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When it rains....

Bad things they say; happen in groups of three.  Lately we feel that this has been multiplied by at least three, then that by three.  Nor was this the article I was hoping to publish this week, but here it is warts and all!

Thankfully there is nothing seriously wrong with my family health wise, and this is nothing that some more hard work and dedication can not get us though.  There is one big personal item that I can not go into details on to protect her privacy but what is affecting us right now is that we are again faced with decisions on what to do concerning some major purchases.   I've already written about having to buy a "newer" car but I'm not going to bore you with details about replacing the water heater or unexpected tax bills.

 At the beginning of May our riding lawn mower died.  





This in itself is that big of a deal because I got a good five to six years out of a used machine, and the fact that it has started to give up the ghost really comes as no surprise.   I would have liked to have made it at least one more mowing season, but I'll most likely replace it this coming weekend.  We also lost our electric weed whacker and will most likely have to replace our water heater and microwave as well.  This is in addition to finishing up the tiling we are currently in the midst of in the kitchen.  

Being the geeky researcher I am, I wet down a rabbit hole regarding electric mowers.   We really don't need something too fancy, nor do we need something with zero turn.   What I am looking for is something that could cut a maximum of two acres on a single charge - mostly because my yard has various obstacles to cut around and I do not wish to be spending a bunch of time playing around with it.  Nor do I want to spend $1000 or more on a "zero turn radius mover in order to keep the costs down.    

I'm suddenly in the three thousand and up dollar range.  So, what does my research show?  

That the most expensive part of the machine, the battery, is only expected to have a lifetime of three to five years, however the machine itself can last between eight to twelve years.   A gas powered lawn mower lifetime is between ten to fifteen years.  The "life" of the mower depends on a lot of factors of course ranging from maintenance to the type of yard your mowing.   Sadly I've taken out a few blades due to yard roots and stones.   In fact, it's so bad in one part of my yard that I decided to just let it grow wild a few years ago.  

So where the gas powered mower clearly had the longevity, I started to wonder about the environmental impact.   The advantages of going with an electric mower were significant.

A regular lawnmower engine is sometimes referred to as a 1-stroke, or 2-stroke, engine depending on who you're talking to but the idea is the same.   The engine burns fuel in a single motion, combining both compression and power in one stroke.   Due to the fact that not all the fuel is combusted in a single stroke the emissions are higher than they would be in a larger four stroke engine but the basic science is the same.  


Frankly all the combustion is simply eliminated from the electric mower, creating a more environmentally friendly machine, except for the battery and how it's produced, and considering the lifetime of the battery is so short, I can't help but wonder if that is a liability to the overall decision.  

Then there are the costs, and I don't see gas prices falling anytime soon.  While an electric riding lawn mower is going to be a large up front expense, I think it's worth it not only from a environmentalist point of view but from an economic point of view as well.

The electric mower, while not maintenance free, is going to require less work to maintain in the long run.   It's not going to require me to keep track of the last oil change or clean up after a gas spill, and while I'm not happy about the battery life...the technology should only get better in the future which will increase the life span of the mower.  

 Yes, it's up front price is substantial but in the long run it should pay for itself.  

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Location: Stoneboro, PA 16153, USA

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