Not so enthused
Written: Jun 18 '05 (Updated Jun 18 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Light, quiet
Cons: Narrow cutting width, clumsy handle
The Bottom Line: Not recommended unless you have a tiny yard. Handle could be improved. Trimmer accessory is not recommended unless all you need is an edger.
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| hsuc's Full Review: Neuton Cordless Electric Lawn Mower Em 4.1 |
I recently purchased the Neuton with the accessory package to replace my Black and Decker CMM625 18" electric mower. Amazingly, the Black and Decker is 7 years old and still working fine on the original battery. Perhaps because I was already using an electric mower, I did not find the Neuton as amazing as others.
The Good
The Neuton is extremely light. In fact, it feels a bit like a toy. My grass isn't that long right now, so I can't tell if there would be any problems with power during the growing season. I suspect it would bog down on tall grass though. It's also very quiet, just a hair quieter than my Black and Decker, although the Neuton has a higher pitched sound that I find a bit more annoying. The height adjustment is simply wonderful. Because the Neuton is so light, the single lever easily lifts the entire mower up and down. The main reason I am replacing my old mower is that it cuts really short. At 3 1/2", the Neuton has the height I am looking for.
The trimmer attachment works reasonably well, especially for edging. Mulching appears to be so-so.
The Bad
The Neuton has a super tiny cutting width, 14" vs. 18" for my current electric mower. I tend to overlap the mowing area, so it feels more like 10" of cutting width to me. I saw the specs on the web site, but wasn't sure how much it would bother me. It really does. It definitely took a lot more passes and time to mow the lawn.
The handle is slightly bothersome as well. First, although you can fold the handle in half, you have to loosen knobs on either side quite a bit to do so. My current mower has a shorter handle, that simply rotates towards the front with a simple release mechanism. All I want is to get the handle out of the way of parked cars, and the Neuton makes that more difficult. Another minor irritation, the lever to turn the mower on is a bit harder to hold down than my current mower. Not a big deal, but I felt like I had to grip hard to keep it running.
Finally, the trimmer attachment didn't work out as well as I hoped. Although it's very convenient for edging, it doesn't work so great for trimming since the height is fixed. I often use my trimmer to remove weeds at the ground level, and the Neuton wouldn't be able to replace that. Finally, although the Neuton itself is quiet, the trimmer is not. It makes quite a bit of racket and doesn't feel particularly smooth. Not quite in keeping with the characteristics of the rest of the Neuton.
Summary
If the Neuton had a cutting width of 18" or greater, I would seriously reconsider. Given how narrow it is right now, and some of my other grips, I just don't think it's such a great value.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
hsuc
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Reviews written: 10
Trusted by: 1 member
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