It’s an age-old question for gardeners: do you choose a powerful, noisy petrol lawnmower, or a quieter electric one with an awkward power cord?
Now there’s a third choice – a battery-charged lawnmower, built in Britain, that’s as powerful as a petrol model but quieter than some domestic vacuum cleaners.
Its manufacturer, Bosch, has killed off the petrol mower, and has said it won’t build any more of the noisier, dirtier models.
Products in the new range are built in Britain, start at the touch of a button, don’t involve trips to the garage for petrol and are not affected by rain or cold weather.
A Swedish study found that, of the course of an hour, the emissions produced by a petrol mower are equal to the emissions released by a car on a 100-mile journey.
With 15 million residential lawns mowed every couple of weeks over summer, fortnightly lawnmower emissions could be roughly the same as driving 500 million miles in a car. That’s the distance from the Sun to Jupiter (if you could drive it).
‘Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson has been famously sniffy about electric-powered cars. If he could experience the power of our electric mowers he would be amazed. It’s a shame he doesn’t present a programme called ‘Top Shear’.’
Joao Barufi, Bosch Garden Tools division
Bosch’s new cordless Professional Garden tools offer benefits that eclipse their petrol-powered rivals.
‘Our new range is quieter than some domestic vacuum cleaners, has huge environmental benefits and saves on maintenance and fuel costs. They’re also robust – I jumped up and down on the top of mine this morning – and very stylish.’
Joao Barufi, Bosch Garden Tools division
They’re built around heavy-duty batteries and feature brushless motors, so they don’t need servicing. On top of that, the fuel savings mean the mowers and brushcutters could effectively pay for themselves over a few years.
The technology is low-vibration, and the fully weather-proof (rated IP54) batteries are compatible with both the new mowers and brushcutters. They feature a fast 42-minute recharge time.
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