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Lately I've been seeing lots of ads for old fashioned 'push mowers' -
light weight, 16". I have an average sized yard, sloped in several
places and was wondering just how good and helpful a push mower would
be. Does anyone have any comments about these mowers?
TIA

JC wrote:
X-No-Archive:yes

Lately I've been seeing lots of ads for old fashioned 'push mowers' -
light weight, 16". I have an average sized yard, sloped in several
places and was wondering just how good and helpful a push mower would
be. Does anyone have any comments about these mowers?
TIA

Although I'm not overly fond of grass, I have some. I used a push
mower for a while. Now I use a cordless electric mower. I liked the
push mower well enough -- no pollution, quiet, good exercise for me.

The reason that I stopped using the push mower was that I simply could
not get the cutting height I needed to avoid scalping my grass. It
matters what species of grass you're growing. I have tall fescue,
which wants to be mowed about 3" high. I could not increase the
clearance of my push mower higher than about 1 1/2".

I looked into buying another, taller push mower, or mounting larger
wheels on the mower I had, or even machining some new holes in the
frame of the push mower in an attempt to lower the wheels. Eventually
I gave up.

Push mowers are the preferred tool among people who maintain the
fussiest of lawns -- i.e., bentgrass. If you don't have bentgrass, you
might have a hard time finding a push mower that is right for your
lawn.

Good luck!

(ObGardenLocationInfo: San Jose, California; USDA Zone 9; Sunset Zone
16)

--
Rainforest laid low.
"Wake up and smell the ozone,"
Says man with chainsaw.
John J. Ladasky Jr., Ph.D.

Now I use a cordless electric mower.

what brand and model?

I still have my rotary, but I've been using a push mower for about 4
years now. I got the Lee Valley 20 inch model, which is well made and
they also have a sharpening kit. My sole complaint is that the handle
feels flimsy, but everything made now has light tube handles that don't
seem strong. I think a 16 inch mower would be too small. I spend less
time and money on mowing with the push mower, since I don't have to be
filling the gas tank, checking the oil, starting the motor, etc.

Advantages of the push mower a
1. The cutting action is superior. My mostly bluegrass lawn looks much
better since I have switched to the reel mower. I have no experience
with other types of grasses.
2. Its virtually impossible to scalp the grass with a reel type. My
rotary would occasionally draw dirt in some of the rougher areas.
3. It is the easiest mower to push that I have ever had (I resisted
getting one for a while because of childhood memories of a much heavier
mower). It is quite light and easier to push than my mother's electric
or my rotary.
4. It never needs gas or plugs or recarburation. I think it is the
only non-polluting mower available. I know some say the electric motors
are non-polluting, but the electricity they use is, in most cases,
generated by some polluting plant.
5. It takes little storage space. I can hang mine on the wall.
6. It handles a lumpy yard better than my rotary does. The blade stays
fairly level and it doesn't chop of the tops of the bumps as my rotary did.
7. Since it is not powered, it is safer. There is a thread here about
someone who wants to mow a 45 degree slope and is apparently unconcerned
that the mower could overturn and mow him!

Disadvantages a
1. It has no vacuum effect, so its no good for mulching grass or
leaves. In fact, I bought the optional catcher bag with mine, but it
didn't work well so now I leave it off and let the clippings fall in
place and decompose.
2. It absolutely won't handle tall grass. One spring we went on
vacation for a few weeks and the lowlife I had hired to mow my lawn
didn't. When we got back the grass was quite tall and I had to break
out the rotary to chop it down. With a reel mower you have to mow
fairly frequently, which of course is better for the grass.
3. If you have a lot of debris in your yard, such as sticks or stones,
the reel will jam easily. I'm not sure this is a disadvantage. I think
I would rather have the reel jam, than have a rotary propel the debris
in my direction, or anyone's direction.


JC wrote:
X-No-Archive:yes

Lately I've been seeing lots of ads for old fashioned 'push mowers' -
light weight, 16". I have an average sized yard, sloped in several
places and was wondering just how good and helpful a push mower would
be. Does anyone have any comments about these mowers?
TIA

I got the Lee Valley 20 inch model, which is well made and
they also have a sharpening kit.

The reason I'm thinking abt getting a manual push mower
is that the cemetery where both my parents are buried
is not kept so well.

I'm looking for a lightweight device I can put in the
truck of a compact car and take to the cemetery and cut
the grass with

I tried putting my gas rotary mower in the trunk and
its too dang hard on my back

I only need to cut an area abt 15 foot by 15 foot at
the cemetery

Push mower best for this?

Will it be lightweight and fit in car trunk well?

Look at their site:

http://www.leevalley.com

Search for mowers. They have a 14 inch model that weighs 19 pounds and
an 18 inch model (I thought it was 20) that weighs 24 pounds, so either
is fairly easy to lift.

Depending on your trunk, you might have to remove the handle. On mine
there are four carriage bolts holding the upper handle to the lower, but
I think it is not really designed for repeated removal the way my rotary
is; from the picture at their site, I can't see how to remove the handle
on the smaller model.

wrote:
I got the Lee Valley 20 inch model, which is well made and
they also have a sharpening kit.


The reason I'm thinking abt getting a manual push mower
is that the cemetery where both my parents are buried
is not kept so well.

I'm looking for a lightweight device I can put in the
truck of a compact car and take to the cemetery and cut
the grass with

I tried putting my gas rotary mower in the trunk and
its too dang hard on my back

I only need to cut an area abt 15 foot by 15 foot at
the cemetery

Push mower best for this?

Will it be lightweight and fit in car trunk well?

Depending on your trunk, you might have to remove the handle.

I don't "think" that will be as much of a problem as
just the weight of picking a unit up and setting it in
trunk

IOW....I'm more interested in something lightweight

wrote in :

I got the Lee Valley 20 inch model, which is well made and they also
have a sharpening kit.

The reason I'm thinking abt getting a manual push mower
is that the cemetery where both my parents are buried
is not kept so well.

I'm looking for a lightweight device I can put in the
truck of a compact car and take to the cemetery and cut
the grass with

I tried putting my gas rotary mower in the trunk and
its too dang hard on my back

I only need to cut an area abt 15 foot by 15 foot at
the cemetery

Push mower best for this?

Will it be lightweight and fit in car trunk well?


If you have a home center (Hippo Depot, Lowes) in your area, they might
have one on display (they do around here), that you can try yourself. I
*think* mine is 30-35 lbs and I don't have any problems carrying mine
through the garage. Should fit easily in a trunk, if not, you can remove
the handle entirely by prying off two clips or just unbolt the midsection
(of the handle). I don't know about the smaller ones (16") that may be
more suitable for your application. For some reason I think they may cut
tall grass better.

Depending on how much of the area is actually grass, a string trimmer might
be better, although I don't know if using in string trimmer in a cemetary
is very respectful ... better than using a scythe while wearing a dark
hooded robe and various Halloween accoutrements, I guess.

Depending on how much of the area is actually grass, a string trimmer might
be better,

Yeah thought of a string trimmer also

But Id "like" to use something simple and non motorized
(no gas)

"JC" wrote in
oups.com:

X-No-Archive:yes

Lately I've been seeing lots of ads for old fashioned 'push mowers' -
light weight, 16". I have an average sized yard, sloped in several
places and was wondering just how good and helpful a push mower would
be. Does anyone have any comments about these mowers?
TIA


I have a push reel (Scotts 2000-20 or something like that) and a
crappy never heard of brand hand me down gasoline mower.
Haven't had any desire to use the gas mower since I'd gotten the
push reel (about a year ago). Now a manual push reel is not
going solve all your problems or give you incredible bonuses
like clandestinely instituting civil war among the squirrels,
but it's a quieter, non-gasoline using alternative. Personally
I don't think it's any harder to push than the gas mower ...
assuming by 'average size lawn' you don't mean Donald Trump's
butler's estate sized, I doubt you'll have any problems. If
you have a hard time pushing up a slope, mow downhill or
perpendicular.

The prices are kind of crazy, US$129 will get you a Scotts (up
$10 from last year) or a low-end gas mower (minus the gas). For
some models you can buy an attachment that lets you sharpen very
easily, but first I will have to look at you like you are insane
.... 8^! ... because I can't imagine using a 16" ... so tiny ...
anyway the 2000-20 (20") manual says you shouldn't need to sharpen for
several years, mine is still very sharp despite leaving it
outside for several months in the weather. For the 2000-20 you
can reverse the blades and run it backwards with some lapping
compound to sharpen it.

You asked if a push reel is helpful, of course it isn't, unless
you get a powered version, you are doing all the work although I
think it's less work than pushing around a gas mower. Another
downside is I don't think they are recommended for overgrown
lawns and the product literature my model specificly says it's
not recommeneded for use on St. Augustine grass. Also if you
have a lot of tall cylindircal stalks, such as rye seed (?), these
usually get knocked over rather than cut unless you are lucky and
catch them right. You probably shouldn't get a push reel if you
seldom mow your lawn (less than once per week depending on where
you live I guess).

I think if you are havng a hard time mowing, your blade height
is probably too low (or you need to sharpen the blades). Raise
it (you can try lowering it again the next time around) and it
should cut like (a hot knife through) butter. snip snip snip Very
satisfying.