Lawn Mowers

Finally moving out on your own, Tony?

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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

 

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

 

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 :lol: and then we had to crank it too

 

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

Here is another alt. use way to keep the lawn mowed down.
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I just replaced my reel mower with the Neuton:
http://www.drpower.com/CSTM_Neuton_Home.aspx

I liked the reel mower a lot, except that I got a cheap one ($99 five years ago) that wouldn't stay sharp. I had it sharpened once at a cost of $60. Everyone is right that it doesn't cut tall grass or weeds. It also doesn't do anything with fallen leaves on the lawn. My lawn has gradually gotten healthier, thicker, and less weed-prone over the last five years. Which made it difficult to push the reel mower through it. Especially up-hill. My boyfriend was more frustrated with it than I was, which is the main reason I decided not to go with a higher quality reel mower.

I've had the Neuton about a month now, and so far, so good. My lawn looks neater, more manicured, than it ever did with the reel mower. It's highest setting is 3" which looks really low to me, so I'm a little concerned about the long-term health of the grass. I'm not happy with the string trimmer. Let me know if you want more detail about that.

I'm hopeful that the mower will shred and bag autumn leaves nicely so I won't have to rake. Although in this drought/heat wave, the leaves are likely to spontaneously combust before they get a chance to fall.

 

Get a DEER known for reliability..



http://www.deere.com/en_AU/equipment/cce/wbm/fullpage.html

Or if your wanting EV power, get a EV Reel mower...
http://www2.yardiac.com/list_categories.as...3418&id=229

 

I have reel mower and ditched it for a Neuton mower (link provided by C Monster). The reel mower was great on short grass. If you can stay on top of your cutting, a reel mower is great. If you get lax and the grass grows over 3-4 inches, you'll be out of luck. Plus, if you have trees and shrubs, the reel mower won't cut through the debris on the ground and you'll constantly have to stop to pull twigs out of the blades. I give my experience an overall "yuck".

The Neuton is wonderful. It cuts through long grass just fine. It also handles all the debris from my trees/shrubs without a problem. You can buy a mulching attachment and a blade sharpener. The battery seems to weigh more than the mower, so no problems getting this mower around. The mower is so easy to start with the flip of a switch and the squeezing of the handle. My only gripe is that you have to keep the handle squeezed together and the slightest degree of pressure, the mower shuts off. I'm now used to this and don't encounter the shut off problem anymore, but my hands tend to tire. Overall I love this mower and would recommend it to anyone. If you have a large yard, buy two batteries so that you're able to complete your entire mow in one day. Neuton would be able to advise what size lawn one battery can handle. Oh, oh, oh - it's quite too!

 

I used to have a Sears Craftsman 24-volt rechargeable mower; it wasn't a reel kind, just the basic type with the two blades that rotate above the surface of the grass.

When I still *had* grass, it'd run for 30-40 minutes, cutting even an overgrown dark fescue lawn, and wasn't even close to running out of power.

Quality of cut was about the same as a gas mower. Keeping the blades sharp seems to help either one do lots better.

 

I MUST chime in here with a loud "BS!"

An Electric can have every bit as much... and MORE power than a gas mower. If done right. At this point, the makers don't really give a damn. Saying that electric mowers will never have as much power as a gasoline one is like saying that an EV will never have as much power as a gas vehicle. Not true in any way, shape or form, given the same dvelopment money and time. Every EV I've owned has had more power than its gasoline couterpart. And I've driven some that'll do 0-60 in under three seconds. 0-100-0 in eleven seconds. If an electric car can do that, I dare say that we have enough power for a lawn mower.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Aug 12 2007, 03:16 PM) [snapback]494404[/snapback]</div>

Actually, my issue is that I can't cut the lawn to a hight of 3.5-4" with a reel mower. I'm not mowing down 20" weeds here! I just need to leave the grass longer than the reel mower allows.

A regular power mower just hacks the grass off like you wood by swinging a knife or string trimmer. A reel mower with S-shaped blades crosses a secondar stationary blade and traps the grass in there just like a pair of scissors. Even makes the same sound as you'd imagine a giant pair of scissors would make!

That's it. You just push. No rocking or other gyrations. You can build up some momentum so it keeps cutting on the turns and such. Save money on your gym membership and get your workout with the mower. You supply the energy. The more I think about it, the more I want to give a reel mower a try again.

 

If my lawn was smaller, I'd be all about the electric mowers.
But it's not. I really like the mulching capability of my mower (which was given to me 10 years ago and still runs great). I only bag when I need some mulch for the garden, specifically in the fall when the leaves come down. A nice mix of chopped up leaves and grass is the best mulch there is. It's better than buying mulch, breaks down better in the garden, and I have ZERO yard waste. I really hate how people throw away their yard trimmings.
The only problem I see with the gas mowers is they have poor exhaust emissions. But I only use 2-3 gallons of gas throughout the year on my mower, so I'd rather get an EV car and reduce my gas usage by a gallon a DAY instead.
I hope to reduce the size of my lawn over time (increasing garden, orchard, and hosta space) and hopefully my mower makes it until then. I can go for an electric then. Do they have electrics that can mulch and bag and for how much?

 

I had a plugin electric real mower and even though the blades were not sharp it did a great job. I was set to about 3 inches. It got a bit cross if I let the grass grow a bit long.
When I moved the lawn here is on a slope and not level or even. I now use a 2 stroke Victa rotary mower which is an Australian made mower. I had a weedeater 4 stroke rotory mower, what a piece of shoe soil!
Unfortunately due to the undulations of my lawn a 4 stroke mower is no good. I minimise polution by not watering to reduce growth.

My mum n dad have a Black and Decker rechargable slasher mower. It's 12 volt and a great thing. It cuts long grass and is harder to stall than my weedeater was. If it gets into heavy going it slows down and the motor starts producing real torque. When my victor dies which won't be for a long time I'll look into a rechargable mower for here.

My block is 960 square metres with about 400 square metres of structure and 250 square metres of thick scrub with no lawn so about 300 square metres of grass. Mums mower would do it easy in one charge.
(9 square metres is about 100 square feet so 300m2 = 3333 feet2

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hycamguy07 @ Aug 13 2007, 11:40 AM) [snapback]494703[/snapback]</div>

I purchased one of the last John Deere JX85 21" self-propelled walk-behind mowers back in 2002 when they stopped production of this "commercial" version of the JX75 (which is still being sold). It has the same engine as the JX75, the Kawasaki 6.5HP but the JX85 has the spin on Oil Filter. A truly fantastic engine.... starts on the FIRST PULL every time. The JX75 also can go up to 3" for cutting Saint Augustine grass while most others max. out at 2" which would certainly "scalp" (and kill) our Southern grasses in Florida and Texas. The discontinued JX85 went to 3 3/4". Both can go down to 1/2" if so desired (golf course grass??) What I like best about the JD mower (JX85 -or- JX75) is that is a super MULCHING mower.... no grass to rake up, it cuts and mulches it all, and the construction of the USA made mower is top quality. A bit more expen$ive than most others but I have used mine nearly EVERY WEEK for the past 5 1/2 years with only oil & filter changes twice a year (a bit overkill) and once I had to replace a frayed wire cable that is constantly being used to engage the blade..... which, by the way, the engine STAYS RUNNING and the blade has a CLUTCH to engage it so the pain-in-the-azz task of starting the engine over-and-over when the blade is dis-engaged is NOT needed on the John Deere JX75. This in itself will keep one from going crazy !!!! :lol:

 

The Black and Decker electric cordless is going strong after five years. It sounds like someone down the block is mowing, not me. Love the quiet and ease of operation. They are best for less than a third acre.

Reel mowers are great, keep them sharp, but don't own one if you live near walnut trees. Pushing fast and hitting a walnut will stop you and the mower so fast. It's no fun to have the mower handle crammed in your stomach.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ Aug 30 2007, 09:21 PM) [snapback]504665[/snapback]</div>

Many people don't realize that locomotives are driven by electric motors. The exhaust you see is from the diesel engine that generates the electricity. So Electric motors are plenty powerful.