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I live in a city and have a smallish yard (1000 sqFt). Storage is pretty minimal. I don't really have a place to dump the lawn clippings, and was wondering about the manual push reel mowers. Does anyone have good or bad experiences with these?
I used one for 4 years on my small yard in Savannah, GA. Loved it! Even though the yard was not flat (too sandy) and pretty much scrub grass it worked great. I had people stop every time I was using it and talk about how "they remembered their grandparents mower like that" even had a couple of kids get out of the cars to "try" it. easy to use and maintain. I took it to a mower repair place and had the blades sharpened. It isn't quiet... makes noise - but not as bad as some mowers. adjustable height and easy to brush out when I was done. If I could - I'd get another one but the 1 acre lot I'm on now would be a killer for me. Plus it would cause an accident - the road I'm on is very busy!!
I live in a city and have a smallish yard (1000 sqFt). Storage is pretty minimal. I don't really have a place to dump the lawn clippings, and was wondering about the manual push reel mowers. Does anyone have good or bad experiences with these?
Why not try it? You can get a brand new one at Lowes for under $100. I'd bet there are used ones, cheap, on Craigslist. If you don't like it, sell it and get an electric mower.
Location: God's Gift to Mankind for flying anything
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*Reel* mowers do a better job of cutting a lawn, IF and WHEN the blades are sharpened and then also adjusted correctly.
Think of a pair of scissors when you cut paper ...
A rotary mower *wacks off* grass ... Imagine wacking off a piece of paper with a lousy knife !
So for a smallish yard, which is fairly level, a reel mower is not only good for your grass, but also good for you, since you have to push it (or pull, once and while) !
So buy one that is *right* for you ... , not too big (weight) and not too small (width wise)
Why not leave the clippings on the grass? I've done that for years. It works well.
That was one of my main questions. Is that the preferred method? i only recall emptying the bag of clippings, But i hear it is beneficial for the lawn?
First of all *reel* mowers do a better job of cutting a lawn, IF and WHEN the blades are sharpened and then also adjusted correctly.
Think of a pair of scissors when you cut paper ...
A rotary mower *wacks off* grass ... Imagine wacking off a piece of paper with a lousy knife !
So for a smallish yard, which is fairly level, a reel mower is not only good for your grass, but also good for you, since you have to push it (or pull, once and while) !
So buy one that is *right* for you ... , not too big (weight) and not too small (width wise)
I do have a couple not too steep inclines in the lawn, i would say maybe a 30 deg grade
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Just be sure to mow frequently and have someone else do it if you go on vacation for more than a week. When the grass gets too high, you cannot mow it with a push reel mower, the grass just tips over and lies flat. They need to be upright to cut with it.
The only deal with a reel mower (and why we got rid of ours) is that they are only great when your yard is not bumpy and is all lush lovely grass that you cut the moment it needs it.
While this does describe our front yard we just often did not make it out there until the weekend and that may have been two days too late and it was too tall for the reel mower to mow. Our back is just tree roots, sparse grass and lumpy bumps and the reel mower was just not up for the task.
That was one of my main questions. Is that the preferred method? i only recall emptying the bag of clippings, But i hear it is beneficial for the lawn?
Growing up, we didn't bag the clippings until the fall when we would do it as part of leaf removal.
There is no real reason to unless you've let the lawn go two weeks without cutting it (when the large clumps of cut grass would sit on top of growing grass.)
Since you have a manual reel mower, keep on top of it.
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