1 2 3 4 5 6
82 March/April 2022
The
(^11) Test
EL
EN
I^ A
RP
INO
ABOUT YOUR
QUARTER ACRE
To address one of the biggest concerns
with cordless mowers—being able to
finish the job on one charge—we took
a close look at exactly how much grass
the average homeowner actually has.
We started with a quarter-acre lot
(10,890 square feet), which is slightly
larger than the national median size.*
Taking into account what’s covered
by a modest house, driveway, side-
walks, decks/patios, walkways, and
landscaping, there’s 7,434 square feet
left. According to our testing, the Skil
PWRCORE will mow this area with
over 700 square feet to spare, while the
Makita XML08 will have just 15 left.
The Wen 40441 will come up about
800 square feet short, but an extra bat-
tery ($75 for the 40441) would easily
cover that. Note that if you have other
cordless tools on the same platform,
you likely have additional capacity
sitting on a charger in your garage.
- The national median lot size as of 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, is 8,690 square feet, or
about one fifth of an acre.
House
footprint
1,320 sq ft,
or 44 x 30 ft
Rear
walkway
156 sq ft, or
3 x 52 ft
Driveway
for 2 cars
800 sq ft, or
20 x 40 ft
Sidewalk
320 sq ft, or
4 x 80 ft
Front
walkway
128 sq ft, or
4 x 32 ft
Garden/
landscaping
432 sq ft, 4 ft
deep around
house
Deck/patio
300 sq ft, or
30 x 10 ft
Lot size
¼ acre, or
10,890 sq ft,
or roughly
100 x 109 ft
TOTAL COVERED = 3,456 sq ft | 10,890 sq ft – 3,456 sq ft = 7,434 SQ FT OF GRASS
As we mentioned, range anxiety is directly
applicable to cordless mowers. One of the
biggest concerns people have is running
out of battery life before all the grass is cut.
We’re all used to the processes involved
with gas mowers—going out to get fuel,
checking the oil and gas before starting,
seasonal servicing. Cordless mowers have
their own set of considerations to keep in
mind in order to eke the most function-
ality out of them. Anything that creates
more resistance for the mower can eat up
battery life. Here are a few tips to optimize
your run time.
GET THE MOST OUT
OF YOUR BATTERIES
Clean off the deck after mowing. A smooth, clean deck allows air and
cut grass to discharge more easily.
Avoid cutting wet grass. Water adds weight to the grass, demanding
more power to chop it.
Keep mower blades sharp. A sharp blade passes through the grass
more easily as it cuts.
Don’t let grass get too tall, and don’t try to cut too much at once.
Cutting overgrown grass will deplete your battery’s charge faster
than just about anything else.
Work out a mowing pattern to avoid passing over the same areas
twice, which runs down the battery unnecessarily.
If cutting and bagging, blow out the bag with a leaf blower
occasionally to ensure decent air movement through it. If the bag
gets clogged or restricted, the resistance from trying to force air
through will run the battery down prematurely.