Confessions of a Reel Mower Addict

I've used the old ones and have a Great States push reel, and as you say, it's worlds apart. If you keep your grass mowed on a regular basis, it's not that big of a difference, and you'll get the exercise of pushing the mower around all the time to boot. Good times!

We don't need grass. Unless you have sheep, cows or goats. Grass is a horrible waste of water.

Do you think a yard that's about 3/4 or 2/3 of an acre is too big for a reel mower? And can you keep the grass at 3" with one, or do they cut it shorter than that?

"We don't need grass. Unless you have sheep, cows or goats. Grass is a horrible waste of water."

Absolutely agree. And it's the first thing mentioned in the post too.

But if you look around, most people have. So in the meantime, they might as well stopped burning gas to mow it.

I rent a property where I'm responsible for cutting the grass; it doesn't get watered (except by rain) and I would rather replace it with native plants. In the meantime, however, I use a reel mower. It's lighter to move and does just as good as a job. The only downside is that they tend to just push the grass down if you let it go too long :(

Most people who ask me about it wonder if it's too much hard work for them. I usually let them try it out - it's not any more difficult than one of those Fischer-Price lawnmowers. I let the neighbor kid borrow it for his neighborhood lawn mowing business.

Short version: love it!

>Grass is a horrible waste of water.
If you have a native grass lawn it shouldn't use much water at all. I planted buffalo grass and blue grama and I only water if it has been more than a month since the last rain.

>Do you think a yard that's about 3/4 or 2/3 of an acre is too big for a reel mower?
If you mow the lawn with a push or self-propelled mower, then a reel mower wouldn't be any more work.

>And can you keep the grass at 3" with one, or do they cut it shorter than that?
My reel mower will cut from 1" to 3" and it adjusts in small increments.

>Grass is a horrible waste of water.
If you have a native grass lawn it shouldn't use much water at all. I planted buffalo grass and blue grama and I only water if it has been more than a month since the last rain.

>Do you think a yard that's about 3/4 or 2/3 of an acre is too big for a reel mower?
If you mow the lawn with a push or self-propelled mower, then a reel mower wouldn't be any more work.

>And can you keep the grass at 3" with one, or do they cut it shorter than that?
My reel mower will cut from 1" to 3" and it adjusts in small increments.

I bought a reel mower on good intentions, used it for several weeks but got rid of it when I realized that it didn't fit my needs. I found it wasn't a good choice if you have lots of weeds, let your grass get tall between mowing, or if you have a thick grass like St. Augustine.

Don't forget that reel mowers don't mulch, so the cut grass just lays on top of the lawn. If you collect your grass trimmings or if you just don't care, then this isn't a problem. Personally I found that I prefer a mulching mower.

Tall weeds get pushed over and won't cut very well with a reel mower. You have to run over them several times from different angles to cut a tall weed once it lays over, which is a lot of trouble. High or very thick grass will require you to cut the lawn twice, once high and the second time where you want the height to be. Or you can spend lots of muscle forcing the mower through high grass, which is slow and tiresome.

If you keep on top of your mowing, a reel mower is a good choice for fine bladed grasses like bermuda or zoysia. In fact it is the best choice for the fine bladed versions of zoysia, as does a much better looking job than the rotary bladed mowers. All in all it's a nice choice for small yards with a lawn that fits this kind of mower, but I would suggest trying one out for a little while before buying one.

I used an old heavy one for a time. I have no idea what it weighed, 40? 60pounds? You would have thought the same people who made tanks made these. They were even height adjustable.
I got rid of them and I have a Black + Decker Electric. It also serves to 'vacuum' up leaves and litter and other stuff.

It was cool to push it on cement to get the blades spinning really fast and then smash it into some tall grass. Stuff flying everywhere.

... Gas or grass, no one rides for free. I get the seeds but don't fertilize or dump chemicals. The good old dirt is fine. I hardly water and I keep what runs down the house gutters for a non-rainy day.
It's nicer to have a touch of green in Brooklyn than mean old dirt.
I agree too many people dump too much stuff and water onto the earth... especially when there are houses on the water with the manicured grass running down to the waterline. Where does all that stuff go... and how come the fishing is lousy these days? Hmmm.

vsk

We have been using a reel mower for a few months now, and as good as it sounds on paper, the reality is not nearly as rosy in many cases.

First, if the lawn is not perfectly flat, the cutting resistance will not be consistent and it will be very difficult to maintain smooth forward movement. In other words, it will be jerky, and any jerkiness may cause the wheels to slip, causing the mower not to cut a part of the grass, and will require backing up and going over the spot again.

Second, if the grass gets too long, you're in trouble. The reel mower just won't work, and since the point of the reel mower is to avoid having a push mower, what do you do? If you're me, you take the weed whacker you have for doing the edges the reel mower can't do, and use it to cut the lawn down to a height the reel mower can manage. This is much slower than even the reel mower is.

Third, I don't care what anyone says... it's a lot more effort to use a reel mower. Period. The push mower cuts the grass for you, so there is less resistance to moving forward.

To conclude, if I could go back in time, I would buy an electric push mower, without a doubt. It's only a bit more money, doesn't pollute, and it's MUCH easier to use.

However, as others have already said, a good solution may be to avoid having a lawn altogether. This is something I will consider in the future, but it's a HUGE job, for us anyway, with an almost quarter acre property.

We bought a house and it had a front and back yard with lots of grass. We had to get a mower and I was darn'd if I was going w/ gas powered. So, I found a Brill reel mower and haven't looked back, either.

The previous owners let the yard go, so its been a process. The reel mower does a great job except for crab grass. Then again, I don't know what does work well on that stuff. But, I find myself mowing in a cross hatch pattern and it works out fine. I'm phasing out the grass in the back yard and shrinking the front grass area, but we're always going to have a bit of a lawn in the front.

In response to the 3 inch question, there are mowers that have adjustable heights. Just have to find the right one. FYI, w/ most reel mowers, if you let the grass get too long, it gets pretty tough to mow. Takes a bunch of passes over.

grass is only a waste of water if you WATER it. we don't, so no water wasted. thing about grass is, it goes pretty much dormant during a drought, and revives when it rains again.

Does anyone have suggestions on a brand of reel mowers. I've heard the ones with plastic housings are terrible.

The thing is, is do they sell reel mowers at Home Depot or Lowe's? Because I never noticed any. And are they cheaper and easier to use?

Is it any more harder to gather the grass clippings?

Just wondering. I too would prefer not to have to maintain grass, but living in the suburbs means you need to.

If you live in a better neighborhood, not watering the lawn will put you in trouble with the homeowner's association and tempt possible legal action. And I can't blame them, as a nasty and uncared for yard decreases property values and is a sign of a deadbeat neighbor.

There is nothing wrong with having a lawn or watering it, if it is done responsibly. I use compost to fertilize, not chemicals. I pull weeds when I can. I rarely resort to weedkillers and I'm very careful and selective with the ones I use, preferring natural choices over chemical ones. I water my lawn to keep it green, but I try not to overwater. After all, water costs money.

Lawns are not inherently a bad idea. Lawns help to absorb CO2, and the green space they provide helps to moderate the heat problems caused by urban concrete and asphalt. Furthermore if a yard is not secured by some kind of vegetation, the soil erodes and degrades the water quality of nearby streams and rivers. Lawns are just a version of the grassland that would be there naturally. Not having one or not having an effective alternative is irresponsible. The only exception is if you can leave the land in a wild and undisturbed state, but this is generally not an option for the city dweller. A city lot left in a wild state becomes a haven for pests such as rats and snakes, as well as a magnet for litter and garbage.

What doesn't make sense is using treated water to water the lawn. It is not good for the lawn and wastes the energy used to purify and transport water that doesn't need to be pure. Instead we need to encourage widespread use of gray water systems and develop better technology to make those systems more convenient and attractive. That would lessen the sewage load and the treated water usage for a city, and keep our lawns green. Golf courses use gray water and cities will build them as a place to get rid of their effluent. We need to be doing the same on a smaller scale where individuals can benefit from the same approach.

I live in the Buffalo, NY area and my lawn is a mix of blue grass, rye, and fescue on a 3/4 acre lot. Six years ago I purchased a reel mower from the Brookstone catalog. I can't remember for sure the brand name, but I think it's "American". The logos have long worn off. It's all aluminum with self sharpening blades and probably around 20lbs.

First, it is just as easy to mow using the reel mower as it is with my 22 year old Honda self propelled mower when the lawn is of a normal height. If you're the lazy type (which I can be sometimes) and the grass gets pretty high, it is indeed quite a workout using the reel mower. But at 6'0" tall and 235lbs. I can could use the exercise. And I would imagine a lot of others out there could as well.

Second, I would love it if all of my neighbors used one of these things. We don't use air conditioning at our house, but are constantly forced to close the windows when neighbors are using their gas powered lawn mowers, gas powered trimmers, power washers, etc. And the noise seven days a week got old years ago. Apparently people can't seem to coordinate one or two days a week to make a bunch of racket, so we get to smell fumes and have conversations at the top of our lungs everyday. Oh and as an added bonus, my lawn has never looked better since I started using this mower.

The biggest thing holding back reel mowers is ignorance. People don't even realize they're still being manufactured. I get questions every week about this mower, the same kinds of questions I used to get ten years ago about my CFL bulbs. At least one person that I know of took the plunge and got himself a mower like mine. Only several dozen to go now...

All I can suggest is that if you are interested in buying one, try to find the widest cutting swath possible because no matter what it's going to be narrower than a gas powered mower. Self sharpening blades are a nice feature as well.

I love my Brill, and I have a gigantic yard. The first three times I cut it were drudgery and I was about to crank up the gas mower, but after that third time I realized I had simply been out of shape and the Brill was whipping my lazy ass into shape.

The Brill is super-light, but they do require some effort on your part to get moving.

I'm in great shape now and my lawn looks great. Don't listen to the detractors, go get a Brill and stop smelling like gas.

I love my "prison model" heavy weight reel pushmover. It does a great job on firming up the abs. I found a long handled clipper from Sears that is also manual and I am all set to mow and clip.

Do you need a weed wacker as well if you have a reel mower?

I bought one for $69 at Home Depot...they cost more now because they are in higher demand...about 8 years and will never go back. I hang it on a hook in my garage between uses so it takes up no floor space. I have it sharpened at the end of each season in preparation for the next (about $30/year at my local True Value). I have a small yard and mow my back yard twice a week because I don't like to cut it low. As for exercise, I for one swear it takes less overall effort than my old self-propelled push mower. My wife jokes that I'm a "speed mower"...the thing is so light and the blades so sharp that I can mow at a very fast-walk pace. My brother was over one day and tried it and swore it beat any of the many gas mowers he's had over the years (we both mowed many a lawn as teenage entrepreneurs). And yes, it's nice to be able to mow at 6am or 9pm and not worry about the noise.

I just don't get anybody who advises against the reel mower. Get a wider one, adjust the blade height, keep the blade sharp or get off your ass...it's not the reel mower that is the problem.

Great article to deter people from using gas powered mowers.

I have found that having a lawn doesn't necessarily mean a lot of work or water since reading this wonderful article: http://www.richsoil.com/lawn-care.jsp

I'd advice anyone interested in lawns, to take a look at it, it has some very common-sense advice that reduces considerably water or pesticide or care needs in a lawn, naturally.

Of course, if the same space can be used to produce edibles, much better. The above is for those that don't have or prefer that choice, though.

My parents had one of these when I was 9 and made me use it to cut their lawn because they were afraid I'd kill myself with the gas mower.

It would cut the grass, but I was too small and puny then to keep it moving fast enough to do a good job. I bet it'd do a lot better now, but I haven't seen one in a long time.

"We don't need grass. Unless you have sheep, cows or goats. Grass is a horrible waste of water."

But you need to cut it or the City fines you.

Yeah, the first photo is from our site:
http://www.greenthinkers.org/blog/2006/03/those_inhouse_danes.html

Mine is a Scotts. It isn't easy, but it's worth it. I've been making a habit of mowing around the clover patches and wild violets. I'd be much happier if I didn't have any grass, so I'm trying to promote natural selection in my lawn.

Everything I would've said has been so I'll just share this link: http://www.bountifulbackyards.com/ which was probably also on treehugger.

This is the first professional landscaping company that I've seen do this. Between the reel mower and purposely growing an edible yard I have completely rethought the yard I will someday have.

I tried one of these mowers but it didn't go over my grass and the wheels kept slipping due to an uneven yard. We tried it for a week and barely got anything done. Brought it back to the store and got an electric, no problems since.

Yes, we need grass, at least Earth does, for binding soil and moisture.
When you cut grass, moisture escapes through cutoff grass blades.
Power mowers are almost always rotary, which mechanism tears rather than cuts, resulting in badly mangled grass tips and excess water loss.
Hand mowers cut, like scissors, creating a cleaner opening with a chance to close: less water loss.
You can smell the difference, after rotary mowing the smell of bleeding grass is strong.
Uneven terrain and/or tall growth? Learn to use a scythe.

I have one and its great, don't bother to water the grass and my grass is always greener then my nabobors that do water ... the reason is that it cuts the crass and doesn't tear the grass like a gas mower.

if you mow every week and don't get lazy then you don't have an issue and its easyer then a gas mower to push.

With a gas mower I was lazy, with a reel mower its not that much of a chore; it has no fumes choking you, its not heavy like a gas mower, and mine mulches just fine.

I'm the deadbeat neighbor with the knee-high weeds. But even I have found ways to use a reel mower! My yards are HUGE and more weeds than grass. I couldn't adjust the blades to cut high enough (the zoning code says to keep 'vegetation' below 6 inches, I would cut at 5 1/2 inches if I could), so I removed the back roller bar and bolted on two bicycle training wheels. Because the $1 training wheels were bald, I replaced their tires with lawnmower tires. Yes, I made my reel mower into an 'off-road' mower.

There is a blade-sharpening kit that's a cinch to use - it's just a gritty paste and a funny handle. You screw the handle onto the side of the reel, smear the paste onto the bar, and turn the mower backwards.

I recently bought a Scott's mower at Home Depot. Our front and backyards are both fairly small and they get watered naturally (we live in Seattle).

Pros:
Cheap.
Quiet.
Not much harder to push than our old electric.
Light (important since there are stairs both lawns)
No messing with electric cords or dealing with gas.

Cons:
Will cut high grass but you will need to make 2-3 passes.
Sometimes it pushes down the grass rather than cutting it so you need to make a second pass.
Doesn't mulch and if I let the lawn go the clippings will require raking.
Wheels make it more difficult to get close to edges so you end up having to finish the perimeter with a trimmer.
Won't cut unless you're moving at a decent walking pace. This makes it a little harder to cut in small spaces.

Got one from Sears some years ago, and it works well as long as I use it on a regular basis. If I let things go, I have to trim it down with a weedwhacker (which I use around the edges of the yard anyhow.) I also have a sickle, which works well with those errant weeds and doesn't require me to drag an extension cord around after me.

I want to tell myself I use the sickle and push mower to save the Earth, but really they're just more convenient. I get exercise from yard work: go through a wide range of motion, push, pull, get ab work from shoveling things, and always feel great afterwards.

I'm surprised at TreeHugger that no one has mentioned the Neuton: http://www.neutonpower.com/

I just got one a few weeks ago after about 3 years with the push mower. I don't have a very big lawn and I never used gas mowers (too noisy and pointlessly high maintenance) so the push mower did its job for the four summer seasons I used it for. However the manufacturer recommended never sharpening the blades and I think it finally has suffered enough that it just won't cut my natural lawn well anymore. So, the Neuton it was, and man is it awesome! Small and light which fits my lawn well and fossil fuel-free, although you do need electricity to charge the battery. It's funny because all the complaints with the Neuton used to always be coming from the gas mower addicts (although you can see that these days those complaints aren't warranted any longer), but from a push mower guy the Neuton is a huge step up. I actually look forward to mowing my lawn now.

Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with push mowers. They are infinitely superior to any type of fuel burning stinker and the exercise can't be beat. And I do agree that grass sure seems unnecessary: I'd just have plants everywhere if I could, but grass has just become a tenet of suburban life. I fully believe and support push mowers completely although they just no longer fit my needs the best. I completely accept that my model probably never was the greatest and you could do better, but look into a Neuton if you're in the market. Unless you're just completely set on a push mower the Neuton is the best combination of traditional blade mowing without the gas-powered nonsense.

I use the McClain push reel mower - the Ferrari of manual labor mowers (as I would joke). And it works great. I got it second-hand while renting a house with a lawn. A school kid walked by while I was using it and he asked, "Does that really work?" He was inspired by the simplicity, which was nice to see. I recommend a push mower to anyone stuck taking care of a lawn, but I would encourage using that space for growing something delicious instead. I moved, and I'm passing the mower along. I hope to never need one again. What a pain in the ass just to have curb-appeal!

Looks like great exercise!

One of my friends gave me his a while ago to try out. When i bought my house it came with a lawn tractor for my acre yard, I hated using it and cut the lawn rarely cause i had to buy gas for it, maintain it, smell it, and hear it. So i used the reel mower.

the first time was rough cause i let the grass grow too long. but after that go it did just about a perfect job when doing the lawn once a week. weeds if cut once a week generally get mowed over pretty easily, i found even better than grass depending on the weed.

Though i soon came to realize that cutting down the flowers and weeds wasn't in me either as i would be approaching a flowering weed and there would be a butterfly or bee sipping nectar from it. I also have large amounts of frogs in my yard and cutting the grass was always dangerous for them.

I ended up giving up cutting my grass all together except for a small patch next to my driveway to make the property look "kept". For some reason people think that you have to "control" your yard. I know its what people are used to but i think in time people may come to question what the point is in destroying the biodiversity of the land they own in the name of "upkeeping" your yard. I have finally come to this point, and now i cant believe it took me so long to realize the fallacy of the status quo.

After moving back in with the folks, I opted to get a cheap manual mower. Loving it! Today I mowed for the third weekend in a row, and I can vouch for the joy of doing the 2 tiny front and back lawns again. Fresh air, a bit of exercise, no noise (mostly), and sticking it to the oil man.

I live in the Bufalo area too, and am looking for a place that can sharpen reel mowers. Any suggestions?? (I know how to do it, but really prefer to have it done if possible!)
Jim W
Williamsville, NY

I do agree with Dilbert (yes, the cartoon!) on this: why have grass when you can have synthetic grass, just as the used on sports arenas? They don't need water, it's always green, and there's no bugs.