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rice_balls
05-19-2008, 08:13 PM
Thinking of getting a manual push mower instead of a gas powered one... just wondering if anyone uses these and any reviews of anyone who uses these. Any input will be appreciated! Thanks!

Kritafo
05-19-2008, 08:35 PM
Gardena Push Lawn Mower is the one that we own and it's great.....we use it in the front, as we are in the process of ripping all the sod in the backyard up. We have had it for a few years and as long as you keep it clean and lubed it is very easy to push and use.

ExtraSlow
05-19-2008, 09:00 PM
we have the one from lee valley, and it's good, as long as you have some weight to put behind it. My wife is very small, and she can't push it.
And tall grass makes it very tough.

FiveFreshFish
05-19-2008, 09:22 PM
Good if you have a small lawn that's flat and you enjoy raking.

rice_balls
05-19-2008, 09:24 PM
What if I cut the lawn weekly? Would that be frequent enough to not have to rake the grass that was cut?

FiveFreshFish
05-19-2008, 09:31 PM
Grass doesn't decompose fast enough even if the clippings are very short. If you don't rake every time, you'll have to do every so often so you don't get too much dead grass accumulating.

I mow my lawn with a gas mower and bag it every time. Even after doing that, I still manually rake 7 to 8 large garbage bags of dead grass in the fall and in the spring.

Kritafo
05-20-2008, 07:21 AM
We have had our Gardena model for about 7 years when we first bought it I was just a little more than 100lbs and I am 4'10 I never had a problem pushing this. You can buy a bagger for the push mowers as well.

Otherwise you will have to rake.

Crymson
05-20-2008, 07:54 AM
We have one, it's great. We have a very tiny lawn, takes about 20 minutes to whip through the whole thing, so getting a gas or electric would have been silly and environmentally irresponsible.

From a purely aesthetic point of view, it's quite fun to see the little blades whipping around and grass flying out. I like to use it.

Freeskier
05-20-2008, 07:35 PM
We had a gardena as well. It worked perfectly unless the grass was exceptionally long. As we had quite a thick lawn the blades would jam and the wheels would slide, but with regular cutting they work really well.

lint
05-20-2008, 11:34 PM
we have one as well. Not sure what brand it is. Works well when the grass is shorter. But I find that you do have to go over the same area quite a few times in order to get all the grass cut to the same length. maybe we need to do a little tune up on ours.

freshprince1
05-21-2008, 08:46 PM
Manual mowers are excellent if you're willing to put in a little more time and effort. Contrary to what has been said, if you mow frequently enough, the clippings ARE small enough to decompose, it makes for a great, cheap mulch, and is healthy for the lawn.

I use a manual mower, and mow twice a week in the evenings, only takes about 15 minutes, and I never pick up the clippings...last year, our grass was the nicest lawn on the block.

It's healthier as well, as it actually cuts the grass instead of hacking it like a gasoline mower. You don't get the yellow tips on the ends of the blades of grass from getting brutalized by the mower blade.

downfalls: If you miss mowing for a couple weeks, it will be hard for the manual mower to cut it all, and you'll have to do several passes.

(*warning, incoming plug*)

Get Green Drop to do your fertilizer and weed control, you mow twice a week, and water twice for an hour each time, and your yard will look awesome.

adidas
05-21-2008, 09:29 PM
GF's neighbour has one and we just watched her mowe her lawn the other day. GF talked to her for a few min and she said that she regurarly goes to the gym but that thing gave her a work out and she was sweating. She said its very hard.

Ive never tried it so i wouldnt be able to tell you.

Just thought id give u a heads up

rice_balls
05-24-2008, 11:34 PM
Thanks for all the info... i will be getting a manual push mower as soon as i get grass... maybe next year ill get grass :nut:

The_Rural_Juror
05-25-2008, 12:25 AM
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