I purchased a Brill Luxus 38 push reel mower a few weeks ago, and here's my
observations for anyone who might be interested in retiring their gas-powered
mower.

The mower is a blast to use. I've got a small lawn - probably 2500 square feet
- and I find myself mowing 2 or 3 times a week just to use the mower! The
mower is extremely light (16 pounds) - despite the fact that it is a precision
tool, its small size makes it look almost like a toy. It's easy to push
through low grass, but requires some effort when the grass gets long. It seems
to shear the grass precisely, although a second pass will still cut grass.
From what I understand, reel mowers by nature cut the grass in varying heights,
probably accounting for the fact that a second pass will still cut grass.

I find it more difficult to cut in straight lines - for the more anal sorts -
although this mower, because of its light weight - does not leave pronounced
wheel lines in the grass. In fact, after a day or so, the wheel lines almost
disappear. Several neighbors have commented that my grass looks like that on a
golf course. Because the blades reside inside of the wheels, its tough to get
close to edges, and I've found that my need for trimming has increased (I have
a gas trimmer. Running it more negates some of the green benefits of the
Brill).

My wife, who is only 5 feet tall, had a tough time using this mower (I was
hoping to Tom Sawyer her into this chore!). To get enough leverage to push the
mower, especially through higher grass, she has a tendency to lower the handle
past its range thus lifting the mower wheels off of the ground. This, of
course, stops the blades. To get the mower to work, she must use more arm
power than body power, which could get tiring for those cutting bigger lawns.

The mower cuts to a maximum height of a little less than 2 inches. I'm waiting
to see how my lawn reacts to this during the dog days of a Chicago summer. Oh,
when adjusting for height, you've really got to tighten the adjusting knobs as
they tend to slip in the shorter direction.

I don't understand why there is only one distributer for this mower in the
Chicago area - this is one cool machine and they should be able to sell gobs of
them here. I heartedly endorse this product for anyone with a smaller lawn or
those who like to mix a little exercise with their weekly chores.

BP.

Kind of odd going back to the old ways of doing this, eh? How much did
the unit set you back?

Kind of odd going back to the old ways of doing this, eh? I've thought
about getting a reel style mower to replace our gas powered mower -- even
considered the old manual style reel.

How much did the unit set you back? Online sales look like around $300ish.

James

$189 including shipping.

BP

"AuralFeast" wrote in message
...
I purchased a Brill Luxus 38 push reel mower a few weeks ago, and here's
my
observations for anyone who might be interested in retiring their
gas-powered
mower.

Scotts (the fertilizer people) are apparently making a reel mower these
days, one which can actually cut grass to a height of 3", as well as a swath
width of 20", which puts it right in there with gas-powered mowers.

The traditionally-low heights and narrower widths have been one major reason
I've avoided buying a reel mower. The other reason is that my lawn is
pretty large - about 10,000SF. Oh well...time to plant more perennials.
: )

A relevant link:

http://www.reelmowerguide.com/scotts...eel_mower.html

Jason

In article ,
"JNJ" wrote:

Kind of odd going back to the old ways of doing this, eh?

The older I get, the more I realize that sometimes the older ways are
indeed better and cheaper.


How much did the unit set you back? Online sales look like around $300ish.


The Scotts mower was 120.00 at my Lowe's

In article ,
"Jason Quick" wrote:

The traditionally-low heights and narrower widths have been one major reason
I've avoided buying a reel mower. The other reason is that my lawn is
pretty large - about 10,000SF. Oh well...time to plant more perennials.

I traded in my gas push mower for a Scotts mower. My yard is about
10,000SF and I find that it takes me the same amount of time to cut my
grass with the reel mower. The Scotts mower is lighter and I can push
it slighly faster which makes up for the 2 inch difference in cutting
width.

Extremely low maintence which is the primary selling feature for me.

My brother and I bought the Brill to mow the family lawn. It was
great initially, but now that the weeds have popped up, our Brill
couldn't deal with it so we had to resort to buying a cheapie
gas-powered mower. We're planning to alternate using the reel mower
with the gas-powered mower.

Lil


(AuralFeast) wrote in message ...
I purchased a Brill Luxus 38 push reel mower a few weeks ago, and here's my
observations for anyone who might be interested in retiring their gas-powered
mower.

The mower is a blast to use. I've got a small lawn - probably 2500 square feet
- and I find myself mowing 2 or 3 times a week just to use the mower! The
mower is extremely light (16 pounds) - despite the fact that it is a precision
tool, its small size makes it look almost like a toy. It's easy to push
through low grass, but requires some effort when the grass gets long. It seems
to shear the grass precisely, although a second pass will still cut grass.
From what I understand, reel mowers by nature cut the grass in varying heights,
probably accounting for the fact that a second pass will still cut grass.

I find it more difficult to cut in straight lines - for the more anal sorts -
although this mower, because of its light weight - does not leave pronounced
wheel lines in the grass. In fact, after a day or so, the wheel lines almost
disappear. Several neighbors have commented that my grass looks like that on a
golf course. Because the blades reside inside of the wheels, its tough to get
close to edges, and I've found that my need for trimming has increased (I have
a gas trimmer. Running it more negates some of the green benefits of the
Brill).

My wife, who is only 5 feet tall, had a tough time using this mower (I was
hoping to Tom Sawyer her into this chore!). To get enough leverage to push the
mower, especially through higher grass, she has a tendency to lower the handle
past its range thus lifting the mower wheels off of the ground. This, of
course, stops the blades. To get the mower to work, she must use more arm
power than body power, which could get tiring for those cutting bigger lawns.

The mower cuts to a maximum height of a little less than 2 inches. I'm waiting
to see how my lawn reacts to this during the dog days of a Chicago summer. Oh,
when adjusting for height, you've really got to tighten the adjusting knobs as
they tend to slip in the shorter direction.

I don't understand why there is only one distributer for this mower in the
Chicago area - this is one cool machine and they should be able to sell gobs of
them here. I heartedly endorse this product for anyone with a smaller lawn or
those who like to mix a little exercise with their weekly chores.

BP.

I love my reel mower... I'm a classical musician, and I REALLY appreciate
the quiet. (I only have a small amount of grass to mow however).
Unfortunately, with large pine treese around, it's essential to rake before
mowing - because otherwise the blades will catch on pine cones and other
debris. Even after raking, this will happen several times while mowing. But
it doesn't take long to get everything going again.

On Sat, 17 May 2003 00:38:20 -0700, "gregpresley"
wrote:

I love my reel mower... I'm a classical musician, and I REALLY appreciate
the quiet. (I only have a small amount of grass to mow however).
Unfortunately, with large pine treese around, it's essential to rake before
mowing - because otherwise the blades will catch on pine cones and other
debris. Even after raking, this will happen several times while mowing. But
it doesn't take long to get everything going again.

That may be what i need. I did a song and dance about how no one
respects my plants, pond, etc., and took over the backyard lawn
maintanance. The trouble is, I can't start the darn mower half the
time and the weedeater? I can never start that thing.

This is my second year with a Brill. I've read the positives and the
negatives posted about reel mowers and don't disagree significantly
but find that the positives (quiet, always starts, better cut, no
pollution, little maintenance, no gas/oil/etc., doesn't kick up clouds
of pollen and dust, easy to push, altogether a pleasant experience)
far outweigh the only significant negative which is that they don't
handle long weeds and grass well. Sometimes a second cut is necessary
but if I keep up with cutting, i.e. don't wait to long between
cuttings, one cut is sufficient. And my lawn is rocks (slightly
buried)and weeds and grass.

My neighbor/friend did accuse me of buying a "toy" instead of a mower
when I got it but I told him it was a "reel" mower and of course I'm
waiting for the day when his gas mower won't start! Then I'll offer
him mine which starts every time.

The literature said sharpening shouldn't be necessary for 10 years.
So far it's going good but does anyone have long-term experience with
a Brill and can you comment on sharpening them?