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The Neuton Electric Lawn Mower Kicks Some Serious Grass |
19 Comments |
| By Michael d'Estries in Gardening, Green Living, Green Products, How To, Solar | September 10, 2008 | ||
[UPDATE: Ecorazzi is now giving away a Neuton in celebration of their two year anniversary. Jump on over to enter! One person will be chosen at random.]
Before I start this review, you should know that I have a love/hate relationship with lawns. Living in the Northeast, they’re a necessary evil when one has not yet shifted an entire backyard to something built on permaculture. On the other hand, a recently cut lawn does look beautiful and sharp — something drilled into my head from summers of mowing other lawns to make cash in High School.
When my lawn turns colors from a lack of rain, I do not get out the sprinkler. I consider it a vacation from the weekly chore of mowing. If weeds or other variants of grass make their presence known, I consider them compliments to the scenery. It amuses/depresses me to no end the amount of resources Americans spend on the upkeep of lawns across the US — especially in places where grass has no business growing in the first place.
I know many people who use manual mowers to keep their lawns tidy, but I’ve never been one of them. The grass I encounter (due to my unwillingness to mow more often) is often too high — or I don’t like the lack of mulching offered. I absolutely hate raking grass up (another stupid practice) and have embraced the auto-mulching, non-pickup feature found often on today’s modern gas-powered mowers.
Of course, gas-mowers come with their own issues; the least of which is that they run on gasoline. They also require oil maintenance, are loud, and a bit of a pain in the ass to move around due to their heft. These are some of the many reasons why I’ve been intrigued with all of the electric mowers that have been hitting the market. When Neuton contacted me to give their latest a shot, I’m jumped at the opportunity.
Everything arrived in a tighly packed box worthy of green points right away — mostly due to the inclusion of recycle cardboard protecting the contents. Putting the mower together was a snap and I had everything ready to rock in about 15 minutes. Of course, the battery needed an overnight charge, so my initial grass cutting was delayed by a day. Fine by me.
The extra time gave me an opportunity to check out the Neuton — which definitely embraces a modern styling. In fact, when I later took it out on the grass, I actually had some people walking their dog come over and ask what it was. How often does that happen with a gas mower? This thing will certainly start conversations.
In addition to its looks, I was pleased to see that a large majority of the Neuton is made from plastic; making this an easy product to recycle once the end comes. As expected, that means it’s also fairly light and nimble — coming in at a manageable 48lbs with the battery.
After the 12-hour initial charge, I easily popped the battery in and got to work on my roughly .6 acres of lawn.
Before I even started the blade spinning, I was immediately impressed with the safety features of the unit. First, you need a key to start the mower — which is easily inserted into the body. Next, you must move a panel on the handle and squeeze down to engage the blade. All of this is incredibly easy — and a nice touch to prevent kids from fooling around. Of course, there is absolutely no string to pull to get this thing going — HOORAY! — and you’ll potentially love that feature the most.
Another awesome selling point: This mower is quiet. It’s not Tesla Sportscar quiet — since you’re still having this metal blade underneath the plastic body spinning quite rapidly and displacing air — but I definitely did not need the hearing protection that I use with my other gas mower. In fact, according to a study conducted by the Noise Pollution Clearinghouse, the Neuton is the quietest rotary mower available. It rather sounds like a room window fan on high.
But the real question is: Can it with compete with a regular gas mower? After using the product twice to cut my entire lawn (without an additional charge), I can definitely say yes. Of course, I have a fairly small lawn and don’t expect much from my machines. I just want them to cut the grass so I can get on with life. Your demands or situation might be different. Here’s what I liked/disliked:
LIKED
1. Cutting power was comparable if not even better than my two-year old gas-powered mower. On some patches of high grass where my gas mower would have issues, the Nueton cut right through.
2. Cleaning after cutting is much easier. I can simply tip the mower over and scrap out any excess grass without worying about oil or gasoline running all over the place.
3. I don’t have to worry about filling the mower up with gasoline, changing the oil, or getting it ready for winter storage with additional fluids. AWESOME. Also, no more “I flooded the engine.” moments.
4. Easy to move around — which is good, because it ties into one of my complaints.
5. No fumes and much quieter than my other mower.
6. Easy to integrate into a closed clean-energy loop with solar or wind charging the battery.
DISLIKED
1. Mulching didn’t seem as efficient as my gas mower. That being said, it wasn’t noticeable enough to cause me to pull out a rake.
2. No “self-propel” mode — so it’s all push. Regardless, it was fairly easy to move around without any straining issues or out-of-breath moments. I’d love to see that added as a feature in future models.
3. No charge indicator means you’ll be guessing how long you’ve got left in between mows.
4. Still a lead-acid battery — which takes more time to charge and is heavier than the lithium-ion models.
The need for a charged battery could be seen as cumbersome, but if you’re used to charging your cell phone at night, you can probably get away with remembering to charge your mower as well. I’d recommend picking up an additional battery just have on hand — which at $99 is pricey, but worth it.
At the end of the day, this is still just a lawn mower we’re talking about — but it gets the job done. Of course, it’s up to you to decide if not having to deal with gasoline, emissions, or noise is worth the extra dough you’ll throw at this mower over a conventional one. For the environment, you can’t go wrong — but that’s doesn’t always translate well when it comes to the wallet.
Over time, these mowers will become much more common — and come down in price. I look forward to seeing what Neuton has planned for the future, especially when it comes time to transition to Lithium-Ion. For now, though, if you’re looking for something quiet, powerful, and virtually maintenance-free, I can highly recommend this mower for anyone eager to add even more green to their outside chores.
Official site: Neuton Power
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Shannon B. said,
Wow! Great post here. Love the burndown of what you liked and didn’t like about the mower and it certainly got me interested.
Giveaway: Neuton Electric Lawn Mower (Make Your Grass Even Greener!) // Archives // ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip said,
[...] just finished a complete review of this awesome mower over on our sister site Groovy Green, so jump over there to get the deets. Needless to say, after mowing with electric for the past [...]
Deanna said,
This is a great post, thanks for the review on the Neutron Electric Lawn Mower. I wanted to point out that some push mowers do offer grass catchers to collect grass clippings and push mowers make for a great work out!
Missy said,
Had not heard of the Neuton Mower, thanxs for the heads up on it. Am also wondering how long a charge lasts, and the cost?
Good review. Thx!
jason said,
I actually really like this mower. It is really clean and no more having to pour gas. With the new EPA emissions everyone needs to go with electric models anyways. The government should just take a big step and ban old mowers by 2015. Make manufactueres make nothing but electric. Well anyone interested in my lawn mower views can check out http://www.lawnmowersworld.com
Stephanie said,
Our business uses the Neuton mowers for commercial purposes and we have been very pleased with them. We have lawn maintenance franchises from Seattle to Colorado to North Carolina with teams that are using these mowers 8+ hours a day, 5 days a week. Of course we have the replacement batteries but we also have solar panels on our work trucks that are used to charge the equipment during the workday. Back at the office we use windpower to charge overnight. We have also had good luck with the Black & Decker mowers. I think the EPA did everything they could from a mandate standpoint and now it is going to take education and consumer pressure to finish off the nasty gas mowers, edgers and blowers. If you want to see photos of some of this equipment in use commercially, check out this link: http://www.cleanairlawncare.com/fran/index.html
If we can get enough momentum behind this electric equipment, it could become socially unacceptable to use the nasty, noisy, polluting, gas variety. We can make it happen.
Sara Nightingale said,
Thanks for the great post on the Neutron mower. I made a small post this evening on my blog about it and sent people on over to your site to get the info from someone who actually has used the mower. Thanks a bunch.
Sara
http://gogreenlifestyle.net
Go Green and Win a Neuton CE 5.2 Battery-Powered Mower | Go Green Lifestyle - Easy Ways To Go Green And Help Save The Environment said,
[...] To read the full review go here: Read the full review by an actual Neuton owner here [...]
Electric lawn mowers are making more sense than ever | Gfeen.com said,
[...] If you’re curious about just how powerful and practical a top-of-the-line electric mower can be, check out the Neuton mower as reviewed by Michael d’Estries over at Groovy Green. [...]
Eco Buying » Giveaway: Neuton Electric Lawn Mower (Makes Your Grass Even Greener!) said,
[...] just finished a complete review of this awesome mower over on our sister site Groovy Green, so jump over there to get the deets. Needless to say, after mowing with electric for the past [...]
Reuben Gathright said,
We should all do our part to save the enviroment and encourage the growth of the solar and wind power industries. Cordless electric lawn mowers go a long ways towards these goals. I recently purchased the Black & Decker Cordless Electric Lawnmower the CMM1200. I hope my review will help you make a decision about our future.
http://www.epinions.com/review/Black_Decker_19_In_24_Volt_Cordless_Mulching_Mower/content_445899312772
Chanell said,
To Missy:
I’ve read that on one battery charge you can mow for about an hour, which translates to about 1/3 acre. And the cost is $450.
http://guffly.com/2008/10/last-mow.html
Chanell
Garrett said,
“But the real question is: Can it with compete with a regular gas mower? ”
====
little spelling error
LC said,
I purchased the CE 5 3 years ago. This must be the 4th Spring/Summer. The battery can now last about 15-20 minutes each. I used to have a Electric powered mover which could not do the mowing well (very poor at mulching). The Netron was really a good experience and I felt so much freedom being able to move it anywhere I like. The width is a annoyance because I need do more passes over the same amount of area but without the power cord, it’s must faster so I have no complain. I am now deciding on either getting two new batteries, or go and get the CE 6.
The BEST thing about Netron for me is how quiet it is. When it is mowing, the grass actually damp the noise. So it’s quieter than if it is running in my garage. And I can listen to my mp3 player, while moving, and never have to feel sorry that I would wake up my neighbors. My company gives free hearing test to employees and I know how hearing deteriorates because of environment we work/live in. I was told, using gas lawn mower is one of the common cause of hearing deterioration. The process cannot be reversed! Unfortunately for me, I have a few neighbors who love their gas powered everything, and my Saturdays are often filled with noises and exhaust gas from two stoke engines.
Jim R. said,
I bought one 5 yrs ago. Still running on same 2 batteries, with power. Try it you will like it..
Get In2Solar — Neuton Battery Lawn Mowers said,
[...] Here is a review from Groovy Green: [...]
Colin said,
As a landscaper and fulltime grass cutter, I am just wondering how many batteries you go through in an 8 hour day of grass cutting.
How do they manage in wet grass, is their pick up as good as a Gas mower.
Jayne said,
DO NOT PURCHASE THIS MOWER UNLESS YOUR LAWN IS 10ftX10ft. They battery dies very quickly. When you talk with NEUTON they tell you that if you charge the battery too much it damages it and if you do not charge enough it damages it. What? The battery will last 15 minutes top now. They told me I can purchase a new battery for over $100 plus shipping. So factor in $50+ a year to use this mower over and above the electricity used to charge the battery. I will be putting this in the next yard sale. It is more environmentally responsible to use an electric lawn mower.
ron sorensen said,
I have one for sale $150. 2 years old, runs great!!! but we’re relandscaping and is no longer needed.
Ron rs90293@yahoo.com