Who would have thought that you could clean the air with a lawn mower? OK, more specifically, my lawn mower simply doesn't pollute the air, after all, every little bit helps. How did I pull it off? I got an electric mower. It's really cool!
SRP, one of the local power companies, runs an annual event where you can trade in your old lawn mower and get $100 off of a new electric lawn mower. Being both a tech nut and being concerned about the environment (yes, I really am!), I jumped at the chance. So, a couple of weeks ago, I got myself a new mower and got rid of my old mower. It was good to get rid of that old thing because, somewhere in the move to Arizona (5 years ago) the gas tank cracked. So not only did burn gas but it leaked gas and made the whole garage smell like gas for a couple of days after mowing. Yeah, I was ready to get rid of it. The only downside of my new mower is that it's a plug-in. The battery powered ones cost $150 more and, with a lawn as small as mine, it just wasn't worth it. So now I'm the proud owner of a Black and Decker MM875 electric mower. How cool is that?
Of course the first thing I had to do when I got home was mow the lawn. Immediately I noticed something about my new mower, my extension cord isn't long enough for the whole lawn. So I had to hook two together. Not a big deal The next thing was how easy to use the electric mower is. No filling the gas tank, no priming the engine, and no pull-string starter. I just pulled a little lever and the mower started right up. Very nice. Not only that but the mower is MUCH quieter than my old gas mower. In fact, I almost felt more like I was vacuuming than mowing (especially with having to watch out for the power cord). On the power side, the electric works great. I had no problem mowing down those tall weeds that sneak into my lawn - especially if you haven't mowed it for a few months - and the mowed lawn looks great (well, except for all of the bare spots but that's not the mower's fault).
All in all, I'm very happy with my new mower. For my small lawn it does a great job and it's less of a hassle than a gas mower.
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