Black & Decker 1400W Edge-Max Lawn Mower Review

Just like Bosch and their mid range electric lawn mower the Rotak 36, Black and Decker haven’t overlooked the importance of catering for mid sized gardens that might otherwise fall victim to being cut with either an unnecessarily large or inadequately small mower.

Undoubtedly a popular model, the 1400W Edge-Max is available in two variants  with the cheaper of the two not featuring the handy ‘fill level indicator’ on the grass collection box. Again, like others in its range this mower boasts some truly nifty features including a high torque motor that you’d seriously have to go out of your way to stall, a clever cable management system that removes both the irritation and safety risks associated with having a cord trailing behind you as you mow, and a super user-friendly cutting height adjustment mechanism that can be operated with a simple one touch lever.

Where this mower really comes into its own is in being specifically designed for medium-sized lawns of about 300 square metres, you’ll find that the smaller edge max 1200 doesn’t feel quite up to the job, and the larger 1600 and 1800 models, whilst more than capable are obviously more expensive, and depending on your point of view, an unnecessarily large and powerful solution to your lawn mowing needs. Instead this mower is both up to the task of looking after a medium-sized lawn, and crucially it’s reasonably priced.

It’s not all sunshine and rainbows however, and it would be wrong of us not to mention the fact that this mower has been known to break, quite spectacularly in some cases, largely due to poorly designed plastic moulded parts, surprising for a reputable brand like Black and Decker. It would also be far better if the power switch spanned across the entire handlebar so that the job of keeping the mower under power doesn’t just fall under one hand, as it is easy to let go of, only to have to go through the two stage process of starting the mower up again. This can be quite irritating to say the least.

Conclusion

So whilst this mower boasts some great features, and when it behaves as advertised we see it as the ideal solution for small to medium-sized gardens, there is no getting away from the fact the build quality is definitely sub par. If you’re prepared to take the risk on this you might well find you have no issues, but to save grief in the long run it might be wise to go for a close substitute such as the Bosch Rotak 36 instead.

Summary

Reviewer

Lawn Mower Wizard

Review Date

Reviewed Item

Black & Decker 1400W Edge-Max Lawn Mower With Compact Go Grass Box

Author Rating

3