Mower specs

Table of Contents

Important note: if you have a question to ask, please ask it at Lawn Mower Forum, either in the Black & Decker area or the Electric & Battery Operated area at that website. I apologize for being unable to handle individual requests for help posted on this blog or sent by email.
 

                                                                                
 

I'll be adding specs to this entry as they become available.  I recently measured the current of my CMM1000 and am looking for a chance to measure the motor RPM as well.  Opportunities to measure specs of the other models will be rather rare, unfortunately.


Battery-operated models

CMM1000
Voltage: 24V, DC
Current: 12A
RPM: ?
Cutting width: 19"

CMM1200
Voltage: 24V, DC
Current: ?
RPM: ?
Weight: 76 lbs
Cutting width: 19"

CM1836
Voltage: 36V, DC
Current: ?
RPM: ?
Weight: 62 lbs
Cutting width: 18"

CM1936 
Voltage: 36V, DC
Current: ?
RPM: ?
Weight: 72 lbs
Cutting width: 19"


120Vac Plug-in models


These all have a Black and Decker 12A motor, according to the product info at Black and Decker.  I suspect there is a step-down transformer involved, otherwise these would consume much more power than the 12V battery-operated CMM1000.  As such, the wall-outlet-current is unknown until I can find a model and measure it.

MM575
Motor current: 12A
Wall outlet current: ?
Weight: 41 lbs
Cutting width: 18"

MM675
Motor current: 12A
Wall outlet current: ?
Weight: 46 lbs
Cutting width: 18"

MM875
Motor current: 12A
Wall outlet current: ?
Weight: 52 lbs
Cutting width: 19"

MM1800
Motor current: 12A
Wall outlet current: ?
Weight: 42 lbs
Cutting width: 18"

New electric mower models coming from Black and Decker

Table of Contents

Important note: if you have a question to ask, please ask it at Lawn Mower Forum, either in the Black & Decker area or the Electric & Battery Operated area at that website. I apologize for being unable to handle individual requests for help posted on this blog or sent by email.
 

                                                                                
 

I just saw that Black and Decker is coming out with three new electric mower models -- two cordless and one corded.  Amazon has them available for pre-order, with a release date of March 1, 2010.  The new battery powered models are the CM1836 and CM1936, which have 18" and 19" cutting widths, respectively, and use a 36V battery.  Compare this to 19" and 24V for the CMM1000 and CMM1200.  

The new corded model is the MM1800, with an 18" cutting width.

Here is the info from Black and Decker on these new models:
CM1836
CM1936
MM1800

I can see reasons why the CM1936 could be better than the CMM1000 and CMM1200.  For one, the 36V battery is easily removable, so it would be easy to swap in a second battery and cut larger lawns.  Second, the 36V battery would require less current than a 24V battery, for the same amount of power.  The lower current would mean smaller guage wiring is necessary.  The cutting width of 19" is the same as in previous models.

On the other hand, the CM1836 appears to take a step backward, with it's narrower 18" cutting width.  The battery is not easily removable, so in that respect it is no more convenient than the CMM1000 and 1200.

Of course, I am quite attached to my trusty CMM1000 and wouldn't dream of trading it in.  Yet.

Fixing a problem (June 2009)

Table of Contents

Important note: if you have a question to ask, please ask it at Lawn Mower Forum, either in the Black & Decker area or the Electric & Battery Operated area at that website. I apologize for being unable to handle individual requests for help posted on this blog or sent by email.
 

                                                                                
 

The Story

Last spring, my CMM1000 mower developed a problem where it would simply stop running after 5 or 10 minutes.  It would restart again after a minute, but then only run a few minutes before stopping again.

The problem turned out to be a faulty circuit breaker, which is supposed to cut the motor off when the current exceeds 40 Amps but was actually tripping at a lower current.  At first I misdiagnosed the problem as either a worn out battery or bad switch contacts.  At a loss as to what the cause was, an internet search led me to other people with the same problem ... and more importantly to somebody who had fixed it by replacing the breaker.  And so I extend a hearty thank you to "rothompsons", whoever you are, for posting the solution at forums2.gardenweb.com.

After ordering a new breaker for $19 ($12 part + $7 shipping) from ereplacementparts.com, the mower was up and running again! In the intervening month it took to find and fix the problem, I used our trusty manual push-reel mower to cut our grass.

By the way, my original breaker lasted 3 years, and rothompsons's lasted 2-1/2.  Another person did report that their mower was 6 years old when they first encountered the problem.  At any rate, you can expect your breaker to fail eventually.  You'll know it's the breaker if your mower stops, and can be restarted only after you hear a "click" about 30-60 seconds later.  The click is the automatic reset switch inside the breaker, after it has cooled down enogh to close the circuit again.


Repair details

If you need to replace your circuit breaker, here is where you can find it on the mower's Main Circuit Board:

Main circuit board, showing location of circuit breaker.

The breaker is in series with the main switch, and when tripped breaks the connection from the battery to the motor.  It is attached to the main circuit board using nylon-insert lock nuts:

Main circuit board, showing electrical path between Battery(+) and Motor(+) terminals.

A view of the brand new circuit breaker, part # 5140004-81 from ereplacementparts.com:

The brand new circuit breaker (includes nuts and lockwashers) from ereplacementparts.com

Request of readers:

And finally, here is a request of anyone reading this blog.  If you can find these circuit breakers for cheaper than the $12 I paid for this one, I would love to hear about it!  Please note, it is manufactured by Cooper Bussman, and is their Shortstop series 120 circuit breaker.  It should be rated for:

• 24 V
• 40 A
• Must be of the automatic reset, thermal cycling type, not the manual rest type.

I have found a 12V version for under $4 at www.wiringproducts.com, but so far not a 24V version.  It would be nice to order a few of these to have in stock.

Helpful links

Table of Contents

From time to time I run across useful info about the CMM1000 and CMM1200 mowers.  As this blog grows, I plan to keep adding links to this entry so they can all be found in one place.


Instruction manuals

CMM1000
At amazon.com, click here
At safemanuals.com, click here, then click on "Download the complete user guide"

CMM1200
At tylertool.com, click here, then click the "MANUALS" tab, then click on "CMM1200 Manual"



Replacement parts

Available at ereplacementparts.com
For CMM1000 parts click here.
For CMM1200 parts click here.

[Added May 2011:]
As of spring 2011, I'm finding some parts discontinued at ereplacementparts.  An alternative, though incomplete, supplier is abtecparts.com
Thanks to Ajay for telling us about abtecparts.



Product pages at Amazon

Useful mainly for the customer reviews you can find there.

For the CMM1000 click here.
For the CMM1200 click here.