Choose Carefully before you buy a lawn mower

Many of today's new homeowners are seeking environmentally friendly solutions to backyard upkeep, this is also the case whenever they want to buy lawn mowers. Reel lawnmowers are not a new idea, but they are increasing in in recognition. Environmentally aware property owners are letting go of their self-propelled, petroleum powered mowers for the traditional, muscle powered versions in record numbers.

Reel lawn mowers vary from popular lawn mowers in a number of important ways. Created in 1830 by Edwin Budding, the manually operated push lawn mower allowed even the middle class to maintain a garden easily. Mr. Budding's lawn mower didn't have an engine and was self-propelled the old fashioned approach, you propelled it yourself. The structure is rather straightforward; a number of rotor blades are mounted on a circular frame. The mower blades spin around, perpendicular to the lawn, cutting the lawn when they pass. Early designs were created from steel and were pretty weighty and difficult to push. Modern day light plastics and metals help make the more recent reel lawn mowers less of a challenge to work with than their predecessors.

Reel mowers are appealing to environmentally aware homeowners for several reasons. To start with, they do not use gasoline and oil, so they have no damaging emissions. Injuries tend to be much less frequent with reel lawn mowers as well. When the user stops pushing them, the mower blades stop spinning. Electric start lawn mowers bring about millions of accidents yearly, however accidents caused by reel mowers are far less frequent, in most cases much less extreme.

Reel mowers are usually less costly to purchase and maintain compared to engine lawn mowers, which makes them attractive to the cost conscious consumer. Upkeep consists of a little lubricant and occasional blade sharpening. Initial purchase prices are a fraction of the souped up rotary lawn mowers available today. Manual push lawn mowers are great for exercise also, with many users substituting a good lawn mowing session for one of their weekly jogs.

Another benefit of using a reel lawn mower is noise reduction. Aside from the odd grunt of the user, these lawn mowers are practically silent. Grass cutting at night time and early in the morning without disturbing the neighbors is a possibility with reel lawn mowers.

Naturally, there are drawbacks to these manual lawn mowers. Their functioning requires a lot more effort than gas or electric powered mowers, and they aren't as easy to maneuver. Reel mowers don't typically collect your cuttings and can't cut twigs and sticks. In fact, sticks tend to jam the reel mechanisms. Manual mowers don't cut tall grass or shred leaves as well as engine powered mowers, so more frequent lawn maintenance and raking is required.

A reel lawnmower might not be the best choice for a 5 acre plot. But for today's urban homeowner with a small yard, the benefits and cost savings of manual lawnmowers make it a green choice for lawn maintenance.