Reel lawnmower
 

Just wondering if anyone has a reel lawnmower and if so, what are your general impressions of it? My cordless lawnmower battery has died, and it costs $100 to replace the battery so I might as well get a new lawnmower. I don't like gas lawnmower, so I'm either getting a corded electric mower or a reel mower. My lot is small (5000 sqft lot, only about 1500sqft of grass).

I've got a reel mower just sitting in the garage, but unfortunately I don't use it. You'd probably get a really good workout. I see a neighbour trim his grass often and it looks super.

I came from mowing my parents' lawn with this http://s.sears.com/is/image/Sears/07...0&op_sharpen=1

to this http://pushmowersreviews.com/wp-cont...ower_thumb.jpg

My parents' self-propelling one was awesome to use coz there's wasn't much effort involved. The engine would roar and it felt like a mustang of lawn mowers. The current one I have is less "beefy", but it does the job. After work when you're tired, it's a pain to do a chore. But you know if you've got a small lawn and if you need to get some exercise, the latter is a nice in-between.

It's too bad you're set on electric. You should give gas powered ones a try.

I have a gardena reel motor. Its pretty awesome.
Here are some things to take into account:
-reel mowers require you to mow the grass much more often. every 3-4 days instead of 7+ days of regular mower. this is because a reel mower does not work well with long grass.
-the finished job looks different with a reel mower. its much more straight and uniform as it cuts the tops of grass off rather than using a spinning blade like a gas/electric mower. (this is why golf courses look so manicured)
-forget about cutting your lawn if your grass is moist or damp. it will be a bitch.
-also you would think a reel mower would be cheaper since it has no motor right? a good reel mower will cost you 200+

if you do go the reel mower route, i highly highly recommend getting a good one. You can find some for 50-70$. those ones are crap and you will notice a difference when mowing the lawn in terms of effort needed to push the damn thing.

my gardena literally almost pushes itself.

^ah so that's probably why that neighbour's lawn looks like a golf course

Don't buy a cheap one for sure, I have some cheapo Canadian tire one and it's a POS. It does a terrible job and if your lawn isn't totally level you're totally screwed. I was getting so pissed off with my lawn in the back I dug it up, covered 1/3 of it with 24"x24" slabs and the rest with gravel. In the front I ripped out the lawn in front of my house and replaced it with stone, a garden a large rock. The only lawn I have now is the cities portion between the sidewalk and the street but my neighbour cuts that for me, so nice not having to cut the lawn anymore. :)

Thanks for all the tips guys. I ended up buying a corded electric one, I only have time to mow the lawn every 2 weeks or so, I don't think a reel mower would have worked for me. Will be interesting to see how a good a job it does. My previous cordless electric mower had a reel-type cutting blade. Seems all the new electric ones only have the spinning blade now...

Can someone recommend a specific brand of Reel mowers to buy? and where to buy? My lawn is only about 500 sqft.