Not meaning to sound like a smart aleck, but if you have to replace the
batteries so often and they are so expensive, why not just buy a gas mower?
Seems to me that the maintenance costs are much lower.

I have an 11 year old cheapo MTD gas mower that has only had one spark plug
and two air filters in all that time that was well used for the first ten
years.
Nowadays it sits allot becaue it is only used for touchups but still...

Waste batteries are bad for the environment too... so I am not thinking it's
ecology. Why drag a cord around?

Kate


wrote in message
ups.com...
: wrote:
: I bought a Craftsman rechargeable mower (Model 917.386401) in 1998.
: Recently it doesn't recharge very well, although it still cuts grass
: for about 10 minutes, at lower speed than before. I think it's time to
: replace the battery. The service center guy says it costs $150 plus
: about $30 shipping. That's still much cheaper than buying a new mower
: (about $400). One newsgroup message says the battery model may no
: longer be available and a replacement doesn't fit perfectly.
:
: If I want to check the battery with a multimeter, how do I do that? The
: owner's manual doesn't say whether or how to check the acid level. Is
: it needed? Could other parts such as the electric motor be near their
: lifetime? Should I just buy a new mower? Thanks for any advice.
:
: Yong Huang
: Email:yong321ATyahoo.com
:
: Yong,
: Regarding checking the battery, a 7 year old battery is probably in
: need of a replacement. You didn't mention how it was stored, or other
: details, but it would not completely be a surprise if it does need
: replaced. If it's not holding a charge, then checking it with a
: multimeter probably won't help much other than to verify that it is
: losing its power.
:
: Searching on www.sears.com, I only get 3 "electic" mower choices and
: each of them are corded. It is possible that the expensive cost to
: replace the battery is because the product is no longer available.
:
: If you'd like to follow up on the battery itself, one option would be
: to call a battery company rather than the service center. Have the
: specifications of the battery handy (including dimensions) and see what
: they can do.
:
: Another option is that since Craftsman is a Sears brand, you could call
: the local store to see if they have any in stock or if you could order
: one to pick up.
:
: I would have a hard time paying $180 for just the battery. If nothing
: else, if I absolutely had to have an electric mower, I would buy a
: corded mower with a long extension cord rather than pay that much for a
: battery on a mower that may have other problems in the near future.
:
: Dave
: