Black & Decker CM1836 18-Inch 36 Volt Cordless Electric Lawn Mower With Key Start

Comment: Best mower that I've owned. Starts up easy and runs over my lawn great (I don't have really long grass). The bag doesn't get in the way of mowing and it's easy to disconnect. This is a great mower!

Comment: I purchased the Black and Decker Cordless 24 volt mulching mower (CMM1000) in 2005 and have been using it ever since. When I had the opportunity to upgrade to this mower (CM1836) I jumped on it.

I wanted a cordless electric mower to:

- Not have to deal with gas and oil
- Be able to mow without feeling like I need a shower due to exhaust fumes
- Save my hearing
- Keep me from re-injuring my right shoulder by not having to pull the cord to start
- Mulch

The CMM1000 did all of those fantastically for 4 1/2 years for me and the CM1836 improves on most features. I'm really happy to have the newer version. I know I have just barely used this mower and I promise to update this review if anything changes. For now, I can give you a good comparison of this mower with my previous cordless electric, keeping in mind that I've been quite happy with the previous version.

The CM 1836 Improves in all of these areas over the CMM1000 which I really liked quite well:

- This mower claims to be 50% more powerful 36 volts vs 24 volts
. - Good because old mower struggled with tall grass
- This mower is a tad quieter than the old one
- The handle is more ergonomic and easier to grip
- This mower as a whole is a bit smaller and lighter
- This mower stores more easily because it has a fold down handle
- The starting mechanism is easier and more elegant
- The safety key is better (safer from 2 year olds than the old one)

The CM 1836 actually is a bit worse than the CMM1000 in a couple areas:
- The height adjustment mechanism is harder to use than the old one.
. - Although it may be safer because there is no way to adjust while running now
. - Note that it is still a single lever that adjusts all wheels
- The cutting width is 1" less on an already short cutting width (only 18")
- The bag is a bit smaller on an already small bag (although I mulch)
- There is no longer a battery level indicator on the mower which was nice to have

I'm not sure is this is good or bad, but this mower has a smaller rear wheel as well. I haven't noticed it as a problem yet.

I still have the following complaint with this mower, but I think it is slightly improved over the old one. The mowing deck is deceptive. It has a wide side area embedded within the deck that prevents the blade from going out as far as the edge of the deck. You have to have more overlap between strips of grass when mowing. (I think that the frame of the mower with the wheel height adjustment is hidden in the mowing deck.)

One word of caution is that my battery quit working just short of 2 years on the old mower. Luckily, it was still in warranty and Black and Decker replaced it free of charge. Unfortunately, the nearest authorized service shop to do it was 70 miles away and they were not very accommodating (9-5 Monday through Friday).

One thing to note is that when I set this up I found that the front right wheel was sort of caught up on the mowing deck and the adjustment lever wouldn't work with that wheel. I determined that the axle for the wheel had not been inserted all the way across (it had a little stopping mechanism). I fixed it quickly by loosening the axle bracket and sliding the axle the rest of the way and then tightening the bracket back up. Hope the rest of it was assembled correctly by the factory.

BOTTOM LINE: I absolutely love having an electric mower. As long as you don't let the grass get totally out of control, you shouldn't ever have problems with it and you will LOVE that you don't have to deal with fumes, noise, or running to get gas for it.

Comment: This is a wonderful machine! Assembly took less than 5 minutes from the box. It took only 2 bolts and 4 nuts to completely assemble. The mower is lightweight and rolls easily. You can easily adjust the cutting height with one lever instead of having to adjust each wheel one at a time. You only need to push a button and pull back the lever to start this mower.

I also like the fact that while cutting it releases zero emissions and runs quietly. It is also easy to re-charge the mower when finished. Another plus is the fact that I no longer need to transport gasoline inside vehicle. My car doesn't have a trunk so I always had to put the gas can in the back seat floorboard, and smell gas in the car for the next few days. I think this is a great machine for a single mom or woman who isn't good with machines--look, I'm a woman so I can say this! It also has a safety key so your kids can't just go and start it up. It's also green, so anyone who wants something super easy will like this. This is good for a small yard, or you will need to recharge. It is not self-propelled, but like I said before, it is easy to roll so unless you have a lot of hills, that should not be a problem.