Are Reel Mowers Really Worth It? Learn Pros, Cons, Cost, and More. Non electric lawn mower

Best Electric Lawn Mower of 2023

Electric lawn mowers are a great tool to have for your lawn maintenance. Our experts tested the best electric mowers to find the perfect option to keep your lawn healthy.

Macy Meyer is a N.C. native who graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2021 with a B.A. in English and Journalism. She currently resides in Charlotte, N.C., where she has been working as an Editor I, covering a variety of topics across CNET’s Home and Wellness teams, including home security, fitness and nutrition, Smart home tech and more. Prior to her time at CNET, Macy was featured in The News Observer, The Charlotte Observer, INDY Week, and other state and national publications. In each article, Macy helps readers get the most out of their home and wellness. When Macy isn’t writing, she’s volunteering, exploring the town or watching sports.

• Macy has been working for CNET for coming on 2 years. Prior to CNET, Macy received a North Carolina College Media Association award in sports writing.

In this article:

If you aren’t a fan of the smell of gas, or you want a cleaner alternative to a gas-powered lawn mower, you have an excellent option: an electric mower. Electric lawn mowers are available in both battery-powered and corded models, but we’ll FOCUS exclusively on the battery-powered variety.

Mowers that run on a battery are more powerful than ever before, while also managing to be more convenient than a mower with a long cord, and they’re better for the environment than gas. And now’s the perfect time to look for a new electric lawn mower, since we’re inching closer to summer and peak lawn care season. Here’s what you need to know.

What’s the best electric lawn mower overall?

From price to performance to add-ons, there’s a lot to consider when purchasing a new mower. That plus the many electric lawnmower deals can make shopping a little intimidating.

While testing, I found there’s huge variation in how well an electric lawn mower performs versus how it’s advertised, and how well battery mowers perform compared to corded electric lawn mowers or gas mowers. Plus, it isn’t just raw performance that’s critical.

Before splurging on one of these machines, you’ll need to consider what types of batteries they use. Some mowers rely on batteries that also power popular brands of home power tools. DeWALT, EGO and Ryobi are good examples of this type of cross-compatibility. If you already own tools from one of these or similar brands, you may not have to spend extra cash on additional hardware.

With these factors in mind, we’ve chosen the EGO Power Plus, because it rivals the power of standard gas mowers with no dip in quality or ability. It’s not just easy to use, the machine also boasts noteworthy features, like a wide, 21-inch cutting platform and a 56-volt battery that works with EGO’s entire line of yard power tools.

If you’re in the market for an electric lawn mower this year, you’re in luck. I’ve gathered a group of the most popular battery-powered electric lawn mowers on the market today. I stuck to push-from-behind models only, which cost anywhere from 250 to 550. I then unpacked, assembled and personally put each unit through its paces. After the grass clippings from my mowing spree settled, these were my top picks.

Are Reel Mowers Really Worth It? Learn Pros, Cons, Cost, and

If you have a small yard to mow and would prefer not to use a bulky, gas-guzzling mower to get the job done, a reel lawn mower might be the better option. These old-fashioned push mowers are quiet and easy to operate, and they produce zero emissions.

They also provide a clean, precise cut, which is better for the overall health of your lawn and grass. Read on to find out more about the benefits of a reel mower.

What Is a Reel Lawn Mower?

A reel lawn mower essentially snips your grass like a pair of scissors would. It doesn’t have a built-in power source; by pushing it, you cause the blades to spin. (Most push reel mowers are manual, although you can also find gas- or battery-powered ones.) Compact, quiet, and easy to maneuver, this type of mower is best for those with small lawns.

Most reel mowers have a long handle and two wheels on a single axle, with either four, five, or seven blades (keep in mind that more blades lead to a cleaner cut). They use these blades to pull grass into the mower so that the cutter bar can snip it. The blades spin vertically, rather than horizontally, using a scissoring action that cleanly slices grass.

The average cost for a new lawn mower is between 80 and 3,200, depending on its type and special features

What Are the Pros and Cons of a Reel Mower?

There are a few key pros and cons to consider when trying to decide if a reel mower is right for you. The biggest advantage of a reel mower is that it provides a cleaner cut, but if you have a massive yard, it might not make sense to use a push mower.

Carefully weigh the following pros and cons before making your decision:

Pros

There’s no denying the benefits of a reel mower. Most notably, reel mowers are better for your lawn’s health. They provide a clean, scissor-like cut, which helps your grass heal faster (and also makes for a tidier look).

In comparison, power rotary mowers rip and shred your grass, which can leave your lawn vulnerable to insect attacks and disease.

Reel mowers are also quiet in operation, resulting in a more peaceful user experience. They produce zero emissions, so they don’t degrade air quality like gas-powered mowers do. And, they’re easy to operate, easy to maintain, and affordable.

Cons

However, if your grass is too tall and/or dense before mowing, it’ll likely be impossible to cut it with a manual reel mower. In this case, a reel mower will just push the grass down and ineffectively roll over it.

You’ll also need to clean up any debris (twigs, leaves, etc.) from your yard before mowing since reel mowers can’t go over anything that’s not grass. In addition, since most reel mowers are manual, they do require some physical effort to operate, which might not be everyone’s cup of tea.

How Should I Care for My Reel Mower?

It’s important to know what goes into caring for and maintaining your mower, whether you’re focused on regular upkeep or trying to decide whether you should repair or replace your mower altogether.

Luckily, reel mowers require very little maintenance, especially when compared to gas mowers, which require regular upkeep in the form of oil changes, tune-ups, and more.

To ensure your push reel mower stays in tip-top shape, you should lubricate and sharpen the blades every two to three years. And of course, don’t forget to clean off your mower each time you use it. Just hose off all the grass clippings and let it dry.

A little mower maintenance will keep your grass green, short, and healthy

Is a Reel Mower Worth the Price?

Reel mowers generally range in price from 80 to 200, which is more affordable than other types of mowers. You also don’t have to pay for oil or gas like you do with gas-powered mowers.

Considering the many benefits of a reel lawn mower, if you have a small lawn and don’t mind the physical act of pushing your mower around the yard, a reel mower is very much worth the price.

That said, if you have a super-spacious lawn, it may not be worth it to purchase a reel mower since this type of mower is designed for small, flat lawns. Also, you have to put more time and effort into cutting your grass than you would with a gas-powered mower.

If you don’t have a ton of extra time to devote to your lawn, a reel mower might not be worth the price—in which case, you may want to hire a local landscaping company to take care of your lawn, so you don’t have to worry about it.

In Praise of the Push Reel Mower

I recently became a homeowner and along with my first house came another first: my very own little piece of land to tend. And since Kate and I had been living in apartments for all our married life, I needed to buy a mower to take care of our lawn. Like most Americans, I grew up using and being surrounded by gas-powered mowers. The sound of two-stroke engines firing up around the neighborhood was the unofficial soundtrack of my boyhood summers.

But despite my immersion in the cult of Lawn Boy, I’ve always been intrigued by old-fashioned manual/push reel mowers. Maybe my curiosity about them came from flipping through old magazines depicting a happy 1950s suburban dad mowing his small patch of green heaven. Or maybe it was from watching groundskeepers use giant reel mowers to mow the infield at baseball stadiums.

Whatever the reason for my lifelong pull towards the manual reel mower, when I was in the market for my own mower, I decided to look into whether the old-fashioned push reel mower was a viable option for my lawn mowing needs. To my great surprise, I discovered that the reel mower isn’t just a viable option, but is in some instances superior to its gas-powered cousins.

How a Push Reel Mower Works

Your typical power rotary mower has a spinning blade that chops off the top of the grass as it rotates like a helicopter, resulting in torn and shredded turf. Instead of tearing and chopping your grass, a reel mower cuts your grass just like a pair of scissors. It’s easier to understand how this works when you can see the mower, rather than just describing it, so check out the video below for a full explanation:

Oh, and it goes without saying, but unlike a power mower that requires gas or electricity to work, you provide the power to your manual reel mower.

Choosing a Push Reel Mower

The basic construction of a reel mower is pretty much the same across brands. They mainly vary in characteristics like:

• Weight. How heavy will it be when you’re pushing it?
• Cutting width. The longer and bigger the mower is, the heavier it will be, but the less passes you’ll have to make back and forth on your lawn, and thus the faster you’ll get the job done.
• Cutting heights. What’s the range of heights you can adjust the blades up and down?
• Direction of grass spray. Does the grass spray behind the mower or out in front? Obviously the latter has an advantage in not covering your feet with clippings.

When I was looking for a reel mower, I did a lot of research and finally brought home the Fiskars Staysharp Max Push Reel Lawn Mower. This thing isn’t your grandpa’s heavy old contraption. The folks at Fiskars have taken the old manual reel mower design and updated it for the 21st century: it’s 60% easier to push than other manual mowers, boasts twice the cutting power of competitors, sprays the grass out in front of you, and the blades only need sharpening every 5-10 years (that’s the “StaySharp” bit). It’s fast, powerful, and maneuverable. Not to mention kind of fun to use. After mowing with my Fiskars for nearly two months, I can confidently say that it’s given me the best mowing experience I’ve ever had. Kate and I even fight over who gets to mow the lawn now (the compromise: I mow the front; she mows the back). I can’t sing the mower’s praises highly enough ( and I don’t have any affiliation with the company whatsoever, by the way–just a very happy customer ).

Look at that beautiful cascade of grass.

If your only experience with a push reel mower was using a heavy clunker in your youth, I highly recommend giving the Fiskars a try. It will change your mind about manual mowers.

The Benefits of a Push Reel Mower

Push reel mowers are better for your grass’ health. This was my biggest motivating factor for purchasing a push reel mower as opposed to a power rotary mower. As mentioned above, power rotary mowers cut the grass by chopping and tearing your grass, while reel mowers cut the grass by snipping it cleanly like a pair of scissors. Torn and shredded grass leaves your lawn vulnerable to disease and insect attacks; grass that is cleanly cut with a reel mower heals faster and is less vulnerable to those maladies.

Push reel mowers make your lawn look nicer. Not only are reel mowers better for your grass’ health, they leave your lawn looking professionally manicured. Again, it all goes back to the scissor-like way the reel mower cuts the grass. Clean and even cuts make for a clean and even-looking lawn. The reel mower’s superior cut is the reason why groundskeepers at professional baseball stadiums and golf courses use large reel mowers pulled by tractors. The reel cut makes the grass look purty.

Push reel mowers are quiet. One of the things I hated the most about the old gas-powered Lawn Boy of my youth was the noise. First, it’s just grating to have to listen to a loud and obnoxious two-stroke engine for extended periods of time. Second, because the thing was so stinking loud, I couldn’t mow the grass too early or too late in the evening, lest I disturb the neighbors. That’s not a problem if you live in, say, Vermont, where summer days are pleasantly warm and idyllic (if it’s not raining). When you live in hot and humid Oklahoma, however, mowing your yard during the day with the sun beating down on you is downright miserable.

The push reel mower solves both of those noise-related problems. The only sound it makes is a satisfyingly quiet “snip-snip-snip” as the mower cuts the grass. I love hearing that sound. It’s actually rather soothing. And because my manual reel mower is so darn quiet, I can mow my lawn early in the morning without waking up the neighbors. Goodbye 107-degrees-with-a-heat-index-of-a-115 lawn mowing sessions!

Push reel mowers don’t emit pollution. Don’t let the smallness of your power lawn mower engine deceive you. That sucker spits out a crap load of air pollution. If you let a typical gas-powered lawn mower run for an hour, it will produce as much air pollution as a sedan running for two hundred miles. Jeez-um!

The amount of pollution a push reel mower produces? Zilch. Unless of course you count the relaxing farts you rip as you cut the grass.

If you’re an environmentally-conscious guy, the choice is clear between power and manual. You gotta go manual.

Push reel mowers are hassle-free. Push reel mowers are simple machines. You push it and blades spin around and cut your grass. That’s it. No pulling starter cords or priming the engine before you can mow. Just start walking and–bam!–you’re cutting the grass. Also, you’ll never have to buy gas, oil, or spark plugs ever again. About the only maintenance you’ll have with your manual reel mower is blade sharpening, and some folks think that’s more of an enjoyable, mind-settling task than a chore. And again, with the Fiskars, you’ll only have to sharpen the blades every half decade or so.

Push reel mowers are cheaper. Even a “top-of-the-line” reel mower like the Fiskars costs less than most power mowers. And if you get one of the smaller, classic models, they can run you less than 100. Plus, there are no maintenance costs. With gas as high as they are, why waste a single drop tooling around your backyard?

Push reel mowers exercise your body. There’s no autodrive on a push reel mower. These bad boys are man-powered. The Fiskars is particularly heavy for a reel mower (52 lbs), but is designed in a way that makes it easier to push, and it gives me a nice bout of exercise; hard enough to work up a satisfying sweat, but not so hard it leaves me feeling exhausted. It’s kind of like pushing a Prowler Sled around your yard, except for that when you’re done, you’re in better shape and your lawn has been mowed.

Push reel mowers are safer than power mowers. In a careless moment a power mower can turn into a rolling death trap, or at least an appendage mauler. than 75,000 Americans, 10,000 of which are children, are injured in lawn mowing accidents annually, and, get this, 75 people die from lawn mowing accidents every year. Mowing over a grass-hidden rock can turn it into a projectile capable of traveling 200 mph and taking out someone’s eye, and the power mower’s fast-whirling blades have eaten up children’s toes and hands. And even if your power mower isn’t running, you’re still at risk for an accident. I burnt my hand on a hot lawn mower engine as a boy and still have the scar to prove it.

While some dangers still exist when using a reel mower, they’re much, much safer than power mowers. Unless I ran the thing right over someone Tom and Jerry-style, there’s little risk of it chewing up a limb. If you run over a rock, instead of shooting it out like a bullet, your mower just jams. Also, no hot engines to burn yourself on.

Push reel mowers make mowing a pleasure. As a young man, I saw lawn mowing as a chore that you had to do every week. I didn’t look forward to it. I just did it because I had to. Since I’ve started mowing with my Fiskars push reel mower, mowing the grass has turned from a chore into a pleasure. I actually look forward to lawn mowing day. Really! I love pushing it in the cool of the early morning as birds chirp at the day’s start. I love listening to the quiet “snip-snip-snip” of grass cutting. I love the physicality of it–how it feels a little like pushing a plow. I love watching tiny blades of cut grass spit out in front of my mower in a green cascade. Most of all, I love the satisfying feeling I get as I look over my cleanly cut lawn.

Is a Push Reel Mower Right For You?

In Gran Torino, Korean War vet Walt Kowalski calms his mind before confronting a violent gang by mowing his yard with a manual reel mower. Manly.

Now before you head to the home improvement store to pick up a push reel mower, you need to know that it’s not for everybody. Sometimes power or riding mowers are actually better, depending on a variety of factors. Below I highlight a few of these factors you should consider before switching to a push reel mower.

Your yard is a half-acre or smaller. Manual reel mowers are suited for small to medium-sized yards. Most experts agree that if you have to mow more than 8,000 square feet, you’re better off using a power push or riding mower. Although I will say that my yard is on the large end of a medium-sized yard, and it only takes me 45 minutes to mow with my manual mower. And if your yard is the size of most yards in suburban developments, there really isn’t any reason you shouldn’t use a push reel mower.

You can’t bag clippings. If you’re one of those folks who prefer to bag your clippings, then a push reel mower probably isn’t for you. While some push reel mowers have a basket that will catch your clippings, they don’t work very well, and many don’t offer any clipping catcher at all.

However, if you’re a devoted-bagger, you might reconsider your stance. Most lawn care experts agree that you shouldn’t bag your clippings and should just leave them in your grass. Grass clippings are fertilizer for your lawn. They provide the same beneficial nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium nutrients that are in commercial fertilizers, except they’re free.

Not great for excessively bumpy and overgrown yards. I’ve noticed that on areas of my lawn that have a lot of bumps, the reel mower doesn’t do a good job of cutting, mainly because the wheels can’t get good traction to move the blade. I’ll usually have to come back and trim that with my weed-wacker. It’s not a problem because there’s only one part in my lawn that gives me trouble.

Also, push reel mowers work best on yards that are already well-maintained. They don’t cut really long grass too well, so if you always let your grass get pretty long before you cut it, you’re better off using a power mower.

What sort of grass do you have? Manual reel mowers work better on some types of grass than others. Most reel mowers have a hard time handling extra thick grasses like Zoysia, St. Augustine, and Bermuda. Never fear. If you have a lawn that’s made completely of one of these grasses, you’re not necessarily relegated to just gas-powered mowers. Heavier, more powerful manual reel mowers like the Fiskars don’t have a problem with these types of grasses. Adjusting the height of the reel mower’s blades can also prevent the mower from getting bogged down in thick grass.

Lawn mower

A typical modern gasoline/petrol powered rotary “push mower” which has self-powered cutting blades but still requires human power to move it across the ground and guide it. Mowers of the type displayed usually vary in width from 20 to 24 inches (51 to 61 cm).

A lawn mower (also known as a mower, grass cutter or lawnmower) is a device utilizing one or more revolving blades (or a reel) to cut a grass surface to an even height. The height of the cut grass may be fixed by the design of the mower, but generally is adjustable by the operator, typically by a single master lever, or by a lever or nut and bolt on each of the machine’s wheels. The blades may be powered by manual force, with wheels mechanically connected to the cutting blades so that when the mower is pushed forward, the blades spin or the machine may have a battery-powered or plug-in electric motor. The most common self-contained power source for lawn mowers is a small (typically one cylinder) internal combustion engine. Smaller mowers often lack any form of propulsion, requiring human power to move over a surface; “walk-behind” mowers are self-propelled, requiring a human only to walk behind and guide them. Larger lawn mowers are usually either self-propelled “walk-behind” types or more often, are “ride-on” mowers, equipped so the operator can ride on the mower and control it. A robotic lawn mower (“lawn-mowing bot”, “mowbot”, etc.) is designed to operate either entirely on its own or less commonly by an operator by remote control.

Two main styles of blades are used in lawn mowers. Lawn mowers employing a single blade that rotates about a single vertical axis are known as rotary mowers, while those employing a cutting bar and multiple blade assembly that rotates about a single horizontal axis are known as cylinder or reel mowers (although in some versions, the cutting bar is the only blade, and the rotating assembly consists of flat metal pieces which force the blades of grass against the sharp cutting bar).

There are several types of mowers, each suited to a particular scale and purpose. The smallest types, non-powered push mowers, are suitable for small residential lawns and gardens. Electrical or piston engine-powered push-mowers are used for larger residential lawns (although there is some overlap). Riding mowers, which sometimes resemble small tractors, are larger than push mowers and are suitable for large lawns, although commercial riding lawn mowers (such as zero-turn mowers) can be “stand-on” types, and often bear little resemblance to residential lawn tractors, being designed to mow large areas at high speed in the shortest time possible. The largest multi-gang (multi-blade) mowers are mounted on tractors and are designed for large expanses of grass such as golf courses and municipal parks, although they are ill-suited for complex terrain.

History [ edit ]

Invention [ edit ]

The lawn mower was invented in 1830 by Edwin Beard Budding of Stroud, Gloucestershire, England. [1] Budding’s mower was designed primarily to cut the grass on sports grounds and extensive gardens, as a superior alternative to the scythe, and was granted a British patent on August 31, 1830. [2]

An early cylinder (reel) mower, showing a fixed cutting blade in front of the rear roller and wheel-driven rotary blades

Budding’s first machine was 19 inches (480 mm) wide with a frame made of wrought iron. The mower was pushed from behind. Cast-iron gear wheels transmitted power from the rear roller to the cutting cylinder, allowing the rear roller to drive the knives on the cutting cylinder; the ratio was 16:1. Another roller placed between the cutting cylinder and the main or land roller could be raised or lowered to alter the height of cut. The grass clippings were hurled forward into a tray-like box. It was soon realized, however, that an extra handle was needed in front to help pull the machine along. Overall, these machines were remarkably similar to modern mowers. [3]

Two of the earliest Budding machines sold went to Regent’s Park Zoological Gardens in London and the Oxford colleges. [4] In an agreement between John Ferrabee and Edwin Budding dated May 18, 1830, Ferrabee paid the costs of enlarging the small blades, obtained letters of patent and acquired rights to manufacture, sell and license other manufacturers in the production of lawn mowers. Without patent, [ clarification needed ] Budding and Ferrabee were shrewd enough to allow other companies to build copies of their mower under licence, the most successful of these being Ransomes of Ipswich, which began making mowers as early as 1832. [3]

His machine was the catalyst for the preparation of modern-style sporting ovals, playing fields (pitches), grass courts, etc. This led to the codification of modern rules for many sports, including for football, lawn bowls, lawn tennis and others. [5]

Further improvements [ edit ]

It took ten more years and further innovations to create a machine that could be drawn by animals, and sixty years before a steam-powered lawn mower was built. In the 1850s, Thomas Green Son of Leeds introduced a mower called the Silens Messor (meaning silent cutter), which used a chain drive to transmit power from the rear roller to the cutting cylinder. These machines were lighter and quieter than the gear-driven machines that preceded them, although they were slightly more expensive. [3] The rise in popularity of lawn sports helped prompt the spread of the invention. Lawn mowers became a more efficient alternative to the scythe and domesticated grazing animals.

Manufacture of lawn mowers took off in the 1860s. By 1862, Ferrabee’s company was making eight models in various roller sizes. He manufactured over 5000 machines until production ceased in 1863. The first grass boxes were flat trays but took their present shape in the 1860s. James Sumner of Lancashire patented the first steam-powered lawn mower in 1893. His machine burned petrol and/or paraffin (kerosene) as fuel. These were heavy machines that took several hours to warm up to operating pressure. After numerous advances, these machines were sold by the Stott Fertilizer and Insecticide Company of Manchester and Sumner. The company they both controlled was called the Leyland Steam Motor Company.

Around 1900, one of the best known English machines was the Ransomes’ Automaton, available in chain- or gear-driven models. Numerous manufacturers entered the field with petrol (gasoline) engine-powered mowers after the start of the 20th century. The first was produced by Ransomes in 1902. JP Engineering of Leicester, founded after World War I, produced a range of very popular chain-driven mowers. About this time, an operator could ride behind animals that pulled the large machines. These were the first riding mowers.

The first United States patent for a reel lawn mower was granted to Amariah Hills on January 12, 1868. [6] In 1870, Elwood McGuire of Richmond, Indiana designed a human-pushed lawn mower, which was very lightweight and a commercial success. John Burr patented an improved rotary-blade lawn mower in 1899, with the wheel placement altered for better performance. Amariah Hills went on to found the Archimedean Lawn Mower Co. in 1871.

In the United States, gasoline-powered lawn mowers were first manufactured in 1914 by Ideal Power Mower Co. of Lansing, Michigan, based on a patent by Ransom E. Olds. Ideal Power Mower also introduced the world’s first self-propelled, riding lawn tractor in 1922, known as the “Triplex”. [7] [8] The roller-drive lawn mower has changed very little since around 1930. Gang mowers, those with multiple sets of blades to cut a wider swath, were built in the United States in 1919 by the Worthington Mower Company.

Atco Ltd and the first motor mower [ edit ]

Rotary mowers [ edit ]

Rotary mowers were not developed until engines were small enough and powerful enough to run the blades at sufficient speed. Many people experimented with rotary blade mowers in the late 1920s and early 1930s, and Power Specialties Ltd. introduced a gasoline-powered rotary mower. Kut Kwick replaced the saw blade of the “Pulp Saw” with a double-edged blade and a cutter deck, converting the “Pulp Saw” into the first ever out-front rotary mower. [9] One company that produced rotary mowers commercially was the Australian Victa company, starting in 1952. Its mowers were lighter and easier to use than similar ones that had come before. The first Victa mowers were made at Mortlake, an inner suburb of Sydney, by local resident Mervyn Victor Richardson. He made his first model out of scrap in his garage. The first Victa mowers were then manufactured, going on sale on 20 September 1952. The new company, Victa Mowers Pty Ltd, was incorporated on 13 February 1953. The venture was so successful that by 1958 the company moved to much larger premises in Parramatta Road, Concord, and then to Milperra, by which time the mower incorporated an engine, designed and manufactured by Victa, which was specially designed for mowing, rather than employing a general-purpose engine bought from outside suppliers. [10] Two Victa mowers, from 1958 and 1968 respectively, are held in the collection of the National Museum of Australia. [11] The Victa mower is regarded as something of an Australian icon, appearing en masse, in simulated form, at the opening of the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000. [12] The hover mower, first introduced by Flymo in 1964, is a form of rotary mower using an air cushion on the hovercraft principle.

Types [ edit ]

Cylinder or reel mowers [ edit ]

A cylinder mower or reel mower carries a fixed, horizontal cutting blade at the desired height of cut. Over this is a fast-spinning reel of blades which force the grass past the cutting bar. Each blade in the blade cylinder forms a helix around the reel axis, and the set of spinning blades describes a cylinder. Of all the mowers, a properly adjusted cylinder mower makes the cleanest cut of the grass, [13] and this allows the grass to heal more quickly. The cut of a well-adjusted cylinder mower is straight and definite, as if cut with a pair of scissors. This clean cut promotes healthier, thicker and more resilient lawn growth that is more resistant to disease, weeds and parasites. Lawn cut with a cylinder mower is less likely to result in yellow, white or brown discolouration as a result of leaf shredding. While the cutting action is often likened to that of scissors, it is not necessary for the blades of the spinning cylinder to contact the horizontal cutting bar. [13] If the gap between the blades is less than the thickness of the grass blades, a clean cut can still be made. If more, however, the grass will slip through. Reel mowers also have more difficulty mowing over uneven terrain. There are many variants of the cylinder mower. Push mowers have no engine and are usually used on smaller lawn areas where access is a problem, where noise pollution is undesirable and where air pollution is unwanted. As the mower is pushed along, the wheels drive gears which rapidly spin the reel. Typical cutting widths are 10 to 16 inches (250 to 410 mm). Advances in materials and engineering have resulted in these mowers being very light and easy to operate and manoeuvre compared with their predecessors while still giving all the cutting advantages of professional cylinder mowers. Their distinct environmental benefits, both in noise and air pollution, are also strong selling points, something not lost on many international zoos, animal sanctuaries and exclusive hotel groups. The basic push mower mechanism is also used in gangs towed behind a tractor. The individual mowers are arranged in a “v” behind the tractor with each mower’s track slightly overlapping that of the mower in front of it. Gang mowers are used over large areas of turf such as sports fields or parks. A gasoline engine or electric motor can be added to a cylinder mower to power the cylinder, the wheels, the roller, or any combination of these. A typical arrangement on electric powered machines for residential lawns is for the motor to power the cylinder while the operator pushes the mower along. The electric models can be corded or cordless. On petrol machines the engine drives both the cylinder and the rear roller. Some variants have only three blades in a reel spinning at great speed, and these models are able to cut grass which has grown too long for ordinary push mowers. [13] One type of reel mower, now largely obsolete, was a powered version of the traditional side-wheel push mower, which was used on residential lawns. An internal combustion engine sat atop the reel housing and drove the wheels, usually through a belt. The wheels in turn drove the reel, as in the push mower.

Professional ride-on mower with 4 raisable reels, clearly showing the cylinders of helical blades and the bed knives

• Blade reel/cylinder: Consists of numerous (3 to 7) helical blades that are attached to a rotating shaft. The blades rotate, creating a scissor-like cutting motion against the bed knife.
• Bed knife: The stationary cutting mechanism of a cylinder/reel mower. This is a fixed horizontal blade that is mounted to the frame of the mower.
• Body frame: The main structural frame of the mower onto which the other parts of the mower are mounted.
• Wheels: Help propel the mower in action. Generally, reel mowers have two wheels.
• Push handle: The “power source” of a manually operated reel mower. This is a sturdy T-shaped, rectangular, or trapezoidal handle that is connected to the frame, wheels and blade chamber.
• Motor: The power source of a reel mower that is powered by gasoline or electricity.

Rotary mowers [ edit ]

A rotary mower rotates about a vertical axis with the blade spinning at high speed relying on impact to cut the grass. This tends to result in a rougher cut and bruises and shreds the grass leaf resulting in discolouration of the leaf ends as the shredded portion dies. This is particularly prevalent if the blades become clogged or blunt. Most rotary mowers need to be set a little higher than cylinder equivalents to avoid scalping and gouging of slightly uneven lawns, although some modern rotaries are fitted with a rear roller to provide a more formal striped cut. These machines will also tend to cut lower (13 mm) than a standard four-wheeled rotary.

• Cutter deck housing: Houses the blade and the drive system of the mower. It is shaped to effectively eject the grass clippings from the mower.
• Blade mounting and drive system: The blade of a rotary mower is usually mounted directly to the crankshaft of its engine, but it can be propelled by a hydraulic motor or a belt pulley system.
• Mower blade: A blade that rotates in a horizontal plane (about a vertical axis). Some mowers have multiple blades. The blade features edges that are slightly curved upward to generate a continuous air flow as the blade rotates (as a fan), thus creating a sucking and tearing action.
• Engine/motor: May be powered by gasoline or electricity.
• Wheels: Generally four wheels, two front and two rear. Some mowers have a roller in place of the rear wheels.

By energy source [ edit ]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: “Lawn mower” – news newspapers books scholar JSTOR ( February 2018 ) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Pros and Cons of a Push-Reel Mower

Like many people around the country last week, we mowed our lawn for the first time this season. The difference between us and our neighbors, however, is I talked on the phone while I did it.

Last summer, I sold my husband’s shiny, red, super-charged, front-wheel-drive, 9 billion horsepower, mulching power mower for this little green machine powered by ye ole chevrolegs.

Now I love this thing, and truth be told, Rick hates it. He teases me all the time about how I’m saving approximately 6 gallons of gas a year. If that. And, pretty much, he leaves the mowing to me now, where before it used to be solely his domain. I think he’s embarrassed. But I like it anyway.

In case you have been considering getting one yourself, here are the pros and cons (yes, there are some) of a push-reel mower…

The top five things I love about the push-reel mower:

• It’s quiet. I really did talk on the phone while I was mowing the lawn last week. My mom asked me, what that sound was, and I said, “Oh, I’m mowing the lawn.” Then we both laughed. I was talking on the phone while mowing the lawn. Preposterous! I could mow at six in the morning or ten at night and the neighbors would never know. It’s the stealth mower. I actually like the sound it makes.
• It uses no fuel or oil and takes little to no maintenance. By the time my neighbor is done checking his oil and fuel and pumping and priming, reconnecting the spark plug and whatever else, I’m ¾ the way done mowing my lawn. One time, no joke, with the old power mower I stood outside for like 15 minutes trying to start the thing before I realized the spark plug was disconnected (hubby did this for safety’s sake). The neighbor had to come over and point it out.
• It’s lightweight. All the power it uses comes from your legs and arms pushing this machine; it’s easy to maneuver and I can easily lift it up the couple of steps to our front yard and takes up very little space in the garage. With the old machine, I could barely get it up the steps, and had to go up all backwards and strategic. It was super heavy and could chop off my arm – the little label on the side said so.
• There is NO string pulling to start it up.
• There is no exhaust. No stinky fumes makes me feel all green and hip and environmentally conscious. And also the lack of fumes keeps me from feeling sick. I know six gallons (or whatever) of gas per year is not much, but I don’t mind mowing the lawn now, because I don’t get a headache from the noise/fume combo.

• You can’t mow over sticks. The power mower mulched and could chop up a stick or a twig that had fallen from the tree in the front yard, but the push mower can’t. I send the boys out in the yard before I mow with the mission to pick up all the sticks. If I accidentally mow over a stick, I have to stop to get it out of the mower, because it will jam the blades.
• Sharpening the blades will be a challenge. Not many places know how to sharpen the blades of a push-reel mower anymore, and those who do charge a lot for it – almost as much as the mower cost. Since the blades will stay sharp a long time though, we at least have a while to learn how to do it ourselves.
• It doesn’t always get every piece of grass in one pass. Because of this, it is really important to overlap or mow two ways. Otherwise your lawn looks like it’s received a haircut from a barber half in the bag.
• The neighbors look at us funny. When I first bought the mower, I thought people would think we were so cool – all hip and eco-friendly. Turns out, they either think we are crazy or too poor for a “real” mower. Hmm… this must be why Rick is embarrassed to use it.
• You can’t be a lazy lawn keeper. If your grass gets too long, the push mower is a real bear to use. In fact, there was a time last summer, when we first got the mower, that we had to borrow our neighbor’s power mower because we had waited a couple of weeks too long to mow and the push mower, literally, couldn’t cut it. Lesson learned.

I feel like the push mower and the power mower take about the same amount of physical effort to use. The push mower is all pushing, which isn’t that much work (hey if I can handle that giant cart thingy at Target I can handle the mower). The power mower took more effort for me in the starting, holding down the lever thing, and then holding it back from running my flowers down (since it pulled itself). I think the trade-off of putting the kids on stick patrol and enduring funny looks is a pretty good one. Plus, I can catch up with my mom on the phone while I’m at it.

So Which One Is The Best Electric Reel Mower?

The Sunlawn EM-2 has 7 blades, the Brill Razorcut Accu has 5.

The EM-2 can only be used as a powered reel mower, the Razorcut Accu can be used as either powered or manual.

The EM-2 currently comes with 2 batteries and a grass catcher for 379, the Razorcut Accu comes with 1 battery and no grass catcher for 429.

The EM-2 is alleged to have a choking problem — although it is probably being caused by walking too fast, mowing grass that’s too tall, or mowing at too low of a height–nevertheless, here is the video:

If you’ve tried a reel mower without much success, would you consider trying an electric powered reel mower? If you were considering a reel mower for the first time, would you spend a little extra to have the comfort of the extra power from the electric motor?

I think every little step toward living green is an awesome one… but eco-snobbery sucks! My goal is to help newbies learn the most important steps toward living green — individually and collectively. Personally, I strive to have as little impact as possible on Planet Earth while I’m here.