A couple of minor cautions: if you frequently mow your grass wet or damp, or let it go for weeks, this one might not be for you. It WILL handle those conditions as well as the equiv.-powered gas mower, but will have to be recharged more frequently. Suffice to say: Mowing grass wet and going weeks between mows IS BAD FOR YOUR GRASS, so it's not a good idea regardless of the mower type.

As for the 24-hr recharge one reviewer complained about (it's actually just 16 hrs), it WILL regain 60% of full charge in 4 hrs., so for all but the most impatient, the recharge cycle shouldn't be a problem.

I've found this mower to be quite capable of holding up well to normal use--in fact, holding up better than most gas/push mowers. Too bad, most people won't consider these at all!

(I notice the Canadian govt. is offering rebates for people purchasing this mower or a "people-powered" reel mower--great idea! I bet George Bush will pick up on this any day now!)

Heavy plastic beast dies after 2 summers (Rating: 1.00)
Review : Listen to the negative reviews. I bought a CMM1000 in early 2002. I have a very small lot, no hills - should be an ideal candidate. I had to put it out for large-trash pick up this morning.

It worked OK for the two years it would hold a charge. But it was just OK, not great.

Operation: It's not self-propelled, and it's a good deal heavier than any gas mower I've owned (that battery is a huge, solid chunk). That makes it hard to push, even for a fairly big guy like myself. It has small, hard-plastic wheels that tend to be slippery. I did like not having to keep a full can of gasoline or extra oil around in my garage, though.

Performance: It never cut grass very well, especially on the higher blade settings. Mulched OK, but had no blowing power. I wasn't able to bag clippings, really, because they clogged up in the expulsion chamber. The blowing power is so bad that you can't even blow clippings off your sidewalks with the mower.

Build quality: The entire thing is plastic, except for the blade, handle and wheel axles. The washer that holds the blade on is a tiny piece of plastic with a tiny overlapping edge. Mine wore out after the second time I sharpened the blade and tried to remount it. Even the padding on the handlebars shredded after only three months or so.

Longevity: Here's the worst thing. When I revived it for this year, it lost all ability to cut for more than about 3 minutes at a time. Starts up fine, but bogs down even on normally tall grass. The service center told me I need a new battery, and that's $100 plus installation.

I've always followed the battery instructions to the letter. Biggest waste of four hundred bucks I've ever seen. Wish I could give it negative four stars, but one will have to do.

CMM1000 19" (Rating: 5.00)
Review : The Black & Decker CMM1000 19" works great, I purchased one to mow around my swimming pool. The mower mows great and holds a charge, the mulching keeps the grass out of the swimming pool while the mowing job keeps the grass looking great. If your looking for a mower that will not only do a good job, but will last, its the Black & Decker CMM1000 19"

Black & Decker CM1000 (Rating: 3.00)
Review : The first 2 years I really enjoyed this mower. I could mow my small yard in 30 to 40 minutes & the power meter would still be in the green. Now, starting my 3rd summer with it, I am disappointed that the battery already needs to be replaced.
Within 2 minutes after starting, the meter drops from the green to yellow zone & I am lucky to mow 30 minutes before it is in the red & finally stops.
Yet I like the convience. Flip a switch to start. No gasoline or oil to mess with.
Still I hate to pay over $100 for a new battery so soon

Not as expected (Rating: 2.00)
Review : I have used this mower about 2-3 times. The battery charge lasts about 45 minutes before it goes into yellow region of charge indicator (time to recharge). When cutting grass, the mower leaves some larger blades of grass partially uncut and you have to go back and recut the grass. This is not a big problem if you have a small yard but with a larger yard it can be very frustrating. This problem may be due to the narrow blade on the cordless mower which is much narrower than my gas mower. I have gone back to using my gas mower for most of my mowing since it doesn't choke down nearly as often and I don't have to deal with recharging after 45 min. or going back and recutting grass.