Sunday, July 6, 2008

Great States Reel Mower


Today I bought a push mower. This is different from my radial, gas powered push mower by the simple fact that there is no engine.

At first it was a little odd getting used to- the handles are much shorter than someone that's 6'2" tall can call comfortable, but once I got past the cramping in the hands I was able to bang thru the yard with very little difficulty. Grass flew off the back of it as if I were watching a cartoon- literally cascading in a parabolic arc off the cutting surfaces.

Maybe I chomped it a bit short.

The mower cost me 40$, it retails for 90$. The gentleman I bought it from advertised it as "I bought this, pushed it 10 feet, and realized I was too lazy to use it". It looks in great shape with some very minor rust spots. There's a significant amount of rubbing on the bar but I'll download the manual and see what that takes. Contrary to expectations it isn't 'quiet' but loud enough to hear and would probably not make phone conversation easy- if you could get past the pantings.

I figure I'll have to cut the grass 2x a week now with this, but I won't be using any gas in the lawnmower- about 2-3 yards = 1 tank of gas, 6 tanks per fillup, meaning I'll save about 1.50$ per time I cut my grass.

You may find this hard to believe but a single TWIG can jam the blades- which means come fall and leaf season the lawnmower is coming out again to mulch mulch mulch.

One thing I especially like about this is all the grass cuttings are neatly distributed across the yard instead of compacted under the right wheel as in my mulching lawnmower. Overall a great product.

Great States Reel Mower, Deluxe 18" version

No comments: