My B&D electric mower model CMM1200 is around 5 years old. I have a pretty small yard but can't finish cutting as it always dies between 1/3 to 1/2 of my small suburban front yard (as if the battery runs out of juice). The local repair shop just says "well, it cuts for us" but they only tried it on a 5x5 foot square of grass in their parking lot. They don't care and shrug it off to the point I got frustrated and hired a service for the past 3 years after 7 warranty visits. Now, I had to fire the lawn service and would like to see if I can fix the mower myself. Obviously, the warranty is gone. Any ideas how I can troubleshoot? I've already replaced the battery and charger, but it still occurred. I'm handy, but never worked on any electric tools before and don't know where to go from there. Oh, and yes, the new battery has now sat for the past 3 years - hoping its not ruined.

 

My suggestion would be to save yourself a lot of time, money and frustration, go buy a new mower. It seems you have an old mower with a old battery and expect new results and that isn't going to happen. Have a good one. Geo

 

Batteries have a limited life whether they get used or not. It's quite possible that the extreme discharge of sitting 3 years without use hurt your "new" batteries. You can try fresh new batteries or consider getting a new mower. Battery technology has made great strides and newer lithium powered mowers are much lighter, more powerful and can run longer. Eventually though even a new cordless mower will need it's batteries replaced. It's the curse of all cordless and battery powered devices. A third option is to get a corded mower. There is a cord you need to avoid mowing over but they are light and don't have a battery that needs replacing.

 

Thanks for the replies. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't overlooking something simple. Kinda burned up that I spent so much on a crappy lawnmower that was never able to finish my lawn a single time. But, since I let the warranty lapse, I'm mad at both myself and Black and Decker.

So... any suggestions on a new lawnmower? I'm trying to decide between electric or a small self-propelled gas model. I won't buy another BD mower though.

 

Go to Wally World and buy the cheapest gas push mower they have $130 or whatever, use it for several years until it quits and then buy another. Have a good one. Geo

 

I have a Black & Decker CMM1000 mower that is over fifteen years old and it runs fine and is still using the original battery. Last week I bought ($25 on Craig's List) a CMM1200 that had a bad battery. The older mower has damage on the undercarraige while the newer mower is almost pristine so I plan on swapping out the battery and then cannibalizing the old for spare parts.

Now it could be the charger in the CMM1200 is inferior to the older charger, the motor may be faulted or that you simply ran the battery to death. When I use my mower as soon as the battery meter (unfortunately the CMM1200 doesn't have a meter) dropped into the yellow area I stopped mowing. I don't have a large yard but I can get two full mows out of one charge. At my previous house (which DID have a large yard) I could do the entire yard on one charge.

The lead acid batteries used in the older mowers do NOT like to be discharged to anything more than 1/2 charge and doing so will severely limit the life of the battery. Also, for what it is worth, I never left the charger connected for more than a few days after mowing.

 

If it was never able to finish your yard on one charge, I doubt B&D could be blamed. One option would be to have two batteries. Just like a gas mower, batteries only hold so much fuel/energy. Not only does it depend on the size of your yard but how tall the grass is, type of grass, and moisture etc.
I have a B&D string trimmer and chain saw that I maintain 3 acres with and have been impressed with the trimmer and not at all dissapointed with the chainsaw.
IMO both have their own advantages depending on the needs.
Gas needs more attention as far as storage and maintenance.