Pulling the starter cord on a lawn mower is nobody’s favorite pastime, but have things really gotten so bad that we need to start our mowers with the turn of a key?
Over the past 10 years or so, we’ve seen a lot of companies expanding their lines of electric-start lawn mowers, and now you can find models by Toro, Honda, Craftsman, Lawn-Boy, and Snapper at all the major home improvement stores and even at lots of small independent dealers.
Most retailers market these easy-to-start mowers to the elderly and to people recovering from surgery or with recurring injuries. But that begs the question: Should a person who can’t muster enough strength to pull a cord really be put behind the controls of a 60lb gas engine with a rapidly spinning metal blade on the end of it?
Of course, the other point may well be that we’re just lazy and don’t want to pull the cord.
So, are electric-start mowers a hot solution, allowing everyone the freedom to mow their lawn despite physical limitations or injuries? Or are they just one step further on the long path to a lazy American population not willing to pull a simple cord to get some work done? Let us know in comments.
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