Black & Decker 19-Inch 24-Volt Cordless Electric Mulching Lawn Mower #CMM1200 | 
| Brand: Black & Decker
List Price: $474.99
Buy New: $399.99
You Save: $75.00 (16%)
New (4) from $399.99
Rating:  215 reviews
Sales Rank: 38
Media: Tools & Hardware
Batteries Included: Yes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 88.2
Dimensions (in): 35.9 x 22.6 x 18
MPN: CMM1200
Model: CMM1200
UPC: 028877587660
EAN: 0028877587660
ASIN: B000NJTFPE
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Features:
| • | 24 Volt Sealed Lead Acid Battery for Trouble-Free Cutting of Up to 1/3 Acre Homesites (grass conditions will effect run-time) | | • | Rechargeable Battery Recharges to 60-70% in 4 Hours and to 100% in 10 Hours | | • | LIFETIME 19" Mower Deck - Mulch Plate and Bag Included; Deck Has Lifetime Warranty | | • | No Gas, Oil or Tune-ups So No Trips to the Service Station or Gasoline to Store | | • | One-touh Height Adjustment Adjusts All Four Wheels With the Touch of a Button From 1 1/2-3 1/2" |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Product Description
The Black & Decker 24-volt cordless mulching mower gives you the power to mow or mulch your lawn without the mess, noise, smell and hassle of a gas-powered mower or the limitations of a cord. Using a 24-volt sealed lead acid battery, this mower has enough power to mow up to a 1/3-acre lawn on one charge (grass conditions will affect run-time). It can be operated as a mower by attaching a bag to catch the clippings, or it can be operated as an effective mulcher using a mulch plate; both the bag and the mulch plate are included. The rechargeable 24-volt battery conveniently regains up to 60-70 percent of its full power in only 4 hours, and up to 100 percent in 16 hours; the mower turns on quickly with just a switch. All four wheels can easily be adjusted with a one-touch lever to shift the blade height from 1-1/2 to 3-1/2 inches; the push handle folds down when not in use for more compact storage. This product comes fully assembled, is backed by a full 2-year warranty, and the 19-inch, tough polymer cutting deck has a lifetime warranty.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 210 more reviews...
 CMM1200 Black&Decker Cordless Lawnmower March 18, 2007
someNOthing (Dallas, TX)
290 out of 293 found this review helpful
I just purchased this mower and mowed my lawn today. First, the positives:
1. This thing is as-advertised. There's no assembly required other than arranging the mulching bag and removing the mulcher - if that's what you want to do.
2. It was incredibly easy to start this thing - insert key and lift lever.
3. No mess, no gas, no oil, no air filter. The only maintenance described in the service manual is blade sharpening (once to twice per year) and battery replacement. (Possible two years?).
4. Charging the unit is as easy as charging a cell phone and it charged up overnight. It had enough juice to mow my 1/3rd acre lot with heavy spring weeds that were also a little wet without running out of battery juice.
5. It was very easy to clean. Just disconnect the key and then you can turn it over to clean the blade and guard without worrying about oil or gas spilling.
6. It's easy to disconnect handle and mulch bag for storage.
Negatives:
1. Although it's not incredibly heavy, it's not as light as my 5HP gas Craftsman mower. Since there's no self-propelling feature, it can get heavy if you had to go up hills - my lawn is relatively flat so no problem there.
2. The unit is basically plastic. It has a cheap feel to it - although I'm sure it would be too heavy if it was metal.
3. There's really nothing protecting the battery underneath the top cover and it's barely held there with a nylon strap.
4. The paper instruction manual is worthless. It has very little information in it and it's hard to read because one section is written and you have to go to another part of the manual for the pictures.
5. The unit came with Styrofoam inserts that surrounded the battery. I had a very strong feeling that these inserts were for shipping only and must be removed before operating the unit. However, there is nothing in the manual that states this either way and I had to figure it out for myself.
6. There are no instructions for how to replace the battery - you are instructed to take it to a service dealer. Perhaps they could have put more effort into the documentation.
7. The mulching bag doesn't seem to hold much grass. I had to empty it three times before I was done mowing.
All and all, I love this mower. I hated having to jack with gas and oil and filters and maintenance of gas mowers. Plus, this thing is relatively quiet compared to my gas mower. I recommend it.
 Beware design and manufacturing defects April 19, 2007
Andrew Logue
196 out of 252 found this review helpful
I started this review as just a comment to the lone review of this item that was present at the time. I had purchased this item partly based on that review (and on reviews of the older, similar CMM1000 model - many of which can be found at epinions as well as here at Amazon). However the comment developed into a more detailed description of the problems I faced with the unit, and so I thought it better to make this a standalone review instead. It's my first review so please forgive any verbosity here ... I prefer accuracy, detail and lack of ambiguity over brevity ...
I originally commented to ask if anyone else has also experienced any problems with the height adjustment on this unit? Since it has recently been a top seller in Amazon Home Improvement here I would think many models have been recently shipped.
Mine was unusable, out of the box, and looking at the design and construction of the height adjustment mechanism it does appear very fragile. It seems only held together by a single tiny washer-like item (which was loose in the box on my unit). Further the link and bar that the washer seem to have came off were inaccessible behind the now firmly stuck rear wheel. This appears to be a very poor design - and I doubt this aspect alone would survive normal use for very long.
Additionally the unit box is not well designed for removal to unpack the unit initially. Unlike say a large/heavy TV set, which often unpacks by removal of the upper/side parts of the box, leaving the item free standing on the base of the box, this box needs the buyer to lift the mower out of the box, as a single unit, and it's extremely difficult given the very heavy weight of the item. This is also an aspect to consider when handling any return ... which Amazon will now be processing for me ...
Since I first started this comment/review, I've now checked out the older CMM1000 model, and it's manual also depicts an identical height adjustment system.
Therefore I'll avoid any more of these Black & Decker cordless mowers, but I may check out another brand of cordless mower instead. I would hate to have to revert to a gas-powered mower though.
Update May 8th, 2007 ...
I did eventually find another type of cordless electric mower, the Neuton, which unfortunately Amazon does not sell (at this time ...). You may want to do a web search for it, as I doubt Amazon will let me place a URL for the manufacturer's website here. It's made by Country Home Products, a division of DR Power. I have found the Neuton mower to be a much better design than this Black & Decker CMM1200, although not directly equivalent in terms of cutting width in particular. I recommend checking it out.
Move over sliced bread. July 19, 2007
B. Chandler (Arlington, Texas)
73 out of 77 found this review helpful
This animal is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I originally replaced my perfectly good electric (with a cord) mower with the CMM1000 model 10 years ago and stopped dragging my cord around.
It was like Christmas opening the box. Then I was disappointed in the fact that everything was put together. You did not need three hands to assemble obscurely named parts. They don't even care what angle you hold the mower at, as the battery does not spill. My lawn was so small that it is not even on the chart of square feet cut on a single charge. Following the instruction I plugged it in for 24 hrs prior to use. I was gearing up for an afternoon of mowing. I waved my arms around like Norton on the Honeymooners, disconnected the charger, inserted the safety key, pushed it to the lawn, and turned it on. It was so quiet that I had to make the motor sound my self. I used the mulcher mode so the rear bag is hanging on the wall. 15 minutes and it was all over. I am going to run out and find the best compost I can find so I can mow more often.
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A few changes have been made to the new model; the key is smaller. And some of the electronics were moved from the mower to the charger. I have not dismantled this one yet however the last one was very simple to dismantle as I replaced the batteries once after seven years.
Long Term Owner - positive review January 2, 2008
MarkWK (Eastern PA)
50 out of 50 found this review helpful
Like most of you, whenever I go to buy an appliance or tool on the internet I read the customer reviews to try to get a feel for the product's long term performance before I invest in it. Unfortunately, many of the reviews have been submitted by short term owners who are still jazzed over their purchase and haven't used it long enough to offer a comprehensive assessment of the product. That's why I decided to review this mower now after I've used it for a few seasons.
I've had my cordless mower since May of 2004. It is actually the CMM1000, the model previous to the CMM1200. I understand, based on the number of negative reviews, that the quality of design and manufacturing of this product could be considered suspect. Temper that with the reality that most satisfied customers remain mum while most dissatisfied customers howl to the heavens. I've owned several other Black and Decker products with mixed results. My drill? Awesome. My weed wacker? The first one was junk. The second one - a cordless model - worked out. My power washer? I've gone through two of them and I wouldn't wish one upon my worst enemy.
But even after a few years of service, I still love my mower.
At the end of the first season, something broke in the electronic guts under the cover that the switch was attached to. At first it wouldn't shut off until I removed the key, then after a while it wouldn't start. Since getting that fixed, I've had no problems.
It seems to operate just as long now as it did new. If there has been any falloff in performance, it hasn't been significant enough for me to complain about. Power is very good for the task of mowing and mulching but you have to keep in mind that it won't have the shear output oomph of a gas mower. If you keep the tasks tailored to the capabilities of battery power, you should be more than happy with the CMM1200. The mower is quieter than a gas powered model, but not as quiet as you might think. My neighbors love it, but standing right next to it you still have to raise your voice to be heard. It is also heavier than you expect and pushing it around gives a good workout. That can be considered a positive. But, though I'm over forty, I'm a reletively large and fit guy. Flinging it around the yard isn't a problem for me.
I have a medium sized lawn including ten trees and one steep side-hill section about ten feet wide and 150 feet long. The whole job is a little big for the mower to handle in one session, especially during those growth spurts in June. Usually, I do the front yard one day and the sides and smaller back yard the next. It mulches the grass really well so I don't have to bag or rake.
In the fall, I pulverize the leaves in place and this has contributed to my lawn improving each spring. Trust me, it is just as much work as raking but with the added benefit of fertilizing the lawn.
During the fall of 2007, the trees in our region held on to their leaves until the last minute. In early December, it all came down at once. The mower was a bit overwhelmed and it couldn't keep up as quickly as I would have liked. So I bought the MM875, which is the corded version of the same mower, to use as a supplement for next year. It uses the same blades as the CMM1200 and operates similarly.
So when the grass is too thick or the leaves too numerous for the battery mower to handle entirely, I'll switch to the MM875 to finish up. This is not to say the CMM1200 isn't good enough. The mower is more than capable, downright impressive, as long as you don't expect perfection when you push beyond the envelope.
Am I happy I bought this product? If the switch hadn't malfunctioned that first year I'd be giving this mower five stars. I'd buy it again, even if the thing died tomorrow!
 A Technician's Analysis and Opinion November 27, 2007
Strphen E. Kramer (Buffalo, NY)
49 out of 49 found this review helpful
A Technician's Analysis and Opinion - CMM1200
Summer is over and our mower purring. Cuts grass fine and mulches leaves great.
Now . . . Except for the price difference, I feel my choice would be the CMM1000-5 (the 1-4 models had recalls). If you can find the parts diagrams on the web you will see that the 1000 and 1200 are similar except for the arrangement of the wiring for control and battery charging.
The 1000 has a remaining power gauge and an adequate size "safety key". The 1200 has an external box with the battery charging circuitry. Concerning the run time issue: the cause is not the battery, which produces 17 Amps for one hour, but the motor, which uses 15 Amps at idle, according to my ammeter. These figures suggest that you have one hour mowing time, but with a veritable powerhouse, so move out. Our older Toro cordless has a similar battery but a 6 Amp motor, and it runs about 3 hours.
After unpacking, I proceeded to disassemble and examine. Good design on the mowing body. I don't see a problem with the height adjuster - give the body a whump to make sure the links are engaged. Minor: 8 screws (Torx, by the way) hold the top shells on; 1 was missing, 1 was oversize. After summer, I wanted to get all debris out, so I take off the two shells.
Clamshell Problems: the switch circuitry, which was in the mower body of the 1000's, is at the top of the handle on the 1200 in a "clamshell" assembly. I feel this is lacking in design, durability, and manufacture, and will be grief for both owners and B&D who will have to fix it.
First is the "safety key", which is vital for disconnecting the power to the motor when you need to clean underneath and to store the mower. The key is more appropriate for a small suitcase. It is a small plastic tab with a "T" shape made of plated copper and bends with little effort. If it is twisted more than 15 , it may not connect the circuit and the mower won't run. B&D has even inserted a separate small instruction sheet on the key's use, and I will elaborate further:
The key inserts with the tab at a 9 o'clock position. Push in straight and firmly with a (4 pound) force, turn 90 to upright 12 o'clock and then release. To remove, again push in with a firm (4 pound) force, turn back to the 9 o'clock position and then remove. Do not turn the key without pushing in, or it will twist the "T" and also injure its plastic retaining slot inside.
Also, I add that the "T" makes contact between two thin plated copper strips, which I don't feel are robust for long-term use and amount of current. Finally, when I folded the handle for storage, it neatly clipped the hanging cord, dropping the key into the grass! B&D graciously sent a replacement (under warranty).
The red main "switch-lever" starts and stops the mower. After some weeks it seemed not to work. Got out the screwdriver. The internal switching box has three double pairs of contacts; one had pitted. Scraped clean and applied lubricant to all - which should have been done at manufacture.
I think it would help if the "clamshell assembly" were a separate (modular) unit, which could be easily replaced. As it is, the wiring harness is variously connected in the mower housing and would take some confidence and labor to replace.
I have tried to relate the above to B&D, but only got on a standard "survey" list.
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