Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(69)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

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 with 36 volts vs 24 volts

. - Good because old mower struggled with tall grass

. - Not sure how this really translates in performance

- 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 if 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.

About 13 years ago I bought a battery powered lawn mower made by Black and Decker (I think it was their first). In many ways it was perfect: quiet, clean, easy to use. It only had one minor flaw that might discourage the user: it didn't actually cut grass. It was more of a "grass brusher", or perhaps a "grass massager" - bathing the grass in a gentle breeze without harming any wildlife, or grass.

I'm happy to say that 13 years later B&D seem to have worked the bugs out.

I've been able to use this mower three times now and I'm happier with it each time: it's light, quiet, easy to use, and yes, it cuts grass. I've even used it to mulch up small branches after pruning with great results. While not nearly as powerful as my gas mower it actually does a better job of mulching, perhaps because it was clearly designed with mulching in mind. With my gas mower it always seemed like an afterthought. I did put the bag on it once: it switches from mulching to bagging easily enough (remove a small block and put the bag on back). The bag looked a little small but I'll have to wait till summer brings me more grass to really try it out. That doesn't bother me since I mostly use the bag for cleaning up around sidewalks or to suck up leaves in the fall.

Starting it is easy: there is a "plug" where you plug in the charger - unplug the charger and plug in a small dongle, push a button and pull on the safety bar and it starts right up. I'd suggest attaching the dongle to the mower so you don't lose it. Height adjustment is also really easy: one hand, one wheel, and you're done. I've had no issues with the charge running out. I don't have a large yard so I don't expect this to be an issue (my grass area is about 1500 sq ft). Just to see what would happen I didn't charge it again after the first time I mowed and I got two more mows over three weeks out of it and I might even try for a fourth. That tells me it should handle a pretty good sized yard (though I should note the battery is not removable so if you have a really big yard you may want to step up to the 19inch model with the removable battery).

As mentioned in the description it folds up, something I love. I live far enough north that I don't need a mower for a good part of the year. Being able to fold it up into a corner is really nice. I've definitely decided to ditch the gas mower in favor of this thing. The only person I could see who would not want this mower would be someone of limited strength since it is not self-propelled. It's light enough that I have no trouble pushing it up hills, but if you have any physical limitations this is probably not the mower for you.

The only thing it doesn't have that I would like is a battery level indicator. Beyond that this is a fantastic electric mower.

Update: I finally got to use this on some really tall grass and it did a pretty good job. In a few places it seemed to struggle but the final cut was very even. I was using it in "mulch" mode which did fairly well. In some places I had to make another pass finishing mulching the grass but overall it did a better job than my gas mower at mulching.

We have owned the Neuton ce5 battery mower for years. it worked so well we were going to buy another until i saw this 36 volt b&d mower for $80 less.

the black and decker is much more powerful and cuts a 18" swath compared to the neutons 14". i took my new b&d mower out and mowed all our lawns and a bunch of weeds in a field and it still had power to spare. the neuton would have run out long ago.

the only thing i do not like about the b&d is that you can not take the battery out. it is convenient to be able to take out the neutons battery and charge it in the garage or house.

besides that it is a much better deal than the neuton.

after enough reviews counting two months of reading, i knew i wanted to go with the 36 volt mower and i knew i wanted the black and decker. i spent ten minutes furiously trying to crank my 21" weedeater mower the day of purchase and just sweated, a lot. in an arkansas summer, extra, unnecessary outside work can just kill you. like pulling a lawnmower cord for ten minutes and drenching yourself with sweat and the thing still wont start. i'm sick of oil, i'm sick of going to the store for two gallons of gasoline. i'm sick of that pull cord.

granted, the inherent problems with my gas mower may be closer attuned with the singular fact that i havent been servicing it properly. but i have a small yard and it's two years old. a new air filter this year, a new spark plug.. and it wont start. i could pay for a tune up, it's only like forty bucks, and it could work just fine. but for how long.. indeed.

it's too hot outside. i want to mow the lawn, but i'm sick of the noise and the hassle. and mowing was such a breeze yesterday. it was truly uncanny:

i cut down the sides of the box with box cutters [per the instructions], applied the four nuts and two twist screws, took it out front, pushed the button and pulled back the handle lever. then mowed part of the front lawn. i paused to go around back where my woman was pulling weeds from around her marigolds. she spent ten minutes and mowed half of the front yard. there are always pictures of people mowing on web pages offering the sale of mowers. the people in the pictures, they have their safety glasses on, their boots laced up, wearing nice, clean clothes AND theyre smiling. but i dont think ive ever smiled mowing the lawn. my wife, that first time mowing with the new mower, when all she had to do to start it was push a button and pull back a lever and navigate the quiet mower, she smiled the entire time. she took back all the complaints she had throughout the day. she said she was sorry she ever doubted me, that by now she should trust better my purchase decisions.

in her defense, though.. four hundred bucks is nuts for a lawn mower when a hundred and fifty dollars couldve gotten us another gas one, so i am hopeful this one last longer than two summers. but the breeze of doing something so simply is far from underrated..

1936 versus 1836:

1936 pros:

-the 19" is an inch wider--the wider the inches, the quicker the lawn is mowed

-the 1936 offers a removable battery

1836 pros over the 1936

-eight pounds lighter--that's eight pounds of dead weight

-comes with mulching insert and an extra blade--those dont come with the 1936

i mulch my yard every time i mow. so a mulching mower is integral. the 1836 comes with the mulching insert. i imagine that the insert isnt expensive, maybe eight dollars or upwards of thirteen dollars, but it was nice to see it in the box. also, the extra blade i'm sure will come in handy. sharpen one a year and switch them out, i hated pulling one off just to sharpen right then and then put back-on before i get to the season's first mow. seems that i can sharpen the second one sometime during the winter when it's convenient and switch it out fairly effortlessly.

my yard is small. small front, small back, but far too big for a weed eater/whacker to handle. takes me only forty minutes to mow it all, and in a hurry it takes roughly half of that time. if i had a larger yard or thicker grass, i'd have probably gone with the 1936 model because it would offer another inch of cutting width and you can remove the battery. if i had a larger yard, i would have spent the extra fifty dollars on the 1936 and purchased another battery, so i could switch them out on queue.

as my yard needs go:

i have a small yard with thinner southern grass

i hate oil, gas

this mower is eight pounds lighter than the 1936--shaving off eight lbs of dead weight

it's easy to navigate and very quiet

this is quieter than the 1936 and the battery last longer than the 24 volt--two other reasons i purchased the 1836

so, if youre like me and need your front yard mowed the day of and your gas mower does nothing but pass gas, buy this one, take it out of the box, screw on the two bolts and the four nuts, and mow the front yard right then and there. there's no sweating, there's no yanking or pulling or fighting or cussing. you may even likely find a smile on your face for at least part of the mow. the smile more than likely will fade eventually, but youre not gonna sweat the way you used to. and your psychology wont darken with the usual cursing and fighting and spitting like the way it used to be with most of the history of those gas mowers.

but likely, you'll smile.

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.

Our house sits on 1/4 of an acre which means we have less than 1/4 of an acre to mow.

We purchased this mower based on the reviews and the notion that we would easily be able to mow the lawn on one charge. This has been far from the truth. So far we have had to charge the mower on average 3 times to get the whole lawn mowed. If I had known this at the time of purchase I would have opted for a different mower.

When working, the mower does do a good job and is fairly quite. It folds in a compact manner which allows for easy storage.

Nice concept but not what I expected.

Ordered this mower based on reviews and price. Unfortunately, it did not work out of the box. Charger was defective so I got a replacement from B&D. New charger worked, but mower still won't run. Then found out that Amazon does not accept returns on this mower. Something about it has hazardous material (Yea right - a sealed battery). Called B&D to find out what they could do. They referred me to an authorized dealer for repair. I haven't taken it yet but - one hour there to drop it off; one hour back - then another 2 hour trip to pick it up assuming they fix it. CAVEAT EMPTOR.

After searching (and searching, and searching, and searching...) for information and good reviews on cordless mowers, I finally bit the bullet and bought this one. Having had the mower for almost a month and used it three times to mow the lawn, I'm now convinced that I made an excellent decision.

The mower has plenty of power to handle a typical lawn. In truth, the first time I used it, it seemd to be a little sluggish on the longer grass I encountered near the end of the mowing the back yard. The next two times I used it I did nopt experience this however. I chalk this up to my being over-anxious to use the mower the first time, and probably not charging it as much as need be. (But honestly... aren't you the same way with new tools, gadgets and toys?)

Coming out of the box, the mower sets up in just a couple of minutes. It is easily configured for use and reconfigured for vertical storage at the end of every job. I have only used the mower as a mower/mulcher, so I can't speak to the effectiveness of the cut grass bag. It seems very sturdy, though, and I have every reason to believe that it would be as highly functional as the rest of the mower.

One of the features I didn't give much credence to when I bought the mower is the electric braking on the blade. When you release the "dead man" handle to stop the mower, the blades stop in less than two seconds. This brings a great peace of mind when my 18-month old son runs toward me and the mower. I simply let go and the mower comes to a screaching halt. Starting up again is as easy as pushing a button while pulling the dead man handle again.

I would wholeheartedly recommend this mower to anyone looking for an energy-friendly, solid, workhorse of a machine.

I bought this item last week from Amazon. Assembled, recharged, and followed all the procedures in the manual. Unfortunately the machine simply failed to start. My call to Black and Decker yielded no new insights but two suggestions, either go to a local repair shop some thirty miles away or return to Amazon. I checked and learned Amazon would not even accept a return. Not sure why Amazon would not accept a return, but you are warned.

I will wait to see what Amazon says after this public complaint. Otherwise it would be safer to buy local.

From Southern California.

Decided to go cordless electric after trying elderly neighbor's little jimmy neuton. That 50 lb., 14" model did a good job but died half way through my yard on a full charge. I looked at 90 lb., 24v. models which are common these days. (and on sale) But I wanted something a little lighter (for the wife) and with adequate power and stamina to complete my Wisteria Lane size yard. Enter this 36v B&D model. At 62 lbs with a 18" cut it is just the ticket. And what amazes me is that at height setting 3, it was able to complete my entire yard front and back on the existing charge out of the box! And with power to spare! "ya gotta be kidding me" says I. Should have ordered from Amazon. Could have saved eighty bucks. But I was in big "M" and they had a small stack of these so I grabbed one there. (still have 30 days to return to store and then order one here) Good mower. happy with purchase. Very easy to push and use. The one touch height adjustment is very nice and easy as well. Plan to update this review in about a year and hopefully after many happy mowings.

I wonder how many potential buyers are put off by the corporate B&D orange color? I know I was at first. Bet they would sell a few more of these if it was offered in a green similar to the Neuton or some of their corded models. Just consider it "safety orange" to remind the little tykes not to get too close while your mowing and you'll feel better about pushing this orange thing around your nice yard. Want to be less obtrusive in your neighborhood? Unscrew the cover and re-paint it to the color of your choice. Which I may well do.

*UPDATE* - 6/28/10 Repainted the shroud olive drab. Now not only does it look more at home in my yard but it also looks very military and stealthy. Stencil on my name in black and I'll be all set. The shroud comes off with 6 T-20 torx screws. You'll find 3 12v 10AH batteries in there. These are common enough, used in lots of things. Available on ebay for sixteen bucks a piece. A lot cheaper than B&D who wants a hundred bucks for the set. enjoy your mower. I know I am.