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We are moving into a rent house, and we are responsible for upkeep of the yard, but we have been renting an apt so we do not have a mower at the the moment. I have seen the reel mowers, and I like the idea of them because of the safety (we have a two year old and another on the way) and the low low upkeep costs. I have never used one before though, and I am just wondering how people who have used or are using them feel about them. Do they do a good job and are they easy to use? Thank you!

I'm old enough to have used 'push-type' ['man-powered'] reel mowers about the time the gasoline powered reel type mowers were becoming common, and then 'graduated' to the rotary type power mower.

Both the man-powered and engine powered reel type mowers 'actually' do work.

There is a problem in that you can't 'miss' a mowing or the grass blades will be too TALL and the rotating reel will push them downward and 'miss' cutting a lot of the blades. This leaves a 'raggady' looking lawn it you don't go over it again 2 or 3 times depending on the height and thickness of the grass. Weeds are impossible to cut with a reel type mower.

IF it is a man-powered reel type mower, it can work you to death if the grass requires more than an half inch cut off.

Unless the "new" [today's] reel mowers have been improved by putting some kind of guard in front of the reel, they are more dangerous than a rotary mower [because its blade is hidden below the deck].

IF you mow at least once, or twice per week, the yard is level, and there are few or no weeds in your lawn, then yes, a reel mower can do a good job. It does require much more physical effort to push a man-powered type of reel type mower than a push type power rotary, because with the unpowered reel mower YOU are providing the power to spin the reel and cut the grass.

Of course if you buy an engine powered reel type mower the physical effort is reduced because the engine provides the power to cut the grass, and usually to propel the mower.

Unless your yard and lawn condition is ideal for a reel type mower, AND it has some kind of reel cover for safety, then I recommend a rotary type mower.

2009-08-02 23:12:02 by Mrs. Smith (#2 due Dec 31st)

Steve did have a job... until this day. Just because something can drive down the street, doesn#39;t mean you#39;re allowed to. My buddy Steve ...

i have a zippo lighter that needs some lighter fluid.. but i was wondering, can i use gas from a lawn mower or lighter fluid from my old lighters that don't work anymore? which would be the best option, rather than zippo lighter fluid?

the fluid for zippos is just refined kerosene if you find some it should work just fine DO NOT USE GASOLINE UNDER ANY CIRCUNSTANCES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-11-30 09:28:35 by NeedAnswersQuick

Price: $129.00

Flat surface grinder is safer and easier to use than a bench grinder and sharpens / grinds many common tools such as lawn mower blades, scrapers and much more.
Air-cooled dry sharpening and grinding system uses maintenance-free slotted wheels and adhesive backed abrasives in coarse and fine grits.
Fast, precise and repeatable 25° sharpening port for chisels and plane irons up to 1 3/8in. Also sharpens woodworking carving and lathe tools.

any gas push mower
No I mean how the engine works and if it differs from a car engine

the gas vapors are ignited in the engine by the spark plug, with pushes the pistons, which are connected to the crank shaft. As this action happens many times, very fast, the crankshaft turns, which is attatched to the blades...so the blades spins and cuts the grass.

2008-03-12 12:45:18 by Dylan The Afroman

Price: $110.36 $56.99

Convenient built-in carrying handle; 1-year warranty
Capacities: 2000-pound pulling, 5000-pound marine, 6,000-pound rolling
Attaches to ball mount or a flat surface with plate

I am trying to build a beefed up go kart and I have a lawn mower engine that I can use but lawn mower engines are vertical driven and a go kart is usually driven with a horizontal mount. How do I make the conversion, should I just use a gear box? Also how do the governors work, my budy build one with an old 5hp briggs and stratton and he tore the governor off why did he do this? any ideas?...thanx guys.

You can buy a gear box to run a vertical shaft engine, but it is probably cheaper to buy a horizontal shaft engine than to try to convert it.

The governor is in place on a lawn mower for 2 reasons -

(1) when you're using the lawn mower, its not practical to keep a hand on the throttle, but the mower needs to operate at different throttle openings to work efficiently. The governor senses load on the engine and reduces or increases throttle opening as needed.
(2) if you were to just run it wide open, you would overheat the engine and reduce the life of it. Also, the maximum speed has to be governed because the blade is only safe to a certain RPM.

On a go cart, you can regulate the throttle manually (in fact, you want to). The governor is not required, and because you are changing the load, you don't really have to worry about over revving the motor to the point that things break.

ps - if the engine came off a riding mower, you might already have a gearbox. If its from a push mower - I would check the price of horizontal shaft units first, you might be pleasantly surprised.

2008-06-23 00:09:31 by Jeff

i currently work for briggs and stratton and i wanted to know if employees could by lawn mowers at a reduced price. if anyone could help it would be appreciated

hello there.

i would suggest you go and ask your manager that (perfectly logical) question.

it would seem to me that some sort of discount would be available to employees as that is customary for most companies.

happy mowing!

2008-01-20 13:55:10 by bt98