When it comes to routine lawn care, we usually have a gardener that comes around once every two weeks; however, we've been weighing the option of doing it all ourselves. So, when the fine folks at Neuton offered to lend us one of their battery powered lawn mowers to review, we jumped at the chance. Not only is it eco-friendly (no need to fill up on gas or oil), but it's surprisingly easy to assemble and even easier to use...
The Neuton CE 5.2 Battery Powered Lawn Mower in the Test Lab
The Neuton CE 5.2 in the box
The biggest pros? It's extremely quiet compared to the more traditional lawn mowers--we were able to listen to our iPod while working, which is something even our Dyson drowns out. Also, since the motor is emission-free, you can breathe without sucking in fumes. And of course, the mower is cordless to provide the freedom of mowing anywhere. Handling the mower is fairly easy, and the mower itself is pretty light. Changing the cutting heights is extremely easy--just position the lever to the desired height (listed in inches).
There are three options available for dealing with the grass clippings: mulching, bagging, or discharging. We tested out the latter two options (we had some difficulty putting the mulching plug and then gave up). The mesh bag that the Neuton comes with is handy, but a bit messy as grass clippings can get caught in the webbing and not pile as efficiently.
Finally, assembling the mower looks complicated at first, but trust us when we say this: it's pretty easy aside from the mulching plug.
The cons: The Neuton CE 5.2 is the smaller of the 2 options, and the cutting path is pretty small (about 14 inches), so if you have a lot of yard, it may take you a little bit longer. The battery lasts for about an hour after charging.
Want to find out more? Check out the site, NeutonPower.com for more info.
Tags
green ideas, Test Lab - Product Reviews, lawn mower, Neuton 5.2, eco-friendly lawn mowerRelated Links
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Comments (6)
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Price? It's a factor, I don't know how you can review without considering it.
view outonalimb_2008's profile
C'mon AT - this lawn mower is so yuppie environmentalist! Go to Home Depot and by yourself a non-motorized reel mower for 70 bucks if you want to be green. It's more environmentally friendly than this electricity eater and has the added benefit of making you get out and burn some calories while you mow. Then you can take the $450 it costs for the "Neuton" and the $100 a month you spend at the gym and donate them to a really green cause like Good Will.
view B square's profile
My gardner comes twice a month. Good idea B squared on the traditional mower. I may get one and use it on the inbetween weeks for maintenance.
view Seaside's profile
I have that mower and love it.
It will, however, not remain the same vibrant orange and green without constant cleaning, something i dont think a lawn mower deserves
view dtland's profile
We have a Neuton and love it. Maybe it is a "yuppie" choice for mowing, but we have a fairly large garden, and the reel mower we own was requiring a lot more strength than we had after the other physical labour we do around the house. Also, we use the mower both to mow the lawn and to chop up garden waste for our compost piles, which a reel mower just cannot do properly.
We got a spare battery and edging kit; the battery is very useful and the edging kit is handy, although we don't really have the sort of yard that requires a lot of edging.
Had we not gotten this particular mower, our other option was a corded electric mower. Having used both, I'd say the cord-free is definitely worth it.
view ayse's profile
Ditto B square,
I did just that. And these new manuals are light and easy to maintain and yes it gets this old broad out and about. Although I ordered mine on the web from a green site. I'd rather give them the money. Didn't cost much, free delivery and I put it together in less than 10 minutes.
view click212's profile