The Little Lawn Mower That Could

Black & Decker electric mower. My lawn Humvee.

I used to think electric lawn mowers were unmanly. Suburban wimps in soft-brimmed hats and Docker shorts use electric mowers. Real men use something like a Briggs & Stratton 3.5 horsepower cutter/mulcher.

I had a Briggs & Stratton mower. Paid about 8,000 Baht or more. Then I had to buy a jerry can to store the petrol and find somewhere to store the petrol and the oil. Somehow the petrol tank was always empty and the oil gone whenever I needed them. Family members with motorcycles seemed to think I was running a gas station.

I felt very manly opening the choke and pumping a bit of petrol into the carburetor and pulling the cord and it made a very satisfying manly sound. Then it broke. Specifically, the rubber thumb plunger dried out and cracked so I couldn’t pump any gas into the carburetor to get it started. Nobody in Udon had a replacement part. I kept thinking “my next trip to Bangkok” I’ll take it to that shop I’ve seen on Ladproa Road that had lots of Briggs & Stratton mowers out front.

A lawn mower is not exactly carry-on and packing it up to put in the luggage hold seemed a chore, assuming they would let me check it in as luggage. I kept thinking, “the next trip to Bangkok that we drive”. Never happened of course. Last I saw Briggs & Stratton they were rusting quietly under the rice barn.

Shortly afterwards I broke down and bought a Black and Decker electric mower. What a great little machine. My “lawn” is not exactly a golf green. It’s got hills and valleys and roots. It’s got cement ledges and paving stone corners and chunks of bone the dogs have chewed down to nubs. The B&D either bounces off it or chews it up and spits it out. It’s like a little Humvee. It’s got a large collector basket for the cuttings which are ever so good for the compost heap.

Lightweight and easy to operate. Press a button and off you go. Mine came with about 20 meters of flex. It’s got a safety handle like a trolley cart. As long as you hold it down the current flows. Take your hand off and it stops. Absolutely nothing has broken, all the more amazing considering that all the parts are plastic. I’ve sharpened the blade once in the five years I’ve been using it.

Keeping track of the electric cord is a bit of a hassle but overall so much easier than all that fussing with gas and oil. If you’re naturally clumsy like me you’re going to run over the flex sooner or later. No big deal. Unplug it (don’t forget that part) and splice the wires back together and back to work.

And it’s quiet. Allows me think manly landscaping thoughts while I’m cutting the grass in my hard brimmed cowboy hat and torn jeans.

Learn more about types of grass for tropical climates.