PUSH MOWERS

Types of push mowers:

ELECTRIC REEL SELF PROPELLED

Push Mowers: Noise, Insanity and Choices

When I ran a small landscaping company, we had to be quite privy to the needs of fickle clientele. We were considered their professional "gardeners," even though all we really did was mow the grass, plant a few trees and every now and then throw some mulch around. When it came time to take on another job of a smaller estate, we'd often be asked if we had any 'quiet' equipment that we could use in our work. In fact, we were asked this question so often that we decided to shop around and buy ourselves a mower that would keep our clients happy; which kept us paid. Push mowers are quite useful for those of us with small yards to mow.

They are used nationwide for the lawns of town houses, rooftop gardens and even smaller yards in suburbia. If you're in the market to buy another push mower, you might want to consider (as we did) the differences available and make a choice not only based on need, but on quality, noise-levels, and even environmental benefits. As a landscapist and lawn care provider, our small company was used to pouring out money so that we could pour in gas into our smaller mowers. So, when we started looking at the market. We approached it differently, deciding to take a look at what are called "reel mowers" or mowers that use human power and not engine power.

Now, there are electric mowers, which are quiet. But, the technology just couldn't keep up with our small business needs. There's either a cord that gets in the way, the batteries run out, and/or you can't mow even if the grass is the tiniest bit wet. So, reel mowers baited our interest. These little lightweight mowers are quite durable. Plus, they are noiseless; use no gasoline, which means they are environmentally friendly. It seemed we found what we'd wanted, but we had to put it to the test.

The reel mower cut differently than the rotary blades we'd been used to, as the sales clerk assured us that is actually helped the grass maintain its natural form and helped it to stay healthy. We knew that was important. If the grass starts to die, and you are the lawn care provider, rest assured that you'd be the first to be told about it.

Next, it was comfortable to push. The blades were strong and mounted with ball bearings-quite different than the models my grandparents talked about. Additionally, the blades didn't have to be sharpened but about every three years (We'd have to do it a bit more as we were a company). And, the selling point was that we could also purchase a grass clippings catcher that snapped easily around the shell. We bought the reel mower. When clients asked us about quite machinery, we'd proudly display our newest mowing wonder.