<p>Last weekend was a busy one for me. After I got the stock moved around and some fences built, I turned to the yard … although I still don’t have the garlic planted. The backyard wasn’t terribly overgrown, but it looked patchy with grass that needed one last mowing and clover that was just about right. Rather than fire up the old <a title=”Kubota” href=”http://kubota.com/f/home/home.cfm” target=”_blank”>
<font color=”#0000ff”>Kubota</font>
</a>-diesel-powered <a title=”Cub Cadet” href=”http://www.cubcadet.com/” target=”_blank”>Cub Cadet</a> with 50-inch mower deck, I decided to try out <a title=”Neuton Power Equipment’s battery-powered Neuton CE 6.2 mower” href=”http://www.neutonpower.com/TwoStepModelDetail.aspx?Name=CEM6-2Model&cm_re=CE%20Home%20Page%201-_-Product%20Line%20Up-_-Mower%206.2″ target=”_blank”>
<font color=”#0000ff”>Neuton Power Equipment’s battery-powered Neuton CE 6.2 mower</font>
</a>Â instead.</p>
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<p>I had unpacked the Neuton and charged up its battery a couple of weeks ago, so it was ready to go. I was a little skeptical that this 19-inch-cut electric rotary mower would be up to the task, but since it is produced by the same folks who invented the original <a title=”Field and Brush Mower” href=”http://drpower.com/TwoStepCategory.aspx?p1Name=DRPowerHome&Name=FieldBrush2Step&cm_re=Home%20Page%201-_-Machine%20Line-Up-_-FAB&BC=0:Home&LinkType=2″ target=”_blank”>
<font color=”#0000ff”>Field and Brush Mower</font>
</a>Â (Country Home Products), I figured it had to be good. My mower came with a removable side-discharge chute and a mulching plug that fits into the discharge opening when the chute isn’t in place. Our yard was full of leaves, and I generally don’t ever collect clippings, so I installed the plug.</p>
<p>The CE 6.2 was pure joy to operate. At first, I had the deck set too low for our rough ground … 5 seconds later I had effortlessly raised it with the adjusting lever located under the mower’s hood. The Neuton performed flawlessly. I mowed for about 45 minutes, chopping with ease the remaining long grass and leaves into bits. The machine’s battery meter was still in the middle of the green zone when I dusted the Neuton off and put it back in the barn.</p>
<p>The things I really liked about this mowing experience center on the Neuton’s electric power system, its low-noise, no-fume characteristics, and the fact that it has one of the nicest safety interlock systems of any power mower I have ever used. Gone are the lever and bail type safety clutch controls. In their place is an ergonomically perfect switch that’s been integrally designed into the handle. Wow. What a treat.</p>
<p>Stay tuned until spring when I have a chance to put the Neuton to the test. I don’t think I will tackle the whole yard with that mower, but I do think I will trim around trees and fence lines with it … and I am certain I will continue to use the Neuton for the backyard. It’s much easier to maneuver a 19-inch-wide electric walk-behind mower around Kate’s flower gardens than it is a big garden tractor … safer for the flowers, too.</p>
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<a href=”http://www.grit.com/biographies/oscar-h-will” target=_self>Hank Will</a>
<em> raises hair sheep, heritage cattle and many varieties of open-pollinated corn with his wife, Karen, on their rural Osage County, Kansas farm. His home life is a perfect complement to his professional life as editor in chief at GRIT and Capper’s Farmer magazines. Connect with him on </em>
<a title=Google+ href=”https://plus.google.com/u/0/117459637128204205101/posts” target=_blank rel=author>Google+</a>.</p>
