Reel Mower

Yesterday I mowed my lawn. Usually Phil does it on a big rider mower, but he has been quite busy so I offered to do it. The catch was that I didn't want to use the rider. Instead, I borrowed my sister-in-law's mower. It's a reel mower.

A reel mower is the old-fashioned-style mower with blades that spin as the wheels turn, powered by a human being. Seemingly inspired by the efficient design of the bicycle, the reel mower utilizes normal walking as the source of power that accomplishes an otherwise formidable task of mowing a lawn.

We have a large lot, maybe around a half-acre. The grass had grown a bit tall, too, when we were on vacation. It was doable, however, with time and motivation. Really I didn't find it much harder to push than any other push mower with an engine. Either way one has to push and walk. These reel mowers may boast old-fashioned "technology," but they've incorporated modern improvements with materials (making them lightweight, for example) while utilizing the efficient design of our forefathers.

I kept at it, pushing through the entire yard for two hours. I was, however, quite tired last night. Not too tired, however, to look online for reel mower options. I found the one I borrowed, a classic Scotts brand. It has the advantage of a good price and generous width--the reel is 20 inches wide which provides a nice broad swath. The other interesting option was a Brill Luxus 38, but it is only about 15 inches wide. That's not a nice swath. That's a very small swath and I wonder if the superior mechanism will counteract it? In fact, I wonder if I order it, will it look like an Oompa-Loompa lawnmower?

Phil was convinced of the reel mower concept when I showed him an article listing all the advantages. One site offered a sobering emissions graph to illustrate what standard lawnmowers (with engines) spew into the air. Did you know that a conventional lawn mower pollutes as much in an hour as 40 late-model cars (or as much as as much air pollution as driving a car for 100 miles)? I found that information and much more on this site:

http://www.peoplepoweredmachines.com/info/faq.htm

This type of mower is great for health nuts, by the way. I was thinking about that yesterday when one of my neighbors hopped on his zero-radius mower while I was finishing up the back yard. Was he trying to flaunt the ease with which he was able to accomplish the same task on his own yard? He doesn't work out, as far as I know, but I kept thinking about all the people in the world who have purchased mowers to make their lives easier, but then join a gym and work out for strength. Mowing with a reel mower once a week wouldn't replace a workout, but it would surely complement it. Plus, as I already mentioned, it would eliminate the blast of air pollution and allow our children's children a slightly less toxic world to inhabit. And there's no gasoline consumption, and we all know that these days every gallon saved can help our pocketbook, which is one more reason, albeit a minor one, to consider a people-powered machine, as the website promotes.