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I used a landlord's push reel mower for a year or so. Started off getting the mower tuned up by a pro. The lawn was very level and quite small (maybe 600 sq ft). As long as I kept the grass short and kept the mower religiously clean and sharpened it wasn't difficult, but let that grass grow an extra couple of days or neglect the tool, the job became a bear! No excuses...if for some reason you put off the work, you're going to pay for it! In peak season at least two times a week.
I used a landlord's push reel mower for a year or so. Started off getting the mower tuned up by a pro. The lawn was very level and quite small (maybe 600 sq ft). As long as I kept the grass short and kept the mower religiously clean and sharpened it wasn't difficult, but let that grass grow an extra couple of days or neglect the tool, the job became a bear! No excuses...if for some reason you put off the work, you're going to pay for it! In peak season at least two times a week.
I expect most people will want a more powerful rotary mower as a backup, or even better a neighbor that will loan theirs out on occasion. Keeping yard so tidy to always be able to use the reel mower isn't realistic IMO.
As long as I kept the grass short and kept the mower religiously clean and sharpened it wasn't difficult, but let that grass grow an extra couple of days or neglect the tool, the job became a bear! No excuses...if for some reason you put off the work, you're going to pay for it! In peak season at least two times a week.
Man! You stole my thunder! I was really looking forward to the OP coming back on my previous post and say some grass that is not reel mower worthy- and then hit 'em with your remarks. Oh well! can't wait to hear the response now!
I expect most people will want a more powerful rotary mower as a backup, or even better a neighbor that will loan theirs out on occasion. Keeping yard so tidy to always be able to use the reel mower isn't realistic IMO.
You said it! I know manual reel mowers tout how good they are for the environment in terms of air quality and noise. When I consider all the grumbling and cursing I tend to do wrestling with a cantankerous lawn and swatting all the biting insects in the process, not sure how much is being protected. Foul language pollutes the air and natural soundscape too. Can't think of more than one or two lawns I've had that a manual reel mower would peacefully handle. It would have been a declaration of war. Needless to say I hate lawns. I usually let much of an inherited lawn go wild and pay someone else to deal with the minimal defensible space (wildfire) around the house.
At the house I just sold one of the neighbors was a devoted grass Nazi. He would be out there breaking up ice and frozen snow so it would green up faster each spring. If he wasn't mowing it he was watering, feeding, rolling, aerating, weeding, yelling at his kids to stay off of it, or standing in the driveway gazing fondly at his little monoculture. Nice fellow, but the man seemed to have no life other than that lawn. I'm sure he suffered a few pangs of frustration looking at my patch of weedy groundcover (green and clipped short was about all it could boast) next door.
Last edited by Parnassia; 03-30-2021 at 04:21 PM..
Does anyone have a manual (push) lawn mower? Is it fairly easy to use for a smallish backyard? I'd appreciate hearing your experiences.
I have an actual push mower, that you push. No, kids, the kind where the pushing action makes the blades turn. Think of it as "green technology"
It works perfectly well for a small yard. I actually have a big yard and I use a 17-hp tractor to mow it, but there are a couple of areas where the manual push mower comes in handy.
At the house I just sold one of the neighbors was a devoted grass Nazi. He would be out there bashing up frozen snow so it would green up faster each spring. If he wasn't mowing it he was watering, feeding, rolling, aerating, weeding, yelling at his kids to stay off of it, or standing in the driveway gazing fondly at his little monoculture. Nice fellow, but the man seemed to have no life other than that lawn. I'm sure he suffered a few pangs of frustration looking at my patch of weedy groundcover (green and clipped short was about all it could boast) next door.
I have a Ryobi battery powered, had it for over five years now, works great.
I have one also. Works great if you have a small yard or extra batteries. My lot is 80x125 and it took me three days to mow it until I got an extra battery.
I had a Reel type mower for my house in Savannah. I was on one of the marshy islands and it was perfect for my .24 acre lot - which was actually smaller than that because the back yard had no grass. totally tree covered and nothing grew there - all the Live Oaks dropped their acorns and leaves in there.
TOTALLY LOVED MY REEL MOWER!!! I had people stop their cars and talk to me about it. I had a family get out and try it, the teenage boy thought it was fantastic! it cut through the scrub grass, that was my front yard, it was a sandy yard. I planned on having a couple of loads of topsoil dumped, but lost my job and decided to sell the house and move back to NC. It was the best $85.00 I have ever spent.
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reel mower
