Lawn Mowers and Energy Usage

T. Keating wrote:

> no,.. you obviously haven't repaired any lawn mowers lately.
> .
> If they ran full out.. the engine would soon destruct.. * hint.. They don't run full out..- Hide quoted text -
>


PolicySpy writes:


A lawn mower cuts grass at its maximum throttle setting. The throttle
setting is available to the user of the lawn mower. Too much throttle
setting just reaches choke mode. Any underlying system to even-out the
engine at maximum throttle setting is not the issue and is a
superficial point.

A lawn mower cuts grass with a constant engine speed setting. A riding
lawn mower changes riding speed by changing gearing. The new
hydrostatic transmissions change gearing more easily.

On 12 Jul 2012 11:00:51 -0400, (Scott Dorsey) wrote:

>gregz > wrote:
>>
>>http://www.lawnmovergrass.com/Scotts...eel-Lawn-Mower
>
>I had one of these for years and I liked it a lot with two exceptions.
>First of all it doesn't do well if the grass gets too high... you have to
>go out with a scythe and cut it down to the point where the reel mower will
>work. That's not a dealbreaker if you're actually good about mowing regularly.
>

Yep. And I really like the sounds made by reel mower.
You can hear the grass blades being sheared, and the ratcheting when
you stop is nice too.
Not doing taller grass is the killer.

--
Vic

On Thu, 12 Jul 2012 12:11:54 -0700 (PDT), m6onz5a
> wrote:

>
>I had a battery powered mower for a while that I picked up for free. I
>had to replace a circuit breaker to get it working. On a full charge
>it would cut a 1/4 acre with juice to spare. It had some pretty good
>torque too.

I bought one new pretty early on, in '97 when I bought this house.
Think it was about $220. Black & Decker, maybe 19". Mulcher.
About 1/4 acre here too.
Lasted about 7 years, then wouldn't hold a charge.
Last couple years had to recharge to do everything.
But it was nice, and like you said, had real good torque and did tall
grass well. Quiet too. Heavier mower than a gas equivalent though.

--
Vic

Vic Smith > wrote:
>
>I bought one new pretty early on, in '97 when I bought this house.
>Think it was about $220. Black & Decker, maybe 19". Mulcher.
>About 1/4 acre here too.
>Lasted about 7 years, then wouldn't hold a charge.
>Last couple years had to recharge to do everything.

Uhh... did you consider spending $20 for a new battery?
--scott


--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

I was at the Home Depot store, I saw a Homelite electric weed trimmer that has a motor head that can be pivoted and locked in a 90 degrees right angle position. I was wondering if I build a frame with four wheels on it and mount one of those Homelite trimmers on it and use a junk yard windshield wiper motor to swing the trimmer left and right, if I can mow my yard in much less time than it takes with my 22'' walk behind lawn mower?

Vic Smith wrote:
> On 12 Jul 2012 11:00:51 -0400, (Scott Dorsey) wrote:
>
>> gregz > wrote:
>>> http://www.lawnmovergrass.com/Scotts...eel-Lawn-Mower
>> I had one of these for years and I liked it a lot with two exceptions.
>> First of all it doesn't do well if the grass gets too high... you have to
>> go out with a scythe and cut it down to the point where the reel mower will
>> work. That's not a dealbreaker if you're actually good about mowing regularly.
>>
>
> Yep. And I really like the sounds made by reel mower.
> You can hear the grass blades being sheared, and the ratcheting when
> you stop is nice too.
> Not doing taller grass is the killer.
>

Most of the Amish use reel mowers, usually a small gang pulled by a
pony/horse and a single for close work.
The ones up the road use a neat trick. The two youngest girls usually
mow the lawn but they are very petite. So they gang up on the poor
mower. They made a pull harness and one girl pulls the mower while the
other pushes and guides it. Looks funny seeing them out there. Sort of
looks like one is trying to run the other one over!

I try to go up and help them when I can. The 50" deck on my CC is MUCH
faster and the girls don't have to kill themselves. With the lack of
rain both methods are parked.

--
Steve W.

JR wrote:
> I was at the Home Depot store, I saw a Homelite electric weed trimmer
> that has a motor head that can be pivoted and locked in a 90 degrees
> right angle position. I was wondering if I build a frame with four
> wheels on it and mount one of those Homelite trimmers on it and use a
> junk yard windshield wiper motor to swing the trimmer left and right,
> if I can mow my yard in much less time than it takes with my 22''
> walk behind lawn mower?
>


I was looking at one of the larger units the other day. Thinking that it
might work if I mounted it to a boom so I could cut behind the huard
rails up the road. Hill is just a bit steep for me to cut with the tractor.

--
Steve W.

On 13 Jul 2012 10:11:29 -0400, (Scott Dorsey) wrote:

>Vic Smith > wrote:
>>
>>I bought one new pretty early on, in '97 when I bought this house.
>>Think it was about $220. Black & Decker, maybe 19". Mulcher.
>>About 1/4 acre here too.
>>Lasted about 7 years, then wouldn't hold a charge.
>>Last couple years had to recharge to do everything.
>
>Uhh... did you consider spending $20 for a new battery?
>--scott

They were more like $100, maybe more Besides, the mower was pretty
heavy, newer ones had gone way up in price, and Sears had a sale on a
Honda engine Craftsman. Time to move on.
Main issue was the weight of the mower
We've got a tad more lawn and too much maneuvering around flower beds
than was suitable for it. Otherwise it was sweet. If the Honda gives
up, and the newer rechargeables are lighter, I would consider buying
another.

--
Vic