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After 12 years of faithful service my £8 from ebay petrol lawnmower has disintegrated into a pile of rust. A bit of a shame since it was still running fine.
My first instinct is to go all eco and buy a cordless electric one, but it just doesn't seem to stack up. I'm looking at £200 for a decent basic model. From what I've read it seems the longest the battery is going to last is 6 years. So that's another £75 in 6 years time, assuming of course that the battery is not obsolete, in which case it's another new lawnmower.
Alternatively I've found another old petrol one for £50 locally, this one with an aluminium chassis. So another 12 years should be no problem. I use about 2 litres of petrol a year in the mower. That's one trip to my closest crag. Every time I cycle there instead of driving I save as much carbon as a years worth of mowing. It seems like a secondhand petrol mower is far more environmentally friendly than a new cordless one!
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In reply to Hooo:
I paid 20 quid for a 1960s suffolk punch mower, an engineering marvel if you don't care so much about safety guards. Older and in significantly better condition than me
I'd go second hand petrol all the way , the bulk of the emissions/pollution will be in the manufacture and shipping of the thing.
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In reply to Hooo:
You seem to have reasoned it out fairly thoroughly. A big environmental cost of batteries is in the manufacture and disposal - they only make sense if they are used many times. With a car you can potentially save thousands of litres of petrol over the years so batteries make more sense for some people. Like you say, 2 litres a year is peanuts.
I think the best thing you could do for the environment here is to buy used rather than new and run it into the ground again!
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In reply to Hooo:
If you want electric you could get an outdoor socket put in.
From an eco point of view second hand seems more appropriate to me.
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In reply to Angrypenguin:I like your work
> run it into the ground again!
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In reply to Hooo:
Used, corded electric is probably the most eco option. You tend to only mow the grass when it's sunny so the grid is pretty low carbon at that point.
If you need it to be cordless then you're almost certainly right, petrol is going to be better than battery.
Post edited at 12:51
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In reply to Jamie Wakeham:
The trouble with corded electric is the ongoing cost of replacing the cable at least once a year when I mow through it. Movable tools that have a blade and a cable are not a sensible option for me
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In reply to Hooo:
A secondhand petrol that would otherwise be scrapped is probably lower CO2 than a new electric. I'm switching to cordless electric from petrol, but not my mower yet. I think the old electric worth having is the robotic ones with almost daily mowing. I'll keep the petrol for start of season.
In reply to Hooo:
If you only use two litres a year I’d seriously consider a manually pushed cylinder mower. I’ve got one of these [1] - it’s simple, calm to use, easy to lug about and more high tech than you might expect - it’s got a kinetic energy storage flywheel so that it “charges up” such that cutting speed stays high for a few seconds when you go slowly in a turn or for any other reason.
Very little material in it compared to a powered mower and most of it is clearly recyclable.
[1] - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bosch-Manual-Garden-Lawn-Mower/dp/B004JMTY2K
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In reply to wintertree:
A friend suggested one of those, but I don't think it's appropriate for me. I don't have a nicely kept lawn, so the mower is more for battering through 2' high weeds.
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In reply to Hooo:
So what you need is a scythe! Bloody hard work and totally safe like.
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In reply to Hooo:
Surely depends on the size of your lawn?
In a previous house I had a flymo and mowing took 30mins. When I moved to a house with a bigger garden it suddenly took nearly 2 hours! I swapped it for a Honda Izy petrol mower and am now back to 40mins.
In reply to wintertree:
She suggested that too! I tried one once, I realised there's a bit of a learning curve...
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In reply to Hooo:
electric is quieter for the neighbours... just saying...
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In reply to JIMBO:
That is true, it was actually my first consideration. I hate the cacophony of motorised garden tools as much as anyone and I don't like to be a contributor. If electric was only double the cost of petrol I'd go for it just for that reason, but it's more like 5 times the cost and a far bigger environmental footprint.
In my defence, I don't mow very often, I choose times when everyone else is at it too, and with the petrol mower I zip through my small garden very quickly.
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In reply to Hooo: I've got a cabled electric that's 12 years old and pretty bulletproof,. I've got about 300m2 and it sorts that out pretty efficiently. Petrol is too much faff
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In reply to Hooo:
Repairing a severed cord isn't that hard...
Alternatively replace the fuse with an inch nail and plug into a ring with no rccd. That way you know that hitting the cord is almost certain death. I bet you won't hit it then! 😉
Post edited at 15:01
In reply to wbo2:
Each to their own, but I find a cable way more faff than petrol. Pull it out of the shed, pull the string and go. If it stops, put petrol in it. I did change the oil and carb diaphragm once in the 12 years, but that's still less work than all the coiling and untangling I'd have done with an electric in that time.
In reply to Jamie Wakeham:
> Repairing a severed cord isn't that hard...
OK, actually replacing the whole cable every year was a bit of an exaggeration. But I still find it a right PITA dragging a cable around.
> Alternatively replace the fuse with an inch mail and plug into a ring with no rccd. That way you know that hitting the cord is almost certain death. I bet you won't hit it then! 😉
Nah, done that loads and survived. We never had RCDs when I used to mow the lawn as a kid. Sometimes it would cut clean and not blow the fuse. I knew to isolate before touching the cable.
In reply to Hooo:
2nd hand metal petrol mower is much more eco than a new, mainly plastic, electric mower, I think.
My Grandpa bought a battery powered mower - frankly, it was rubbish! I've no idea what make it was, but quite likely the cheaper end of things from a company that probably lasted 6 months and therefore had the worst possible eco credentials.
If you go battery, get one from a good brand like Stihl, that will work properly, last well, you can get spares for and still be around when you need a new battery.
I expect our metal Honda mower to last me quite a few years yet - unlike the plastic Flymo electric one I had that eventually shattered the plastic base and went in the recycling.
In reply to Hooo:
> The trouble with corded electric is the ongoing cost of replacing the cable at least once a year when I mow through it. Movable tools that have a blade and a cable are not a sensible option for me
Ha ha. I used to start near the plug and work away from that, then you don't cross the cable.
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In reply to LastBoyScout:
It was the metal bit that did for mine though, it rusted away. Seems to be a common problem as there are a few like that for sale, often with a spare engine.
Of course a decent environmentally conscious manufacturer would supply a replacement deck at a reasonable price so that I could keep the machine going. But there's no profit in that.
Post edited at 15:20
In reply to wbo2:
> Petrol is too much faff
Not when you have to mow round the kids swing and slide set
In reply to Hooo:
> A friend suggested one of those, but I don't think it's appropriate for me. I don't have a nicely kept lawn, so the mower is more for battering through 2' high weeds.
In that case I'd go for a petrol job, I think you may be disappointed with the power output from a cordless electric mower.
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In reply to nikoid:
...or get their Poldark mojo going.
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In reply to Hooo:
As 'Nikoid' said above. If you're looking to push a mower through 2' high weeds then anything other than a petrol one just isn't going to hack it, a battery one would just stall. They're great for small/medium sized lawns that are mowed once a week. It's the same for all battery powered garden tools, they are lighter, quieter, less smelly and less fumes than the petrol equivalents but nowhere near as powerful. Secondhand petrol would be my choice.
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In reply to JIMBO:
> electric is quieter for the neighbours... just saying...
Not a problem round are way recently. Middle aged men are mowing competitively at least once a week. The drone of multiple petrol lawnmowers is the sound of lock down for me.
And the voices in my head.
Lawns look like a blond skinhead due to lack of rain.
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In reply to Hooo:
Have you thought of investing in some sheep?
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In reply to Angrypenguin:
> You seem to have reasoned it out fairly thoroughly. A big environmental cost of batteries is in the manufacture and disposal - they only make sense if they are used many times.
I think the main advantage of battery power is if you have a whole family of tools which can share the same batteries. If not, then all the comments in the thread make sense. Tesla should make an attachment for their Powerwall where you can use your powertool batteries as extra storage.
In reply to Hooo:
The only real benefit of electric (battery or mains) over IC is lower hassle and noise. I can't say the environmental impact of my lawn mowing energy source/store would much concern me either way but buying cheap new crap has a way of leading to buying more cheap new crap sooner than I like. Personally the only cordless mower I'd consider would be a robot.
jk
In reply to Hooo:
> It was the metal bit that did for mine though, it rusted away. Seems to be a common problem as there are a few like that for sale, often with a spare engine.
Sounds like an excuse for a new welder not a new mower
jk
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In reply to jkarran:
That was my initial reaction! An excuse to buy tools, learn a skill and patch it up. But once I started clearing away the loose rust there wasn't much mower left. It would have been more like fabricating one from scratch.
In reply to Hooo:
Honda supply spare decks for their mowers. They're not cheap, but then neither are the mowers.
In reply to Ben Callard:
> Honda supply spare decks for their mowers. They're not cheap, but then neither are the mowers.
But they are good. I've had a Honda mower for 20 years. It has played up once in that time and that was fixed by changing the spark plug. It is starting to smoke on start up now though!
In reply to Hooo:
Ive just the grass with my new Ryobi rechargeable mower and I love it. Upsides are that there is no cord which is an issue on my lawn, it cuts well, it's light and manouverable and quiet, plus zero maintenance.
The downside is that it isnt as powerful as mains or fuel driven so if the lawn gets too long it can take quite a bit of effort but thats it.
Post edited at 19:52
In reply to nikoid:
> It is starting to smoke on start up now though!
Grass, weed, poppies or something else?
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In reply to Hooo:
I've been doing 2 fairly big lawns with push mowers for 4 years now. Fine. Keeps me fit. No servicing.
Eco friendly.
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In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:
Excuse me for the cynicism, but it's a Ryobi. It's great now, but I don't reckon you'll still be using it in 5 years time. At the very least you'll be buying a new battery.
Having binned a couple of cordless drills from reputable manufacturers because the batteries had died and it was cheaper to buy a new drill I've become very cynical about the eco credentials of battery powered kit. As per my OP.
And, my lawn is always far too long by the time i get round to cutting it.
Post edited at 09:46
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In reply to Dave B:
The best way to set about gardening I reckon
In reply to nikoid:
As far as I can tell the Briggs and Stratton engines in mine and most other lawnmowers are pretty bulletproof and will run for decades with virtually no maintenance. It's the rest of the mower that falls to bits.
In reply to Hooo:
the best thing you could do for the environment isn't choosing one mower over another; stop mowing your lawn and grow a wild meadow instead. native grasses and wild flowers are far better for biodiversity and a whole load of other benefits. just have a quick google, theres plenty of articles out there about why traditional lawns are bad
Post edited at 10:21
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In reply to mishabruml:
Of course, but for me the garden is an outside space where we can play and do stuff. So a grass area is the practical thing to have. I don't have an acre of immaculate turf that I gaze at!
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