Cutting the Cord

I did everything I could do to save it.

As a big disclaimer, I’m not an electrician or much of a handyman. I consulted Google, YouTube, and Perplexity to get the information I needed. And in the end, it was all for naught.

When DW and I moved in to our house, in January of 2000, everything was new. We didn’t even have a front lawn until several months later, in late spring. But when we had our lawn, I needed a mower to keep it nice and trim.

Because the lawn was shared by a neighbour, who had a gas-powered mower, he offered to let me use his mower to cut the lawn. He was in his 70s and didn’t have much energy to mow both his front and back lawn, so he said if I would mow the front, he’d let me use his machine and he’d take care of his backyard.

I respectfully declined the use of his mower because I don’t like the smell of the fumes, nor do I care for the noise. When I lived with my parents, they had an electric mower that I liked to use.

I did, however, buy a manual push-mower and told our neighbour that I would still cut both of our front lawns. I did that every year until my neighbour passed away—I continued to do it after he was gone.

But that push-mower didn’t last long. It was a pain to operate: it was heavy and awkward to wield, and if the grass grew to a certain length, it wouldn’t cut it very well and I’d end up having to go over the lawn several times to get it looking good. And I’d have to rake up the lawn after to clear off the clippings.

I used that mower for only one season.

My parents, meanwhile, had decided to upgrade their mower to a gas-powered one and offered me their old electric mower. My father was tired of messing with the cord.

I gratefully accepted the mower, as I was familiar with it, and for a few years used it to cut the lawn, until one morning, when I plugged it in and started it, it let out a disturbing, low hum and smoke started pouring out of it. Apparently, the blades became locked and the engine overheated, almost bursting into flames.

In about five years, I was on to my third mower. I bought a Black & Decker LawnHog, which was lighter than the old Black & Decker mower, owing to its plastic body. Like the old mower, the LawnHog mulched the grass so I didn’t need a bag attachment nor did I have to rake up clippings when I was finished.

A few weeks ago, as I was mowing the backyard, the mower lost power and wound down. I stopped, unplugged it, and turned it upside-down. Because the grass was a bit damp, it had clumped around the casing.

This has happened many times in the two decades that I’ve had this machine. I cleared out the gunky grass, righted the mower, plugged it back in, and switched it on.

The mower came back to life but then slowed again. This time, I noticed wisps of smoke coming outside the casing, so I switched it off and unplugged it again. I did a careful check to make sure nothing was clogging the blade and tried again.

Nothing.

I did some online searching and found information that stated if the mower overheated, I should give it time to completely cool down before trying it again. So I placed the mower in the shade and gave it a few hours to rest.

When I returned and plugged it in, the mower started up, though I could hear that it wasn’t running as fast as usual. But at least I was able to finish mowing the backyard.

When I moved to the front lawn and switched on the mower, nothing happened. Not a sound. I had cleared the underside of the mower after finishing the backyard, so I knew there was no obstruction. The mower was simply non-responsive.

More research indicated a couple of possible issues, but for a 20-something-year-old mower, the likely cause was worn brushes.

I opened up the casing for the engine and found that it was filled with cobwebs, and dried grass and leaves, so I immediately cleared it out. I pulled out the brushes and saw that one, in particular, was worn but not too far gone.

I put everything back together and tried firing it up without the casing, so I could see what was going on, and the engine sputtered, but then died again. Sparks were flying from the brushes.

I tested the wires all the way up to the starter switch, and they seemed fine. I decided that perhaps the brushes were worn too low and ordered new ones.

Almost immediately after putting in my order (to a Canadian company, btw), I learned that the brushes were on back order and I’d have to wait.

Our current neighbour, whose family bought the house after the widow decided to move in with her daughter, has been mowing the lawn since. He and I usually trade off mowing the front, though I have to admit he tends to get outside earlier than me and has been mowing it more often.

Two days ago, the brushes finally arrived and I was eager to install them. I had to cut a couple of wires to rig up the connections but I had some caps in my toolbox and I have to say I did a pretty good job of the repair.

Before placing the housing cover on top, I thought I’d leave the motor open so that I could see that everything was running smoothly. I plugged the mower in and switched it on.

And nothing happened. No sparks. No sound. Nothing.

I had even warned the neighbour’s kids, who were playing nearby, that things might get loud. They even joked, “Oh, my ears!” when I switched the mower on and there was silence.

I checked the connections and everything looked good but the mower wasn’t going to run for me. After more than 20 years, that mower had nothing left to give. It was finished.

Yesterday, I bought a new mower. I’m still going electric but I’m also going cordless. In the years that I used the old mower, the cord has always been an issue—though, one that I could live with. We have trees, bushes, and an electric box in our front lawn, and I’ve always had to fuss with the cord, sometimes feeling I was at a rodeo, doing lasso tricks.

The new mower is a bit bigger and much more powerful. It uses a rechargeable battery that promises 55 minutes to an hour or life—more than enough time to get the front and back yards cut. It has a bag to collect the trimmings but that's okay: that's what compost bins are for.

And, it’s a brushless motor. For what that’s worth. My old mower's going to the curb with brand new ones and I hope that the scavengers who come before the garbage collectors can make it work.

I’ve used it already to mow the backyard, which hadn’t been cut in three weeks, and I like it. It’s a bit heavier than the LawnHog but I don’t have to mess with a cord, so I can move faster.

And it powered through that long grass like nobody’s business.

I’m hoping this is the last mower I need. When it goes—if it goes before I do—I hope to have a young neighbour who won’t mind taking care of my lawns for me.

Happy Thursday!