sounds dumb but..what about a reel mower?

[AdamRagland]

so i just moved into a new house and am looking to buy a lawn mower. i'm cruising around lowes website (i hate to buy a new lawnmower) looking for one and i see a reel mower(like the ones used back in the day) and they still sell these? so at first i laughed but then started considering it...so would this be an awful investment for $90?

[Serendipity]

Used to have one, it was a nice workout for mowing the lawn but it would be difficult to mow a big lawn with one of them...

Here in NYC we can mow our 20X30' lawns with scissors ;)

[Libertyc]

How big is your lawn?

[RuSsMaN]

I have one, and it was fun for a summer - but upkeep is a REAL pain. Not a very accurate cut, and the blades constantly need cleaning and adjusting.

Cheers,
Russ

[edbert]

If you have any hills or anything that might be off-axis, it's going to be a little rough but not impossible. I actually considered it, but my yard is too big and I don't need that much of a workout everyweek just to mow the yard.

[F1nut]

I had a neighbor that bought one. After the first time she used it, she went out and bought a gas mower. 'Nuff said.

[dorokusai]

Just pick up a beater from a repair place, or a landscape supply store. They usually have old mowers handy. I have two guys within a mile that fix them as a hobby and always have them in the front yard for sale.

[AdamRagland]

yea i need to find somewhere that sells used ones. i have about 12 acres but only about 1 acre is "yard" that needs to be cut. and its all flat

[Jstas]

Yeah, dude, 1 acre will be brutal with a reel mower. Might want to go to a place that sells used stuff and get a ride-on. You can pick up an old one for a couple hundred bucks. 1 acre is about as large as I will go and be willing to push a mower around. 1 acre and bigger, you're better off with a wide-cut riding mower otherwise it's gonna take all weekend to get the grass mowed.

[dorokusai]

Check Craigslist as well.....just stay away from the personals section.

[mule]

What ?!? they use those to cut golf courses, way more than one acre !


Of course they pull them with a 150hp tractor:)

[Polk addict]

My neighbor had one out in the front of her yard, and a paper was on top of it that said FREE ...

I pushed it home just to find out there was no blade and, duh, no motor. I put it back... My parents probably would've been mad anyway...

[mhardy6647]

They're great if your lawn is well-landscaped (i.e., the ground is 'smooth') and full. If it's weeds, ruts, and gullies... not so much.

Reel type lawn mowers (self-propelled, person-powered, or drag-behind-the-tractor) are self sharpening and will actually do a better job of cutting high-quality lawns because they actually cut grass, rather than tearing it as rotary mowers do.

Our lawn clings to existence every year, so no reel-type for us here :-(

[Rivrrat]

If you had a couple hundred sq ft of grass, I'd say yeah, but an acre!!??? A 5hp self propelled push mower is going to be a handfull on 40k+sq ft. I like the riding mower idea.

[wingnut4772]

Get goats.

[obieone]

Ridingmoweronly!!!

[dorokusai]

Get goats.

That's something you'll regret.

[AdamRagland]

i could always pour diesel on it and torch the whole plot

[dorokusai]

That would be sweet. Just make sure someone is in the middle when you do it. They'll laugh about it later.