Thursday, April 23, 2009

Reviewing my 3 lawnmowers

My lawn tractor and the Nueton, Not pictured my
Task Force Corded electric
I received my new mower yesterday- It came UPS and was packaged in a way even Fake Plastic Fish could appreciate- Imagine my surprise to find only two small pieces of styrene and a few plastic bags for parts. The mower was smartly packed with some formed cardboard "egg cartons" instead of the big hunks of poly styrene. The accessories come from Back east so I am still waiting on them. The mower came from Portland.


Comparing the Nueton CE5 against my Yard Machine 42” deck lawn Tractor and my 20” Corded Electric Task Force Lawnmower is like comparing Apples and Oranges. Of course the Lawn Tractor has many attractive features- 1- You sit while it does all the work (except you are constantly disengaging the PTO or mower when you reverse, In a small yard like mine this is a factor. The lawn tractor also mows the yard in record time. The Nueton , while surprisingly powerful and ran the duration of the whole yard, Has a puny 14” mowing deck, making for a longer period. The Task Force, while having a larger deck than the Nueton, is a hassle as I am tied to a cord for power.

NOTE- Don’t buy a Neuton if you want to mow a huge yard, But for my "Urban" yard it is fine, The biggest factor being the 14” mowing deck(NOTE: the Nueton CE6 does have a 19” mowing deck and is suitable for yards up to 1/3 an acre), But that is not a huge factor in that the Nueton cost penny’s to operate and gives no emissions. The Task Force comes in a close second in that category- the cord becoming the big issue. If it was a matter of time and ease I would keep and mow with the Lawn Tractor, but figuring in things like maintenance and upkeep and emissions, The tractor loses.
Also a factor is that while the tractor wins hands down in speed and comfort, you still have to take a standard walk behind mower around the perimeter of the yard to get along fence lines and flower beds.
I wish I had the Nueton when I lived in the Mobile Home park, but I had my old handy dandy True Value Lawn Chief gas Mower, which lasted over 25 years. I have owned a variety of gas powered mowers over the years, but the engines never last long on them even when I do all the right things like oil changes and dumping the gas every winter to extend the life. I have other gas powered equiptment that lasts for years so I don’t think it is me. Anyway that is also a plus for both the Nueton and the Task Force mowers. No gas engine means no gas, no oils, no spark plugs and no tune-ups.
The down side to Nueton is the battery will not last forever, but the upside is spares are available. And gas costing what is does that actually makes it affordable. If a battery lasts on mowing season compared to hauling and buying gas- makes it a winner. The Task Force won in one category- Cost of operation- Corded electrics do not need new batteries at all.
So in short my summary-Keeping in mind the yard size, costs of maintenance, I would have to place in the following order: 1-The Nueton CE5 2- Task Force 20” Corded Electric and 3- Yard Machines Lawn Tractor

1 comment:

Jennifer said...

r u still burning, doing the neuton dance?