do you use a reel lawn mower?

[Mark & Nique]

Howdy --

Our old gas mower (thankfully) died this morning, which was timely as we've been wanting to get a reel lawn mower.

Does anyone have one? (I've done the research, and with our small front/backyards (less than 2 hours total mowing time), a reel mower is a possibility. Plus, we have 2 daughters, so we've got the extra push-power as well.)

If you have one, what brand? Are you happy with it? Do you recommend staying away from a certain brand?

Thanks for your time and help!

 

[EweSheep]

I had one and hated it!!!!! We only used it a couple of times and worthless as they go. It is not ideal for grass that is thick like crab grass or thick stemed grasses. Good for delicate grasses so they can cut pretty good. However with a couple of uses, paid $200 for one brand new at Lowe's, the blades got dull and cranky to push it around.

If I was you, I would stick with push mowers.

 

[Rozzie]

x

 

[mburpo]

Hmmm... I'll stick with my commercial use SCAG! Then again, I have probably 20 acres of grass in my "lawn"...

 

[arabianequine]

We have an older john deer ridding lawn mower.

 

[the lemon tree]

We first bought the Scotts 20" Push Reel mower and we hated it. It didn't cut the grass very well, especially if it's more than 6 inches (and ours was at times). It would leave patches of uncut grass, even after going over it a few times. Also, since the wheels would mat the grass, it makes it even more difficult for the blade to catch it. We ended up selling it for a motorized one. It is heaven compared to the reel mower. Just thinking about it makes me cringe. It was that bad.

 

[DuckLady]

We bought one because I was going to be all green and not use gas to cut the lawn.

It lasted about 4 times mowing an acre in the summer before we bought a garden tractor.

The reel mower worked great and the blades were nice and sharp, but I had so many things I could have been doing that were more fun and more importantly, indoors in front of a fan.

 

[rufus]

Don't throw that old mower away. Fix it! I spent $450 for a new top notch mower about six years ago. It is a piece of you know what.

It has so many government mandated safety features that I cannot get it to run. The starting cord is way up near the handle, so it is impossible to get it started.

It has a dragging thing behind it that prevents the mower from being pulled backward. Mow into a corner, and you are there forever.

It also has a rubber primer bulb, which might work in Sweden, but in Arizona the rubber dries out and cracks in a few days. I have had it replaced every time I tried to mow the lawn. I hate that mower!

Once I get it started, it turns itself off whenever I turn loose of the bar above the handle. Then, I cannot get the darn thing started over again. So I have to tie the bar down. If not, every time I go to pick up a piece of trash, the darn thing shuts down and will not restart.

I have had that darn thing over six years, and I have yet to get the lawn mowed. It is an absolute piece of poop. I hate and despise it.

I won't tell you the brand name of this piece of junk, but anravqsuH might give you a clue. Don't buy anything made by that company. My letters to them have been ignored totally.

I wish I had the good sense to have my old machine fixed.

Rufus

 

[Royd]

Quote:
It ain't easy, bein' green....Kermit the Frog.

 

[Mark & Nique]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Our front yard is slow growing (I keep it high, only mowing every other week) but our back yard is a different story (there is a lot of natural fertilizer from our dogs and chicks).

I get a lot of comments from friends and family for how we live (reusing, recycling, composting, canning, gardening, now keeping chickens, biking and walking as much as possible instead of driving...I even take home coffee grounds from work to put into the compost bin that I made from leftover pallets!) that we've earned some lasting nicknames: the politest being "pioneers." Oh, well. I think that some aspects of life were better during Little House on the Prairie times instead of today.

Up next is the reel lawn mower...

Again, thanks for the feedback!