Contact Hand Push Reel Lawn Mowers

Hand Push Reel Mowers Part 2

Last we discussed what makes a good reel mower. Here we will review traditional contact hand push reel mowers, where the reel blades make contact with the bed knife. Many user reviews can be found in the links provided along the model discussions.


American/ Great Lakes

American Lawnmowers estimate that they manufacture over 50% of all hand push reel lawn mowers purchased in the US. They have been manufacturing the same general product line for 115 years, and are still family-owned and operated, now through their 3rd generation - they are what we grew up with in the 60s and the 70s. Their product line includes 7 models - they are the same in American and Great Lakes brands, model numbers being the same except for a leading 1 with American. As we will see, they also manufacture models for several other brands. Several models are still manufactured in the USA, in Indiana. All models need to be back-lapped roughly once per year, and sharpened roughly every 5 years. The product line carries two economy models with a 14" cut path, four models with a 16" cut path, and one model with an 18"cut path. Of these, the ones we find most interesting (and definitely with better quality) are, among the 16"  models, the 1414-16, the 1415-16, and the 1705-16, and the 18" model 1815-18. Customer support for the brand is easy to get a hold of. All models are suitable for northern grasses, but only the 7-bladed 1705-16 is suitable for Bermuda, St Augustine, and bent grasses. In the American models listed below, a shrub bar protects higher flowers and shrubs against the reel.

The  1414-16 (414-16 in the Great Lakes line) is, to us, the star of the family. It is an all-metal 16" cut path model, with a 5 blade reel, 10" cast iron wheels and 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 problems listed being a DOA mower, a bit of a high weight, and difficulties with St Augustine grass (for which this mower is not suited).  Other reviews mention ease of assembly, the weight being a positive when dealing with southern grasses such as St Augustine (we think so too), good cut, good quality overall.

The 1415-16 (/415-16) 16" mower has polymer wheels and plastic gears, the same specifications as the 1414-16, a lighter weight of 25 lbs, and a $90 price. The 1415-16 has a smaller number of reviews, mostly good - the reviews from the 1815-18 probably also apply. The mower is made in China.

 

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, bent grasses and St Augustine grasses, with a reel on ball bearings, 10" polymer wheels and and plastic gears, a roller, powder-coated Tee handle with foam grips, and  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. 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. From its reviews, the 1705-16 does not do as well as the 1415-16 for longer northern grasses - of course, it is not intended to.

The 1815-18  (/815-18) 18" cut path mower also carries polymer wheels and plastic gears, a 0.5" to 2.5" height of cut adjustable by moving bolts on both sides, the same general specs as the 1415-16 family except for a loop handle (more comfortable to push straight but a bit more awkward in tight corners), a 27 lb weight, and a $95 price. The mower is made in China. The  1815-18 has good amazon reviews if you weed out the ones that complain about what a reel mower does not do well - for some reason, many of this mower's reviews particularly discuss its advantages as a reel mower vs a power mower, rather than its intrinsic advantages or drawbacks. This model's reviews are also quite good at Home Depot.



Craftsman (by American)

Craftsman (Sears) has always carried - as far as we remember- reel mowers. After American/ Great Lakes, they might be the most common reel mowers around - except that they are also manufactured by American. At this time, Craftsman carries two models, a 16"cut path model #37610, and a 18" cut path model #37619. Customer support is easy to get a hold of, but, in our tests, not very reliable. All Craftsman models are suitable for Northern grasses, but none of them are particularly suited to Southern grasses. A shrub bar protects, for all Craftsman models, flowers and shrubs against the reel.

Craftsman's 16" mower has a 5-blade reel on ball bearings, a roller, a 5/8" to 2"1/4 height of cut adjustable by moving bolts on both sides, 10" polymer wheels with plastic gears, a powder-coated Tee handle with foam grips, and a 25 lb weight. There is a back-lapping kit available, as well as a grass catcher. There are numerous reviews available on the Sears site, totaling to a good, but not outstanding, rating. Problems encountered included DOA products due to missing or ill fitting parts,  losing the assembly screws while mowing, and wobbly handles, difficulty cutting stiff/ thick grass. A grass catcher was not always available in the past 3 years. The review also mentioned that the mower does a great job, it is light and easy to use, easy to push even for small women, easy height adjustment. The mower is available for $100 at Sears.

Craftsman's 18" mower has a 5-blade reel on ball bearings, two 6" accessory polymer wheels instead of a roller, a 1" to 3" cutting height easily adjustable with spring loaded levers, 10"polymer wheels with plastic gears, a powder-coated loop handle, and a 31 lb weight.There is a back-lapping kit available, as well as a grass catcher. There are numerous reviews available on the Sears site, totaling to a good, but not outstanding, rating, equivalent to the 16" mower, and an interesting individual review here. Review problems included difficult assembly needing sockets or wrenches, hard to handle by small people (one review mentioned that small people should reverse-mount the handle to make it more comfortable), fragile handles that die after 3-4 seasons, hard to use with stiffer/ thicker grass, imperfect mulching. There were several mentions of the poor quality of the grass catcher, a general problem with reel mowers. The reviews also mentioned that the mower was a pleasure to use, lightweight and easy to push, even by an 8-year old, light and maneuverable on hilly / uneven ground, "like a well tuned bike." The mower is available for $110 at Sears.


Scotts (by American)


The third largest brand name to be found in the US suburbs is Scotts, also manufactured by American... The lone existing model in the Scotts Line is the Scotts Classic 2000-20 reel mower, a 20" cut path model (Home Depot also sells other American models under the Scotts brand name). Customer support is easy to get a hold of.

The Scotts Classic 2000-20 has a 5-bladed ball bearing reel, two 6" rear tracking wheels, a high 1"-3"cutting height with 9 different levels easily adjustable with spring loaded levers, 10" polymer wheels with plastic gears, a powder-coated loop handle with foam grip, and a weight of 30lbs. The height adjustment consists of 2 locking screws on the side. The handle has gathered quite a few complaints, and underwent a slight redesign last year - we do not know yet if the new design significantly improved reliability. A front plate protects flowers and shrubs from the reel. There is a back-lapping kit available. Here is a CleanAirGardening video of the Scotts Classic. Because the cut path is larger, the mower is more suitable to a larger, more even lawn, and requires more strength to push it. The Scotts Classic is available for $110, with another $30 for a grass catcher, and is made in China. It is suitable for Northern but not Southern grasses. This mower has an very large number of reviews on the net - amazon is the easiest place to go. Ratings are good but not outstanding. The mower gets a lot of good reviews, pointing out the ease of use, light pushing, and overall fit to the job. There are however several significant recurring issues that clearly point to some problems: fragile handles are wobbly, lack stiffness, and fail too easily; and plastic gears fail often. We suspect that the additional stress of a 20" cut path is the reason for component failures which do well in 16"and 18" mowers. Several retailers who sell the Scotts warn of needing replacements for these parts more quickly than for other mowers. At the same time, many users - possibly putting less stress on them - really like the Scotts for its smoothness, ease of use, and 20" cut path.


Gardena

The company manufactures primarily no-contact mowers, and is discussed in our no-contact section. One lower-priced model, the Hi-Cut, uses traditional contact reel technology.

The Gardena Hi-Cut (model # 4019-U) is a  16" cut path mower, with a 5-bladed reel on ball bearings, 8" wheels with a rear roller,  a Tee shape handle, and a 0.5-2.25"cutting height with unknown adjustment mechanism. The wheels are polymer and the pinion gears are plastic. The mower carries a 19 lb weight, and $150 online price. The Hi-Cut is most appropriate for Northern grasses, and does not deal well with Southern grasses such as Bermuda, St Augustine and Zoysia grasses.






Gilmour

Gilmour is an American company owned by German conglomerate Robert Bosch Tool Company. While many of its products are made in the USA, this is not the case of their reel mower, which is made in China. Customer support is easy to get a hold of.

The  Gilmour 20" reel mower has a 5-bladed ball bearing reel, two 6" rear tracking wheels, a high 1"-3" cutting height with 5 adjustment levels (easy spring loaded handles compared to the Scotts), 10" polymer wheels with plastic gears, a painted loop handle with foam grips, and a shipping weight of 36 lbs. The front wheels are cleated to stop slippage. The reel blades are self sharpening, and many reviewers complain that the mower is very noisy because of that. The handle is shaped like the Scotts, but several reviewers comment on the fact that it does not feel flimsy like the Scotts does.  A front plate protects flowers and shrubs against the reel. The Gilmour is made in China. It is easily found on the web, between $100 and $120, or typically between $160 and $180 with a  very inefficient grass catcher (like most reel mowers) -you can also find it for much more... A sharpening kit is available, but cannot be found easily. The Gilmour does not do well on Southern grasses. There are many user reviews for the Gilmour 20" on Amazon., as well as a gardening blog review part 1 and part 2. The reviews are mostly good once you weed out unhappiness with reel-specific issues. The issues that come up most often are the noise, often called a screech (some reviews says it goes down if you spray lubricant regularly), the bad rubber smell which seems to go away after a few days, poor grass catcher, complexity of assembly which needs wrenches or sockets, slightly wobbly handle, several reports of adjustment screws falling off, and several instances of DOA mowers, mostly in 2007-2008. This excellent review explains why the author chose the Gilmour against the rest of the field, but focuses on design rather than user experience.


Greenworks

Greenworks is a new introduction on the US market, focused on environmentally appropriate gardening tools. It recently got a marketing prize for its packaging (from a marketing standpoint). The company appears to have international headquarter in China, and manufactures 3 models, very similar, ranging from a 16" cut path to a 20" cut path. Customer support is easy to get a hold of. In all models, a metal front plate protects flowers and shrubs against the reel.

Greenworks 16", is a 16" cut path mower, with 5 blades, a reel on ball bearings, and a roller, with 1" to 2.125" height of cut, 10" polymer wheels and plastic gears, an aluminum loop handle, and a 26 lb weight. The aluminum handle appears to have a single position. The mower can be found online for $90, including a grass catcher.

Greenworks 18"  is an 18" cut path mower with 5 blades, a reel on ball bearings, 6" rear tracking wheels, a height of cut of 1.75" to 2.75", 10" polymer wheels and plastic gears, an aluminum loop handle and a 30 lb weight. The aluminum handle appears to have a single position. The mower can be found online for $100, including a grass catcher.

Greenworks 20" is a 20" cut path mowers with the same specs as the 18" mower but with a 32 lb weight. The mower can be found online for $120, including a grass catcher.




All models are made in China. Few reviews are available, but the models appear similar enough that they can probably be applied across all models. Lowes' Task Force line appears made by Greenworks, and reviews poorly. To complement the small number of reviews we interviewed retailers that carried Greenworks along with other product lines. Early reviews and interviews, at this stage, are somewhat positive on value (the low price point when you consider that they come with a grass catcher), but negative on quality and fit-and-finish. As usual for reel mowers, there are mixed reviews on the grass catcher which falls apart easily and does not keep the grass clippings together well.

Next we review more contact hand push reel mowers... So come back soon!

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