Here are several tips on how to get the most out of a single charge of the batteries in a battery powered electric lawn mower. Most of these are related to any electric battery mower where the batteries are charged by plugging the battery charger into an electrical outlet (Figure 1):
Figure 1 - Cordless electric lawn mower
- Make Sure The Batteries Are Fully Charged
- Raise The Mower Height
- Mow the Lawn More Frequently
- Do Not Use the Optional Mulching Blade
- Avoid Early Morning Mowing
- Self-Propelled Feature
- Buy quality lawn mower batteries!
Battery chargers have a light indicator which will go from red to green to indicate when a battery / batteries are fully charged. If you want the electric mower to go as along as possible before the juice in the batteries is fully used, only use the mower when the batteries are fully charged.
Experts agree that it is healthier for the lawn to cut the grass at around 3 inches or so. The higher the grass, the more moisture that will be retained in the ground. So, simply raise the height of your mower.
The more frequent you mow the lawn the shorter the grass will be when it is mowed which in turn will cause the mower to work less hard. Especially with the constant rain that some parts of North America, the grass is growing very, very fast. So, don't mow your lawn only on Friday evenings or Saturday afternoons per a usual summer. Mow twice a week.
The mulching blade can use more power from the batteries. And, it's not really the optional mulching blade itself; rather, it would be the containment of the blades of grass staying inside the mower base making the engine use more power. Compare this to when a mower is not used in mulch mode but when the bagging option is used or when the grass leaves the mower as soon as it is cut to the side or rear of the mower.
For lawn mowers using batteries, it is a good rule to not mow the lawn in the morning at all since over night, dew forms on the grass. Mowing the lawn when the grass is wet, either from the morning dew or from a recent rain storm makes the mower work harder, consuming more energy. If you wait until after all of the morning dew has evaporated from the grass, it will be easier to mow, take less of an effort from the mower and thus allow the batteries to run longer in a single mow.
Any mower that is self propelled requires more energy. In the case of an electric lawn mower, that energy is from the batteries. So, simply stop using the self propelled feature will reduce the amount of battery energy consumed. You will get a better workout than if you used the self-propelled feature.
There is a definite difference in the quality which equates to life of lawn mower batteries. Inexpensive batteries do not hold their charge as long as more expensive batteries.