11 Best Hand Push Reel Mowers for Mid-Size Yards

Best Hand Push Reel Mowers Part 7

After discussing what  makes for a good hand push reel lawn mower, we reviewed contact mowers in Part 2 and Part 3, and no-contact mowers in Part 4, then compared them to each other in Part 5. Here we will rank the best mowers for mid-size yards. It is important to note that even the best mowers are not perfect for all conditions. Each ranked evaluation specifically lists the conditions for which the mower is suited. More information on these mowers is available in the previous sections. All of them are recommended by ConsumerPla.net for their conditions of application.

Mid-size yards (1,500 ft² to 3,500 ft² ) with Northern grasses

The best mowers for mid-size yards, for Northern grasses, are, in reverse order:

#6 McLane 17-PH-5 contact mower. The McLane 17-PH-5 is a 5-bladed reel mower with a 17" cut path on ball bearings,  with a very large carriage, front-throw (i.e. it tosses the grass clipping forward), chain-driven (rather than pinion gear driven like most reel mowers). It is mounted on 4 small wheels. It uses a wing nut to adjust cut height from a broad 0.44" to 2.5". It has a Tee shape handle with foam grips. It is all metal, powder-coated, and made in the USA. It weighs a hefty 48 lbs, and costs $175. A grass catcher is available for another $60. The McLane has very few reviews on the web, but it shows as a good quality mower in the threads that involve it. There is almost no product information on the manufacturer's site. Being a contact mower, the 17-PH-5 is harder to push, and noisier, than no-contact mowers. It is very heavy, and should not be considered for use by frail or sick users. It is well suited to even mid size lawns with few irregularities or obstructions, where its heavy weight is not an issue to maneuverability, and where its small wheels will not stop it in the middle of a long push when hitting a small low spot. It is well suited to all Northern grasses including bent grasses. Height of cut adjustment uses wing nuts, and is therefore tool-less, but is not as convenient as spring loaded levers of adjustment knobs. This mower is practically impossible to find online expect when directly purchased from the manufacturer. The manufacturer, who carries a solid reputation, counts on local dealers to provide first line customer support, and phone support is not easy to come. In general, the distribution model for this mower is practically exclusively through brick and mortal deals: a good local dealer is important, and online purchases should be considered with great care.

#5 TruCut H18-5 contact mower. The TruCut H18-5, an 18" cut path mower, has a 5 bladed reel on ball bearings with a rear roller. The wheels, of unknown diameter, are cast iron with steel pinion gears, and have replaceable tires. The height adjustment ranges from 0.5" to 2.25" and uses thumb screws. It can be found with difficulty on the web for about $165, and has an optional grass catcher for another $60. This mower is made in the USA, and its weight is 35 lbs. This mower is very robust, soundly engineered and carries no excessive weight. It is well adapted to mid-size yards of any shape, even or bumpy, and for all Northern grasses including bent grasses. Its weight is an excellent compromise, very low for an all metal mower. Its height of cut remains a bit low, and could be a problem for lawns with special conditions, such as thin strips or inset stones, where you would want higher lawn, and requires religious weekly mowing, as missing a week will make the lawn to high to cut. Height of cut is tool-less, but could be more convenient. Being a contact mower, the 1414-16 is a bit harder to push, and noisier, than no-contact mowers.This mower could have been our #1 selection, where it not for the following issues: (1) no support from the manufacturer for online sales, and very little phone support; (2) no back-lapping kit; (3) no online reviews (we spent many hours online interviewing retailers); and (4) very little online product information. Like McLane, the manufacturer has a distribution system exclusively based on brick-and-mortar dealers, making online purchases risky as they will depend upon the retailer for support (there are very few online retailers for this mower). Getting a hold of the manufacturer was like pulling teeth, and took us more than 2 weeks and 20 phone calls - although once we established contact getting information was easy. Because the H18-5 is a contact mower, is requires yearly back-lapping by the user, and professional sharpening every 5 years. We strongly recommend that you identify a suitable back-lapping kit prior to purchasing this mower, since neither the manufacturer nor its retailers were able to point us at one. We truly hope that the manufacturer will look into these weaknesses, as we feel that this mower could be a star.

#4 American 1414-16 contact mower. The  1414-16 (414-16 in the Great Lakes line) is, to us, the best model of the American family. It is an all-metal 16" cut path model, with a 5 blade reel, 10" cast iron wheels and metal gears, a ball bearing reel, a roller, powder-coated Tee handle with foam grips, and  a cutting height of 0.5" to 2.25" adjustable to 3 positions by moving bolts on both sides. The price to pay for the all-metal construction is weight - 32 lbs. Online price is around $90. The 1414-16 is made in the USA, and has great Amazon reviews, the only problem listed being a DOA mower.  Other reviews mention ease of assembly, the weight being a positive when dealing with tough grasses to mow, good cut, good quality overall. Being a contact mower, the 1414-16 is a bit harder to push, and noisier, than no-contact mowers. This is a mower than can go everywhere, and which can deal with mid size yards of all kinds, even or bumpy, with Northern grasses (although dense bent grasses could be better served by the 1705-16, also reviewed, and our #1 choice for small yards with Southern grasses). Its height of cut is not as high as it could be, and will hamper the user who misses a weekly mow, making it hard to catch up (or requiring a powered mower). The height of cut adjustment requires a wrench or socket set: not cool. Because the H18-5 is a contact mower, is requires yearly back-lapping by the user, and professional sharpening every 5 years. A back-lapping kit is available.

#3 Fiskars Momentum no contact mower. The Fiskars Momentum is an 18" reel mower, with a 5-bladed reel mounted on ball bearings, driven by an all-metal chain drive, with  an unusually shaped loop handle with foam grips, primary wheels positioned behind the reel, and small front tracking wheels. The height of cut varies from 1" to 4" (tallest across all models), and is adjusted through a single no-tools control. None of the driving parts are plastic, but there are several plastic plates on the mower. It is a front-throw mower (like the McLane), where grass clippings are ejected forward, and uses a heavy, large diameter reel to use a fly-wheel effect. One side of the mower allows you to edge a lawn closer than most other mowers. Because the reel is positioned in front of the main wheels, it needs less overlap when mowing. It is a heavy, 44 lb mower, and can be found online for $250.There is no grass catcher available. The Fiskars Momentum is a new introduction on the market, with innovative features, and excellent reviews, often from naive users. It is a powerful and heavy mower, able to deal well with grasses of all kinds, with the exception of bent grasses, due to its 1" minimum height of cut. It can edge better than most mowers on its edging side. Its weight and small wheels make it difficult to handle in bumpy terrain (where its wheels can get stuck) or close to obstructions such as fences, trees, or sheds, where its awkward handle does not make it easy to maneuver. It is best suited to even yards with no complex boundaries, where its weight and good cutting ability can make an excellent impact. Because the Momentum is a no-contact mower, it require very little yearly maintenance, limited to readjusting the blade to bed knife spacing, and professional sharpening every 5 years. While it appears of good quality despite questionable welds, its large number of parts, and its several plastic plates, make it likely that its total life cycle will not exceed 5-10 years.

#2 Mascot SilentCut 18 for upright grasses. The SilentCut 18 for upright grasses is an 18" cut path mower, powder-coated, with a 6-bladed reel mounted on ball bearings. it has 10" wheels, a rear roller, a Tee shape handle with foam grips, and a height of cut varying from 1" to 2.75", adjustable by moving bolts on both sides. It is all metal. It is a "light contact" mower where the reel barely makes contact with the knife bed. It weighs 42 lbs, and costs $280. There is no protection from the reel for flowers and shrubs. The SilentCut 18 is the only mower to be hand sharpened, adjusted and tuned prior to shipping, by its own Amish manufacturers (although the parts are fabricated in China). Customer support through the distributor ReelMowersEtc is excellent. Its height of cut is good in most cases, and may forgive the user a few days' lateness in mowing the lawn - but don't wait too long. The height of cut adjustment is painful, requiring a wrench or socket set. It is an exceedingly sturdy mower, heavy and powerful, well suited to larger yards, even or bumpy, with any type of tall grasses (bent grasses would be better served by the SilentCut 18 standard discussed below, our #1 choice for Southern grasses). Its light contact does not create significant noise or make it hard to push, beyond its weight. While it can be pushed by older children in most conditions, this mower is not appropriate to frail or sick users: it needs good momentum to be used. This robust mower is likely to last 50 years or more, with few replacement parts needed. Because the H18-5 is a contact mower, it requires yearly back-lapping by the user, and professional sharpening every 5 years. A back-lapping kit is available.

#1 Easun NaturCut Classic no-contact mower. The Easun NaturCut Classic is a 16" cut path mower, with a 5-bladed reel on ball bearings, 10" wheels with small rear tracking wheels, a loop handle with foam grips, powder-coated paint, and a cutting height of 1.5" to 3.5" adjustable with bolts on both sides. The maximum height of cut is excellent, and allows tolerance on cutting frequency, as well as the ability to deal with lawns with special needs, such as narrow strips or inset flagstone. However, the need to readjust the height by moving bolts with a wrench makes this change very onerous in practice. A metal cover protects flowers and shrubs from the reel. Wheels are polymer and gears are plastic, and would be subject to more damage in a large lawn. The loop handle is sturdy, but folds forward a bit far, making it harder to store the mower in a handle-forward position, or to lift the rear of the mower when maneuvering it. The mower weighs 23 lbs, is made in China, and can be found for $200 online. A grass catcher is available. There are few reviews but all are good. The NaturCut Classic carries the second highest cutting height of all reel mowers, and is particularly adapted to high grasses. Because its minimum cutting height in 1.5", is does not do well with bent grasses, where the similar Easun NaturCut Ideal 40 with a cutting height of 0.6" to 2.75" would do much better, and on putting greens. Its rear wheels make it easier to push through tall grass. Because it is a no-contact mowers, it requires very little yearly maintenance, limited to readjusting the blade to bed knife spacing, along with professional sharpening every 5 years.We would love to see a NaturCut with metal gears and spring loaded levers for height adjustment - it would be the best of all worlds.


Mid-size yards (1,500 ft² to 3,500 ft² ) with Southern grasses

The best mowers for mid-size yards, for Northern grasses, are, in reverse order:

#5 McLane 17-PH-7 contact mower. The McLane 17-PH-7 has the same specs as the 17-PH-5 listed above, but with a 7-bladed reel, optimized for bent grasses, St Augustine, Zoysia, Bermuda, and, in general, Southern grasses. It weighs 50 lbs, and costs $195. A grass catcher is available for another $60. All of our comments to the 17-PH-5 above apply to the 17-PH-7, which provides particularly fine cut to Southern grasses.

#4 TruCut H16-7. The TruCut H16-7 16" cut path mower has a 7 bladed reel on ball bearings with a rear roller. The wheels, of unknown diameter, are cast iron with steel pinion gears, and have replaceable tires. The height adjustment ranges from 0.5" to 2.25" and uses thumb screws. It can be found with difficulty on the web for about $165, and has an optional grass catcher for another $60.  This mower is made in the USA, and its weight is 34 lbs. All of our comments to the TruCut H18-5 above apply to the H16-7, which could also have ended up being a #1 recommendation.

#3 American 1705-16 contact mower. The 1705-16  (/705-16) 16" mower has 7 blades (better cut, better suited to southern grasses, but harder push) to be able to cut Bermuda grasses, Zoysia grasses, bent grasses (which are really cool season grasses) and St Augustine grasses. The model has a reel on ball bearings, 10" polymer wheels and and plastic gears, a roller, powder-coated Tee handle with foam grips,  a cutting height of 0.5" to 2.25" adjustable by moving bolts on both sides (some retailers mention a single adjustment knob - it is an error), a 27 lb weight, and a $100 price. A front metal bar protects shrubs and flowers from the reel. The 1705-16 is an Amazon reviews star, and is manufactured in the USA.The only recurring issues that we have found is that the handle can break when pushed with great vigor against dense southern grass, which it is built for.  Reviews mention the handy nature of the mower, its ability to cut southern grasses, its relative pushing ease and quiet. The 1705-16 is a no-fuss, no-muss, go everywhere mower, very well suited to small yards, even or bumpy, with difficult Southern grasses, for which its range of height adjustment is well suited. Adjusting the height of cut is a painful process requiring a wrench or socket set. Because of its plastic gears, a mid size lawn is the largest that should be considered, and a larger lawn will likely be too much for its plastic gears. Because the 1705-16 is a contact mower, it is noisier and harder to push than equivalent no-contact mowers. It requires yearly back-lapping by the user, and professional sharpening every 5 years. A back-lapping kit is available.

#2 Fiskars Momentum no contact mower. The versatile Fiskars Momentum, already reviewed above, also excels against Southern grasses. As for Northern grasses, its weight and small wheels make it difficult to handle in bumpy terrain (where its wheels can get stuck) or close to obstructions such as fences, trees, or sheds, where its awkward handle does not make it easy to maneuver. It is best suited to even yards with no complex boundaries.

#1 Mascot SilentCut 18. The SilentCut 18  is an 18" cut path mower, exactly similar to the version for upright grasses reviewed above, but with 9" metal wheels,  a height of cut varying from 0.5" to 2.25", 38 lbs of weight, and a cost of $260. The SilentCut 18 is excellent against Southern Grasses of all ilk, as well as bent grasses. All of our comments to the model for upright grasses above apply to this one as well. These are tough, reliable, long lasting mowers, which could only made better by being no-contact and a touch lighter, and with spring loaded levers for height adjustment.


Next we rate the best hand push reel lawn mowers for large yards.... So come back soon!

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7 Best Hand Push Reel Lawn Mowers for Small Yards

Best Hand Push Reel Mowers Part 6

After discussing what  makes for a good hand push reel lawn mower, we reviewed contact mowers in Part 2 and Part 3, and no-contact mowers in Part 4, then compared them to each other in Part 5. Here we will rank the best mowers for small yards. It is important to note that even the best mowers are not perfect for all conditions. Each ranked evaluation specifically lists the conditions for which the mower is suited. More information on these mowers is available in the previous sections. All of them are recommended by ConsumerPla.net for their conditions of application.


Small Yards (under 1,500 ft²) with Northern Grasses

Here are the best mowers for very small yards, for Northern grasses,  in reverse order:

#4 American 1415-16 contact mower. The American 1415-16 (/415-16) 16" cut path contact mower has a 5-bladed reel on ball bearings, 10" polymer wheels and plastic pinion gears, a roller, powder-coated Tee handle with foam grips, and  a cutting height of 0.5" to 2.25" adjustable to 3 positions by moving bolts on both sides, and a 25 lb weight. A metal front bar protects shrubs and flowers from the reel. The mower is widely available online for $90, and customer support is good. The 1415-16 has a small number of reviews, mostly good - the reviews from the 1815-18 also apply. The mower is made in China. The maximum 2.25" height of cut is acceptable, but not as high as you would want when you miss mowing the lawn for a week in growing season. The height adjustment requires tools, which is not optimal. Because the mower is a contact mower, it requires a back-lapping kit and yearly back-lapping by the user (a back-lapping kit is available), along with blade sharpening by a specialist every 5 years. This mower works well for a small lawn planted with Northern grasses excluding bent grasses (for which the 1705-16, discussed below, is a better bet), for users who are religious about mowing the lawn every week. In a larger lawn, the plastic gears would be more likely to degrade in time. Because the 1415-16 is a contact mower, is requires yearly back-lapping by the user, and professional sharpening every 5 years. A back-lapping kit is available.

#3 Easun NaturCut Classic no-contact mower. The Easun NaturCut Classic is a 16" cut path mower, with a 5-bladed reel on ball bearings, 10" wheels with small rear tracking wheels, a loop handle with foam grips, powder-coated paint, and a cutting height of 1.5" to 3.5" adjustable with bolts on both sides. The maximum height of cut is excellent, and allows tolerance on cutting frequency, as well as the ability to deal with lawns with special needs, such as narrow strips or inset flagstone. However, the need to readjust the height by moving bolts with a wrench makes this change very onerous in practice. A metal cover protects flowers and shrubs from the reel. Wheels are polymer and gears are plastic, and would be subject to more damage in a large lawn. The loop handle is sturdy, but folds forward a bit far, making it harder to store the mower in a handle-forward position, or to lift the rear of the mower when maneuvering it. The mower weighs 23 lbs, is made in China, and can be found for $200 online. A grass catcher is available. The NaturCut Classic carries the second highest cutting height of all reel mowers, and is particularly adapted to high grasses. Because its minimum cutting height in 1.5", is does not do well with bent grasses, where the similar Easun NaturCut Ideal 40 with a cutting height of 0.6" to 2.75" would do much better, and on putting greens. Its rear wheels make it easier to push through tall grass. There are few reviews but all are good.

#2 Brill Razorcut 33 and 38 no-contact mowers. The Brill Razorcut 33, a narrow 13" cut path, 15 lb mower, and the Brill Razorcut 38, a 15" cut path, 17 lb mower, have a 5-bladed reel on ball bearings,  8" wheels with a rear roller, a loop handle with foam grips, powder-coated paint, and a cutting height of 0.7" to 1.8" adjustable with bolts on both sides. A metal cover protects flowers and shrubs from the reel. Wheels are polymer and gears are plastic. These mowers are made in Europe, and can easily be found on line, respectively for $220 and $250.  A grass catcher is available. The Razorcut models are cult mowers, possibly because they were the first no-contact, lightweight reel mowers to become popular in the US. Users rave about their light weight, ease of push,  silence, but complain about fragile plastic gears and expensive price, and sometimes mention reliability problems. Their weight and compactness makes them very well suited to small yard life. The Razorcut models work well for a well manicured, even lawn, but their very limited height of cut limits their employment in more challenging environments such as bumpy lawns, high heat, thin strips of lawn needing more height, and imperatively requires regular weekly mows. Their height adjustment requires tools, making it a painful exercise. Because they are no-contact mowers, they require very little yearly maintenance, limited to readjusting the blade to bed knife spacing. We still recommend having them professionally sharpened every 5 years. A larger lawn would possibly stress the reliability of the plastic gears.

#1 Gardena 300 and 380 no-contact mowers. The Gardena 380 (model #4023), a 15" cut path, 18 lb mower, and the Gardena 300 (model #4020), a narrow 12" cut path, 17 lb mower have a 5-bladed reel on ball bearings, two 8.5" wheels with a rear roller,  a large loop handle, and an 0.5-1.65"cutting height that is easily adjustable through an adjustment knob. A metal cover protects flowers and shrubs from the reel. The mowers are made in Europe, and can be found, with difficulty, for $175 online. A grass catcher is available. The 380C (model #4024)  has the same specs, but carries a heavier, foldable loop handle, a 21 lb weight, and a $250 online price. Online reviews are few but good. The 380 was the winner, in May 2009, of a comparative mower test by the German test site Stiftung Warentest, against other German mowers which are not represented on the US market. It also won a 2008 comparative mower test by ÖKO-TEST against the Brill Razorcut 33 and another German mower not represented on the US market. The 380C was the winner of a comparative mower test comparing mowing performance by the German consumer magazine ÖKO-TEST in November 2009, against the Brill RazorCut 33. The Gardena model impressed the German testers by its ability to cut dry, wet, and high(er) grass, better than the Brill model. The Gardena models are very similar to the Brills, with a better way to adjust cutting height, more robust engineering, 2nd line customer support through Gardena Canada, and a lower price than the Brills. Their very low maximum cut height tightly limits their application, requiring a small, even, yard, with good irrigation and limited heat (otherwise the yard would require need taller grass), restricted to Northern grasses. For these applications, the Gardena models do very well, and their light weight and compactness make them perfect small yard tools, in particular when maneuverability is at a premium, and where there is limited storage space. Because they are no-contact mowers, they require very little yearly maintenance, limited to readjusting the blade to bed knife spacing. We still recommend having them professionally sharpened every 5 years. A larger yard could impact the durability of their plastic gears.


Small Yards (under 1,500 ft²) with Southern Grasses

There always are fewer choices for Southern grasses, which raise a higher challenge to reel mowers. In the small yard category, we have a single contender:-)

#1 American 1705-16 contact mower. The 1705-16  (/705-16) 16" mower has 7 blades (better cut, better suited to southern grasses, but harder push) to be able to cut Bermuda grasses, Zoysia grasses, bent grasses (which are really cool season grasses) and St Augustine grasses. The model has a reel on ball bearings, 10" polymer wheels and plastic gears, a roller, powder-coated Tee handle with foam grips,  a cutting height of 0.5" to 2.25" adjustable by moving bolts on both sides (some retailers mention a single adjustment knob - it is an error), a 27 lb weight, and a $100 price. A front metal bar protects shrubs and flowers from the reel. The 1705-16 is an Amazon reviews star, and is manufactured in the USA.The only recurring issues that we have found is that the handle can break when pushed with great vigor against dense southern grass, which it is built for.  Reviews mention the handy nature of the mower, its ability to cut southern grasses, its relative pushing ease and quiet. The 1705-16 is a no-fuss, no-muss, go everywhere mower, very well suited to small yards, even or bumpy, with difficult Southern grasses, for which its range of height adjustment is well suited. Adjusting the height of cut is a painful process requiring a wrench or socket set. Because of its plastic gears, a large lawn could be a challenge to its reliability. Because the 1705-16 is a contact mower, is requires yearly back-lapping by the user, and professional sharpening every 5 years. A back-lapping kit is available.

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Comparing Hand Push Reel Lawn Mowers

Hand Push Reel Mowers Part 5

We have now reviewed in detail a large number of hand push reel lawn mowers in Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4. How do they compare with each other?

Traditional Contact Mowers

All reel mowers made by American (including Craftsman and Scotts) have fairly similar characteristics. Their design has been around for a long time and has gone through multiple refinements. They represent the most common reel mowers on the market today, and are very widely available. For models with loop handles (including the Craftsman 18"), the loop handles are somewhat weak, a problem that gets worse as the cut path widens, and which reaches its peak with the Scotts 2000-20. For models with plastic gears, these gears are a source of weakness as well, which accentuates with load, again peaking with the Scotts model. The height of cut for most models tops off at 2.25", which is acceptable but not perfect (the Scotts and one Craftsman model go to 3", which is good). Of all the American models, we like the 1414-16 and the 1705-16 best, and, interestingly, they are both still made in the US. The 1414-16 is an all-metal, 32 lb, 16" cut path model, with few weaknesses. The 1705-16 is not all metal, but it has 7 blades and works well on most Southern grasses, including Bermuda and St Augustine, a bit weaker on Zoysia, although still acceptable. All American models need back-lapping every year, meaning that a back-lapping kit is necessary with the purchase. Most models require tools to adjust height of cut. They are less silent and harder to push than equivalent no-contact models - although the difference is not large. There is a very large body of user reviews, in general positive, which allows full understanding of the models' strengths and weaknesses.

The Gilmour reel mower is a decent machine where quality has improved with time. Also a contact mower, aqnd made in China, it makes a particularly unpleasant screech-like noise, which is still lower than a gas powered mower, and that some users have been able to attenuate using reel sprays. Its handle, while better than the Scotts, is not as sturdy as it could be. Its cutting height reaches 3", which is good, and cutting height adjustments use spring-loaded handles, which is very good - although some report that these adjustments sometimes slip. While it is called self-sharpening, we still believe that it needs regular sharpening, like other contact reel mowers.Quality control in 2007-2008 appeared poor, but seems to have improved later, and recent reviews do not provide horror stories about mowers falling apart on the lawn as they did earlier. Nonetheless, the noise level for this mower appears so high and unpleasant that we are severely downgrading it.

The recent Greenworks product line is too new an introduction to have much of a track record. Based on the limited input we have so far, it appears to be a true budget option made in China, with somewhat poor quality and fit-and-finish.  At this stage we cannot recommend it, although later years might show more extensive, and better, user information.

The Husqvarna reel mowers, all manufactured in Europe, appear to be light duty for US operations, like many other  European offerings, probably focused on a market where the average yard is much smaller than in North America. Their low end offering does not have ball bearings, a feature that is practically universal on our market. Their cutting height ranges from a low 1.5" to an acceptable 2.25", adjustable with levers on the model 64. They also offer a no-contact model, the 540, which is generally similar to the other products in the line. Husqvarna mowers exhibit very standards features, are difficult to find online, and their few reviews so far have not scored very high. On this basis, we do not see them as strong candidates.

The McCulloch and Promow mowers, all made in Taiwan in the same factory, range together from 16" to 20" cut path. They are all metal, which we like as it eliminates one significant drive train weakness: plastic gears. The McCulloch mowers, however, offer a very low cutting height topping off at 1.33", which we consider too low for many applications. There are many uncertainties about the McCulloch mowers: there is no original site information on them, the company is unbelievably hard to contact, there are few reviews online, it is not certain that there are still going to be for sale in the future - although they are in the sales channel as we speak. Clearly, McCulloch is still suffering from the Husqvarna acquisition. The only bright point is that their US distributor, Dixie Sales, is particularly responsive to inquiries. Promow, which offers an 18" mower with a 2.5" cutting height (the 2.5" was confirmed directly by the company, although it is different from retailer information), has little online information, and meager, but improving, online distribution. We consider the cutting height of the McCulloch models too low to recommend them for general use, except for bent grasses. We wish the Promow had more distribution and more reviews.

McLane makes a really unusual and interesting line of mowers, also made in the USA, all metal and and very heavy. These front-throw mowers, weighing between 45 and 55 lbs, have an unusual chain drive system, and a reel forward architecture which makes them good at edging. Their product line covers both Northern and Southern grasses, although not in the same models. Their cutting height reaches 2.5", which is fair to good, and adjustments are made with wing nuts, which is tool-less, but not as good as spring-loaded levers. Their 10-blade model is the best manual reel mower for home golf greens short of the very expensive Hudson Star models. They have very few reviews online. Their small wheels and their weight make them more adapted to large, well manicured lawns with even ground, and require users ready to tackle their weight. The company relies on local dealers for customer support and service, and has practically no product information online, so online purchases are not recommended - a local dealer is important.

SilentCut is truly unique among US made reel mowers. The design of the reel mower goes back to 1939, although it has been refined with the years. The manufacturer is an Amish company, which has the parts manufactured in China, then sharpens, fits, adjusts and tunes them in the US, before sending them to the distributor. The mowers are all metal and very long lasting. All models fit all US grasses, Northern and Southern, including the difficult Bermuda, St Augustine and Zoysia grasses. These mowers are fairly heavy, ranging from 38 lbs to 45 lbs (the last for a 21" cut path mower, widest among hand push reel mowers in the US), but, because of their larger wheels, they are easier to push than the McLane mowers (they are also somewhat lighter). The highest cutting height they offer ranges from 2.25" to 3", which is good for the high end of the range, and adjustment requires moving bolts:( Their customer support, through their distributor ReelMowersEtc, is best among all reel mowers, and they have good distribution across the major online gardening stores. While they are probably not the best choice for small yards of for weak users, they represent a very good choice for many.

TruCut could be an outstanding choice among reel mowers, as it carries many positive attributes, were it not for some drawbacks based on its accessories (or lack thereof) and distribution system. While there is practically no user feedback on manual TruCut reel mowers (we had to interview the manufacturer and some of its retailers to get product information and feedback on its mowers), TruCut has a very good reputation online for its golfing green mowers, which are seen as the nec plus ultra. Its mowers, of traditional contact design, are made in the USA, all metal, cleanly designed and of moderate weight. They offer a maximum cut length of 2.25", which is acceptable, although not perfect. Adjusting heights involves thumb screws: tool-less, but not as good as spring-loaded levers. They offer one model for Southern grasses and two for Northern grasses. However, they do not offer a back-lapping kit, and none of the retailers we talked to pointed us at a third-party back-lapping kit we could use. The manufacturer pointed us at third party sharpening kits. How do we back-lap this mower? It is quite unusual that neither the manufacturer nor its dealers would be able to help us figure out the most common maintenance procedure needed for these products. The manufacturer relies on dealers to do all customer support and service, and it was exceedingly difficult for us to actually reach somebody who would talk to us at TruCut -more than 20 phone calls over 2 weeks, and multiple rebuffs,- although, once we found a contact, we got excellent information. If you wish to make an online purchases for TruCut mowers, you will need to count on the online dealer itself to provide product support.

No-Contact Mowers

Brill was the original company that made this category more popular in the US. A European manufacturer, it provides typical European design options with lightweight, well engineered, expensive mowers, that can work very well in small yards with Northern grasses,  but which cannot deal with Southern grasses, and are not as long lasting when confronted with the larger lawns of our continent. Their cutting height is tops off at 1.8", sometimes too low to be useful, and adjusted by moving bolts. Their smallest 13" cut path mower weighs a record 15 lbs (lowest in the field), and is very well adapted to very small yards and older users, when limited to Northern grasses. Brill has very broad distribution in the US across many online gardening dealers, and support happens through the dealer.

Easun NaturCut models represent an interesting hybrid design, starting from the European Brill design, and adapting it to American conditions (although made in China). Having a wider cut path, they can deal well  with larger lawns, and offer (in one model) a very high cutting height of 3.5", very useful for those who sometimes miss cutting their lawn for a week. Adjustment involves moving pairs of bolts:( NaturCut mowers are lightweight machines that are easy to push and low in maintenance requirements. The plastic gears, and unsuitability to many Southern Grasses are the primary weaknesses of this product line, which is new enough that it does not count many reviews as yet.

The Fiskars Momentum is an interesting entry into the market, with an unusual combination of technologies, inspired from McLane and Brill - two very different directions. The strong marketing push that accompanied its arrival on the market has been quite refreshing to the whole industry, and brought, we think, many new customers to hand push reel mowers. Online information and documentation, including video, is excellent - probably the best among all reel mowers. We like much of this mower, but feel that it will really reach a better stage of evolution after at least one more design iteration. This heavy 44 lb mower has a record high 4" maximum cutting height, elegantly adjustable using a single lever: very nice! It edges well on one side. Its handle is awkward in tight spaces, and does not allow the user to lift and reposition the mower. It is a good player in large, even yards and reasonably muscled users, preferably but not only with Northern grasses. It is not at ease in uneven yards, or where maneuverability is a premium, and may not always be able to deal with dense Southern grasses. It carries a lot of plastic compared to most mowers (although none of it is in its drive technology), which is not good for its longevity, its fit-and-finish is only fair, and its design is complex when looking at the number of parts, resulting in possible reliability issues in the longer term. All in all, it provides a good alternative for specific conditions, although by no means a solution that fits all users.

The Gardena mowers, like the Brill mowers, are made in Europe, with a lower price and an even lower 1.65" cutting height for the models documented on the site - although a non-documented model, the Hi Cut, while not a contact mower, offers a higher 2.25" cutting height. Their specs and general characteristics are very similar to the Brill mowers, as is their quality. We like the lower price and the few reviews that are available (in general very good), and we like the fact that Gardena Canada is a customer support point, where Brill customer support remains largely limited to the local dealers. We would like to see higher cutting height, as low cutting height is their biggest weakness along with the plastic pinion gears. Essentially, Gardena mowers play best in small, plain yards with Northern grasses and limited heat exposure, for users who will be fairly religious about mowing their lawn in a timely manner. Gardena mowers have collected several wins in comparative tests of consumer magazines in Germany in the past 2 years, often against Brill.

Next we rank the best hand push reel mowers for small yards... so come back soon!

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No-Contact Hand Push Reel Lawn Mowers

Hand Push Reel Mowers Part 4

Last we reviewed contact hand push reel mowers here and there. Now we review all no-contact hand push reel mowers.

As discussed in our previous section What to know about reel mowers, no-contact mowers are mowers where, thanks to very fine manufacturing tolerances, the reel blades do not make contact with the bed knife.  While the technology has been in existence for a long time, the past 10 years have seen a number of new introductions in no-contact mowers, because they are more silent, easier to push, and do not require regular back-lapping.

No-contact mowers typically come with a thin metal gauge to adjust the spacing between the reel blades and the bed knife. This adjustment is typically needed once a year. Do not throw away or lose this gauge, which is a truly necessary part:-)


Brill

Brill is a German brand, which was the first one to make no-contact mowers popular again in the last decade. Brill manufactures its mowers in Europe.

The Brill Razorcut 33 is a narrow 13" cut path mower, a 5-bladed reel on ball bearing, with 8" diameter wheels and a rear roller, a loop handle with foam grips, powder-coated paint, and a cutting height of 0.7" to 1.8" adjustable with bolts on both sides. A metal cover protects flowers and shrubs from the reel. Wheels are polymer and gears are plastic. The mower weighs an extraordinary light 15 lbs, and can be found for $220 online. A grass catcher is available. The mower is small and very maneuverable. Because of its narrow width, the Razorcut 33 is well adapted to a very small lawn.

The Brill Razorcut 38 is a 15" cut path mower, with a 5-bladed reel on ball bearings,  8" wheels with a rear roller, a loop handle with foam grips, powder-coated paint, and a cutting height of 0.7" to 1.8" adjustable with bolts on both sides. A metal cover protects flowers and shrubs from the reel. Wheels are polymer and gears are plastic. The mower weighs 17 lbs, and can be found for $250 online. A grass catcher is available.

The Razorcut works well for a well kept, well-behaved lawn, but will not do well against thick, tall, or clumpy grasses. In particular, Bermuda Grass and tall or thatched St Augustine grass are not good targets for the Razorcut. The Razorcut (both 33 and 38) is quite a cult mower, getting many rave reviews from a dedicated community of users, possibly because it was the first no-contact, lightweight reel mower to become popular in the US. In particular, people rave about its light weight, its ease of push, its silence, and its general good design. It also gets some negative reviews for its fragile plastic gears and its expensive price. Several reviews complain about the Razorcut falling apart after a few months. Some good places to find reviews are EcoMowers, Amazon, and buzzillions.


Easun NaturCut

Easun is a large corporation which picked up the NaturCut line after Sunlawn, its original manufacturer, and the origional importer for Brill mowers, went out of business. The NaturCut line is a recent product introduction, designed after the Brill mowers, of similar technology, and aimed to correct what was wrong with the Brill mowers. Easun manufactures the NaturCut line in China.

The Easun NaturCut Ideal 40 is a 16" cut path mower, with a 5-bladed reel on ball bearings,  10" wheels with a rear roller, a loop handle with foam grips, powder-coated paint, and a cutting height of 0.6" to 2.75" adjustable with bolts on both sides. A metal cover protects flowers and shrubs from the reel. Wheels are polymer and gears are plastic. The mower weighs 20 lbs, and can be found for $200 online. A grass catcher is available.The NaturCut Ideal 40 is appropriate to all grasses (including Bermuda grasses, if you double cut at 90 degrees) except Zoysia grass.

The Easun NaturCut Classic is a 16" cut path mower, with a 5-bladed reel on ball bearings,  10" wheeels with small rear tracking wheels, a loop handle with foam grips, powder-coated paint, and a cutting height of 1.5" to 3.5" adjustable with bolts on both sides. A metal cover protects flowers and shrubs from the reel. Wheels are polymer and gears are plastic. The mower weighs 23 lbs, and can be found for $200 online. A grass catcher and a back-lapping kit are available. The NaturCut Classic carries the second highest cutting height of all reel mowers, and is particularly adapted to high grasses, but does not do well on St Augustine and Zoysia grasses. Its rear wheels make it easier to push through tall grass. Because its shortest cutting height is 1.5", it is not well adapted to home putting greens.

Because the product line is only three years old, and has not been heavily marketing, there are few reviews available. To complete the data available on inline reviews we interviewed several retailers with multiple product lines. The NaturCut line is well designed, and, being designed specifically for the US market, probably represents the best adaptation of traditional no-contact mowers to the US market so far. It is light (although not as light as the Brill), covers many US grasses well, and provides a wide enough cut path for the larger North American yards. The height of cut is exceptionally high for the Classic. The plastic gears are a weakness. A few reviews can be found here and here.


Husqvarna

The company, which also manufactures traditional contact reel mowers, was already reviewed.

The Husqvarna 540 Silent Novolette is a 16" cut path mower, with a 5-bladed reel on ball bearings, 8" wheels with a roller,  a foldable loop handle with foam grips, and an 0.5-1.5"cutting height adjustable through 4 levels with bolts on both sides. A metal cover protects flowers and shrubs from the reel. The mower weighs 20 lbs, and can be found, with difficulty, for $160 online. A grass catcher is available. We could not find any online reviews for this model (this review actually applies to a different model, as the 540 is new...). We expect that the 540 would not be suitable, general, for tight growing Southern grasses. Based on other reviews for the Husqvarna hand push reel mowers line, we would be concerned about reliability.


Fiskars

Fiskars, the orange-scissors company, is a large Finnish company that has diversified its activities to most areas where cutting is involved. They focus on ergonomics and quality of cut. They introduced, in 2009, a new and innovative hand push reel mower, their first mower, which has been very heavily marketed across the US.

The Fiskars Momentum is an 18" reel mower, with a 5-bladed reel mounted on ball bearings, driven by an all-metal chain drive, with  an unusually shaped loop handle with foam grips, primary wheels positioned behind the reel, and small front tracking wheels. The height of cut varies from 1" to 4" (tallest across all models), and is adjusted through a single no-tools control. None of the driving parts are plastic, but there are several plastic plates on the mower. It is a front-throw mower (like the McLane), where grass clippings are ejected forward, and uses a heavy, large diameter reel to use a fly-wheel effect. One side of the mower allows you to edge a lawn closer than most other mowers. Because the reel is positioned in front of the main wheels, it needs less overlap when mowing. It is a heavy, 44 lb mower, and can be found online for $250.There is no grass catcher available.

Given its weight and construction, the Momentum, a powerful mower, is suitable to both Northern and Southern grasses, with a preference for Northern grasses. Thanks to the very heavy marketing, there are numerous reviews online, most of them good, although few of them from experienced users: it is apparent that Fiskars' marketing has attracted many new users to hand push reel mowers. Some of them can be found on EcoMowers, Consumer Reports, Lowes, May Dreams blog, Gardenweb , TheGadgetGuy. Most of these reviews sing the praises of reel mowers in general, such as silence, ecology, and exercise. Reviewer are fairly pleased with the quality of cut "as long as you are not obsessive-compulsive about your lawn", they feel that the mower is heavy but not too heavy, and can be used on slopes or on reasonably uneven grounds. The handle is awkward, and does not allow the mower to be handled comfortably around a fence or where maneuverability is important, because it is bulky and because it does not allow the user to lift the rear. The small front wheels can jam into bumpy terrain. The bolts for the reel blade adjustments are easily stripped.

As a note of caution, the marketing for this reel mower was very well done, and the campaign must have been a record spend in the small world of reel mowers. One should, however, be careful about evaluating the truth from the hype of all "trademarked" technologies. The "Inertia Drive (TM)" technology does not make the mower any easier to push. In fact, the Momentum is harder to push than most reel mowers: this mower is plain heavy compared to almost all mowers on the market. The "ergonomic" handle is so broad that it makes the mower hard to maneuver in close quarters, and does not allow the user to lift the back of the mower. The "Versa-Cut (TM)" is a remake of Mclane's forward-positioned, chain driven, front-throw reel. As for the "Stay Sharp (TM)" cutting system, it is no less and no more than the standard no-contact approach to reel mowers, which has been around for half a century. The Momentum is an innovative reel mower, with strengths and weaknesses that must be assessed independently of the budget of Fiskars' marketing department.


Gardena

Gardena is a German company company owned by Husqvarna. There is no direct distribution in the US, and Gardena Canada is in charge of customer support for the US. The Gardena site does not display all models for sale in the US (the 4019 Hi-Cut is missing). Gardena manufactures its reel mowers in Europe. Their models are very similar to the Brill line, a tad heavier, with equivalent technology but with lower prices, and with the advantage of having Gardena Canada as a corporate customer support center.

The Gardena 300 (model #4020) is a narrow 12" cut path mower, with a 5-bladed reel, 8.5" wheels  with a rear roller,  a large loop handle, and an 0.5-1.65"cutting height that seems to be adjustable through a height adjustment knob. A metal cover protects flowers and shrubs from the reel. The mower weighs 17 lbs, and can be found, with difficulty, for $185 online. A grass catcher is available. The 300C (model #4020) has the same specs, but carries a heavier, foldable loop handle, and a 19 lb weight - we could not find it for sale online. This very small cut path mower should clearly be aimed at a small lawn only.

The Gardena 380 (model #4023) is a narrow 15" cut path mower, with a 5-bladed reel on ball bearings, two 8.5" wheels with a rear roller,  a large loop handle, and an 0.5-1.65"cutting height adjustable through a height adjustment knob. A metal cover protects flowers and shrubs from the reel. The mower weighs 18 lbs, and can be found, with difficulty, for $175 online. A grass catcher is available. The 380C (model #4024)  has the same specs, but carries a heavier, foldable loop handle, a 21 lb weight, and a $250 online price. The 380 was the winner, in May 2009, of a comparative mower test by the German test site Stiftung Warentest, against other German mowers which are not represented on the US market. The 380C was the winner of a comparative mower test comparing mowing performance by the German consumer magazine ÖKO-TEST in November 2009, against the Brill RazorCut 33.


We do not expect that the Gardena models would do well with most Southern grasses, in particular St Augustine and Zoysia grasses, or with thick, tall or clumpy grasses. There are few reviews online for Gardena, although we found some on Amazon (obsolete model), at Sears, on LawnMowerReviews, and on Amazon2. The reviews are good. In general, people like the light weight, the ease of push, the silence, and the environmental impact, but consider the cutting height too short. They prefer the cut and the ease of push of the Gardena no-contact models to the widely available Scotts mower. 

Next we compare all hand push reel mowers... So come back soon!

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Finding Service Manuals for Sears Appliances

Need the service, repair, owners, user or instruction manual for the Kenmore, Whirlpool, Frigidaire, Maytag, GE appliance that you bought at Sears?

In a closely held secret, most such service manuals are available online from Sears site ManageMyLife under the Manuals tab. Entering the Sears model number will bring out the manual in-browser. At ConsumerPla.net we tried entering all the appliances we each own, and were able to find manuals for them approximately 50% of the time - not a bad ratio, really.

We called 12 Sears stores and were only able to elicit the site name in 3 of these calls - you are better off trusting ConsumerPla.net:-) The site is actually an interesting attempt by Sears to build a community site around DYI projects. You can build to-do lists, and projects, and get community feedback. You can also ask questions and get expert answers. The bulk of the site activity, however, based on the site stats, is downloading manuals: 6M+ manuals downloaded, vs 100K to do lists, and 65K questions.

Have you gotten some good use out of ManageMyLife? Share your experience with us!

Facebook Privacy: What to Do With Your Account

Is your Facebook account leaking private data without your knowing about it? Probably. What exactly happened at Facebook and what to do about it?

Facebook came out in 2003 with a strong premise of privacy against then market leader MySpace, and started with its membership restricted to universities. The model sold to the users was that you could have "rings" of privacy: you could control who could see your data, your friends would get to see what you were ready to show them, and others would see much less. Facebook had a slightly slow start. Its selective approach to accounts, and the ability to control who could see what about your data, ended up, in  the long term, being strong competitive advantages, to the degree that MySpace is now starting to come unraveled.

As Facebook progressively became more dominant in the marketplace, the company's ambition grew to want to become the primary place where a web user maintains her identity. Simultaneously, and in order to monetize more of its membership, it changed its default privacy options multiple times, in such a way that data previously treated as private became public by default, requiring a difficult opt-out procedure that is unclear to most of its users. On several occasions, data that had been private to your friends only became, by default, public to all.

There were already many complaints about Facebook privacy changes, focused, in particular, on default privacy status changes to previously existing data. The straw that broke the camel's back, for many high profile users, was when Facebook recently announced that it would share large amounts of personal data with other social networks and web service providers, in order to make the users' web experience more seamless. The follow-up on this announcement was that several high profile users of Facebook publicly announced their intention to delete their Facebook accounts, a procedure that, ironically, if not perfectly managed, might still leave your personal data with Facebook. Political personalities in multiple countries have now raised concerns about Facebook's approach to privacy.

Compounding the problem is Mark Zuckerberg's attitude on privacy. Zuckerberg, Facebook's founder and youthful CEO, has shown an uncompromising position to the world, basically stating that privacy does not need to exist in the 21st century, and that those who object are obstructionists, left behind by the tide of progress. In his eyes, privacy is not longer "a social norm." While there is no doubt that attitudes about private vs. public data has significantly evolved in the past 20 years, there is also no doubt that it is strongly in Facebook's interest to make as much of their users' "private" data public so as to be able to monetize it for its own benefit. And - Facebook owns immense amounts of its' users private data, from pictures, to writings, to likes and dislikes and much more. It would be shorter to list what Facebook does not have in its data vaults... Zuckerberg is known as a prankster, but some of his past escapades show what could possibly be a less than ethical approach to business. Much of this, though, could be lack of experience: Mark Zuckerberg, a remarkably bright Harvard one-time student, is still only 26.

To make things even worse, Facebook's engineering staff has proved to be less than competent when dealing with data protection. In recent instances, they have been shown to leak significant amounts of private data, contravening their own biased privacy policy.

What should you do about your account? Facebook and its CEO have made it very clear  that they do not believe that any of your data should be private. It is in their interest to use your private data. Facebook is considering simplifying its privacy options - but this is what they are saying today. It is clear to most in the industry that, even if you can figure out how to set privacy options today, Facebook might expose more of your data any day. These are ConsumerPla.net's recommendations:

• Do not trust Facebook with any data that you would not want the world to know. Use it as a window to the public only. They have been found time and again, by philosophy and by actions, to be an untrustworthy private data vault.

• If you intend to delete your Facebook account, do it properly, without being tricked by Facebook, using this M.O. (good at publishing time only - could change in the future)

• Monitor your privacy settings using ReclaimPrivacy. You can also use Saveface to set all of your settings to friends only - but another Facebook change could leave some of your data exposed in the future. Both of them are discussed here. Using ReclaimPrivacy is discussed here.

• Check for upcoming alternatives. There are none that are really good at this time, although there is some talk of an OpenSource alternative being developed.

More Contact Hand Push Reel Lawn Mowers

Hand Push Reel Mowers Part 3

Last we reviewed some contact hand push lawn mowers. We have more of them to go through!


Hudson Star

Hudson Star manufactures reel mowers specifically for golfing greens, with very low cutting height (1/4" to 3/4"), and high weight (80 lbs+). We do not consider them adapted to general purpose lawns, and will not review them here.


Husqvarna

Husqvarna is a Swedish company well known for quality gardening products. It produces 3 reel mower models, two of which are traditional contact mowers. It also owns McCulloch, which produces other reel mowers of a different design.

The Husqvarna 54 is a budget 16" cut path mower with a 5-bladed reel, with a rear roller, a Tee shape handle with foam grips, a height adjustment of 0.5" to 1.5" in 4 increments. It has 8" wheels and a 19 lb weight, and is available, with difficulty, online for about $100. A grass catcher is optional. Both wheels and gears are plastic, and the reel does not have ball bearings.

The Husqvarna 64 is a 16" cut path mower, with a 5-bladed reel on ball bearings, a Tee shape handle with foam grips, a wide cutting height of 0.5" to 2.25" infinitely adjustable with a easy lever-like adjustment, and a 19 lb weight. It is available on the web, with difficulty, for about $130, and has an optional grass catcher. The wheels and gears are plastic.


Both models are suitable for Northern grasses, but neither are recommended against Southern grasses. For both models, a front plate protects flowers and shrubs from the reel. There are few reviews available on the web for Husqvarna models, widely dispersed, some on generic review sites, others on home shopping sites. There are not enough per model for us to be able to reliably evaluate each of them. Globally, they depict light, easy to push mowers, sometimes too lightweight, with questionable quality plastic gear.


Mascot SilentCut 

SilentCut, also found under the Mascot name, has got to be the most unusual of all reel mower brands. Yardman manufactured, as early as 1929, a sturdy, all metal reel mower. The model was picked up in the 70s by Agri-Fab, and gained quite a cult following, before being discontinued. The manufacturing was picked up by an Amish family, which, with some encouragement and orders from ReelMowersEtc, set up manufacturing in China. They bring the mowers to the USA, check assembly, sharpen, adjust and tune them before sending them out to distribution. Customer support, through ReelMowersEtc, was very easy to get to.

The SilentCut 18 is an 18" cut path mower, powder-painted, with a 6-bladed reel mounted on ball bearings. it has 9" wheels, a rear roller, a Tee shape handle with foam grips, and a height of cut varying from 0.5" to 2.25", adjustable by moving bolts on both sides. It is all metal. It is a "light contact" mower where the reel barely makes contact with the knife bed. It weighs 38 lbs, and costs $260.

The SilentCut 18 for upright grasses has the same specs, but with 10" wheels, so as to have a 1" to 2.75"cut height. Its weight is 42 lbs, and costs $280.

The SilentCut 21 is the only 21" reel mower we could find, with the same specs as the 18, except for a height of cut from 1" to 3", adjustable by moving bolts on both sides, a weight of 45 lbs, and a price of $290.


The SilentCut models are unique in their ability to do well against both Northern and Southern grasses, including the very hard to cut Bermuda, St Augustine, and Zoysia grasses. They offer no protection from the reel for flowers and shrubs. SilentCut has few reviews available on the web, but it carries a great reputation from its Yardman/ Agri-Fab times. Many users still use models from the 40s and 50s and are now looking for parts for them. Retailers expect the rollers to last 10-15 years, and the handle 50 years... This review from someone who uses a SilentCut to mow 5 to 10 rental yards per week is interesting as it makes comparisons. A back-lapping kit is available for $60, and a grass catcher for $45.


McCulloch

MCulloch, now owned by Husqvarna, produces a 16" cut path reel mower, the MCM2011, and a 20" cut path reel mower, the MCM2013. It is not clear if they are still in production, as they are not on the web site, and the company could not tell us either way - but both are still being sold. Factual information on them is uncertain, as the company itself has little information, and as retailers publish contradicting information on the topic. To ascertain the matter, we talked directly to the company which distributes them in the US, Dixie Sales, which was by far the most consumer-friendly of all the interlocutors we had with McCulloch. What we publish here is based on the information Dixie Sales received from McCulloch. McCulloch mowers are all metal, a rare occurrence, possibly with the exception of the outside wheel plates. While both models are suitable for Northern grasses, neither is likely to do well against Southern grasses. For both models, a front plate protects flowers and shrubs from the reel.

McCulloch 16" MCM2011. This 16" cut path mower weighs 25 lbs (shipping weight) and has 4 height cutting adjustments, ranging between 0.67" and 1.33," using bolts on both sides. This reel mower appears with 4 blades in the company documentation, along with a roller behind a pair of primary 10" wheels. Both wheels and gears are metal. We could only find one review on the web, a good review written after 6 years of use. The mower is made in Taiwan, and can be obtained on the web for about $100.

McCulloch 20" MCM2013. This 20" cut path mower weighs 36 lbs (shipping weight) with 9 cutting adjustments, ranging from 0.67" to 1.33", using bolts on both sides according to two McCulloch retailers (it seems to us that there are spring-loaded adjustment levers). The mower is all metal. The handles rotate around a pivot to adjust to the height of the user. There are two 6" tracking wheels behind the primary 10" wheels. Both wheels and gears are metal. This reel mower appears with 4 blades in the company documentation (we checked with Dixie Sales), but a reviewer specifically mentions 5 blades. The mower is made in Taiwan, and is available for about $130. Reviews are mostly good, although one reviewer complains of poor quality control leading to a DOA mower.


McLane

McLane, a small American company, has a very good reputation in commercial lawn mowing for golf courses, second only to TruCut. It manufactures in the USA a series of heavy duty reel mowers, with 5, 7 and 10 (!!!) blades, with unique technology that is not encountered in any other hand push mower. It relies on its dealers for customer support, but we were able to talk to customer service at the plant. Few dealers have any experience on their hand push mowers.

The McLane 17-PH-5 is a 5-bladed reel mower with a 17" cut path on ball bearings,  with a very large carriage, front-throw (i.e. it tosses the grass clipping forward), chain-driven (rather than pinion gear driven like most reel mowers). It is mounted on 4 small wheels. It uses a wing nut to adjust cut height from a broad 0.44" to 2.5". It has a Tee shape handle with foam grips. It is all metal, powder-painted, and made in the USA. Because of its 5 blades, it is optimized for northern grasses. it weighs a hefty 48 lbs, and costs $175. A grass catcher is available for another $60. The 17-PH-5 does well against Northern grasses - for Southern grasses the 17-PH-7 is more appropriate.

The McLane 17-PH-7 has the same specs as the 17-PH-5, but with a 7-bladed reel, optimized for bent grasses, St Augustine, and, in general, Southern grasses. It weighs 50 lbs, and costs $195. A grass catcher is available for another $60. The 17-PH-7 does well against most Southern grasses, and is acceptable against Northern grasses.

The McLane 17-PH-10 has the same specs as the 17-PH-10, but with a 10-balded reel - its primary focus is residential putting greens. It weighs 53 lbs, and costs $210. A grass catcher is available for another $60. This 10-bade mower is significantly harder to push, but will provide a finer cut.



All models protect flowers and shrubs from the reel with a top front metal bar. There are no reviews on the hand push McLanes, so we interviewed several retailers carrying multiple product lines about them. This review covers McLane's self-propelled putting green mower, with similar reel technology as the hand push mowers. These mowers are impressive monuments to a culture of fine cutting, and seem particularly appropriate for fine, flat, well-manicured lawns with thick grass. They may not do as well in more irregular or bumpy lawns, or where maneuverability is important. Handles may not always fit taller people. Because they are heavy, use small wheels, and are front-throw mowers, they are definitely heavier to push than many others. A back-lapping kit is available for all mowers. The company believes that back-lapping is required on average once per year, and that no additional sharpening is necessary.


Promow

Like TruCut and McLane, Promow specializes on reel mowers for golf courses. Promow also sells a single 18" model of residential hand push reel mower, factored from McCulloch, also all metal, also made in Taiwan. There is very little online information on this mower, and no reviews. We called Promow, as well as some of its retailers, to discus the product and its features, along with customer feedback. Do note that the 20" reel mower listed on the company web site has been discontinued.

Promow 18". This 18"cut path mower has a 5-bladed reel on ball bearings, two 10" wheels, a tracking roller, and an unusual 1.5" to 2.5" (as specifically told by the company, although the manual says 1.75" to 2.75", and retailer site literature lists 2.5" to 3") cutting height with several adjustments driven by bolts on both sides. A front plate protects flowers and shrubs from the reel. The wheels and gears are all metal, and the mower weighs 38 lbs. It is made in Taiwan, and is available for about $190. The company recommends that it be back-lapped every year, and sharpened every 6 years. A Promow retailer tells us that this model is popular with prisons because of its weight and reliability. Like the McCulloch, the ProMow should be primarily targeted at Northern grasses.


TruCut

TruCut is hardly ever seen in the residential market, although it is often seen as the top end player in the golf course mowing business. Trucut manufactures 3 models of hand push reel mowers, the H16-7 with a 16" cut path and 7 blades, the H18-5 with a 18"cut path and 5 blades, and the H20-5 with a 20" cut path and 5 blades. Mowers are all metal, except for tires, roller, and foam grip, and are all made in the USA. Information on these mowers was difficult to collect, as there are few dealers on the web, little product information, no user reviews, and the company does not provide direct support (through dealers only). It was impossible to get a hold of customer support for these mowers, despite trying more than 20 times over a 2 week period. All TruCut models protect flowers and shrubs from the reel with a narrow forward plate.

TruCut H16-7. This 16" cut path mower has a 7 bladed reel on ball bearings with a rear roller. The wheels, of unknown diameter, are cast iron with steel pinion gears, and have replaceable tires. The height adjustment ranges from 0.5" to 2.25" and uses thumb screws. It can be found with difficulty on the web for about $165, and has an optional grass catcher for another $60.  This mower is made in the USA, and its weight is 34 lbs. There is no back-lapping kit, but the company recommends Foley or Simplex sharpening kits. There are no recommendations on back-lapping or sharpening frequency. We expect this model to be well suited for Southern grasses, while the H18-5 is better suited for Northern grasses.

TruCut H18-5. This 18" cut path mower has a 5 bladed reel on ball bearings with a rear roller. The wheels, of unknown diameter, are cast iron with steel pinion gears, and have replaceable tires. The height adjustment ranges from 0.5" to 2.25" and uses thumb screws. It can be found with difficulty on the web for about $165, and has an optional grass catcher for another $60. This mower is made in the USA, and its weight is 35 lbs. There is no back-lapping kit, but the company recommends Foley or Simplex sharpening kits. There are no recommendations on back-lapping or sharpening frequency. We expect this model to be well suited for Northern grasses, while the H18-5 is better suited for Southern grasses.

TruCut H20-5. This 20" cut path mower has a 5 bladed reel with ball bearings with a rear roller. The wheels, of unknown diameter, are cast iron with steel pinion gears, and have replaceable tires. The height adjustment ranges from 0.5" to 2.25" and uses thumb screws. It can be found with difficulty on the web for about $210, and has an optional grass catcher for another $60.  This mower is made in the USA, and its weight is 37 lbs. There is no back-lapping kit, but the company recommends Foley or Simplex sharpening kits. There are no recommendations on back-lapping or sharpening frequency. The H20-5 should be primarily aimed against Northern grasses.

There are no online reviews of the TruCut reel mowers. We interviewed the company as well as two retailers for TruCut. The TruCut mowers appear very sturdily made, and focused on long term reliability and cutting quality. They are made in the USA. One retailer, Mark Slater, owner of the LawnMowerShop.com, told us that he had sold that mower since 2005, and that he had shrunk his push reel mower line to the TruCut 18" because he never got any customer complaints, returns or parts requests, and it was "less of a hassle."  TruCut has a very good reputation in the golf course mowing business. Short of being able to read more user reviews, our primary concern is the difficulty in getting customer support from TruCut, which we experienced first hand. TruCut counts on its dealers to drive all customer support - this makes it a difficult issue for online shopping.


Next we review no-contact hand push lawn mowers, where the reel blades do not make contact with the bed knife... So come back soon!

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