Green Daily

I live in Southern California and the AQMD has a program where you turn in your gas mower and pay $100.00 and you get a Neutron Mower. I was able to get one this year and it is a great product. I love why quiet it is and of course no more gas and fumes.

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There is no such thing as a free lunch and the same goes for carbon emissions. While you are right that there are no carbon emissions at the point of use, what about the 8 hour charge cycle? It just means the carbon is emmitted at the power station and not in your yard. And how many carbon miles is it to your house from Taiwan?

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I am anxiously awaiting our Neuton mower! I will be charging it on my solar system which runs my off the grid home. So I guess, my footprint will be less than the people complaining about the charging of the batteries. Yes, it was made in Taiwan, but are you saying that everything you buy was made completely in our country? Impossible!

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I am anxiously awaiting our Neuton mower! I will be charging it on my solar system which runs my off the grid home. So I guess, my footprint will be less than the people complaining about the charging of the
batteries.

Yes, it was made in Taiwan, but are you saying that
everything you buy was made completely in our country? Impossible!

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We've had a 5.2 for 3 months and used it in what I would describe as mild to moderate service. My husband loves it. I do not. I find this model flimsy but remarkably hard to push. The cutting path is way too narrow and multiple passes are required to get a decent cut. The killer though was the fact that the mower failed (i.e., would no longer start) after only 3 months of service. Two days wasted on troubleshooting and countless phone calls to Neuton where I was told to follow the manual guidelines (duh) then told to take it apart and test the electrical circuits doesn't cut it. With the closest repair shop that will work on this item 60 miles away I requested a replacement.....now one week past the date I was told to expect the replacement and still waiting.

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Neuton is not America’s #1 Selling Battery-Powered Mower! It also is not American too if it is made in Taiwan. Remington, Black & Decker and Craftsman by far better cordless mowers.

Here’s what I have to say about my Neuton experience; I wasn't impressed with the Neuton mower as I feel it was very poorly made design and is not better than the other competitors cordless mowers such as Craftsman, Black & Decker, Remington and etc. The Neuton to me was very weak on tall grass where my other mower a Remington can handle everything with its 60 volt battery without the cord or with cord. What I experienced from Remington was they answered the phone for me at 4am in the morning when I was looking for a better cordless mower which they answered here in USA (not in India) asking my questions 24 hours a day. I ordered it, I received it less than 2 days, they paid for the shipping and they sent me extra wheels, bolts and washers. When it arrived, I still had the Neuton, so I compared the 2 together in a test; the Remington blew the doors off the Neuton by far. I charged both mowers on a full charge, then ran both of them side by side for as long as they could go (taping the handles together so I could see which was longer), the Neuton ran about 52 minutes, the Remington lasted about 118 minutes. I charged the Neuton in one hour after my first test and did the same with the Remington; the Neuton ran for about 5 to 6 minutes, the Remington ran for 18 minutes. The Remington can fully charge almost in 4 to 5 hours, the Neuton needs 8 to 10 hours but Neuton requires taking out the battery, the Remington, just plug it in (and even mow & charge at the same time) and you can leave it there as long as you want without any issue (for months as the charger shuts itself off after a full charge).

The other issue is the Neuton handles are not very strong, they feel like a beach toy, the Remington, Black & Decker & Craftsman handles are solid steel or feel more metal like than the Neuton does, this means when you have to turn it or lift it for mowing corners, you need strong durable handles. Neuton feels really weak as they flex too much. The idea of a cordless mower is to have the same strength and durability like a gas mower as the cordless are lighter but to have the same close professional cut and feel like a real mower. Neuton feels really less than a lawn mower when compared to a Remington, Black & Decker, and Craftsman. I felt the Neuton is like a trimmer more than a lawn mower because it was so light, floppy handles and an uneven cut.

Customer service, Neuton is not open 24 hours, in fact it is only Monday through Friday Eastern Time only, Remington is 7 days a week. Black & Decker, Craftsman have 24 hour customer service but Monday through Saturday, closed Sundays. Remington, Black & Decker, and Craftsman were also rated higher in May 2008 Consumer Report magazine and was far better than the Neuton. Neuton was the second to the bottom of the list, Black & Decker is the first cordless mower invented and also was the best rated, second best is Craftsman but Remington is the strongest most powerful cordless & corded mower on the market and also it is the easiest to use. Neuton can’t cut as well next to Remington, Black & Decker, and Craftsman but I really like the Remington the best simply because the power, length of the battery, faster charging time, solid handles, more speed options, the design and by far better customer service.

Also what I like about Remington, Black & Decker, and Craftsman too is they are USA made mowers, Neuton is made in Taiwan. Wages in Taiwan are about $.25 to $.55 cents an hour compared to the US; which is $6.00 to $8.00 dollars an hour in the United States. What amazes me, Neuton is based in Vermont but their mowers are made in Taiwan but their prices are the same price as Remington, Black & Decker, and Craftsman anyway, so they are using cheap labor versing US made mowers when they have a more expensive overhead on paying more on minimum wages in the US but they sell the mowers about the same price or cheaper than a Neuton but the Remington, Black & Decker, and Craftsman are better mowers anyway.

I also noticed that Black & Decker was the first company who invented the cordless mower, they also were the first who started the gas mower exchange program too but Neuton has used their philosophy taking their version idea as if it was they’re idea instead of Black & Decker’s. I read several forum sites and noticed Black & Decker goes way back on history on the gas exchange programs before Neuton did. I also noticed that Remington, Black & Decker, Earthwise and Craftsman also do exchange programs together not based on only one exchange product mower, they allow each other to have people try them out at the gas mower exchanges by giving people a choice to pick and choose but Neuton is trying to only sell itself, not with other cordless mower products at these exchanges, that isn’t fair and says it isn’t all about being green, is it?

Also Neuton doesn’t admit nor do they tell you that their mowers can cut everything, they don’t (they say 60 to 45 minutes). You have to buy the product first to decide if you don’t like it or not and if you don’t like it, you have to pay the shipping fee to return it, sure you get 6 months to use it but that they don’t tell you its limitations or compared to from gas or even electric. Remington, Black & Decker, and Craftsman don’t charge you a dime if you don’t like their mowers, so they offer a better guarantee than Neuton does as they charge you to return it. Remington also offers free parts on several things on their mowers without a charge and also they listen to their customers too. They improve there service and their products by any complaints reported sending feedback to their engineers by making things better. Sure this is common but Neuton is only a 2 model mower company; Remington, Black & Decker, and Craftsman are bigger and more reliable companies making all sorts of products besides mowers.

Even though I agree with Neuton, going green is important but gas mowers still have a place in the market just like Hybrid cars, there are gas efficient mowers too. We can’t count those gas mowers out, many of these gas mower companies are USA made mowers which doesn’t help good old USA if you bash them out completely by swapping products made in China & Taiwan instead. When it comes to mowing, cordless mowers are not the best, Remington, Black & Decker, and Craftsman will admit that their customers that battery mowers can’t cut all their needs but Neuton, doesn’t always tell you that. If anything were second best to the power of gas mowers, it’s electric. No cordless mower can beat 120 or 220 volts. Electric mowers have been around for years (90 years), so if going green were the answer and saving money, cords beat the batteries any day. If you go cordless you have to replace batteries, electrics you don’t, that’s means corded are more green than battery because batteries wear out as you need to be dispose them & which also requires more manufacturing making more batteries. So if you want to use the Remington mower and your battery needs replacing, you can run on the cord as long as you like as batteries are expensive where you may never need a battery again. Also some people may not use very much gas anyway, so if you divide $100.00 for a 5 year battery, depending how much gas you need, gas may be just as efficient as a battery mower. Let’s say you spend about $10.00 a year filling your gas mower which if you mow about every 2 to 3 weeks lets say 1,000 square feet or less than 3,000 square feet, your gas mower would be cheaper to own. If you own a 1980’s gas mower but it still runs, you have to spend $300.00 to $400.00 on a battery mower and also replacing the battery in 2 to 5 years, you ending spending way more money for nothing. So spending more money than you would like as if gas is bad for the environment, so is manufacturing new mowers as it requires more fuel to make batteries & cordless mowers than gas mowers anyway. If people don’t need to replace them, it is also bad for the environment making more cordless mowers too. There are a lot of people who may use their gas mower seldom and may not need battery mowers anyway. What exchanges do is they make people spend money to exchange something they really may not need to exchange for or may not save the environment as environmentalist predict. How does Neuton know how much people use their gas mowers to pollute the environment? It is only an estimation, so trading or buying a battery mower may not equal its use to manufacturing more mowers to add to the problem by making more unnecessary mowers polluting the environment even more, that is a fact. Selling green and going green is a marketing tactic, so I don’t believe everyone should go buy a battery mower. Oil leaks or etc is a hair of the issue than using oil to manufacture machinery to produce more mowers by the thousands even the hundreds is actually worse. Personally cutting grass is less healthy than letting grass grow if the environment is an issue, same with like cutting trees, we don’t need to cut trees if we can save our old furniture and continue using it than cutting tree to make more furniture; same fact.

However let me make my statement and say that the Neuton mower is not the best cordless mower product on the market (there are plus’s & negatives in all products) and it is not helping the US economy with outsourcing Japanese labor for US jobs nor is it really saving the environment if people are spending unnecessary money to produce more mowers if they are not needed; that creates more green house gases and air pollution. When you manufacture new mowers, you also pollute the environment by making them for unnecessary reasons as stated above. Sure the issue of going green is good but also saving US jobs to manufacture mowers here instead of Taiwan and making mowers with options without making more batteries or reasons to spend more money 3 to 5 years later, then making different mowers later on the market to sell something else. Again another marketing tactic to make money versing the real need to save the environment from pollution. I will admit, all companies want to make money by making more products by upgrading or changing ideas which also means buying again later when they don’t need to. You know the saying if it isn’t broken don’t fix it? That is so true!

So my point is, Neuton will be a better product if you have ideas to make a product that doesn’t require changing, upgrading or purchasing something later if it doesn’t need to. Sell it once, let it last the customer 20 to 30 years without manufacturing more and make it in the United States where your company is located. If I owned an electric Lawn Boy mower and it was 30 years old or even a gas mower which if I use it less than 4 to 10 times a year, still works, not all people should be sold on going green if it not really necessary for everybody. Keep the old mower then, don’t try to sell them something if they don’t need it. If people buy and buy things they don’t need it, that is just as bad for the environment than trying to save it by doing something else.

Lastly to Tom Hughes from Neuton, start making your mowers in the United States, get out of Taiwan and help Americans by making your product here in this country, sell your product with a USA made label idea. That will sell your company with a good intention for pride in America but also make a product that doesn’t need any replacing or more manufacturing for the years to come. Make a corded mower or even a hybrid gas mower or a hydrogen mower which uses water instead of battery acid and also work with other USA made cordless mower companies so people have a choice to pick what they want.

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OK, here's my story:

I have a Neuton 5.1 purchased in May 2007. I loved that mower for the entire summer of 2007.

I mowed for the first time this season at end of April and my Neuton performed as if it were brand new. It did well all through May and June...around the first week of July it started sounding weak fairly soon after I started to mow.

I changed to a fresh, sharp blade and noticed a better cut, but the motor still sounded weaker than previously on a full battery charge.

To make a long story bit shorter:

I have been borrowing my neighbor's gas mower since early July. During that time, I have been in contact via phone and e-mail with a customer service rep re my Neuton. So far, he has replaced the battery charger and when that did no good, the battery itself. With the new battery fully charged, the mower will not even utter a sound. I have checked the cord connections and as far as I can tell, all is well there.

We have no service center near here that repairs this type of mower. I understand from the Neuton rep that there is warranty service available for my Neuton in the next county; it will mean a trip of about 50 miles one way, but I would be willing to take this unit in for repair one time. If it is not working properly after that, I want a replacement. To me, the Neuton's $400 price tag suggests it would last a lot longer than one mowing season.

I am now waiting on the next word from the Neuton rep I have been working with. So far I have received no response to the e-mail I sent him earlier this week reporting that the new battery did not solve the problem. However, this is a holiday weekend, so I will give him the benefit of the doubt for now.

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UPDATE: Neuton is sending me a replacement mower. I will return my mower once the new one is received.

I must comment on the cusomer service at Neuton; it is refreshing to work with a company such as this. I believe in green products wherever possible and since my mower was so wonderful the first season, I am hoping the replacement will perform as advertised for several mowing seasons.

If I have problems with the new mower I will have to return to using a gas mower but I am now in a position to give the Neuton battery-powered mower another chance and I am happy about that.

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