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.
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.
. 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.
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.
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.
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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