For my gardens I usually use a petrol lawnmower. When I was happily married this wasn’t a problem at all as my husband used to love taking care of the lawn and the jungle that grew annually around the chicken pens in the second garden across the lane. I mowed too but this would usually be when the lawn just needed a quick tidy, I didn’t do the bulk of the work.
Four years ago I separated from my husband (this is relevant!), no longer could I get away with little tickles of the lawn and jungle, now it was up to me to trim hedges, strim (I hate how autocorrect always corrects that, can we have it added to the dictionary already please?) and tackle long grass on a very large scale.
I loved the petrol lawnmowers (you can see a review of one here, it’s an old review though) they always gave such a clean cut and seemed to have very sharp blades compared to the electric Flymo but they also had their drawbacks. The self propelled lead would break quite suddenly sending me whizzing down a hill trying to hold back a tonne of combustable metal. I still have nightmares thinking about the shin splits I endured as I planted my feet firmly in the ground to stop the lawnmower flying into a ditch.
Other drawbacks included having to go to the petrol station to fill up a jerry can, and while they are easy to fix they did seem to break quite readily. I have one that cuts grass perfectly but I’ve wedged a piece of wood where the excess grass flows out of the side, as the mechanism broke. It’s not fun mowing with a floorboard.
As I have one garden over a little lane that is used by cows the petrol lawnmower is also very heavy to cart around. I need to get up and down steps, round corners and across roads, and I’m usually too tired for mowing once I’ve done all that. I thought I’d found a solution in a mahoosive extension lead and a trusty Flymo but this was no m match for thistles and weeds in the bird garden. (The bird garden sounds ever so decadent but in reality it is an overgrown area where the chickens, geese and ducks have free rein during the day, with broken pens and a dystopian nature rules theme). Check out Big Fat Farm on YouTube and you’ll see what I mean.
After all of this I came across two battery powered lawnmowers that could potentially solve these problems but I was skeptical.
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Now I’ve tested many battery powered appliances before and they ALWAYS disappoint. I won’t name names but there are battery powered vacuums that promise the earth and don’t deliver (from the highest priced to the lowest, the best by far was the Henry handheld), battery powered hedge trimmers that just tickle the bushes and battery powered strimmers that couldn’t cut through a cat hair. I did not hold out much hope for these. I decided on one that was a little more expensive and a budget model.
Which is the Best Battery Powered Lawnmower for Large Gardens?
The best battery powered lawnmower is the Cobra MX3440v if you’re on a budget and the Gtech CLM50 if you have more to spend.
This is why.
The Cobra MX3440v Review
The Cobra very very nearly won the Top Product Award however it was pipped to the post by one thing. See if you can spot the difference.
The Cobra is a delight to use, so lightweight and it has now become my favourite lawnmower for the formal garden. This is the garden that is right by the front door and the one everyone sees before they enter the house. It’s small enough to fit into a large garden storage box and has the extra benefit of a foldable grass collector that allows for even easier storage.
It has five grass cutting levels that are easy to cycle through and the battery lasts a good hour. It’s great for lugging around to do grass verges and tricky corners. I do love it. I’ve seen some people say that with this mower, and the Gtech, the battery isn’t interchangeable with other power tools. It wouldn’t be, would it? A hedge trimmer does not need 40 volts, it only needs 24, therefor, each lawnmower should have its own battery. I have noticed that brands will have interchangeable batteries for their hand power tools though, as Cobra does for their hedge trimmers and strimmer.
This is a beautiful mower that even withstood heavy rainfall one evening when I forgot to store it away. I thought I’d broken it but it worked absolutely fine. If I could change one thing it would be the sharpness of the blades. It’s not the tidiest cut. I’m actually not sure if this is due to the sharpness of the blades or the vacuum function. It could be that it just doesn’t suck up everything it needs to. Either way, if you’re looking for a new mower, have a budget of £200 and want to do your bit to save the environment, this is the mower for you. We really do love it.
The Gtech CLM50 Review
I’ve seen other reviews moaning that the Gtech is expensive. It’s not. When you consider the quality, the technology and the aesthetic, this mower is not expensive at all. It has a super long guarantee and will no doubt last a very long time. It is built to last.
I’ve also seen others begrudging the fact that the battery can’t be used on other Gtech products. Do you really want your grass trimmer to have 50 volts coursing through it, or to be lugging around a 50volt battery on top of it? NO.
This mower is lightweight, which I love but it packs a punch. I’ll admit, I’m not in love with the cordless grass trimmer, I think the technology is awesome and I love that there is no spool of string but it doesn’t cut quite how I like and is quite fragile when it meets rain. (As we’ve already established I do leave things out in the rain from time to time). I’m assured by Gtech though that they’re constantly developing and improving and the cordless trimmer will soon meet my expectations. It looks amazing and is extremely convenient but just needs that extra oomph. Which is where this lawnmower comes in. After the trimmer I wasn’t expecting oomph. How wrong could I be?
This mower sees a tough weed, rolls up its sleeves and shouts, “bring it on.” It actually delivers extra power intelligently when it thinks you need it and that is why I love it. This is why it pipped Cobra to the post for the Sunday Woman Top Product Award as it may be more expensive but in the words of YAZZ, it’s got the POWER!
It also has a myriad of other functions such as a larger grass collection box, a quick battery charging time, 6 grass level choices and silence. Almost completely silent, I could actually hear the children while cutting the lawn, although I’m not sure this is a good thing!
Overall I think both of these lawnmowers deserve to have the title The Best Battery Powered Lawnmower for Large Gardens, but if you have a little more money, splash out on the Gtech CLM50, you won’t regret it.
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