@capeanner, Will a propane weed torch work for melting snow, or would the melt just end up turning to ice? http://youtu.be/72DSn86SePE

paulo, I watched that clip with morbid fascination as we are in weed season now (not ice). Personally, can't imagine using flame for weeds. I pull them from the driveway (gravel) or pour boiling water on them. I weakened and bought some Roundup, but the stuff does NOT work. Large container, unfortunately. Re for snow, I do think ice would result. Not to mention I would not try to use a propane torch near the garage. Have had guys use one on frozen pipes in the crawlspace and I was very nervous about it.

Robot lawn mower! i have seen great reviews I purchased a robot mower a few months back after reading these reviews

More exhaust is produced by lawn equipment than cars in the US and that is insane. I don't share the American decapitated turf fetish but I do like grass in the form of an all-American prairie ("amber waves"!) that is only seasonally mowed to prevent woody plants. Much easier to deal with and does not require irrigation bills.

I only use short mowed lawns as paths. I have an old gas mower that was given to me, when/if it eventually croaks I want to switch to something else, preferably manual or electric. I really do hate the noise it makes and with my genetic condition it's a lot to push around but it seems senseless to toss a working machine in a landfill.

In some ways this is a mutually exclusive decision. You would not want to manually mow a half acre lawn in the summer in eastern North Carolina. Finding an electric to efficiently mow that yard may be difficult. If your yard is large, it may be impossible. On the other hand if you have a small lot that you are currently manually mowing, and electric may be an efficient alternative.

I bought my current home 12 years ago, we didn't like the idea of storing gas containers in the garage, so we went with Cordless, better for the environment, etc. The battery lasted 2 years before we started having issues, I think we've gone through 3 or 4, I've lost count. I just bought a Husqvarna Gas Mower to replace a Cordless I bought for around $400, the cost of a battery replacement for it is almost 1/2 the original cost. So that's why I went with gas.

More maintenance and cost of gas will add up but if you compare the price of a replacement battery (if available), gas makes a lot more sense. Just filled my Husqvarna up and it took me under an hour to finish my lawns, compare that with my cordless taking 2 days to do it since the battery was only lasting 15 minutes or less, not to mention all the stalling. Gas mowers are just more powerful, don't stall and save you so much time.

Take care of them and they will easily outperform and outlast cordless.

Neither/just have gardens!