silverorange stuff

Good on you for going for an enviro-chic solution! There's too much overkill these days, adequate is enough. Push mowerers unite!

Great review Steven, as usual. I'm now planning on buying one of those for myself, if I can find a good deal too. I'll have to check the 2 Canadian Tires we have here in Moncton.

Question: About the time needed to recharge to battery... Did you find out the exact time it takes to recharge? One of the reason to buy this lawn mower is to save energy and I'm not sure if you really save some if you just keep it plugged-in all the time.

Well, read all the reviews on the Gardena rechargeable and decided against it.

It takes 24 hours for a full charge (so how much energy do you really save??) and at $299 I could have purchased a full size electric mower without all the power issues (ie wears down real quick).

I really could not see an envior upside with the rechargeable - sure much better than gas, but really not true envior chic.

So after a great deal of discussion with the guys at CTC & Rona - I went with the fully manual Gardena 6000 ($169 on sale, reg $218-239).

Just did my backyard ( 17 x 60 feet) - excellent job.

I used the mower to cut my wifes back hair. That is what we do here in Canada!

I've come across these postings in my search for a new rechargable lawn mower. I bought the Gardena mover in 2003 and used it for two years. By the end of last year I had becom sufficiently frustrated with it that I've decided to buy another mower. The plastic lit broke during the first year causing the battery to fall out when I cut the grass on the hills in my yard. In hindsight, the mower was too weak for my yard with about 3500 square feet. The mower is also too weak for thick grass so one has to make sure that the grass is cut every few days.

I live in Norway and the product here with that model number is a moss remover. It looks the same except that instead of cutting reels it has wires that are attached to a what looks like a camshaft. The cam shaft is turned by the motor and the wires dig into the lawn and rip out the moss. After two seasons of use all but two of the teeth have broken so the tool is no longer usefull as a moss remover.

Hi there. Just saw the mower at Home Depot. They don't know much about it and were not sure if it drives the wheels as well as the reel. I have a few hills and if it does power the wheels it would be a lot easier.

Also they were very friendly but didn't know about how long it holds a charge. Presently takes 1 1/2 hours with a electric mower to cut my lawns and they could not give me any idea of how long it will mow grass. Also they had no idea of the cost of a replacement battery. These rechargable batteries don't last forever and at the price of the mower I don't want to have to purchase a new battery every two years or so. Any ideas?

Hello All,

I am also researching for a cordless electric powered mower and have not made up my mind yet. I am new to lawn care but have heard about the pros for using a reel mower.

The Gardena 380 AC is selling for CND 319 at Home Depot in the Toronto area. The battery is a lead acid gel cell, 12V 12Ah (Ampere-hour). There are battery stores in Toronto selling the same kind of battery for less than CND 40 ($39.85 from Battery Post). This battery is not uncommon these days, it is used often by the uninterruptable power supply (UPS) for computer applications.

Hope that this helps.

I bought a couple of these electric gardena reel mowers . I find it to deliver good performance when it comes to following the contours of the landscape. It does so well that it inspires me to create my own personal putting green and using that machine set to its lowest setting as the tool to maintain the green!
Another nice feature is how quiet it runs allowing me to enjoy cutting anytime I feel like it , no matter how early or late. There is no stink of gasoline to boot!
With the extensive amount of properties that I must maintain,I certainly would never suceed but for that perticular place where I want the best care and cut for the best result, the gardena does it for me.

My husband recently bought a Gardena electric rechargeable mower, which he is enjoying but for my fears. We have a large lawn which takes him about twice as long to cut as a regular gas mower. However the Gardena Model 4026 on its highest setting leaves only about 4 cm. of grass height, which my lawncare guy tells me is not long enough to maintain a healthy lawn over the summer months.

Anyone else have this concern, or have used this mower with success/difficulties?

I purchased this mower and have been relatively satisfied with it except for one issue. During the summer months when it is relatively dry, I want to be able to cut my lawn as high as possible leaving a longer blade of grass so the grass does not suffer as much when it is hot and dry. The highest setting on this mower is not high enough and I find myself going back to my manual reel mower to cut the grass because I can set the reel much higher on that mower.

Hello JP & NP,

I saw a beaten down floor model Gardena 380AC at the Westend Rona in Edmonton priced down from Cdn300.00 to Cdn159.00. The unit does not have a manual and a battery and have no idea if the unit is even working. I asked one of the salesmen including their manager and was disappointed because they were not helpful about it. All they said was the unit is a clearance item and didn't even bother checking out what type of a battery it would need. Thanks NP for your comment above about the availability of the battery but I wonder if that type would be available in Edmonton and if not, which store would I be able to place an order if I decide to buy the unit. JP, on your comment about using the unit for your personal green, how low can you cut the grass with with your Gardena unit? Did you do any modification to get it lower down to 1/8"? I am redoing my backyard loan to turn it into a fairly small personal putting green using bent grass and I would need a mower to be able to cut down to 1/8".

Hello RC

Try your local Nedco. Nedco is a (Canadian?) national wide electrical parts supplier for industries/trades. They do offer cash-over-counter to someone who does not have an account with them, at least in the Greater Toronto Area.

Another supplier is Westburne Electric (American?) Or try your local Yellow Pages for electrical supplier, battery store, electric vehicle, hobbies model store.

Battery Post is a franchised store for retail business but it seems they do not have outlets in the West. Try Battery Plus, Battery Zone.

Again, 12V 12Ah gel cells are quite common and I believe that the industry has standardised the size too. Please do not mix it up with ordinary car batteries.

Good luck.

I ordered a replacement battery through Gardena Canada at 905-792-9330. Current price is $55+tax+shipping. They ship the very next day. Wow!

I just bought a Gardena 380 AC electric reel mower from Home Depot in Calgary. It was a floor model and didn't come with a manual, so I'm not sure that I'm even trying to use it right. I thought it would be fairly simple as the drive handle(I assume)is under ther push bar and the red button on the side would/should activate the motor, virtually the same as my gas mower. When I got it home I charged it(I think)for 24 hrs and nothing. So I don't know if it's me or the mower. Does anybody out there about this machine and can explain it to me

Thanks

P.S. You're right you can use it manully but it's a real,real hard slug.

You can fin a manual at this web address: http://www.gardena.com/servlet/INT/resources/CA/en/manuals/04026-20_man_CAen.pdf

I'm also looking to see if someone has found a way to modify the height adjustment since I find that 42mm is not enough for the lawn