My father-in-law is clearing out all of his lawn care stuff as he's finally realized he's too old to be using any of it. Passed on the brand new self propelled key start for this bad boy, check it out. I'm amazed how well this little guy actually works. I've got a 1/2 acre lot that minus trees and such probably is 1/4 acre of grass. Knocked it all out in about an hour. Silent, no fumes, good exercise...
I lurk here entirely too much these days... might as well post. Thats funny, I have that same mower and love it!! I got tired of wasting gas, breaking parts and the pain in owning a power mower. Great work out, clean as hell, and kind of fun to use until you get something stuck in the blades which gets annoying. Around here there are so many pine cones and little branches it can be a bitch! Nice find.
I was looking at the blades on this thing, and to me it looks like they might never need sharpening. Freeridemusik, you ever need to sharpen yours? How tall have you cut your grass with it? So I'm using this thing, and I'm really wondering - why have I been using a motorized propeller blade mower my whole life? Given how easy this thing slices through grass with such little energy / effort I bet that even if it did have a motor you could get by with a 1HP or so.
I have only had mine for about 4 months so no need to sharpen mine yet... I bought it new from craigslist and the guy who I bought it from said that he would sharpen his old one with a file. So I guess it probably will eventually need sharpening but I am thinking you could get away with using it for a long time before that happens. Power mowers seem to hit rocks and stuff like that more which seem to dull the blades a lot faster. I cut mine to about 1" or something, like the 2nd shortest setting. I don't think I will ever go back to a power mower. No oil, gas and no bs!
Iif i had a smaller lot i'd probably go that way, but 1.5 acres is too much! Speaking of which I need to fix my rider. Good think I have an awesome neighbor and I can use his whenever.
Hell, if I had that much acreage again I'd probably let a lot of it go back to woods. I mowed 2 acres for years and years, and looking back I see no purpose for it. We didn't use the land for anything anyway.
I'm about to mow the 2 1/2 acres again. It'll be the second time this year. I do want to get a reel mower for the lawn though. It's all my family had up until 1969. kKeep them sharp and the axels greased and they'll mow forever. I've mown down grass a good 6' deep before, though I'd recomend not letting it get that high. Good score MSP, no carbon FTW!
As Lurker said, they are better for the lawn too. Because they actually make a clean cut on the blade of grass, instead of just beating it up and hacking it down like a power mower does. No brown tips!
never used one of those but would LOVE to try. a friend of mine has a vintage electric lawnmower from like.. the 50's or 60's and im tempted to get it.
That's the only kind of mower my step dad has ever used. I'm pretty sure he's needed to sharpen it. The thing I don't like about it is the mess it leaves behind. But it's well worth the healthy lawn and exercise
There are models with the catch bags that clean up the clippings fairly well. With the price of fuel going up again, I think I'll keep an eyeball peeled on craigslist for one. I can't/won't mow the 2 acre field with it, but mowing the lawn would work.
I use an electric mower because I cut my lawn once a week and with that, I'm done in 30 minutes, front and back. If I used that thing, I'd need to carry around a water bottle on my back.
Still using this thing, it's a breeze. The trick with the yard clippings is to catch them as Wiskas suggested, or just not let the grass get too high.
well here it is.. my new project, some vintage electric lawnmower.. havent tested it yet, i need to clean it up, sharpen the and fix blades, and inspect the motor. i think its an 18" does anyone have anymore information on this?? i just snapped some quick photos and the camera settings werent right, so thats why theyre bluish.. i can take more if anyones interested.
If they are fine enough, if too many clippings build up, the thatch smoothers the soil and it turns acidy. I use the lawn to generate clippings for the compost heap. It ends up feeding the gardens.
