....a first-hand experience of replacing a power mower with a push mower
click here to buy a reel mower online
by
Greg Seaman
Reel (push) mowers have been around for many years, but
have been all but replaced by the ubiquitous gas-powered rotary lawn mowers.
Per hour of operation, however, a gas lawn mower emits 10-12 times as
much hydrocarbon as a typical auto. To reduce the environmental cost of
lawn mowing, a new generation of reel mowers has been designed which operate
much more effectively than the old push mowers, and with zero impact on
the environment.
Last spring I decided to replace my power mower with one of these new reel mowers. I bought a new reel mower for $180 and put it to the test on my lawn, which is approximately 2500 sq ft. Here are my conclusions after a season of use:
ease
of use
-
at first it seemed surprisingly easy to push the mower. By the end of
the mowing session, however, I noticed a light sweat on my brow. These
newly designed reel mowers are easier to use than the clunky ones I used
as a teenager, but they are not effortless. Still, after a season of use,
I'm satisfied with the overall ease of use. It gives the light aerobic
workout I need after a day sitting at the computer.
effectiveness - the reel mower
does the job of cutting the grass but the lawn doesn't look as perfectly cut
as when I used the rotary power mower. The lawn looks cut, but not manicured.
I'm satisfied with this. In theory, because the reel mower cuts with a shearing
cut, the grass tips stay greener and the lawn looks healthier. After one season,
I don't see much of a change in how the lawn looks in this regard.
user experience - in
general, using the reel mower was pretty easy but there were a few things
to learn. Our lawn winds around a vegetable garden, a few trees and shrub
beds. It took several sessions to figure out the best cutting route to
get the job done quickly and easily. Some other considerations are:
- tall grass is a problem - the reel mower will not cut tall grass, such as the odd bits of quack(swamp) grass growing in my lawn which can grow to 8" seemingly overnight. There are only a few small patches, so I can yank them out as I go, but if there were much more of this swamp grass, the reel mower would be inadequate for the job. A simple solution for this is to buy a grass whip (around $15) which makes it easy to whip down the bits of grass which the reel mower may miss.
- only about half the cut grass is picked up by the basket - reel mowers contribute to the health of the lawn by 'grass cycling', that is, they leave the cut grass on the lawn. These cuttings add nitrogen to the lawn, a natural fertilizer. If you don't want the 'look' of the cut grass on the lawn, you can use a basket attachment. However, the basket only catches about half the cut grass, because the blades throw the grass in a forward direction.
- edge-cutting is not as close - the reel mower has its wheels outside of the blades while the rotary power mower has the wheels inset; the power mower is able to cut closer to the edges of beds and fences. I use an electric weedeater to trim the edges and fenceline, so this doesn't matter too much.
In conclusion, I found
the reel mower was pretty easy to use and effective at cutting the grass,
with the following considerations:
- it's important to be timely in cutting the lawn
- if the grass gets too tall between mowing sessions, it will be considerably
more work.
- lawn size should be under 3000sq ft - unless
you're sharing the work with a helper, it gets to be a chore with a larger
lawn.
- a trimmer/edger is helpful for edging - unless
shrub beds and other lawn features are edged with flat paving stones which
the mower wheels can ride over, an electric trimmer/edger may be necessary
for neat edge trimming.
Once these
adjustments were learned, there was considerable satisfaction at having
maintained a lawn without using a gas powered mower. I don't miss the
noise and fumes of the old mower, or the jugs of gas and oil in the garden
shed. It's been a liberating experience.
Greg Seaman is the founder of Eartheasy
Click any of the links here to see some different models.
In our online store you'll also see electric and cordless rotary mowers. (US sales only)
Sunlawn Push Reel Mower $159.00
Brill Razorcut 33 Push Reel Mower $229.00
Brill Razorcut 38 Push Reel Mower $249.00
...................................... ...... ........ .......... ................................... eartheasy
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