Toro Electric Mower, Back From the Dead

I purchased a $375 Toro Recycler cordless lawn mover when I bought my first home in 1998. The yard was small, about .17 acres (less the footprint of the house and the pool), and the mower had no troubles cutting the front and back yards on one charge. If I let it go too long in between, or if the grass was wet from rain or sprinklers, that was a different story, but even then, I could just wait for the grass to dry or give up and mow the front yard in the morning and the back in the afternoon. Life was good: zero maintenance, zero gas can, zero emissions, and almost zero noise, so I didn't have to wait for it to not be "too early" to mow on my weekends!

The next house 2 years later was slightly more to mow, and it was rare to mow it all on one charge. However, this was largely attributed to the original 24 volt battery pack (4 6V cells strapped together and connected with wired terminals) needing replacement, as it didn't hold as much of a charge as it used to. I had a hard time finding Toro's exact part at various lawn equipment dealers, Home Depot, Lowe's, etc., but I eventually ordered over the phone from one and had it shipped. Spent around $70, including shipping. That battery lasted a few years too, but my yard was just big enough to require staying on top of it and not letting it get too long in order to finish the job on one overnight charge.

When that battery pack started to die after a few more years, I broke down and bought a $225 non-self-propelled 5.5 hp mower from Sam's with a Honda gas motor. That thing rocked - SO much power, SO many emissions, SO much noise - and I could let the yard go for a full 2 weeks, mow it as soon as the sprinklers cut off, whatever - NOTHING could stop it! But when this spring rolled around, and my 3-year old beast was starting to have occasional starting-pull hesitation at the end of last year's mowing season, and I needed to fill up my 3 gallon gas can with $3/gallon gas and have it slosh around in my trunk and then prepare to change the oil on the mower, I decided to dig the ol' Toro (never could bring myself to part with it!) out of the shed. I checked the battery specs, went to a Batteries Plus location with one of the cells in hand to check for size, and bought a replacement set of 4 6-v cells - this time, however, I upped the amp hour rating. Same size cells, same connectors, same current, but more amp hours (battery capacity). It costs me almost 100 bucks for the set, but now that thing is almost as invincible as the gas beast. And after 9 years of ownership, still zero maintenance (I REALLY need a new blade, but that's for another day), and a more powerful set of batteries, it runs more effectively than the day I bought it in 1998!