Accessories

good mower but saw it at lowes for $150 less
I was disappointed to see that Lowes regular price on this item is $209 after paying $379 on amazon

I really wanted to like it, but the mowing quality was sub-par
For four years I mowed my lawn with an old-fashioned reel mower. I had more than just a postage stamp sized yard, but it was nice to avoid the loud noise and messing with gas and oil.

Then I moved to house with a larger yard, so I bought a $200 gas mower and used it for the next five years. Twice the carburetor had problems, and I had to bring it in for repairs. Every winter I need to remember to run the gas tank dry, and every spring I have to bring it in for a general tune-up.

The most recent time the engine started sputtering, and I found there would be a two week wait for repairs, I decided to try a cordless electric. The Black & Decker looked like the only decent choice, based on research and reading reviews. The maximum charge time slowly decreasing from season to season worried me, but I decided to go ahead because there were so many positive reviews.

Getting the mower charged and running was easy. It is certainly much quieter and much less noisy than the gas mower. Adjusting the blade height was also trivial.

Note that the mower does not ship with a side discharge chute; you either have to bag grass or mulch it (or buy the chute separately). With my gas mower, I use the chute when the grass is a bit too long to mulch, and I don't know what to do with a dozen bags of grass clippings. I have to rake, but there isn't the huge bulk of clippings from everything going into the bag.

Unfortunately, the mowing quality was sub-par. I ended up overlapping rows much more than usual, and I still could see that the mower was leaving tall strips of grass here and there. The overlapping combined with having to go back over the ragged spots ended up taking noticeably longer than my usual mowing time, so much so that I ran the battery completely down. I tried again the next week, but the results were no better. Looking out over the finished job, there were *still* long spots that the mower didn't cut, plus the mower tracks were much more obvious from all the extra attempts it fixing it.

The poor mowing quality, combined with the worry of future battery problems, was enough reason to return it, and I went back to using the same gas mower. I know, I know, all the exhaust, all the noise, all the extra energy usage. I bothers me too. But that's not enough reason for me to slog it out with something that doesn't work well.

Works Very Well!
Went from a reel mower to our first electric -- very pleased with it.
We have a small amount of grass so it's perfect for our yard.
It does choke out on the lowest setting -- other than that I'd
recommend it. (Would not use their corded mower -- that would just
be a pain!)

Great mower
I got tired of buying gas mowers that would work great for one season and then become harder and harder to keep running over time. Decided to give a cordless mower a try to get away from the maintenance headaches.

I must admit, I'm pretty impressed with the mower. It cuts just as well as any previous gas mower I've had and start up & maintenance are incredibly simple.

The first season I mowed two yards, 75x150' minus house and pool and 50x150' minus small house in a single charge with no problems. We've moved residences between the two mowing seasons and our new yard is smaller so obviously no problems for me with mowing time.

The sound is considerably quieter than a regular mower. However, it is still loud. Some of the other reviews make it seem whisper-quiet which is not the case. Regardless, it's still much better than the alternative of a gas mower.

Personally, since I don't have a large yard and I cut regularly, I do not have any issues at all with mower power or cutting time. The only downside that I see is the weight. It weighs roughly the same as a self-propelled gas mower without being self propelled. No problem for me since I don't need to load it into a truck or push it up hills, but I can see why this could be a concern for some.

I've read some reviews here that say it is all "cheap, plastic, etc...". Overall, the machine seems to me to be strong and sturdy. Yes, it is primarily plastic but why would it be metal? There's no heat to melt the plastic like there would be on a gas powered machine and the plastic is lighter & will never rust.

The only part on the whole device that does seem a bit flimsy is the switch handle, which you keep pulled to keep the engine on. Admittedly, though I have had no problems, it does seem a bit flimsy. The rest of the construction of the cutting deck, wheels, handle, etc... all seem perfectly sound.

Overall, assuming you don't have a huge yard, I would highly recommend this machine. It's certainly nice not having to go fill up a gas can every time I need to mow or worry about whether or not my mower will start.

Decent lawnmower, various small issues
I did quite a bit of research/price comparison before purchasing the CMM1200, its pros far outweights its cons. I like it sounds like a vaccum cleaner and not bother the neighbors early in the morning. Its easy height adjustment is a great feature to have, as I change heights every time I cut.

A few nuisances: the outer plastic shell was broken on one side, maybe from shipping, Black and Decker stated they will ship a replacement to me in 2 weeks. The instruction manual can be improved, though little assembly is required (make sure you remove the paddings inside and out of the mower). The plastic handle that lets you start the mower seems weak, and can be broken with the right angle. The battery is okay for a small/mid size yard, but may require multiple charges for larger yards.

Overall it is a good buy, not as powerful as the gas ones and you do have to push this one yourself, so consider the trade-offs and make your decision!