Pros: Lightweight and ergonomiclly designed. Quiet and extremely easy to use. The highth adjustment is rediculously easy to use as is the self propelled function. Easy to clean and cuts a standard lawn well. Mulches, bags, and rear discharges equally well.
Cons: Lacking in brute power. The self propulsion doesn't go slow enough for certain circumstances and it lags a bit. It takes a few seconds to get up to full speed. The safety button that allows you to engage the cutting function isn't easy to find without looking for it. It could use being raised slightly or textured to be found by feel. The cutting function bale has a very light spring and the blade can stay cutting once you let go. The charging port is in an akward area to use and you must bend over to insert the charging cord. While these are concerns, there is nothing glaringly bad about the mower.
The mower comes almost completely built and 5 minutes is all that's needed to unpack the mower from the box, assemble it, and plug it in. My battery was also almost completely charged and was showing a green light (Ready for use) in about 8 minutes of charging.
My first use was after a brutal rain storm. I had given the lawn about 6 hours to dry out and it had been growing for 2 weeks. It was 6 inches high in several patches and the grass was very wet. I was curious as to how well the mower would cut though. I was, in a word, impressed. The mower cuts quietly and rolls easily along with either the power propulsion or just a push. I ran into the taller sections where I had to back up and go over the same area twice but that was to be expected, even with a gas mower. It would have helped had I raised the mower to it's full highth but I kept it at level 3 (Out of 7, 7 being the highest). I was bagging here and the mower picked up all of the trimmings. I was able to finish my larger than standard tract home lawn in one charge, even with the wet grass. The mower bogs down just like a gas mower will however it will bog easier. I was cutting bermuda grass/clover.
My second use was today, 6 days later and the lawn was still in good shape from the last mowing. Plus, it was much drier. I started out bagging and this time, the mower breezed through everything with no problems. I was able to mow with one pass over everything and the motor barely struggled through the highest areas. Halfway through, I emptied the bag and switched to the mulch function (Just the turn of a nob). The mower functioned better than I expected, leaving no clumps of clippings yet not bogging down either. I finally went after some foot tall weeds with the rear discharge function. The motor, as expected, bogged down and I had to back off and make several passes to get a clean cut. I ended up with a cleanly mowed area with clumps of clippings, expected with such tall weeds.
I noticed several things: The charging connectors, while fragile looking, are actually quite stout. I use these same connectors in an industrial application and have no worries about them. I don't expect them to fail for a very long time, if ever. The mower can be hard to turn or pull back unless you push the mower forward several inches to allow the self propulsion to dissengage. Once dissengaged, the mower is easy to manuver and actually, lighter than my old snapper. It only took me a few turns before I figured this out and now, it's easy to release the self propulsion bale and let the mower travel several inches before trying to turn or reverse. Wet soggy grass will build up on the underside of the mower and also in the discharge chute if the bag is too full for the clippings to be expelled into it. I ended up flipping the mower on its side and scraping the buildup off with a piece of scrap wood, then continuing with my mowing. You shouldn't have this problem with a properly dry lawn. Rinsing the underside of the mower before you put it away is advised because the buildup will come off much easier if it is fresh, verses dried and stuck on.
In closing, I am happy with this mower and the job it has done so far on my lawn. People who have St. Augustine type lawns or larger than a normal tract home lawn will probobly be better suited with a gasoline engined mower. These battery powered mowers are getting much closer in performance to their gas engined cousins but still have a long way to go. For those that have a hard time starting a gasoline mower, who dislike the fumes and maintainance, or (like me) am interested in a newer technology, then the battery powered black and decker may be the mower for you. The only reason I felt this mower deserved 4 stars instead of 5 was the lack of power for thick st. augustine type lawns.
Black & Decker SPCM1936 19-Inch 36-Volt Cordless Electric Self-Propelled Lawn Mower With Removable BatteryPROS: No cord, gas or smoke, easy to adjust cutting height, only minor assembly required, seems well-built and designed, quiet, 36 volts.
CONS: Heavy at 75 lbs., flimsy charger plug and wire, more difficult to turn because of length, made mainly out of plastic - although this may not be so bad in the long run if you live in a humid area.
I would recommend the self-propelled version mainly because of the mower's heavy weight. The rear drive wheels are great for going up an incline, but take a bit of getting used to. You can't just push down on the handle bar and raise the front wheels slightly off the ground to make a quick turn. After you learn to quickly connect and disconnect the drive wheels as you mow and turn, it becomes much easier. You just have to learn to work with it, rather than force it to go your way.
I like how the drive wheels slip gradually into gear, (nice!) but the slowest forward speed is not slow enough for cutting through tall grass unless you mow the lawn twice at different cutting heights - which the manual recommends. With a mower like this, (or any electric mower I suppose) you cannot directly compare it with gas-powered mowers with 3-4 times the horse power. But this is a great alternative and most probably the trend all mowers will eventually follow.
The manual states that it takes 12 hours to charge, but for me it charged in half that time. The charging times will probably increase as the years go by until the battery needs to be replaced. They also recommend that it remain plugged-in all the time - I assume to prolong battery life. Because of its weight, turning the mower on to its side to clear an obstruction may take some doing. Again, that's to be expected.
Please don't assume this to be a negative review. This is a different kind of mower which can't be directly compared with a gasoline-powered machine. So far, I am quite pleased with this purchase. - Cordless Electric Mower - Cordless Lawn Mower - Self-propelled - Cordless Mower'
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