BLACK+DECKER 40V MAX* Cordless Lawn Mower, 16-Inch (CM1640)

I have an old black and decker mower, the 27 volt rechargeable. I have had it for a lot of years (way over 15, closer to 18) and have abused the heck out of the thing. It lived outside for 9 years, always took a charge, and always worked great. I could mulch, mow, anything I needed it to do. Fast forward to today, the mower doesn't quite take a charge like it used to, but boy did it have a great run. Because of that, I decided I would go ahead and buy the same kind of mower, and I am not disappointed. I didn't want to deal with cords and outlets, and I didn't want to deal with gas and oil. I chose to get this one on Amazon because it comes with two batteries and the charger (the local stores are selling the mower only, no batteries or charger for at least 100 dollars more). My old mower was a 19 inch, this one is a 16 inch. I thought it might be an issue, but it is not. Gets into smaller spaces and is easier to turn. The extra power of the 40 volts is worth it. I just finished a job where I did a very large, wet, overgrown lawn and this mower handled it on the included two battery packs without any issue at all. Went over pine cones and branches without issue. Bagged up the grass without a problem. The best part though is moving the thing from place to place. The handle collapses over the top of the mower, and the mower has a carry handle on top. Being under 40 pounds, it was not difficult for me to pick up the mower and put it in the back seat of my car, and then take it to a friends to mow their lawn for them, something I could not do with the old mower. Also, the batteries charge pretty quickly. The old mower was a trickle charger and took about 4 hours to fully charge. The new batteries take a little over an hour, upward of two. Plus, they have a power indicator on them so you can tell how much power is left. I like that the batteries are removeable as opposed to the on-board ones in my old mower (you had to pull the entire mower to the charging area on the old one). There aren't any crazy rules and regulations about charging these batteries at a certain point, like only letting them charge to 90% or not depleting the battery completely, etc., like some of the other rechargeable mowers. Charge them at any time at all, leave them parked on the charger, no matter. It is not self propelled, but the mower is not difficult to push at all. One lever raises and lowers the mower easily and has six height settings. The mower is pretty quiet, my neighbors didn't even realize I was out their mowing. Easy to start. Amazon delivered it within two days, which is also a bonus. Best part is no gas, no oil, and I plan to use a solar charger in the future to charge them. The yard that I took care of today was about 8,000 SF, so if you have a much larger yard, you might have to toggle the charging of the batteries to complete it, but as I said before, the yard I did today was wet and overgrown, so potentially the batteries would last much longer the next time around. It doesn't cost much more than a gas mower does and the idea of not having to pay for gas and oil is a definite bonus.

Update: 5/2025I've used this mower for about 10 years now. Overall, I like this mower, however it does have some issues.PROS: Lightweight and easy to push on flat/slightly sloped ground, super easy to start (love it!), the two batteries it comes with are enough to do my front/back yard (about 1500 square feet total), relatively quiet (compared to gas), cuts well, did I mention how easy it is to use? It's easy enough for my ten-year-old (always provide training and supervision). The batteriy charger lasted for 6 seasons (24 months) using it once per week- I was able to order a new charger. The motor is still going strong (I had the blade sharpened last year) at ten years...however,CONS: small deck/bag means I have to make lots of passes and stop 4-6 times to empty the bag (I mow weekly), the only height setting that works; is the highest setting...the other settings are so low that it causes the grass to go into shock... ideally, the highest setting would be the lowest setting, and it doesn't work (stalls) if the grass is even slightly damp or too tall (over 6 inches) ...the single blade is very small. After ten years the handle broke where it connects to the mower and cannot be repaired due to the way it's made/assembled- looks to be the same assembly type currently. Therefor, I'm buying a different mower this time around.Happy mowing!

Update 6/26/17: The mower completely died on me halfway through my yard 3 weeks ago. I thought it was the battery, so I took a break and recharged both batteries. Wouldn't start at all. Called Black and Decker and was told to take it in to service center. This was after only 3 months, so it was under warranty. Took it in the next week, just brought it home today and the exact same thing. Service center says it worked there. So do I have 2 bad batteries and/or a bad charger, or is it just a lemon? Unsure. Have to take everything back to service center again. No time today. Will update review if and when a fix is found but at this time I would not recommend this mower.I spend several days doing research online and reading reviews at multiple sites before I made this purchase. For the last few years, I had lived on acreage and used a riding mower. I downsized and with a small yard now needed a 'regular' mower. I didn't want to mess with gas and had a Black & Decker cordless weed eater for several years that has been great. I am very happy I went with this mower, it came with 2 batteries which is perfect. I can do my front and back yard and that uses about 1 1/2 batteries. By the time that is done, I am ready to stop so the batteries outlast me! I am older and not in great shape, so I wanted something light and easy to push, this is perfect. It has handled anything I have used it for, even when the grass was really tall for the first mow. I had not used a grass bag before and after a few times I just left it off and used a small metal bar to prop the flap. It does discharge in the back, so that would be something to consider if you don't want to use the grass bag. I don't mind getting a little grass on my shoes so it hasn't been an issue for me. It was very easy to assemble, love that the handle folds for storage and it is easy to lift to put into my storage building after using it.