Lawn Mower batteries
Britain has experienced one of the mildest winters on record
and for us gardeners it is the beginning of the grass cutting season. I am
never sure whether or not the weather has anything to do with the grass cutting
time or the increase in the length of the daylight hours that causes the grass
to start growing, I know that they say it is when the temperature reaches 6 C,
but as I say I am not too sure. Some say that grass never really stops growing
but the cold winter temperatures slow it down during the winter months.
However there I was cutting my lawn with my trusty 10 year
old Mountfield petrol driver mower, belting out smoke as it struggled with the length
of the grass and thought about what type of mowers were on the market place
today? I was thinking that perhaps the lawn mower had moved on with times, the
same as cars were doing and perhaps going from petrol engines to battery driven
mowers.
At the moment we sell a large diversity of batteries for
different types of lawnmowers. These lawnmower batteries are used primarily as
starter batteries, are thus made in a similar fashion to car batteries, they
are starter batteries and not storage batteries. They come in all shapes and
sizes from 12volt 4.5amp up to a 12volt 24amp AGM or a 038 battery that are
used on some of the older cars.
These types of lawnmower usually have an alternator fitted
to charge the battery when the engine is running, but a backup smart charger is
always handy to have, for if you do not have a long engine running time or have
say a small lawn to cut and the engine does not have enough time to charge and
recover the battery. Also a smart charger should be connected up to your
battery in the dormant winter season, preferably in a frost free garage or out
building. This will keep your battery fully charge and in top condition, up to
the point of re using it again in spring.
If you battery has an alternator to charge the battery and
you suspect that it may not be working, then it is easy to check with a simple
and cheap voltmeter. Simply run the engine at full speed and put your voltmeter
across the battery terminals, the reading should be between 13 to 15 volts input,
if it is not then you may have a charging system problem, it could also be a
fuse or the starter solenoid. If the charging system is ok then you will
probably need a new battery.
If you do need a new battery then the best thing to do is to
get the exact information from your old battery, this is the same advice as for
a car battery or a motor cycle battery. Get all the information from your old
battery and also the measurements, length, width and height. This will help
your battery retailer should there be a discrepancy with the part numbers. I
always recommend that you buy a battery from a local supplier if possible, but
there are some excellent battery suppliers of cheap batteries online now and
they are usually delivered in a couple of days, depending on when you order
your battery.
New types of lawn mower batteries
The latest type of mower that I was perhaps dreaming about
is now on the market. It has all been possible because of the recent advances
in other type of battery technology, such as Nickel Cadmium and Lithium-Ion.
These lawn mowers are powered by the batteries, just like say your cordless
drill. In my opinion the Lithium-Ion battery will give you a better service and
will hold its charge for about 500 days, but will require charging after that
time. Also the lithium-Ion batteries are lighter and smaller than the Ni-Cd batteries.
The new types of mowers are very clean, quiet and do not pollute
the atmosphere like my petrol driven Mountfield mower, the also make little
noise when you are cutting your lawn. To sum up battery-powered mowers are much
quieter than petrol-driven mowers and are more economical as well, considering
the extortionate cost of petrol. While the lawnmower batteries can be recharged
a number of times, they eventually wear out, which means that consumers will
need to purchase replacement batteries from time to time, still much cheaper
than buying petrol.
These mowers are now being produced by many of the mower
manufacturers, such as Mountfield and Black and Decker and only time will tell
whether or not they will be as effective and reliable as my petrol driven now
old fashioned mower.
Eric Roberts
Hi I would like to introduce myself. I have worked in the
Garage and tyre and Battery business now for 40 years. I have worked for a
couple for national tyre companies in my younger days, before starting my first
business. I now own a garage and MOT testing centre, here in the UK called
Pellon Tyre and Auto-centre, and I am a keen blogger about anything to do with
cars and their related products that will help my business. We are members of
Point-S and Motor-Codes and are also a Unipart Car Care Centre and of course
Tyre-safe.
