Hey gents.
I have two powered mowers (in Avatar) but I have also owned a Scott's 20" push reel mower for about 10 years. I try and mow off and on with it from late mid June to until the leaves drop with the Reel mower when I can. Surprisingly, if you set it up correctly and the conditions are right, you reely (pun intended) can do a decent job on lawns that are much larger than your typical small city lot. There are a few things I have learned about them:
1.) Don't let your grass get too tall. The scissors action of the blades will not cut tall grass, or at least, won't cut it well.
2.) Very thick grass may need to be gone over twice to get it under control.
3.) Crabgrass is a bear to cut with a push reel mower. You can cut it, but it's not easy. It feels like the mower is in quicksand.
4.) Twigs are a genuine pain in the butt. A small twig on your lawn seems to find the reels like a homing pigeon and will stop a reel mower faster than you can say "HALT!"
5.) They need very little maintenance. Just a quick cleaning, some grease and blade adjustment once a month or so to make sure all blades are hitting the cutting plate properly.
6.) They do cut in dew or wet grass, but you may not get quite as clean a cut as when on dry grass.
7.) Most weeds will remain behind and will not get cut.
8.) You can avoid wearing any hearing protection, or if you wish, your earbuds and your ipod for tunes while cutting.
9.) Your neighbors will not know you are cutting the lawn, so you can cut in early AM or when they are out back BBQing without bothering anyone.
10.) Some passers-by will stop and say, "Wow, an old fashioned mower. I didn't know that they still making those!"
11.) Trim is a bit of a pain. You have to exercise some patience with cutting around trees and bushes and landscaping. Sometimes you need a bit of "Back and Forth" to get it cut properly.
12.) They do NOT mulch at all, so your clippings just fall behind the mower or on your feet or in a catch bagger. Yet unlike rotary mowers, there is no clumping of grass clippings even with taller grass.
13.) You probably won't miss gassing or changing the oil or hard starting or the vibration of a rotary mower. You will miss the easy trimming or weed cutting.
14.) You have to "Overlap" your mowing rows. Unlike rotary mowers, the blade does not extend beyond the wheels, so you have to do a few inches of overlap on the wheel marks in your lawn. A 20" mower give you about an 18" cut with overlap.
15.) If you are not moving forward, the blades are not spinning, so sometimes you have to get a short running-start before you get to the area you want cut.
I honestly could not do 100 percent without a power mower, especially in the spring or when leaves are dropping, but otherwise, it's quite amazing what you can o with a simple push reel mower. And the gas and oil cost savings is nice. Plus you don't smell like you have been "mowing the lawn" with a gas mower when you come in. You are just sweaty and smell like cut grass. ;)
I only paid about $79 for mine at Home Depot 10 years ago. They have gone up a bit since then. Amazon is selling them for about $135. Since mine has lasted 10 years and still looks and operates like new, that's not a bad deal.
I have two powered mowers (in Avatar) but I have also owned a Scott's 20" push reel mower for about 10 years. I try and mow off and on with it from late mid June to until the leaves drop with the Reel mower when I can. Surprisingly, if you set it up correctly and the conditions are right, you reely (pun intended) can do a decent job on lawns that are much larger than your typical small city lot. There are a few things I have learned about them:
1.) Don't let your grass get too tall. The scissors action of the blades will not cut tall grass, or at least, won't cut it well.
2.) Very thick grass may need to be gone over twice to get it under control.
3.) Crabgrass is a bear to cut with a push reel mower. You can cut it, but it's not easy. It feels like the mower is in quicksand.
4.) Twigs are a genuine pain in the butt. A small twig on your lawn seems to find the reels like a homing pigeon and will stop a reel mower faster than you can say "HALT!"
5.) They need very little maintenance. Just a quick cleaning, some grease and blade adjustment once a month or so to make sure all blades are hitting the cutting plate properly.
6.) They do cut in dew or wet grass, but you may not get quite as clean a cut as when on dry grass.
7.) Most weeds will remain behind and will not get cut.
8.) You can avoid wearing any hearing protection, or if you wish, your earbuds and your ipod for tunes while cutting.
9.) Your neighbors will not know you are cutting the lawn, so you can cut in early AM or when they are out back BBQing without bothering anyone.
10.) Some passers-by will stop and say, "Wow, an old fashioned mower. I didn't know that they still making those!"
11.) Trim is a bit of a pain. You have to exercise some patience with cutting around trees and bushes and landscaping. Sometimes you need a bit of "Back and Forth" to get it cut properly.
12.) They do NOT mulch at all, so your clippings just fall behind the mower or on your feet or in a catch bagger. Yet unlike rotary mowers, there is no clumping of grass clippings even with taller grass.
13.) You probably won't miss gassing or changing the oil or hard starting or the vibration of a rotary mower. You will miss the easy trimming or weed cutting.
14.) You have to "Overlap" your mowing rows. Unlike rotary mowers, the blade does not extend beyond the wheels, so you have to do a few inches of overlap on the wheel marks in your lawn. A 20" mower give you about an 18" cut with overlap.
15.) If you are not moving forward, the blades are not spinning, so sometimes you have to get a short running-start before you get to the area you want cut.
I honestly could not do 100 percent without a power mower, especially in the spring or when leaves are dropping, but otherwise, it's quite amazing what you can o with a simple push reel mower. And the gas and oil cost savings is nice. Plus you don't smell like you have been "mowing the lawn" with a gas mower when you come in. You are just sweaty and smell like cut grass. ;)
I only paid about $79 for mine at Home Depot 10 years ago. They have gone up a bit since then. Amazon is selling them for about $135. Since mine has lasted 10 years and still looks and operates like new, that's not a bad deal.
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