If your lawnmower battery is not charging and you are within 10 miles of a shop or a house with power, or maybe you are within city limits, you should consider adding a small solar panel to your mower.
All modern lawns mowers include some form of rechargeable battery, usually as a 12 volt exclusive to their design. But the details of their design will vary. A glance at your favorite “Plants for Women” magazine from the 1950s will show a multitude of fascinating shapes and sizes of rechargeable batteries.
Today the lion’s share of rechargeable volt generators are generators for electric heating. You can use one to heat your pool when you take a break. Another may come in the form of a wind-up torch.
Most of the small rechargeable batteries that are still used in lawnmowers and pool coolers are electronic. They are fitted with small hire-size radio tubes to collect energy and store it in what looks like an AA battery. The cheapest flights on the market use what looks like a valve between the plate of the battery and the filament of the light fixture.
Although the earliest rechargeable batteries were made of lead, they have since been made with Nickel Cadmium and various other chemicals. The general harmful effect to the human body from these batteries is still unknown.
What we do know is that the minute you start to carry any type of electrical appliances around with you, the batteries are dead. Even if you hang your jacket above the ground or have a park bench seat, will you not be tempted to leave it there? No matter how careful you are at checking out and using rechargeable batteries, one will go out at one time or another.
If you cannot resist the temptation, there are other less risky ways to keep the lights on when you are out. More and more of us now park our cars in the garage and use the lights on the security system to keep watch. This can also be a very good way to keep the kids entertained when it is raining outside.
In the older generations, houses and tins were the preferred electricity generating source, however, with the coming of the nigh and the availability of electricity, these will be less and less relevant. The night has changed the nature of the home, allowing us to bring along our literate attitudes and the printed word. The majority of us still read and surf online.
A good way though away from the boredom of a rainy day is to read a good book. Who knows the weather may decide to drop dead! Make sure you have a good reliable radio in case the “blue” sports team wins! Reading a good book with the radio on is certainly a welcomed change.