Reel Mowers, anygood?

[imported_vr6]

I am thinking about getting a reel mower for my very small yard. anyone here have one? pros, cons?

i live in a townhouse, my front lawn is small, and my backyard is taken up by the deck.

is it hard to push one around?

 

[ch33zw1z]

?

 

[Slick5150]

If you have a small lawn, they're great. I have a Scotts brand reel mower and am quite happy with it.

 

[Turin39789]

Originally posted by: Slick5150
If you have a small lawn, they're great. I have a Scotts brand reel mower and am quite happy with it.

I've got the same one, as well as another I picked up on freecycle. They aren't hard to push and I actually have a fairly large sized yard and enjoy them very much. No gas, no fumes, no noise

The only issue is that you have to keep up with the lawn, mow it once a week around here. If you let it get crazy gorilla height, you will either be killing yourself to get it back down to size, or borrowing a gas from a neighbor.

 

[Turin39789]

Originally posted by: ch33zw1z
?

mowers without engines

 

[Compton]

Same thing was asked just a few weeks ago.

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=38&threadid=2031073&enterthread=y

 

[OutHouse]

reel cut is the best, its a siccsor cut instad of a blade whacking the grass. i will never own one my yard is too big but not big enough to justify spending 10K on a motorized reel mower.

you better mow it twice a week long grass is megga punishment for a push reel.

 

[imported_vr6]

Originally posted by: Compton
Same thing was asked just a few weeks ago.

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=38&threadid=2031073&enterthread=y

i searched reel mower and it didn't come up. thanks

 

[imported_vr6]

what about size of the mower?

i am contemplating between a 16' or a 18' craftsman from sears, theres a twenty bucks difference.

are the largers ones harder to push?

 

[Kelemvor]

Originally posted by: vr6

Originally posted by: Compton
Same thing was asked just a few weeks ago.

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=38&threadid=2031073&enterthread=y

i searched reel mower and it didn't come up. thanks

Ha ha. Newb. Thought searching worked well on this forum. Funny guy...

 

[Dualist]

Push mowers are great for smaller yards, and to mow spots that your tractor cannot get to. Try to get the lightest push mower you can find that is easier to push and runs effectively.

The electric ones may be hard to find, but they're also good bets for saving gas and makes less noise.

 

[hanoverphist]

i have one also. its way fun... to watch the kids trying to mow the lawn with it. i have a tecumseh 6.5hp gas mower i use when i want to mow the yard.

 

[Turin39789]

Originally posted by: vr6
what about size of the mower?

i am contemplating between a 16' or a 18' craftsman from sears, theres a twenty bucks difference.

are the largers ones harder to push?

The scotts that we have is the larger of the two, I would'nt say that either of them is hard to push. If you have the ability to push a regular mower, as opposed to one that you ride or that is self propelled, then you can push a reel mower. if the grass isn't high it isn't much harder than just walking around.

 

[Slick5150]

Originally posted by: Turin39789

Originally posted by: vr6
what about size of the mower?

i am contemplating between a 16' or a 18' craftsman from sears, theres a twenty bucks difference.

are the largers ones harder to push?

The scotts that we have is the larger of the two, I would'nt say that either of them is hard to push. If you have the ability to push a regular mower, as opposed to one that you ride or that is self propelled, then you can push a reel mower. if the grass isn't high it isn't much harder than just walking around.

I have a 20" Scotts, and its very easy to push. But like others have said, you have to mow your lawn regularly. If it gets too long, things get difficult (you'll probably have to go over the lawn twice, or borrow a gas mower)

 

[nakedfrog]

I just bought a 20" Scotts reel mower from Amazon for my friend. I borrowed his gas mower since mine ist kaput, and he told me he'd trade me for a reel mower (the gas mower is pretty nice, he paid over $300 for it a year or two ago). I'm going to try it out and see how I like using a reel mower to cut the grass at, say, 9-10PM during the summer.

 

[silverpig]

They definitely provide a better cut and are better for your grass than the rotary (helicopter) mowers. Make sure you keep your blade adjusted properly and keep it sharp.

Contrary to what you might think, you don't really want the reel to contact the bedknife. You should loosen it off so it isn't touching, and then tighten it down slowly as you spin the reel. It's properly set when you just start to hear contact being made. The reel should almost spin freely.

 

[Homerboy]

funny I was just thinking about one of these when mowing my <1/4 acre yard for the 1st time this year. Went and bought my $3.20 gallon of gas, fired up the old lawn-boy, watched the oil/smoke/exhaust come flying out and figured "there has to be a better way"

What do these reel mowers cost? I'm very tempted to get one.

 

[43st]

Wow... great idea. I never even consider this, at least a modern version. Last one I used was as a kid and it was half rusted, talk about hell.

Looks like home Depot has the 20" Scotts... gonna stop by on the way home and see if they have any.

 

[silverpig]

Originally posted by: Homerboy
funny I was just thinking about one of these when mowing my <1/4 acre yard for the 1st time this year. Went and bought my $3.20 gallon of gas, fired up the old lawn-boy, watched the oil/smoke/exhaust come flying out and figured "there has to be a better way"

What do these reel mowers cost? I'm very tempted to get one.

My parents have one and it's not all that much cheaper than a gas mower, but you save on gas... All you have to do is keep it sharp and it'll last forever.

 

[Compton]

Originally posted by: vr6

Originally posted by: Compton
Same thing was asked just a few weeks ago.

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=38&threadid=2031073&enterthread=y

i searched reel mower and it didn't come up. thanks

No prob. The search engine definitely sucks.

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: Homerboy
funny I was just thinking about one of these when mowing my <1/4 acre yard for the 1st time this year. Went and bought my $3.20 gallon of gas, fired up the old lawn-boy, watched the oil/smoke/exhaust come flying out and figured "there has to be a better way"

What do these reel mowers cost? I'm very tempted to get one.

The one I just ordered was $120, with free shipping. It's supposed to show up on the 3rd.

 

[43st]

I picked up the 20" Scotts Classic last night and gave it a whirl (ha!). This thing rocks, I have a little over an acre maybe, all flat. Only real issue was the taller weed stems and the wild onion clumps, the leading edge of the mower kept pushing them down before the cutter could get them. Not really a big deal after the first spring mowing I guess... but kinda a pain as I probably should go back with a powered lawn mower and go over certain spots again. It also didn't seem to have much of an issue with higher grass, but sometimes it's worth it to go over one area more than once.

Anyway... I dig it. Thanks for the thread and recommendation.

 

[0roo0roo]

pick one up and mod it robot wars style

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
pick one up and mod it robot wars style

Or he could do it Honey-I-Shrunk-the-Kids style

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: Slick5150
If you have a small lawn, they're great. I have a Scotts brand reel mower and am quite happy with it.

I have the same one. I love it.