Lawn Mowers

[TonyPSchaefer]

I'm the youngest of five boys. My dad knew the value of free labor; I've been mowing grass since I was old enough to walk and push.

For the first time in my life, I might soon be in the position to need to purchase my own lawn mower. Of course, I have no intentions of purchasing a gas-powered mower. That leaves me with Reel, Plug-in, and Battery mowers.

Who has what, what are the pros and cons, and what should I consider when purchasing?

[darelldd]

Finally moving out on your own, Tony? :P

I would REALLY give a good look at the higher quality push reel mowers. I so badly wanted to use a reel that I bought two of them (with great return policies). And I tried and tried... and failed to make them work. The only reason is because my type of grass needs to be mowed higher than the highest reel mower will allow. I ended up with the B&D CMM1000. And when it is working, it is fantastic. No easier than a push reel mower, really, but I can get it high enough and it does a great job.



The problem? Too many dang recalls. Like four in the four years I've owned it? They didn't put enough time into this mower. I'd have liked more durable wheels too. The blade and motor are great. The batteries last 2-3 years, and are $100+ to replace.

Another option - one that I am currently seriously considering - is getting ride of at least most of the lawn. We use the back lawn for activities, but the front ones are totally for show. Waste of all kinds of resources. I'd rather have some native bunch grasses up there, and just spend half a day a year maintaining it - instead of twice-weekly mowings, and untold gallons of water.

[TheForce]

When I get my own place I will be purchasing a Robomow.

http://www.friendlyrobotics.com

These little things are awesome. Electric, self guiding, self charging, set by timer, built in security system, built in safety system, Plus some other cool features. Pretty much all the reviews I've read are positive. $1500 for the best model $1000 for the basic.

[tballx]

I have the Sunlawn MM2. One of the reasons I bought it was because the blades are supposedly able to stay sharp for 5-7 years without sharpening. I've been very satisfied. It's light and my kids actually play with me when I'm mowing instead of running like hell when I crank up a power mower. I was warned since I have a steeply angled lawn but to be honest it's no big deal since it is such a light mower.

I'm not much of a yard guy but you kind of have to stay up on the mowing with a reel mower or the grass will simply slide under the reel. If I get lazy then I can go over the longer blades with an electric weed whacker just to get down to a height that the reel can cut. Then I can go back over it with the mower to smooth it out. One disadvantage from my perspective is that I can't adjust the mower height high enough. My blade length can only really get no longer than 2.5" or so. With my power mower, I could raise the deck so that I could leave the grass 4 or 5". I liked the extra length since it allows the grass to naturally choke out weeds and retain more water.

[TonyPSchaefer]

Finally moving out on your own, Tony? [/b]

Pretty much, yeah. Not sure if the current house being considered is THE house, but it's starting to look that way.

Now, because I'm putting much of my savings down, taking out a mortgage that makes my knees shake, and paying almost as much in taxes as I was paying in rent seven years ago, I'm not looking to spend more than I have to - or am capable of spending. But the lawn must be mowed. So I'm looking in the sub-$150 range for reels and definitely sub-$200 for corded.

The more I read reviews, the more I find comments about motors going bad in electric mowers and expensive batteries needing to be replaced. Granted, perhaps 1 in 20, but it gives me something to think about. On the other hand, most owners of reel mowers genuinely seem to like them. I like that they are mechanically simple and use no power other than a glass of iced tea and a lemon cookie or two. The only complaint I have found about reel mowers is that they have trouble with large weeds as Darell pointed out. Heck, one person said that "if you have weeds taller than 20 inches this mower will not cut them." I can assure you that in my neck of clean-cut and sterilized suburbia that's not going to be a problem.

So I'm starting to lean towards a reel mower.
1) I've read that they are better for the grass because they use a "scissor-like mowing action." How does this work?
2) Do you really just walk behind and push and that's it? There is no rocking back and forth to make sure everything cuts?
3) Those who are familiar (tballx), please check out these and tell me what you think:
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores...ocStoreNum=8125
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores...ocStoreNum=8125
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?...UseBVCookie=Yes
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?...UseBVCookie=Yes

[tballx]

The Scott's 20" was my second choice (your first link). I liked the wide cutting swath. I also liked the 4 wheel operation which results in a little more stable even cut. The gripe appeared to be the awkward manner in which you have to slide the grip over the metal push bar using dish soap or something. I did not relish that. My Sunlawn was put together in 15 minutes. My last power mower was a Scott's and it was trouble free. The only thing that kept me from buying the Scott's was the promise of a sharper blade longer with the Sunlawn and the weight of the Sunlawn relative to the Scott's was 9 lbs less. Nice to have that weight difference after 45 minutes of pushing. All of the other models have narrower cutting swaths or they do not allow a height adjustment to 3". Those things were important to me as well. The cutting length complaints on Home Depot's web site will happen if you let the grass get long with any reel mower but like I said, an electric weed cutter solves that problem very quickly.

[Blegate]

Get the Homelite electric "battery" mower @ Home Depot. It costs $299 and I own one. I've had it for about 3 months and it's been fantastic to work with. I replaced a 10 year old gas guzzler. My home sits on a 7K lot so my lawn is not huge. I typically mow every two weeks without charging. I probably could go a full three weeks.

Pros:
- Heavy. Cuts lawn very well
- Mulches very well
- Simple to operate
- No oil or gas to deal with
- Two year warranty
- Won't overcharge the mower when left plugged in
- Metal Deck. The Black & Decker is plastic/composite. Still a good mower.
- I don't stink like gas and oil anymore after mowing
- 24 Volt sealed lead acid battery
- 18" cutting path
- Well constructed
- I'm enjoying mowing now

Cons:
- Need to remember to plug it in to charge
- May get bogged down if you don't mow weekly. I typically mulch about 1/2 to 1" off weekly and it does fine
- Won't work well with glass that's 4 - 5" tall
- Need to clean the underside after each use. This is only necessary if you mulch. Gas like any mower will build up. Without a clean underside it won't mulch efficiently.
- Cannot clean with a hose. Since this is an electric mower I suggest you avoid water
- During winter you should store the unit and/or batteries in a controlled climate. Freezing lead acid batteries is not good.
- Battery will need replacement after 4 to 5 years. If you properly maintain sealed lead acid they will last. Also replacement lead acid batteries can be purchased online. If you get the same size and Mah it would work.
- An electric will never have the power a gas model has.
- no power drive but I don't need this.

That's all I can think of. If you have any other questions please ask.
b

[Allannde]

Hi Tony

You have had a lot of good advice.

Since you are leaning toward a reel mower, I have a caution for you.

When I was young, that is all there was.

A sharp reel mower is fine. When it gets dull it is a PAIN!!!!!!

If you are going that way, make sure that you have available a means to sharpen and adjust the reel mower.

Like a pair of scissors, the reel and the edge it cuts against need to be sharp and tight to each other, but not too tight. They will wear and need to be resharpened and re aligned.

Allan

[priussoris]

Ditto on what Allan said.

If sharp a reel mower is great I too had used them until the folks back then bought the 3.5h.p. briggs 18" "wow" mower and then we had to crank it too

[priussoris]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Aug 12 2007, 03:20 PM) [snapback]494392[/snapback]</div>

I'm the youngest of five boys. My dad knew the value of free labor; I've been mowing grass since I was old enough to walk and push.

For the first time in my life, I might soon be in the position to need to purchase my own lawn mower. Of course, I have no intentions of purchasing a gas-powered mower. That leaves me with Reel, Plug-in, and Battery mowers.

Who has what, what are the pros and cons, and what should I consider when purchasing?

[/b]

Here is another alt. use way to keep the lawn mowed down.
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