I seem to recall from one of the 'ask this old house' episodes that mowing your grass with the blade set high is the best way since the higher grass shades any weeds that might try to grow. Its less strain on a battery too I'd imagine.
I use a Black and Decker corded electric mower here myself and it works great. It just takes some thought on your mowing pattern to work outward from the outlet. And for some reason I get ridiculed a lot for using an electric mower, its not manly enough or whatever. No messing with gas, oil, noise and doesn't stall. I'll suffer the humiliation thank you.

I may get a plug in, I feel so guilty about my petrol lawnmower, they are worse than a car. I have a small yard so it shouldn't be a problem. Thanks for the review.

I've had a Neuton mower (with two batteries) for about a year, and will never go back to gasoline. It has a slightly smaller mowing deck, but can get through the heavy grass when you miss a week - something you can't do with a reel. Its quiet, light and unless your cutting acres, the only way to go.

Push mowers are good for the soul.

Or you could go with a Robomower. Do a google search, these things are awesome!

"Push mowers are good for the soul."

I've never quite put it that way, but I've used them in the past (no lawn now!) and they are great for small yards. They really aren't that hard to push (about on par with a small light non-self propelled mower) and as low maintenance as you will ever get.

I only had to sharpen mine once a year, and it was really easy, or if I was lazy cost a whole $7!

I've had a Neuton mower for a while now and love it! I definitely feel better about mowing my lawn using a battery powered mower, and it's light and quiet enough that even my grandparents love it.

For US Treehuggers, Neuton has just released a 19" wide cut mower to complement the original Neuton Mower -- America's #1 selling battery-powered mower:

www.neutonpower.com

We have 3 mowers working on our lawns several times a week. They weigh between 900-1200 pounds each and fertilize as they go! I speak of HORSEpower! (the real live kind)

I think we've used the tractor 3 times all summer, if that and in between a reel type! We are having problems finding someone to sharpen the reel, though. (and do not have the knowledge to do it ourselves)

I'd like to see more folks using the reel mowers... (or horses!)

I have had this mower for 18 months and it absolutely rocks!

I ordered it online and 3 days later it turned up by courier all the way from Taiwan.

It is far less noisy than petrol mowers.

It is far lighter than petrol mowers.

It cuts and mulches.

For the first 3 weeks or so, my neighbours would come out and watch me and talk to me about it.

My grass is the envy of the street, with one of my neighbours recently saying he has "serious grass envy."

Even when my 500 square metres of grass is wet, it will still do the job.

The only downside is that the battery does not tell you when it is fully charged, but I just leave it plugged in til Monday night after using it Sunday night.

Another electric hummer story.

Lawns - not green
Batteries - not green
Treehugger - ???

Before buying a cordless mower, I decided to try the robotic lawnbott. My lawnbott is awesome! I named her Red Sue. I can't imagine pushing anything in the yard anymore. What a waste of time. I just set Red Sue out when the grass starts growing and it takes care of the grass for me for the whole season. I suggest trying one for 30 days at www.lawnbotts.com in case it won't work for you. I sure love mine!

You might want to look at the new mass production solar charged electric lawn mower up in Canada and in certain northern USA states this year (2008).

It's brushless motor gives it as much torque as a gas powered lawn mower wtihout costing a dime to operate due to it's solar charging station.

I just bought one and wrote some articles on our blog if you are interested: DailyHomeRenoTips.com.

Dan

I bought a Neuton battery lawn mower and I have to tell you, I really hate it. It is a battery mower but what really sucks about a Neuton is, it is made in Taiwan. A US company making their lawn mowers in Taiwan, on top of that, it sucks as far as cutting quality. It cuts awful folk, so I am saying don't buy a Neuton mower.

Now there is the Earthwise made by American mower and what really matters to me most of all, it is 100% Made in the USA. Yeah, I am buying a USA made mower and this one is garranteed longer, battery last longer and chargers less time than the Neuton mower and the blade is a 20 inch blade so that is a real plus.

Buy American, buy the Earthwise as I shopped and I have found also 3 other USA made brands that make the cordless too: Remington Power mower battery, Craftsmans cordless, Black & Decker but I like the Earthwise but the Remington has the ac/dc option, so you can mower cord or cordless.

Anyway buy American, stay anyway from Chinese made US companies, it is bad for America.

what can this change of the world

______________
Writers Response:

From an earlier post on lawnmowers

Furthermore it’s “estimated that a battery powered mower creates at least 85% less CO2 in comparison to a petrol mower, even when the electric power comes from brown coal generation.” (Maybe you have seen the figures, which they quote, that a single 2 stroke petrol mower emits, in just one hour of use, the equivalent volume of VOCs as about forty late model cars.)

Neuton is not America’s #1 Selling Battery-Powered Mower! It also is not American too if it is made in Taiwan.

Here’s what I have to say about my Neuton experience; I wasn't impressed with the Neuton mower as I feel it was very poorly made design and is not better than the other competitors cordless mowers such as Craftsman, Black & Decker, Remington and etc. The Neuton to me was very weak on tall grass where my other mower a Remington can handle everything with its 60 volt battery without the cord or with cord. What I experienced from Remington was they answered the phone for me at 4am in the morning when I was looking for a better cordless mower which they answered here in USA (not in India) asking my questions 24 hours a day. I ordered it, I received it less than 2 days, they paid for the shipping and they sent me extra wheels, bolts and washers. When it arrived, I still had the Neuton, so I compared the 2 together in a test; the Remington blew the doors off the Neuton by far. I charged both mowers on a full charge, then ran both of them side by side for as long as they could go (taping the handles together so I could see which was longer), the Neuton ran about 52 minutes, the Remington lasted about 118 minutes. I charged the Neuton in one hour after my first test and did the same with the Remington; the Neuton ran for about 5 to 6 minutes, the Remington ran for 18 minutes. The Remington can fully charge almost in 4 to 5 hours, the Neuton needs 8 to 10 hours but Neuton requires taking out the battery, the Remington, just plug it in (and even mow & charge at the same time) and you can leave it there as long as you want without any issue (for months as the charger shuts itself off after a full charge).

The other issue is the Neuton handles are not very strong, they feel like a beach toy, the Remington, Black & Decker & Craftsman handles are solid steel or feel more metal like than the Neuton does, this means when you have to turn it or lift it for mowing corners, you need strong durable handles. Neuton feels really weak as they flex too much. The idea of a cordless mower is to have the same strength and durability like a gas mower as the cordless are lighter but to have the same close professional cut and feel like a real mower. Neuton feels really less than a lawn mower when compared to a Remington, Black & Decker, and Craftsman. I felt the Neuton is like a trimmer more than a lawn mower because it was so light, floppy handles and an uneven cut.

Customer service, Neuton is not open 24 hours, in fact it is only Monday through Friday Eastern Time only, Remington is 7 days a week. Black & Decker, Craftsman have 24 hour customer service but Monday through Saturday, closed Sundays. Remington, Black & Decker, and Craftsman were also rated higher in May 2008 Consumer Report magazine and was far better than the Neuton. Neuton was the second to the bottom of the list, Black & Decker is the first cordless mower invented and also was the best rated, second best is Craftsman but Remington is the strongest most powerful cordless & corded mower on the market and also it is the easiest to use. Neuton can’t cut as well next to Remington, Black & Decker, and Craftsman but I really like the Remington the best simply because the power, length of the battery, faster charging time, solid handles, more speed options, the design and by far better customer service.

Also what I like about Remington, Black & Decker, and Craftsman too is they are USA made mowers, Neuton is made in Taiwan. Wages in Taiwan are about $.25 to $.55 cents an hour compared to the US; which is $6.00 to $8.00 dollars an hour in the United States. What amazes me, Neuton is based in Vermont but their mowers are made in Taiwan but their prices are the same price as Remington, Black & Decker, and Craftsman anyway, so they are using cheap labor versing US made mowers when they have a more expensive overhead on paying more on minimum wages in the US but they sell the mowers about the same price or cheaper than a Neuton but the Remington, Black & Decker, and Craftsman are better mowers anyway.

I also noticed that Black & Decker was the first company who invented the cordless mower, they also were the first who started the gas mower exchange program too but Neuton has used their philosophy taking their version idea as if it was they’re idea instead of Black & Decker’s. I read several forum sites and noticed Black & Decker goes way back on history on the gas exchange programs before Neuton did. I also noticed that Remington, Black & Decker, Earthwise and Craftsman also do exchange programs together not based on only one exchange product mower, they allow each other to have people try them out at the gas mower exchanges by giving people a choice to pick and choose but Neuton is trying to only sell itself, not with other cordless mower products at these exchanges, that isn’t fair and says it isn’t all about being green, is it?

Also Neuton doesn’t admit nor do they tell you that their mowers can cut everything, they don’t (they say 60 to 45 minutes). You have to buy the product first to decide if you don’t like it or not and if you don’t like it, you have to pay the shipping fee to return it, sure you get 6 months to use it but that they don’t tell you its limitations or compared to from gas or even electric. Remington, Black & Decker, and Craftsman don’t charge you a dime if you don’t like their mowers, so they offer a better guarantee than Neuton does as they charge you to return it. Remington also offers free parts on several things on their mowers without a charge and also they listen to their customers too. They improve there service and their products by any complaints reported sending feedback to their engineers by making things better. Sure this is common but Neuton is only a 2 model mower company; Remington, Black & Decker, and Craftsman are bigger and more reliable companies making all sorts of products besides mowers.

Even though I agree with Neuton, going green is important but gas mowers still have a place in the market just like Hybrid cars, there are gas efficient mowers too. We can’t count those gas mowers out, many of these gas mower companies are USA made mowers which doesn’t help good old USA if you bash them out completely by swapping products made in China & Taiwan instead. When it comes to mowing, cordless mowers are not the best, Remington, Black & Decker, and Craftsman will admit that their customers that battery mowers can’t cut all their needs but Neuton, doesn’t always tell you that. If anything were second best to the power of gas mowers, it’s electric. No cordless mower can beat 120 or 220 volts. Electric mowers have been around for years (90 years), so if going green were the answer and saving money, cords beat the batteries any day. If you go cordless you have to replace batteries, electrics you don’t, that’s means corded are more green than battery because batteries wear out as you need to be dispose them & which also requires more manufacturing making more batteries. So if you want to use the Remington mower and your battery needs replacing, you can run on the cord as long as you like as batteries are expensive where you may never need a battery again. Also some people may not use very much gas anyway, so if you divide $100.00 for a 5 year battery, depending how much gas you need, gas may be just as efficient as a battery mower. Let’s say you spend about $10.00 a year filling your gas mower which if you mow about every 2 to 3 weeks lets say 1,000 square feet or less than 3,000 square feet, your gas mower would be cheaper to own. If you own a 1980’s gas mower but it still runs, you have to spend $300.00 to $400.00 on a battery mower and also replacing the battery in 2 to 5 years, you ending spending way more money for nothing. So spending more money than you would like as if gas is bad for the environment, so is manufacturing new mowers as it requires more fuel to make batteries & cordless mowers than gas mowers anyway. If people don’t need to replace them, it is also bad for the environment making more cordless mowers too. There are a lot of people who may use their gas mower seldom and may not need battery mowers anyway. What exchanges do is they make people spend money to exchange something they really may not need to exchange for or may not save the environment as environmentalist predict. How does Neuton know how much people use their gas mowers to pollute the environment? It is only an estimation, so trading or buying a battery mower may not equal its use to manufacturing more mowers to add to the problem by making more unnecessary mowers polluting the environment even more, that is a fact. Selling green and going green is a marketing tactic, so I don’t believe everyone should go buy a battery mower. Oil leaks or etc is a hair of the issue than using oil to manufacture machinery to produce more mowers by the thousands even the hundreds is actually worse. Personally cutting grass is less healthy than letting grass grow if the environment is an issue, same with like cutting trees, we don’t need to cut trees if we can save our old furniture and continue using it than cutting tree to make more furniture; same fact.

However let me make my statement and say that the Neuton mower is not the best cordless mower product on the market (there are plus’s & negatives in all products) and it is not helping the US economy with outsourcing Japanese labor for US jobs nor is it really saving the environment if people are spending unnecessary money to produce more mowers if they are not needed; that creates more green house gases and air pollution. When you manufacture new mowers, you also pollute the environment by making them for unnecessary reasons as stated above. Sure the issue of going green is good but also saving US jobs to manufacture mowers here instead of Taiwan and making mowers with options without making more batteries or reasons to spend more money 3 to 5 years later, then making different mowers later on the market to sell something else. Again another marketing tactic to make money versing the real need to save the environment from pollution. I will admit, all companies want to make money by making more products by upgrading or changing ideas which also means buying again later when they don’t need to. You know the saying if it isn’t broken don’t fix it? That is so true!

So my point is, Neuton will be a better product if you have ideas to make a product that doesn’t require changing, upgrading or purchasing something later if it doesn’t need to. Sell it once, let it last the customer 20 to 30 years without manufacturing more and make it in the United States where your company is located. If I owned an electric Lawn Boy mower and it was 30 years old or even a gas mower which if I use it less than 4 to 10 times a year, still works, not all people should be sold on going green if it not really necessary for everybody. Keep the old mower then, don’t try to sell them something if they don’t need it. If people buy and buy things they don’t need it, that is just as bad for the environment than trying to save it by doing something else.

Lastly Tom Hughes from Neuton, start making your mowers in the United States, get out of Taiwan and help Americans by making your product here in this country, sell your product with a USA made label idea. That will sell your company with a good intention for pride in America but also make a product that doesn’t need any replacing or more manufacturing for the years to come. Make a corded mower or even a hybrid gas mower or a hydrogen mower which uses water instead of battery acid and also work with other USA made cordless mower companies so people have a choice to pick what they want.