RE: (ET) cordless mowers

["Chapin, Tim" <tchapin umich edu>]

I have picked up 2 Ryobi's out of the trash and 2 weeks ago got a 6 year 
old
sears electric.   One Ryobi had a bad charger the other a bad battery.  The
Sears had a bad battery.  All mowers were 24 volt 18 ah battery setups.  
All
are mulching mowers.  The Sears had the blade changed out with a standard
mulching blade so I don't know what the original blade was.

The Sears took there gas mower and dumped on batteries and an electric
motor.  The mower is very heavy with a cast aluminum deck and sheet metal.
The Ryobi is all plastic and very light weight.  The Ryobi also has a funky
looking blade that looks like it takes less power to spin vs. the heavy
mulching blade on my sears. 

I would guess the Ryobi is 10-15 years old, but even with the age
differences, both mower are pretty much the same.  The Ryobi has a built in
charger where the Sears has a external charger.  Ryobi has a battery power
gage the Sears has a low power light and a high load light.

It is hard to do a fair comparison because the both mower have questionable
batteries.  The Sears cuts better but the Ryobi blade is in bad need of
sharpening.  Currently the Ryobi runs longer but why?  Could it be the
batteries are better or is it the heavy mulching blade on the Sears? 
I have only mowed once with the Sears where I have used the Ryobi for 2
years now.

The only real conclusion is, the Ryobi is easier to use because of the 
light
weight.  It is not a big difference because my yard is flat.  It could be a
major difference if I was lugging it up and down hills.

I let Dave Reuter take the Ryobi with the bad battery.  He has replace the
pack with a new pack and completely cleaned and sharpened the Ryobi before
use.  From what I here, he is happy with the mower. 

My recommendation is look for a junk Ryobi and plan to put in a new pack
(around $60) and clean it up and enjoy.   Although, if it is free it's hard
to complain about the Sears.

-----Original Message-----
From: elec-trak-bounces cosmos phy tufts edu
[mailto:elec-trak-bounces cosmos phy tufts edu] On Behalf Of Thon Basom
Sent: Thursday, July 29, 2004 9:59 AM
To: elec-trak
Subject: (ET) cordless mowers

I realize it's an ET list  ;-)  but I'd like to get a cordless mower to use
where my E12M isn't practical.  Don't see anything in the archives about 
the
ELF.  Anyone have one, or comments about what to look for (old Ryobi, 
etc.)?
If you think not appropriate here, please reply off list.
Thanks.
Thon
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