The lifespan of your lawnmower
Well, it may be a very modern-day question, but it’s still one worth asking: are you better off with a mechanical lawnmower or battery-powered one? In years gone by, the traditional, petrol-powered option has always been the staple with electric versions lacking the power, the longevity and previously requiring a very long extension cord.
Things have changed dramatically, though, and you can now access battery-powered lawnmowers that are better for the environment, don’t require petrol and pack all of the power you need for even heavy-duty jobs. So when you line up the modern electric mower against the traditional mechanical one, which one is going to stand the test of time the best?
Can you repair a lawnmower easily?
It depends on what is broken. There are a lot of consumable parts on a mower that are cheap and easy to replace like sparkplugs, leads, blades and filters. But when the engine itself is reaching its end of life, the replacement costs can be more than the price of a new mower.
Traditional mowers also require a lot of ongoing care and prevention is much easier to achieve that the cure on many occasions. If you have been running a mower for an extended period of time without regular services, it is going to degrade much faster.
Battery operated lawnmowers have far fewer consumables, so you are not going to require those regular minor jobs, services and maintenance costs. There are no spark plugs, no air filters, so servicing is limited to changing blades.
When there is an issue at hand, your battery mower will either start, or it won’t – it’s that black and white. No more spending hours tinkering and trying to start a petrol mower.
When should you buy a new mower instead of repairing it?
They don’t make ’em like they used to. That age-old saying applies to outdoor power equipment of all kinds, – including traditional mowers. So if your machine is over three years old and it has major mechanical issues, it is probably better to drop it off to the local recycling centre and purchase a new one.
Cordless battery mowers are going to last you up to a decade, giving you three times as much life. You will have to replace the battery eventually, and there will be some repairs along the way, but these will be far less than the investment you will need to make into keeping a petrol engine running.
How to extend the lifespan of your lawnmower
If you want to get the maximum life out of your petrol-powered machine, you need to keep it meticulously clean, sharpen all blades regularly so you are not over-working the motor and replace all consumable regularly. Seemingly minor problems like a bad sparkplug or a bit of dirt in the fuel can lead to your engine running extraordinarily rough and shortening its lifespan.
There are fewer parts to worry about with your cordless mower. Simply make sure the blades are kept sharp and you should get many years of service without constant servicing and repairs.
