Lawn Mowers

[bookrats]

What I'd love to find somewhere is a push mower that -- instead of a reel -- spins a blade like a normal lawnmower (parallel to the ground, slicing grass off at the top), fast enough to cut stuff.

Don't know if it's practical, though.

I did some web searching, and found a reel mower made in 1940-something that had a bunch of little shears at the top of the reel mower that would cut grass. Apparently it didn't work well, or wasn't sold well, because it disappeared soon after.

I've always heard very good things about the Brill (sp?) reel mowers; but their web page mentions that they don't cut tall grass and weeds either. Drat.

[richard schumacher]

A Sears electric with 100 feet of 14 ga. 3-wire extension cord (ugh).

[bookrats]

A Sears electric with 100 feet of 14 ga. 3-wire extension cord (ugh).

Another thread, on [url=http://priuschat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1410]extension cord winders for a corded mower.

In the end, I just got a $5 heavy-duty plastic thingie (technical term) that you wind the cord around. All the auto-wind ones either weren't sturdy, or were more expensive (and required more setup work) than I wanted to get into.

[TonyPSchaefer]

I currently live in a condo townhouse and the Association takes care of the yard.

Growing up, Dad had a couple really heavy gas mowers. We lived on a corner lot that had hills front and side. They got steeper towards the back until the angle was - and I'm not kidding - nearly 70 degrees of incline, ten feet tall, topped with a fence. My brothers and I pushed mowers up that beast all our childhoods. As soon as we all moved out, Dad traded in the mowers for an ultra-light corded electric mower and covered the hill with broad-leaf ivy.

We all cried foul to which he responded, "I had to make men out of you; I'm already a man."

[dianacs]

When we eventually get a house with a yard, we're getting a reel mower too. It's nice to see other like-minded people here.

[naterprius]

More about my Black and Decker Cordless Rechargeable Electric:

#1. It's powered by wind. Really. I get my electricity from a wind farm, so breathe easy.

#2. I owned a reel mower at first and it sucked. I spent more gas driving it all over town to get it fixed than if I owned a Honda mower.

#3. There are only three mowers I would ever own:

-Small: (great for my .2 acre) Black&Decker cordless electric $450
-Medium: (up to 2 acres) Honda mower with Xenoy Deck, Hydrostatic Drive, and most importantly: A BLADE BRAKE CLUTCH. $750
-Large: (how big do you want?) Dixie Chopper! World's fastest lawnmower. Time is money... $5000 (or more, depending on model...)

[naterprius]

BTW, if buying the B&D cordless, get the weed wacker too:

B&D cordless electric trimmer. $100. Works great.

(Not suitable for you? Go straight to the Tanaka straight shaft, it's CARB and EPA approved for low emmisions).

Need an edger? Get the hand push model from Home Depot. Must stay on top of it, though. For occasional or professional use, get the Tanaka TLE-550. It's truly awesome. The way I see it, spending the least amount of time running the machine to get the job done likely uses less fuel and emits fewer emmisions. (Hard to say for sure).

Nate

[randalla]

A Sears electric with 100 feet of 14 ga. 3-wire extension cord (ugh).

I've been using a Sears Craftsman electric with rear bag discharge that I bought new back in 1994 also with about 100 feet of 14 guage wire. It has done a great job since then only needing to replace the blades twice since new. Being a rear bagger, the handle didn't flip over for cutting in the opposite direction.

Prior to that I had a side bagging Sunbeam electric for six years that did have the flip over handle. I got it for $15 at a moving sale.

[daniel]

A horse, now, would mow your lawn, fertilize it at the same time, and use the free biomass to provide you with free transportation. And they make good pets.

[ironrosewhippets]

A horse, now, would mow your lawn, fertilize it at the same time, and use the free biomass to provide you with free transportation. And they make good pets.

If you really :wink: want an organic lawn mower you would want a cow. A hair sheep would be easier but they cut the grass very short and may kill it. Cows leave a "bigger mess" but cut the grass at a better length. Horses pull the grass out rather than cut it. Goats are way cooler but they would rather kill the bushes and trees than get the grass. Rather have a goat as a pet than a horse, then again I had rats as pets in college. Of course riding a goat would be um interesting.

Well I have left mowing for the only warm day in weeks (NE WI). Must go push that Scotts reel mower around.

Jacquie