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I have a couple of lawns lined up to cut. I want a push mower for the exercise and the fact that I won't have to pay for gasoline. I've just heard that some of them don't cut very well no matter how much muscle you put into it. Suggestions would be appreciated.
Answer
I'm in the market for one too. We bought one second-hand to check things out and get a real feel for this type of mower. Here's what we learned. Most reel push mowers are good to maintain short grass, which is no good if you want to control weeds. I want my lawn to be 3+ inch high. When the product specs say you'll need to sharpen once a season, it means 2-4 times a season. The blades on our Great States mower were sharpened before our first mow and after mowing three times, the ends of the blades of grass looked riped (and our lawn is small - 1200 sq ft). If you're obsessive about having your lawn cut evenly (like me), you'll get your cardio workout in by mowing your lawn (and it still might not end up even- argh!). My approach to mowing the lawn is I don't mind mowing 3 times a week, if I only have to do it for 10 minutes each time; but the results have to be clean and even.
The main thing to remember is if your lawn is level everywhere (ie no pot-holes anywhere) and free of hidden rocks and twigs, you can consider a manual reel mower. But if it's not, then you'll either have to fix it or restrict yourself to the more expensive manual reel mowers. However, don't confuse price with quality: we thought that a Brill was the top of the line. Not so. First figure out what kind of lawn you have and the kind you'd like to have and maintain, and what you're willing to put up with, then choose the best mower for you.
After some research, I've decided that the Fiskars Momentum is the one for me. Problem is, it's not cheap. Lowes has them at the cheapest price around: $200. Or maybe I'll go for the Scott reel mower for $130. Which boils the question down to: will I be irritated at myself the next four years for saving $70 on the initial price of the mower? How much do I value 4 years of peace of mind, little to no sharpening of the blades and an easier mowing job for an evenly cut lawn? Kind of a biased question, I know.
You might decide to do like we did and check craigslist for a second hand mower to figure out what you like and what your lawn is like to mow. Then, when you're ready to get "the one", go for it and sell old one again on craigslist for a slightly lower price than what you paid for. Turned out to be a pretty cheap "rental" for us.
Here are the sites that are helping me choose:
http://blogs.consumerreports.org/home/2010/02/product-preview-fiskars-manaul-reel-mower-black-decker-lawn-mower-ratings.html
http://blogs.consumerreports.org/home/2010/03/best-reel-mowers-consumer-reports-reviews-scotts-200020-fiskars-momentum-317736-easun-naturcut-class.html
This page is awesome: http://www.peoplepoweredmachines.com/mower_compare.htm
and here's another review of the Fiskars Momentum Reel Mower:
http://www.maydreamsgardens.com/2009/11/fiskars-momentum-reel-mower-review-part.html
That's part 1. You can link to part 2 from that page.
http://www.peoplepoweredmachines.com/fiskars/index.htm
Here's info on grass cutting height:
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/4000/4020.html
http://www.peoplepoweredmachines.com/info/lawn.htm
http://www.american-lawns.com/lawns/mowing_heights.html
Enjoy!!
Anna
I'm in the market for one too. We bought one second-hand to check things out and get a real feel for this type of mower. Here's what we learned. Most reel push mowers are good to maintain short grass, which is no good if you want to control weeds. I want my lawn to be 3+ inch high. When the product specs say you'll need to sharpen once a season, it means 2-4 times a season. The blades on our Great States mower were sharpened before our first mow and after mowing three times, the ends of the blades of grass looked riped (and our lawn is small - 1200 sq ft). If you're obsessive about having your lawn cut evenly (like me), you'll get your cardio workout in by mowing your lawn (and it still might not end up even- argh!). My approach to mowing the lawn is I don't mind mowing 3 times a week, if I only have to do it for 10 minutes each time; but the results have to be clean and even.
The main thing to remember is if your lawn is level everywhere (ie no pot-holes anywhere) and free of hidden rocks and twigs, you can consider a manual reel mower. But if it's not, then you'll either have to fix it or restrict yourself to the more expensive manual reel mowers. However, don't confuse price with quality: we thought that a Brill was the top of the line. Not so. First figure out what kind of lawn you have and the kind you'd like to have and maintain, and what you're willing to put up with, then choose the best mower for you.
After some research, I've decided that the Fiskars Momentum is the one for me. Problem is, it's not cheap. Lowes has them at the cheapest price around: $200. Or maybe I'll go for the Scott reel mower for $130. Which boils the question down to: will I be irritated at myself the next four years for saving $70 on the initial price of the mower? How much do I value 4 years of peace of mind, little to no sharpening of the blades and an easier mowing job for an evenly cut lawn? Kind of a biased question, I know.
You might decide to do like we did and check craigslist for a second hand mower to figure out what you like and what your lawn is like to mow. Then, when you're ready to get "the one", go for it and sell old one again on craigslist for a slightly lower price than what you paid for. Turned out to be a pretty cheap "rental" for us.
Here are the sites that are helping me choose:
http://blogs.consumerreports.org/home/2010/02/product-preview-fiskars-manaul-reel-mower-black-decker-lawn-mower-ratings.html
http://blogs.consumerreports.org/home/2010/03/best-reel-mowers-consumer-reports-reviews-scotts-200020-fiskars-momentum-317736-easun-naturcut-class.html
This page is awesome: http://www.peoplepoweredmachines.com/mower_compare.htm
and here's another review of the Fiskars Momentum Reel Mower:
http://www.maydreamsgardens.com/2009/11/fiskars-momentum-reel-mower-review-part.html
That's part 1. You can link to part 2 from that page.
http://www.peoplepoweredmachines.com/fiskars/index.htm
Here's info on grass cutting height:
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/4000/4020.html
http://www.peoplepoweredmachines.com/info/lawn.htm
http://www.american-lawns.com/lawns/mowing_heights.html
Enjoy!!
Anna
Why does my true value mower with a briggs and stratton engine start and go for a while then shuts off?
Q. I lower the blade and the mower stops
Answer
If it stops when you lower the blade, it is not a heat problem. Check the usual suspects: Air filter (clean), spark plug (relatively shiny contacts), and gas (stuff floating around in there?). If it is not one of those three, odds are good you need to make a trip to a small-engine repair joint. Unfortunately, the cost will easily run at least 1/2 of the cost of a new push mower.
If it stops when you lower the blade, it is not a heat problem. Check the usual suspects: Air filter (clean), spark plug (relatively shiny contacts), and gas (stuff floating around in there?). If it is not one of those three, odds are good you need to make a trip to a small-engine repair joint. Unfortunately, the cost will easily run at least 1/2 of the cost of a new push mower.
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