noisebeam

Do you use a manual push mower?

An article in NYT about pollution from mowers and resistance/politics to putting some pollution controls (catalyctic converter) got me thinking - I think I read that as part of agreement for CA to have them, that no other state can ?

I use a push mower (a nice one with grass catcher) and it gives some of the same pleasures as motor free transport - no pollution, no noise, exercise, can do it anytime (even late weeknight or 5am on sunday morning), neighbors walking by house stop and chat instead of walking quickly by to get away from noise.

Of course a 'lawn' (not a field) is generally environmentally bad (summer water use, chemicals, fertilizers) in most parts of the US - I am slowly getting rid of mine that came with house and am chem free.

Al

freediver

I had one of those but it never did a very good job of cutting my lawn. I REALLY wanted it to work because I hate the noise of a gas mower but my grass ended up looking more like it had been ripped instead of cut- and even then it was uneven. I even went out and bought a new, sharp, mower thinking that my old pushmower had died on me- it was bolted, and taped, together and was in pretty bad shape. The new mower still didn't help things.

In the end I bought an electric mower- the kind with the power cord. It was half the price as the battery operated one and much lighter- which is important to me since I have a highly sloped front yard. My backyard is all trees so no worries about that- Did I mention that I love trees and hate cutting grass?

It took a little getting used to the power cord on the mower, but if you've ever vaccumed a house I think you'll figure it out pretty quickly.

Jon

noisebeam

I use this one:

It works far better than any other manual mower I've tried - it has a plastic bin grass catcher that hangs off the front.
It has a street price of ~$160 plus $50 extra for the catcher (gulp), but I got a barely used one at the hardware store for $50 complete. These things show up like used bikes do when folks clean out their garages.
The key is to mow often, so its an easy stroll to push it around.
Al

Derailed

I switched to a manual reel mower last summer, and haven't looked back. My yard is in pretty good shape and isn't very large (~2000 sq. feet). Not only is it quiet (mowing with an iPod is nice!), but it is much easier on my allergies due to the much decreased dust blowing around.

You'd think that mowers wouldn't be much of a pollution problem given how little fuel they use (compared to driving), but as you mentioned, the lack of a catalytic converter and particulate emissions make them a significant pollution source in semi-urban areas.

One thing I've heard, however, is that with the manual mowers it becomes more important that you keep your yard in fairly good shape: sticks, tall weeds and other debris make the reel mowers not work well.

Although I wouldn't want to use the reel mower for a large lawn (over 5000' sq. feet), I find that for my lawn the comparison to commuting by bicycle is apt. It is peaceful, better for you, better for the environment and cheaper. When I see my neighbors (with similarly small lawns) using loud polluting gas mowers, it is much like when I see people using a car for short distance commuting.... if only they knew!!

-D

PatrickMcCabe

I used a manual mower for years, cut the lawn twice each time, never with good results, I think the brand name was Scott. I bought a electric mower 3 years ago and it does a much better job.....but I add two stoke oil for the smoke and smell cause I like it!

genericbikedude

Eriol

are they hard to push or is the labor basically the same as a gas mower.

gwd

If you can pedal a bike you can push a reel mower. The lack of noise and fumes pays for the push mower the first time you use it.

I used two different push mower models in several yards. There are many variables, like the hardness of soil and type of grass. If you keep at the grass and the underlying soil is right it seems like less hassle than a power mower. One that I used was very old but still worked. If I let the grass get too long I cut it back with a swing blade first then trimmed it even with the push reel mower. With my mindset I was always expanding the fruit trees and garden and continually reducing the size of the yard. I took the process to an extreme and now live in a co-op. If I get into a gardening mood I can put pots on the deck or walk a block to the community garden plots in my neighborhood or volunteer at a number of park projects.

Although yards are wasteful, it seemed to me that letting it go to prairie or meadow stage increased the mosquitoe population. After mowing there seemed to be far fewer mosquitoes. Or was that just a coincidence?

My suburban friend tells me that where he lives you are a nobody if you don't have this huge riding power mower and you had better not call it that, you have to call it a "yard tractor". It goes along with the SUV mentality. Apparently, even people with smallish yards that could be served by a push mower ride around on these things. Its some sort of status display.

Jerseysbest

I believe most small engines are two stroke, which produces more power per cubic inch compared to 4 stroke but also produce more pollution. If its a 4 stroke engine, like some riding mowers, it probably doesn't produce much pollution.

Lamplight

My friend had one and I tried it and really liked it, but everyone keeps telling me the blades have to be sharpened very often. Anyone have that problem?

P.S. A few years ago you could get electric mowers with rechargeable batteries, like cordless power tools. Not sure if those are still on the market or if they're even any good. Expensive, too!

PurpleK

I use a push mower. I can't imagine why I didn't start using it before I did. The whishing sound instead of the roar of powered mowers alone makes it worthwhile. Like noisebeam said, the neighbors stop to chat now when I'm mowing near the sidewalk. The topic of conversation is often the mower. Mower blades don't need sharpening as much as some believe..in fact, I have yet to sharpen mine after two years of use.

freediver

I found the push mower very easy to use- especially on the steep hill that is my front yard. The fact that it had no motor on it made it very light for pushing up and down the incline. I loved everything about it excpet the way my grass looked when finished- and I am NOT picky about my grass.

I used to have one of those battery operated ones, but when It died I went to the pushmower, and then to the electric with the cord. The batteries make the whole thing very heavy, again the steep hill that I cut, and also pretty expensive. The cord one, that I now have, is light and quite. I never saw one like the McClain before, but I would be willing to give it a shot if my current mower ever dies.

jon

Gus Riley

Hel no! It takes me almost four hours to cut the lawn with a riding lawn mower! Right now its growing so fast that I have to be out there every four days. Hey, I'm a member of the 50 and over thread, you want me to have a heart attack?!

cooker

I have both. I use the manual one mainly, but occasionally I have to use the gas one because I let the grass get too long. I don't use a grass catcher with either...I just let the clippings feed back into the lawn.

manual_overide

you could start to get a thatch problem if you aren't careful.

AverageCommuter

I use a push reel mower on my ~10000 sq.ft. lawn and love it. You just have to mow frequently enough, but you should do that anyway. You never want to cut more than a third of the length of the blade off during any mowing. Doing so causes the plant to stop root production (which is necessary for a healthy lawn) and divert all of its energy to blade production.


A common misconception. Thatch is usually caused by over-fertilizing.

"It is assumed that the return of grass clippings to the lawn will increase thatch. This is not true. Grass clippings are about 75 to 85 percent water and decompose readily. Thatch is formed from grass parts more resistant to decay like roots, stems, nodes, crowns, etc." -Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet

Check out https://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1191.html

thelung

I use a manual at my mom's place. Trying to convince her to get rid of the lawn completely, and just leave the wooded area wild and have beds, shrubs/bushes and our (food) garden with foot paths in between. Once I move and can't mow for her it would be much easier for her to maintain a garden than a lawn. Plus lawns just plain suck imo.

Bike_UK

Yes, i use one.
Only got a small grass area as most of the garden has been dug up for vegetable production, so the manual one is enough. Only problem is it jamming when i've left it too long between cuttings (interesting info there about ceasing root production, averagecommuter)

sentinel4675

I love mowing my yard with my Toro self propelled mower. It does a great job. After I fertilized 2 weeks ago, it had grown like crazy and is green.

Az B

My lawn is about the size of a postage stamp, so I don't really get too worried about using a gas mower.

My next mower will probably be one of those rechargeable electric mowers though. It would more convenient not to have to fool with gas since I use so little over the course of a year.

Az

CommuterRun

I use a 6.75 HP, 22" cut, big wheeled, push mower, but I'm not mowing a lawn either. I hate lawns. To me, they equate to environmental poison. My yard is a lot of dirt, sand and weeds, the grass grows where it will, and it all gets mowed about every two weeks. Many years ago, way before I had this yard, I tried a reel type push mower and didn't get good results in operation or in the finished job. Another thing I didn't like about it, is it simply wouldn't cut anything that was too tall. I did like how quiet it was, though, and the fact that it used no fuel. If my yard ever grows into a real lawn I will probably get another one. The one Noisebeam posted the picture looks like a much better one than the one I had.

The things I don't like about my current mower are that I have to buy gas for it and the amount of noise it makes. Some of the things I like about it are it will bag, side discharge or mulch, at my option, and I can mow anything smaller in diameter than my thumb. This makes it strong enough for light brush clearing, all I have to do is keep gas in it, the airfilter clean and the blade sharp. The weakest link on this mower seems to be the blade. The engine's still running strong, even after I bent the last blade into an "L".

I also take a perverse delight in pulling up to the gas pumps on a bicycle with a gas can on the utility trailer in tow.

schiavonec

I sold my last home and left it with the new owners. they moved from a condo and didn't have any yard tools. My suburban neighbors used to think I was either 'Zen like' or nuts using the push mower. I had the scotts model too, and it wasn't great, but once you get the hang of how to use it effectively, it is fine. (2 passes at a minimum, and don't let the grass get too long or it is a real pita.) Our new home has -0- grass and is all zeriscaped (shrubs, perrenials) other than the commonly maintaind fronts (HOA).

My parents had a corded electric mower that I used for years growing up. It worked fine as well and never broke.

There isn't much reason for gas powered lawn tools unless you have a huge yard, or large trees to cut with a chain saw, etc. That 2-stroke crap should be banned. Espeically the blowers. Gee, take your mess and blow it into your neighbors yard and make a bunch of noise and noxious pollution in the process.

cooker

The gas mower mulches, and with the manual one I try to cut often to get small pieces, so usually I'm OK. Any thatch gets raked up with the leaves in the falll.

cooker

I suppose if this were P&R we could debate the whole concept of having a lawn. They're great for kids to gambol upon, or if you want to have an outdoor party or play catch or badminton, and they show off your house well; but the maintenance is high, there's a continuing temptation to treat them chemically for cosmetic reasons (which ain't too good for the kids) or fertilize them (which harms the watershed) and they suck up a lot of water. It's great that there's been an increasing trend to replace them with other landscape ideas.
Having said all that, I have a lawn.

adgrant

In the North East there is also the problem of deer ticks. Nobody wants Lyme Disease.

In the suburb I used to live in, almost nobody had yard tractor or any mower at all, they paid someone else to cut their lawn.