Sunlawn Lawn Mowers
by on 03.31.05
Ah, the sounds and smells of spring. Birds chirping, people laughing, flowers and freshly cut grass. But man, don’t ya hate it when you can smell the gasoline from a lawnmower and see it polluting the air? Ew – now that ruined the mood. Let's take a step back in time, we're talking before the John Deere rider mowers came along. Check out Sunlawn, a company that believes in hand mowers and quiet neighborhoods. We like the Luxus 38 the best because it uses no energy but your own, it’s light and easy to push, plus you get some exercise on those beautiful days. But we do have to say that we like the other products they sell, too. The Accu Mower (a step up from the Luxus 38) and Lawn Trimmer/Edger have rechargeable batteries so you don’t have to use gas or oil, leaving your outdoors stink-free. ::Sunlawn [by KD]
I used one of these reel mowers for the first two years i lived in my house. It worked ok, but you really need to keep on top of the grass, since if it gets long the blades will just push it around rather than cutting it.
Unfortunately, I'm not dedicated enough to keep the yard that closely trimmed, so last year i broke down and got a gas mower since the yard was completely out of hand.
Reel mowers, no matter how good at cutting grass, are expensive to maintain -- it can cost up to $50 to sharpen a blade, and it only takes one rock to send a blade in for resharpening (so the "only sharpen once in 5-8 years mowers are only a best-case scenario). After quite a bit of research, I finally settled on a Neuton mower. It's battery powered, has a trimmer/edger attachment and a mulching kit. It also uses marine cells instead of NiMH or NiCad batteries, so they'll last longer and will be much easier to recycle when the time comes (estimated around 5 years). Mower was about $330 (refurbished, with a 3 year warranty), and an extra battery, trimmer, bag and mulch kit brought the price up to $503 shipped. Since my dad's 5hp honda gas mower cost him over $800, and my little mower is at least as powerful as his, I think I got a great deal. And I can enjoy the extremely quiet mower (I can mow and talk on the phone at the same time, without raising my voice), and be glad that I'm sending all kinds of horrible toxins into the air.
I have a reel mower and was able to buy a resharpening kit for about $20 from my local hardware store. I resharpen about once a year.
Chris, I thought that marine batteries were generally lead-acid. Also, I agree with Steve - $20 sounds about right for a sharpening kit.
More importantly, though - are we continuing to teach people that lawns are a good idea? What about natural ground cover? Mosses and clover, or native plants that don't require any maintenance.
I just bought one of the Accu mowers... awaiting shipment so the jury is out on that. Have to agree with Ben on the following
1. Marine cells are usually Lead Acid - but then Cadmium is not that nice for the environment, so as long as you recycle it, it's still polluting less.
2. Lawns ARE an environmental nightmare. (especially when we pour on nitrates and phosphates) I have about a 1/5 acre and we have gardens around all sides of the house and all four property boundaries, and the resulting lawn areas are minimal.
3. Reel mowers certainly require a different style in mowing (ie more prep work) but are not as finnicky as purported above. In my opinion, if your yard is so large that you don't know where the rocks and sticks are (or can't rake them up), you need to plant some groundcover and/or gardens.
My philosophy is to manicure my grassy areas well and keep them to a minimum.
-Ken