Black & Decker RB-3612 Battery and Charger for Mowers and Tillers, 36-Volt

I ordered this battery and charger as a backup to the battery that came with the mower originally. The old battery, about 5 years old, was still usable but seemed to be growing weaker. The new battery works just fine. The battery charge-level indicator was a bit of a surprise, as I was expecting a voltage meter of some sort that gave a continuous readout and indicated when the charge was getting low (although I could tell that anyway by the mower's performance). The charge-level indicator is activated by pushing a button, which lights up 1, 2, or 3 lights showing whether the battery's charge is low, medium, or high. The lights are difficult to read in sunlight, which is not of much use since I don't mow my lawn at night! But it is of interest, when I roll the mower into the garage, to see how much charge is left.In any case, the new batteries, both the new one and the older one (without the charge-level indicator) work just fine and I am pleased with them. It certainly beats my older B&D cordless mower, which required major surgery to replace a worn-out battery. With the new batteries, one can change batteries in seconds.

Bought this one as a spare/back-up for my lawnmower. This type of battery, when fully charged does not allow me to complete mowing my yard in a single charge...so I bought another. Now I have 2 fully charged batteries. When I mow my lawn, I go through the first battery until it winds down...then I just swap it out with the second battery and finish up the lawnmowing job. Easy to swap out. Battery works fine. One good thing with this battery lawnmower...no gas to buy, store, and pour.Had no problem at all with ordering a 2nd battery at Amazon.com, the shipping was free for me (on such a heavy item this was a big bonus), and the delivery time was fine...arrived quite quickly.The battery comes with it's own charger and is really easy to charge, just plug the cord into it. I'm lovin' the B&D electric/battery mower as well, quieter than gas mowers, and starts with the push of a button every time...none of this cord pulling I was used to with gas mowers.I'm very happy with the performance of this battery.

The battery is good, but Black and Decker's charger is infuriating. The charger uses a very thin wire (which WILL eventually short; I bought this to replace one that's only two years old), and the socket that plugs in is bafflingly fragile. The white and green plastic heads on the charging terminals are just terribly designed; a user has to fumble around with them to get them to seat correctly into the charging socket in the mower (because the shape and size of the heads is both cumbersome and small), and these will eventually just break, too. Why didn't Black and Decker opt to use a study, durable plug? They went with the flimsiest junk they could find, and it shows.

This Black & Decker replacement battery performs very well. I had to purchase one because the original that came with my lawnmower just doesn't seem to hold a charge long enough anymore to complete the yard. And this is why I only gave the replacement battery 4 stars. Black & Decker makes some relatively inexpensive rechargeable cordless tools, including mowers, chainsaws, string trimmers, and drills. It's unfortunate that they've moved to other battery types in some of these tools, but not in others. A lead acid battery such as this is going to have more limitations than the much better batteries that Black & Decker includes with some of their smaller tools. So, although I'm happy with the results from this battery, I wish that the company would make the transition to more powerful, longer-lasting batteries for their larger equipment.

We bought the battery operated mower about 5 years ago as a replacement for one that was corded. We got just about 4 1/2 years out of the original battery before it would no longer hold a charge and as a result, we bought this. It fit the mower perfectly, and works perfectly. I am glad it included a new charger, as the old one broke at just about the time the battery wore out. I actually would recommend getting a spare charger for the unit, as the connection between the battery and the charger is pretty poorly designed and does wear out as time goes on.

The only thing worse than this battery is Amazon's customer service. This battery worked fine for the first year. In the second year, it gradually worsened and worsened with regard to it's ability to hold a charge. It now will occasionally charge fully but discharges within a minute. I placed a complaint into Amazon customer service. The email reply indicated I could either get a replacement or a full refund. I responded that I wanted a full refund... and waited... and waited... and waited for a reply. The link provided eventually stopped working so I placed a new request .. and waited... and waited... and waited for a reply. Just this weekend, I again placed a new request after which time I was told the order was over two years old and thus 'too old to refund'. I have a copy of the email where Shaili offered a full refund. I provided the customer service representatives that copy. After over an hour and a half on a chat first with Amulya.G then her supervisor Melissa, I was told there was nothing more they could do. How does ANY reputable company offer a refund then refuse to actually follow through? It is unbelievable.

I am not specially happy about this purchase, because I HAD to buy it if I wanted to continue using my 1 year old mower! So, based on the very short life span of the original battery, I have reservations on the # of stars I should give this one...it arrived on time, it was easy to install and not too heavy. I just hope this one lasts longer than the original one!