If it weren’t bad enough to get a daily barrage of unwanted junk mail, now I have gotten my first junk mail that directly insults reel mowers, one of my favorite product lines that we sell!
Can you believe the nerve?
Actually, I can.
When we first moved into another house last year, our neighbor kept coming outside whenever we would use our Scotts Classic reel mower to tell us that she would be happy to give us the phone number of her lawn service.
My wife finally told her, “My husband is in the manual lawnmower business, so I don’t think he’s going to go for a lawn service.” The neighbor got a funny look on her face. We are pretty sure that she now thinks that I mow lawns for a living.
My professional response to this ad: No wonder she is having trouble.
1) She is trying to mow in flip flops.
2) She is holding the mower all wrong. You mow like that, and of course it’s going to be hard!
I say, read the reel mower customer reviews and see what real people say about manual mowers!
Maybe I should send this guy an advertisement that says, “Hate the Loud Noise, Air Pollution and High Expense of a Lawn Service? Switch to a Manual Mower for Quiet, Clean Air, and No Recurring Weekly Bills!” At his rates, a reel mower will pay for itself in a couple of months.
I just got an email from someone last week whose neighbor tried to loan him their gas mower when they saw he was using a reel mower because he thought his regular mower must be broken.
Any other people out there with manual reel mowers who have funny stories they would like to share? Leave a comment!
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
I have a Scott’s and around 6000 sq ft of St. Augustine to cut down in hot south Florida. My yard has quite a few palm trees and others in it that must be cut around. My back yard is contoured with hills. I can push my mower as fast as I want…it really doesn’t take much effort.
When my neighbor and I start cutting (equal sized yards) I finish roughly the same time as him with his gas self-propelled. I have usually been doing my yard one day a week after work as it’s cooler out and I can get it knocked out of the way. It takes me about 1 hour to cut, edge, and clean up.
My neighbor across the street has a son who is a landscaper. She informed me yesterday as I was mowing with my Scott’s Classic that I really should pick up the grass clippings or they would kill my grass. I was happy to explain that it was quite the contrary as it is better for the grass the have the clippings decompose and enrich the soil. I also mentioned the unnecessary toll it takes on our landfills to be taxed with yard waste, not the least of which is grass clippings.
On another note, some new neighbors just moved in a few houses down. When I noticed they were mowing yesterday with a reel mower, I knew I had a kindred spirit and marched right over to compare notes.
I bought a SunLawn reel mower this summer, battery-powered because I’m almost 60 years old and way past the “I can do this myself!” stage, even if I do want to stay green as long as I can.
I don’t mind the extra effort it takes for me to cut my grass with fibromyalgia and arthritis, but what I do mind is the poor quality of the mower.
The plastic parts may make it lighter but also make it less durable over the long haul – the “on” button is already suspect.
The instructions on putting it together were laughable – I still think I don’t have the grass catcher on properly because most of the grass is tossed over the top of the catcher.
When something catches in the reel, the resulting threshing noise before it stops brings my neighbors to their porches wondering if a car crashed on the street. Why does it have to do that?
I wish I had spent the $300+ the SunLawn costs to have my grandfather’s push reel mower repaired (the roller pin broke) and then hired someone to mow my grass with it.
And no, I’m not a Luddite, I like machinery, just not of Made In China quality.
To me this is a good thing that this company is taking shots against the Reel Mover because that means it is competing in the lawnmover marketplace. The Reel Mover is making a statement with the consumer that it is a good alternative to cutting their lawns. It helps with the environment, your lawn loves you for it and you get in great shape.
I love my little Scott cord and reel lawn mower. I purchased it two years ago at Home Depot. I use it exclusively and my grass has never looked better. I to get strange looks and questions. I just tell them no noise, no gas, no pollution and keep on mowing. I ordered the sharpening kit last week and it worked quite well. All in all I am very happy with my cord and reel lawn mower.
I have used the Scott Classic for nearly six years and just love it. My yard is very hard, clay soil, making cutting the grass a challenge to hold on as it can be a bumpy ride. I don’t mind though. I haven’t received many looks or comments over the years. Just a few from neighbors when I first moved onto the street. They suggested I use a lawn care company or wanted to know how hard it was to use a manual mower.
I love the fact I don’t have to breathe the nasty exhaust and buy gas which gets spilled occasionally as I fill the tank of my carbon unit. Once in a while I have to use the gas beast as the yard gets too tall. Every time I use it I’m cursing all the while and at the end when I kill the engine I make an “air shotgun” motion as I take aim a the smoking dragon.
I bought my Brill Luxus reel mower last year. I have to say it was the best investment I’ve ever made. I bought it thinking that if anything ever broke, I could fix it myself (I’m a single mom.) Well an unforseen bonus was that I can now have my eight year old son do the mowing, No exhaust, no dangerously overheated elements, much safer to use. He mows, I edge and trim, we spend some time together.
A funny story, several weeks ago I was mowing my front lawn. A woman walking by exclaimed “Wow! I haven’t seen one of those for years. ” Well, we got to talking, with me extolling the virtues of the reel mower, when she suddenly asked if she could try it. I felt like Tom Sawyer, with a kid from the neighborhood doing my chores for me! She was quite impressed with the mower, asked where I bought it, etc. Perhaps a new convert to manual mowers, here in “Lawn” Island NY>
I absolutely LOVE our Scotts Classic reel mower. It is a breeze to push around, no problems with starting it or running out of gas/oil. I live on a military installation and it fits nicely in our very small storage shed, and if my husband is ever deployed again I know I can mow our own lawn. In fact, I won’t even let him do it, I actually LIKE to mow with it. And yes, I even wear flip-flops. . . .know I shouldn’t, but it makes it no more difficult for me. Neighbors are intrigued & some have comments on how nice & quiet it is. I was pushing this mower 9 months pregnant, that is how easy it is.
I too really like the Scott Classic I bought from Clean Air. Yep, I get funny looks from some of the neighbours and a few of them wonder how long I’ll last with it. Hey, as long as I’m getting the good cardio workout I figure I might be here long after they retire their gas guzzlers. I’ve seen one other reel mower along my route to work- I want to honk in solidarity… but that would just ruin his nice, quiet mowing experience. Reel ‘em on in, Clean Air!
I still have not decided whether I should buy a push reel mower or not. I definitely want to get away from the pollution, gas, and noise, but I don’t know what kind of mower to buy. I don’t know what kind of grass I have (it is a mixture of different kinds I know that much), I like to have my grass cut high, but how does one measure to know what is 2in or 3in, for example. Do you start measuring from the earth or the green part of the grass? Also, what about small sticks or pieces of mulch that get up on the lawn, will the push mower get stuck or damaged? And what about small dips and rises (not long sloping hills) in the lawn, will the push mower be able to cut over this smoothly? Finally, if I buy one and am not happy with it is can I return it and get a refund? By the way I am most interested in the Brill Luxus.
I would like to respond to Corinne’s comment about which reel lawnmower she should buy. We bought a Brill Luxus which we love for all the reasons listed above, but…. There is one major problem with the Brill, it does not cut high, and that would make it a problem for your lawn, Corinne.
We got a reel mower because our lawn was so tiny and gas prices were so high. The first day, we drew half the neighborhood out to see it. They loved it! They all told us stories about when they were kids and had to mow their lawn with a reel mower. My son (who is now in charge of mowing) wasn’t so impressed with the stories but we enjoyed them. So we liked our mower and so did the neighbors. Once we got used to how it worked we were very impressed with the results.
Corinne, you should consider the Scotts Classic if you are looking for a mower with a higher cut.
Yes, sticks can make the reel stop turning, if they are big enough. You just stop, pull them out, and keep going.
The wheels have to turn for the blades to spin, but some bumpiness is fine.
I’ve never really found it necessary to do a precise measurement with cutting the grass. I just set the mower about where I like it, and I mow with it.
There is a 60 day money back guarantee for reel mowers. You would just be responsible for the cost of shipping.
I would love to get a reel mower. I severely dislike the gas fumes of our push mower. I didn’t think a reel would be as easy to push as many are claiming here.
I’ll have to find a way to try one out…as I REELY (pun intended) would like one if it as easy to use.
We bought the Brill and fired the lawn service when we moved into our house. We looked recently at getting the wider Brill but alas it’s not currently sold in the US.
I agree with the other poster that the Brill ’s not a great choice if you want a higher cut. Otherwise, it’s a great machine and very solid.
We’re not the most attentive mowers, so it’s more of a workout for us because we usually let the grass get pretty high before we mow.
Our neighbors & friends have suggested lawn services and electric mowers…we just explain that with desk jobs, we’re looking for reasons to stay active!
And we love the quiet and lack of fumes when we mow. It’s really meditative and you can enjoy the wonderful smell of freshly cut grass.
My only gripe is that I’m 5′5″ and I think my husband’s height advantage gives him some leverage I don’t have. Of course, he’s stronger too. None of this would matter if we mowed more frequently, of course
One other thought – certain kinds of grass are definitely easier to mow than others. I wish I knew the different varieties – I don’t – but we have a mish-mosh of varieties. Some are really difficult to mow while others are a cinch even when pretty tall.
I just bought a used Scotts Classic and was trying it out for the first time. My neighbor came out and asked if we needed to borrow a lawnmower. I told him I liked the reel mower and he just looked at me funny and went back inside.