Getting replacement parts; customer reviews at amazon.com

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.
 

                                                                                
 

In the process of making up for three years of not blogging, today I'll post the mower review I wrote at amazon.com. Yet to come are photos of the mower's innards, a basic circuit diagram, and some trouble I went through in recent months to fix the mower.

Getting replacement parts

Here are extremely useful links for all CM1000 and CMM1200 owners. Replacement parts can be ordered online from ereplacementparts.com:

CMM1000 parts at www.ereplacementparts.com

CMM1200 parts at www.ereplacementparts.com

At the ereplacementparts website, you'll need to click on the appropriate type number in order to see the drawing and parts list for your mower. Type numbers are similar to software version numbers: whenever Black and Decker upgrades the mower design, it increments the type number. Type 5 was the final version of the CMM1000.

You will find the type number printed on the back of the mower, facing you as you are pushing it:

Model CMM1000, Type 5

Reviews at amazon.com

Here are the customer reviews for the CMM1000 and CMM1200 at amazon.com:

CMM1000 reviews at amazon.com
CMM1200 reviews at amazon.com

Here is my own review at amazon.com of the CMM1000, written after I had used it for a full year:

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(Rated 4 stars out of 5)
Good mower, but not for large lawns
May 24, 2007
By Mark W

I've had this lawn mower for 1 year now, and am thoroughly happy with it. My wife and like the quiet motor (about as loud as a vacuum cleaner, but much quieter than a gas engine mower). It is a good mower for small lots. We have a 1/4-acre, and one battery charge can do about 3/4 of our yard. I typically mow half the yard, let the battery recharge, then finish the yard later that day or the following day.

Two important points on mower care:

(1) Keep the blade sharp. Performances degrades noticeably with a dull blade. I bought a second spare blade, and change the blade when the one on the mower becomes dull. Then I can sharpen the dull blade at my leisure, and still have a working mower in the meantime.

(2) Keep the battery charged, and stop mowing when the battery charge gets low. Letting the battery run down will shorten it's useful life. I've calculated that it only costs about $3 extra a year to keep the battery on the charger when not in use. If the battery indicator gets low while mowing, stop and recharge it rather than continuing mowing on a low battery. It might sound inconvenient, but I do prefer this to having to run out and buy gasoline for a gas mower. Also, keep the battery charger on during the winter.

Having looked inside this mower, it does look like there is room for a larger capacity battery. Somebody who is mechanically and electrically inclined could probably increase their mowing time by 50% or more by retrofitting a longer-lasting battery. (Anybody who tries this assumes any and all risks involved, of course ...) It uses two 12-Volt sealed-lead-acid batteries to generate 24 Volts.

Things I like about this mower are:

The easy wheel height adjustment, which takes about 2 or 3 seconds to do. The height adjusts in 1/3-inch increments. I like to cut grass a little shorter along sidewalks than in the main part of the yard, and it's easy to do this.

Mowing in "mulch" mode. I don't need to collect and dispose of grass clippings, though one can use the grass-collector that is included with the mower if one wishes.

Using the mower to cut up raked leaves and light brush.

Not buying gasoline.

Starting the motor is very easy.

Two things I don't like are:

Dull blades do not cut worth a darn. It seems that gas mowers can still cut grass fairly well with a dull blade.

Sharpening the blade could be easier if the blade did not have this twisty, bent shape.

UPDATE, Aug. 2009
I had to replace the circuit breaker on the mower a month or so ago; the mower is now 3 years old. It cost $19.00 to fix on my own.

The problem was that the mower would keep shutting down after running just 5-10 minutes. After waiting about 30 seconds it could be started up again, only to shut off again after a short while. It's running okay now, but it took me some time to diagnose the problem correctly.

Replacement parts are available [...]:
[...]
Search on cmm1200 at that website if you have the cmm1200 model.

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Note: The good people at amazon.com had edited out the replacement parts link "[...]" from my review; it is the www.ereplacementparts.com website I gave above.