Reel Mower Automation

A reel mower, in case you didn’t know, has the best of two worlds. On one side, it multiplies your own physical strength, helping you out when mowing your lawn. You end up cutting grass and exercising at the same time. On the other hand, due to the fact that it doesn’t run on gasoline and it doesn’t need an oil change, it helps the environment a great deal. No smoke pollution, no use of non renewable resources and, maybe most importantly for your own sanity, no loud mowing noise.

Reel lawn mowers come in a variety of colors and with prices for all budgets. You can get a cheap new one for around 40$ and an used one for even less. If you can afford and have a choice, I would recommend picking a reel mower color to suit your mood. I mean, seriously, do you want to show up with yet another green reel mower, the same color your whole neighborhood has?

Stand out for a change, even if it’s only through your reel lawn mower. Make a statement. After all, you might take your reel mower our for a spin more often than Bill takes his sports car. Do you feel adventurous? Want to attract the ladies? Go with a striking red reel mower. Driving a convertible? Pfua! Old news. Mowing your lawn with a crazy red reel mower while wearing a tight muscle shirt – now that’s what I’m talking about!

Need some peace? Maybe mowing the lawn is like a yoga practice for you, a meditative state. Settle for a deep blue or malachite green reel mower. Go out there and cut the grass slowly. Feel the grass blades with your bare feet. Enjoy the sun’s heat on your bare back. You are one with nature, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Now if you just want to have some fun while trimming your scenery, splurge on an orange or bright yellow reel mower. That would definitely put the F in fun. Push it with ardor, jump a little while at it, take fancy turns, the lawn is your oyster! Don’t settle for the same old grass cutting patterns your boring neighbor is using. Get creative, fancy moves are not only for ball rooms and tattoo parlors.

Let’s say you can’t find the a particular reel mover with the perfect color. Get a paint job! Either take it to a professional, like the ones doing paint jobs for cars or if your budget is tight, do it yourself. Take a trip down to the hardware store, ask your friendly seller what would he recommend for a reel mower paint job, get enough supplies so you don’t have to go out twice and get to work.

Painting the reel mower yourself is even better as you can induce all those crazy patterns you’ve seen on The Fast and the Furious or Martha Stewart show (seriously). It doesn’t have to be an identical replica – as long as it fits the purpose and you enjoy the end result – it’s all grass and sunshine on your lawn. Hose it down, add some sprinkles and you’re ready to go.

You see, once you start showing up with a pimped out reel mower on your front lawn, the neighbors will go nuts! Pretty soon you will see each and every one of them coming up to ask how did you do it or if they can buy it from you. Most people lack imagination and think you need an arts degree, an expensive canvas and a truckload of colors to express yourself. Wrong! The humble reel mower is all you need. That, and love of course.

Now that you are on the right track and have the proper sharp blades and colors, don’t stop here. Experiment with the grass patterns, trim your bushes the wild way, add some funky painted rocks. Your lawn will brighten, your neighbors will be envious and life will only get better. All from that cheap, lonesome reel mower you just wanted to be done with.

Reel lawn mowers are easy to fix and you don’t necessarily need a specialist to do it. You can fix the reel mower yourself with the tools and parts found in the shed behind the house. All you need is oil for greasing the gears, a couple of wrenches and a healthy dose of patience. You will be back to mowing your lawn in no time.

That being said, reel mower adjustment is even easier. Of course it depends on the reel mower’s brand as the ones your buy at Home Depot might give you a bit more hassle than necessary. While reel lawn mowers blades can be adjusted on a John Deere with a push of a level, other mowers need you to adjust screws, nuts and bolts. Some of them make it as difficult as having to set all four of them at the same position or level, for the reel lawn mower not to tip over while cutting grass.

Compared with motorized lawn mowers, the reel lawn mowers are low maintenance and can get the job of cutting grass and mowing your lawn just as good. On top of that, one gets to exercise by walking around on the freshly cut grass while pushing the reel mower.

Photo courtesy of alisharusher.

To begin with, buying a reel lawn mower from Home Depot or Sears should suffice. You don’t need to go all fancy and get the very expensive ones when an entry level one will do. After all, we’re talking here about a $70-$90 piece of hardware, it is not like you’re buying a new car. Once you get the hang of it and maybe decide this first reel lawn mower is not enough for your lawn size, or your grass cutting requirements, you can easily sell it to a neighbor or put it up on Craigslist. With the proceeds you get from the sale, just go ahead and buy a better reel lawn mower. Now you know exactly what you are looking for.

Photo courtesy of Dan4th.

Reel lawn mowers with a motor

A friend was asking if I have seen reel lawn mowers with a motor. Yes, it is possible, but in my personal opinion that defeats the whole purpose of a reel mower. If you want something noisy, with an engine, running on gas and for which you have to keep changing oil, then get a regular commercial lawn mower. Keep the reel lawn mower spirit alive and don’t bother with motors. That’s just silly. Specialists might argue against it but that’s how I like to trim my lawn.

Right out of the factory the paint color choices for reel lawn mowers are limited. What’s up with all the red and green? Seriously is that the best we can do?

I painted my reel lawn mower deep blue with a shade of crimson while my wife had hers painted pink (yeah, i know). There are as many options are there are paint colors and lawn mower blades. Make your mower stand out, let it be a patch a color on your green lawn. Think like Forrest Gump:

Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get

It could be a pink reel lawn mower for all I know.

Hoping I gave you several good ideas on choosing and repairing a reel lawn mower for parts and accessories, don’t hesitate to ask questions in the comments. We answer them all.