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.
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.
Next we rank the
best hand push reel mowers for mid size lawns... So come back soon!
<< Previous Page Next:
Best manual mowers for mid size yards Next Page >>
No comments:
Post a Comment