Rather than risking a hijack of the other mower thread that is active right now, I decided to start a new thread to ask this question. Does anyone have experience with a corded electric lawn mower? I have a small yard that I have been cutting with a me-powered reel type mower. It doesn't cut very well and my efforts to sharpen it have made it worse. (Sharpening involves applying a grit paste to the blades and turning them backwards with a hand crank so they hone themselves against the bar that they normally cut against.) A "professional" tune up of the mower will cost almost as much as a new one and, reading reviews of these mowers, it sounds like having to mow each area twice to get an adequate cut is about par for the course even after a tune-up. My yard is small, but not small enough to want to do that each time. So I am in the market for a new mower.
Environmental concerns and the lack of ethanol-free gas in the Chicago area have me leaning toward an electric mower. I have read the concerns expressed in the other thread about the short lifetime of the batteries used in mowers. My yard is small enough that I don't have to worry about the length of a single charge, but I don't want to replace an expensive battery or the entire mower after a couple of years.
Corded mowers are cheaper upfront and generally have higher stated power. My question is, how much of a hassle is it dealing with the cord as you mow? I don't have a lot of obstacles in my yard for a cord to tangle on. Is it a major pain to deal with the cord at each turn? Any tips on brands or models, and good places to buy?