The Cordless Lawn Mower
A Cordless Lawn Mower Quote – “Gentlemen will find using my machine an amusing healthful exercise.”
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This was the quote from Englishman Edwin Bear Budding way back in 1830 after he patented the first mechanical lawn mower. Bearing in mind the Lawn Mowers of yesteryear had no self propulsion so it was indeed a proper workout.
Little has changed apart from the technology as we gentlemen still find mowing the lawn a time to relax. Reflecting on the world whilst at the same time getting some much needed exercise.
Although with the intervention of self propulsion and cordless lawn mowers the work is much less stressful. Now it has become more of an escape for the common man from the pressures that life can bring.
What is a Cordless Mower and how did they come to be?
You could call any lawn mower without a cord a cordless mower. That would then include all the petrol and hand propelled models.
However for the context of this website we are focusing on the cordless electric lawn mower models. Hence we are talking about are the battery powered re-chargeable lawn mower versions.
Ever since the introduction of the first battery powered drill back in 1961 released by Black and Decker. Companies have strived to improve the technology and use of the innovation.
In the first instance, and only a year later, the same technology was used to power a cordless hedge trimmer, again by Black and Decker.
In 2003 Bosch released the world’s first power tool with a lithium-ion battery that revolutionised the cordless lawn mower industry: The Ixo cordless screwdriver.
Not to out done by the competition and having taken the lead role, Bosch released the first cordless lawn mower. The Rotak Li was launched in 2007 and was the first lawn mower to have a lithium ion battery.
And so the cordless lawn mower was born. Since then we have seen many companies both new and old jump on the bandwagon. Which has been a great step forward as each one has contributed to the advancement of the products.
What came first the mower or the lawn?
The proverbial chicken and egg debate. However of course this is easily answered.
It is known that the earliest grass lawns were the grasslands around medieval castles in both France and Britain. These needed to be tended so as to give the guards a clear view from any intruders. However the hard work was mainly done by cattle.
Formal lawns with neatly manicured grass began appearing in Britain and France in the 1700s. These were also tended to by grazing animals or hand-cut with shears and scythes by the local villagers.
Is was not until 1845-1860 that the first horse drawn mowers, called sickle mowers, came into being. In the early years of the equine-drawn lawn mowers, the horses were fitted with soft leather shoes on their hooves to protect delicate grass from damage.
Much has passed under the bridge since those early days. With cordless lawn mowers that are self-propelled, the lawn keeping has become a much easier task.
How do cordless lawn mowers work?
Cordless lawn mowers are now battery-operated. They are much quieter and virtually maintenance free. With no dangerous foul smelling fumes to contend with.
They are a lot easier to start, so now pull cords, just push the button.
Above all these lawn mowers are the perfect solution to help in protecting the environment from polluted air.
It is a know fact that the newer cordless electric lawn mowers only use as much electricity as a small household appliance.
The mower is powered by the battery source which provides the energy to power the motor that drives the mower in a forward or reverse direction.
The batteries can be re-charged using the provided battery charger. The newest models take around 40-50 minutes to fully charge. They can last around the same amount of time when mowing the lawn.
However be aware of false claims from manufacturers. High voltage does not always mean it has high power.
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Construction
Cordless electric lawn mowers and corded mowers are constructed in the same way. The only difference between them is that the corded models are limited to use as far as your cable reaches, normally around 100m.
The casing and mechanics are exactly the same. The cordless version only differing by the inclusion of a battery compartment for housing the batteries.
The cutting and mechanical parts are very much the same. Meaning manufacturers can use many of the same parts for cordless and corded models.
The batteries and charger come included or can be added as an extra depending on the model. Always check the number of batteries needed for your particular model. It is advisable to buy an extra battery if your lawn is large to save having to stop and wait for the used one to re-charge.
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Performance, Reliability and Maintanance
As with most thing in life you get what you pay for. It always pays to do some research before you buy any mechanical products. The same applies to cordless lawn mowers. The first thing to take into consideration the size of your lawn.
Most of the battery powered mowers will last around the same time it takes to fully charge the battery. Nowadays with fast charging the better models can fully charge in around 40-60 minutes.
With the advancement in technology the battery powered lawn mowers are proving vey reliable. With only a few minor glitches, there are very few problems encountered with these machines.
Most of the components are sealed and the body casing is either plastic or fibre glass. Therefore there is little or no maintenance to perform. As with other battery powered products it is really only a case of cleaning and storing correctly.