The scoop on 'Neuton Mowers'

I bought the Neuton mower in 2007 for two reasons - to do my part for the environment and because the gas mower was much too heavy for me after having some serious health problems.

I have been so pleased with the mower. It's so light that it doesn't wear me out, which I love. And it cuts just as well as the gas mowers we've owned, though the swath it cuts is not as wide. I suppose that if I had a few acres to do, that might be a problem, but I don't. Our yard is less than a half acre, and for that, the mower works beautifully.

I would recommend this mower to anyone, and have been doing that.

Just received the Neuton 6.2 (19" cut) and did my first mowing. The biggest positives are quietness (about like an electric weed whacker), very nice cut and mulching, already assembled when received (only added the mulching plug), the voltage meter on the handle seems accurate, one lever to change the height of the cut, the lack of gas/oil/sparkplug/filter, etc, and the ease of starting. The couple of negatives is that at 69 lbs (incl 23 lb battery), it is no longer a light mower...it is basically equivalent to a gasoline push mower in weight and requires the same effort to push it. And the handle/running handle is thick...about double the size of the ones on gasoline mower. I will use ties or velcro so that I don't have to hold them to keep them running.

Anyway, the charging of the battery is easy, taking the battery in/out is easy, and a nice feature is that voltmeter. To check the charge of the battery, just put the battery in the mower, put in the start key, and move the switch to "mower" and it gives the charge in the battery (red, yellow, green scale)...you don't even have to actually start the mower. The mower looks cheap (most polyurothene), but I think it is going to hold up and the new larger motor and battery seems to give the mower enough power to cut through short stretches of tall weeds and a St. Augustine lawn. Just be aware that the mower now weighs 69 pounds and not 47 pounds!

Probably like many folks, I was skeptical as to whether a battery mower would have enough power (and running time) to handle my mowing. Boy have I been pleasantly surprised by the Neuton mower I purchased last year. It's everything it's advertised -- quiet, light, and very easy to maneuver.

I ordered it on-line and it arrived within a few days. It was almost fully assembled, and after charging the battery I was mowing the next day. I can't stress just how pleasant it is to mow with something this quiet, and you don't realize how much exhaust you're snorting with a gas mower until you actually mow with one of these. In fact I have been able to mow early on a Sunday morning without any fear of waking the neighbors, and it's sure nice to be able to get the chore done before the day is half over.

The model I bought is a little narrow (I see that Neuton sells a wider model now) but the light weight is a fair trade off. My lawn is fairly small, so I just view the few extra passes as an excuse to have a little snack when I finish!

I did have a problem with a loose hubcap, but I contacted the company (believe it or not I reached a live person on a Saturday who was actually in Vermont (not India) AND sounded happy to help me!) and they sent out a new one, gratis.

Anyway, I'm very pleased with my purchase, and although I spent a little more than I expected, I figure that I'll make it up in no gas or tune-ups over the next few years. And while I did not buy it simply to be "green", it sure feels good to know that I'm doing something positive in that regard.

My reconditioned demo neuton mower arrived today, 9/19/07. Ordering was simple and the company delivered in a timely manner. Two small lock washers were missing and I'll get those tomorrow at our local hardware. No big deal. I'm anxious to try the mower on our third of an acre of St. Augustine grass - northeast Florida - and the six-month trial period will give me a good window to experiment. I'll hang onto the gas Toro just in case although I want to do our part to reduce excess harmful emissions. It took me about 45 minutes to assemble; another 5 minutes to change to a mulching blade. I'm a bit apprehensive about the 14-inch cutting width as opposed to 21 inches for the gas mower but I look at mowing the lawn as exercise; hope that compensates.

I traded a gas mower I had had for 27 years and which I knew how to keep in operation for this electric mower..I wanted to go "green". One month after I got it the red light went out on the battery box, so I didn't know if it was charging or not..I was told by service to get a voltmeter. It is now four months since I traded and I have a half-mowed lawn and the mower won't go. The green light is on and it had been charging for about four days prior, so I don't know what is wrong. I have read the troubleshooting page in manual and have checked the blade..it seems tight and okay... so, here I am with the lawn growing and no idea what to do next. The dealership for this mower is in the next town... so, I guess a trip there is necessary to get a new battery and see if that is it, though it started right up this morning when I tried it again.. then just died with the green light on. I am not too happy about this.

I bought the Neuton mower in 2004 in the interest of "being green." There are some attractive features - quiet operation and very easy to start. However, they are significantly outweighed by the negative. The cutting path is miniscule and because the blade is not as wide as the mower, if you follow your wheel tracks you will leave a portion of your grass uncut. Due to this poor design you also can not do any close trimming with this mower.

You really don't realize how narrow a 14 inch cutting path is until you actually use the mower. A small gas powered mower has a cutting width of 21 or 22 inches. Therefore, it is going to take you at least 30 percent more time to mow your lawn, assuming the mowers have similar power, just due to the smaller cutting path. However, the Neuton does not have sufficient power to cut a thick, healthy lawn moving at a normal walk speed, so you have to walk slowly or mow the lawn twice. I found that mowing the lawn twice in a cross hatch pattern was the only way I could get my lawn to look the way I wanted it.

A lawn that I could mow in twenty minutes with a conventional gas mower takes about an hour with my Neuton, and then I have to do additional hand trimming, which would normally not be required.

After the first year, my Neuton would not start and I had to replace a part, which DR Power Equipment did ship to me for free. After two years of ownership, when I started cutting my lawn this year the battery, which I have religiously kept charged as recommended, had such little life it would only run for 30 minutes. The replacement cost of a new battery every two years exceeds what it cost me in gas to run a conventional mower, which did a dramatically better job in less than half the time. I wish this was a better product because the idea is great, but unfortunately, I can not recommend it based on my experience.

I bought the Neuton battery-powered mower in the Spring of 2006, and I've been really happy with it. The only maintenance I expect to do is to keep the blade sharp once a season. I am going to buy a second battery this season, because I have a tendency to let our thick lawn grow a bit long, and I was always anxious that it would run out of power before I finished. I only actually lost power once, but I figure a second battery will gain me some peace of mind.

Pros: no gasoline, quiet operation, light weight, good battery life

Cons: narrow cutting path (wouldn't recommend it for large lawns), small bag if you use that option (obviously - small mower = small bag), mulching blade sometimes requires multiple passes, if grass is long to begin with.

Most of my problems have been when I neglected my fast-growing lawn, so they're mainly my fault, but it's true that it doesn't have the power to blast through thick stuff like a gas-powered mower. If you don't really need that, though, this is a great mower.

In 2005, I ordered the company's battery-powered mower and accessory package (extra battery, mulching blade, clippings collector bag and string-trimmer add-on) to use in my small, city lot. I received all the order in a timely fashion.

This product has been a godsend.

Not only do I feel better about creating less pollution (and not having to breathe in fumes), but I also love the low-noise operation of the mower and the quality of lawn cutting. It's also nice not having to gas up the mower, both for safety reasons (I don't want to store hazardous liquids in the garage) and cost reasons (do I really want to plunk down $3 per gallon of gas to cut my lawn? No way.)

The mower was easy to assemble; it took me about 45 minutes to an hour, and I didn't have to be a rocket scientist to understand the assembly directions.

It also is easy to operate -- no pulling of a cord 5 million times to get it to start. Instead, you just pull back on a bar on the handle to start it up. The mower automatically shuts off when the bar is released, a much-appreciated safety feature, especially if kids are around or if I have to stop and move something out of the mowing path. I'm also happy it is battery-powered, instead of like some low-emission mowers that have a power cord you must drag around.

The string trimmer attaches to the front of the mower, so you don't have to have a separate item with a power cord to finish lawn chores.

All in all, a quality product. I hope Neuton Mowers creates more battery-powered products. A lightweight garden tiller would be an excellent idea to develop (hey Neuton -- hint, hint).

Though the product is pricier than buying a cheapie gas mower, I believe it is a worthwhile investment that will last many years and the overall cost will be less in the long run than having a gasoline mower.

I ordered the Neuton rechargeable electric mower a couple of months ago. I have been using it with the mulching option. I am really happy with it. Lightweight, quiet, no gas smell, no maintenance, and better for the environment than a gas mower. It takes me 1-1.5 hours to mow my lawn (Bermuda and Fescue), and I've never yet needed to recharge before I'm done. You can leave it plugged in to recharge between uses. I used it during my first mow of the season, when the Fescue (and the weeds) were at least 6-8 inches high, and the mower gave me no trouble. It was delivered about a week after I ordered it, and it arrived in good condition. There was a little assembly required, but nothing tricky.