Electric lawnmower problem!

Damiencm

Hi all

I have had an electric lawnmower for the past 6 months, never any problems until now.

The motors powers up and the blade spins fine, however as soon as the blade touches the grass it slows right down and doesn't cut the grass at all.

Has anyone had a similar problem or know what might be up

Marhay70

Maybe you're just trying to cut grass that is too long or too wet or both. Electric mowers are really only for light duty,try raising the height of the cut and then cut progressively shorter. Slowing down under light load would indicate worn brushes or burnt out windings, if that's the case it should still be under warranty.

Damiencm

Thanks Marhay, grass was pretty short and completely dry when i tried cutting it. Unfortunetly I have no proof of purchase!

Damiencm

Excuse my ignorance but what are 'brushes and winding' is there anyway to diagnose if these are the problems and are they fixable?

To make matters worse I bought a used lawnmower on Thursday on advert. ie that appears to have the same problem...so now i have 2 broken lawnmowers. My own stupidity with the 2nd one, should have tested it properly 😡

Marhay70

Damiencm wrote: »

Excuse my ignorance but what are 'brushes and winding' is there anyway to diagnose if these are the problems and are they fixable?

To make matters worse I bought a used lawnmower on Thursday on advert. ie that appears to have the same problem...so now i have 2 broken lawnmowers. My own stupidity with the 2nd one, should have tested it properly 😡

Brushes and windings are part of the electric motor, brushes transfer current between the rotor and the coils, the coils and rotor are the windings.
The mower body would have to be dismantled to get at the motor, wear to the brushes would be evident once they are removed but problems with the windings would require a bench test by an electrician. Both are fixable, the brushes comparatively cheaply but any damage or burning of the windings would be too expensive to warrant doing.
These are extreme examples of what could be wrong, I assume you've checked under the deck to make sure there is nothing jamming the blade or the blade shaft, wet grass can stick to the underside of the deck and sometimes long grass can get twisted around the shaft and slow the motor down, if there is, clean it out.
How big is the area to be cut, it may be that you need a power mower?

Damiencm

Its a pretty small lawn, so thought it would be a waste buying a petrol mower. But perhaps not. I've taken the body apart and every thing looks fine with no signs of wear and tear, but I suppose thats to the untrained eye.

Everything is clean with no grass or anything else stuck where it shouldnt be

Marhay70

Damiencm wrote: »

Its a pretty small lawn, so thought it would be a waste buying a petrol mower. But perhaps not. I've taken the body apart and every thing looks fine with no signs of wear and tear, but I suppose thats to the untrained eye.

Everything is clean with no grass or anything else stuck where it shouldnt be

An electric mower should be well capable of tackling a small lawn, and problems with electric motors in that short a period are usually down to abuse. From what you've said up to now, I'm not inclined to think the actual motor is faulty.
It's strange that the second mower should behave in the same way, it's almost as if you had a problem with your power supply, like having a phase down, but that would be obvious in your house. The only other thing I can suggest is, if you're using an extension lead then try and borrow a different one and see if the same thing happens. If it doesn't then your problem is in the extension lead, loose or badly made connections or frayed wiring.
If you paid for the mower with a card then you should be able to show that on a bank statement, that would suffice as proof of purchase if you want to return it, if you paid cash then I'm afraid it's down to the goodwill of the retailer and your competence in putting it back together. Hope you didn't pay too much for either

GrumpyMe

Damiencm wrote: »

Hi all

I have had an electric lawnmower for the past 6 months, never any problems until now.

The motors powers up and the blade spins fine, however as soon as the blade touches the grass it slows right down and doesn't cut the grass at all.

Has anyone had a similar problem or know what might be up

Are the blades loose by any chance?
When the blades slow down does the motor slow down/strain also?

Damiencm

Just tried a different lead but same result. As I said before the motor runs and the blade spins (when it doesnt meet any resistance). One think I've just noticed is that the blade seems loose, even though the bolt is tight.. also when i take my hand off the power lever the blade sounds very clunky as it comes to a stop.

Thanks for all your tips so far. Very strange that both mowers have the exact same problem.. i may just have to write these off to experience

Marhay70

Damiencm wrote: »

Just tried a different lead but same result. As I said before the motor runs and the blade spins (when it doesnt meet any resistance). One think I've just noticed is that the blade seems loose, even though the bolt is tight.. also when i take my hand off the power lever the blade sounds very clunky as it comes to a stop.

Thanks for all your tips so far. Very strange that both mowers have the exact same problem.. i may just have to write these off to experience

It certainly sounds as if the blade is loose,will it spin easily by hand? (Don't try that with it plugged in) Depending on the make of the mower it can be an opposite thread, i.e. anti clockwise to tighten, have a look at the manual.
It may be worth taking it to a lawn mower repair shop, most will give an estimate for free or a nominal charge, the blade may sit on a nylon bush which has cracked. If it was a bent shaft there would be a lot of vibration and a shot bearing wouldn't allow the blade to spin at all.