Lawnmowers?

Question

I live in a townhome with not too much yard, but enough yard that it needs mowing. The only thing I know is that I want one with a bag that holds the clippings. And that is easy for me ( a girly girl) to handle. Is there a combination mower/weeder?
What kind of mower should I purchase? Brand, Price Range, size?

Answer 1

I've had push reel, electric and big honking and super big honking gas machines. For your situation, a push reel should be fine. They do come with catchers if you must, but the above is quite right, leave the clippings. As long as you mow often enough that you don't remove more than 1/3 of the total blade.....or ideally not more than 1/2 inch, the blades decompose quickly. It's the stuff further down that causes the thatch.

Problem with reels are they are hard to sharpen. You need to take them to a shop what knows what they are doing.

My second choice would be an electric. They are even easier to use than the reel, but you do need to mind the cord. The blades are easier to sharpen or even replace if you ding them up. Also the vacuum effect from the spinning blade creates a pulll to help raise the grass blades a bit for their hair cut. Don't use the electric if the lawn is damp........but then you should be mowing at all if the lawn is damp.

Both are really quite light, which is good and bad. Good to move around, bad if you property is bumpy as the mowers will tend to skip around. Both are very quiet, the electric does hum a bit, so you could bother the neighbors if you are mowing at 6 a.m.

Reels run any where from $80 up to just over $100. Electrics are a bit more......you've got an engine. Brand, reels are made by basically one or two companies with different labels slapped on them. Not too much difference. Electric....I don't know. Ours was a Black and Decker and we had no trouble with it. Size, you don't get much of a choice here. All about the same.

Answer 2

Last year I bought a Honda Lawn-boy for $99 at Walmart. Honda is a name you can trust. It is a mower/mulcher, comes with a bag and starts right away. Love it. There is no such thing as a weeder/mower, but if you cut your lawn at 2 1/2 to 3 inches the weeds get less sun and do not do so well. By the way, I'm female and was over the hill years ago and it is still an easy mower to use.

Answer 3

You can try one of the reel mowers that is powered by manpower alone. No gas, no electric. Just you walking. Very easy to use. I used my neighbors when I was about 9 years old. Trust me, it's easy! They have the reel that spins vertically, like a water wheel, insead of the horizontal blades of gas and electric mowers that spin like a frizbee. They're also really small and will take up minimal storage space (similar to a vacuum cleaner,) are very inexpensive, and made no noise. They also come in cordless electric models and you can attach a bag, but for such a small yard, I say why bother. Weedwaker would be my #2 choice because of the maintenance and noise.

P.S. Here's a cool site:
http://www.reelmowerguide.com/

Answer 4

Get a small electric mower. Gas powered mowers are over powered for a yard that size and hard to start. They also develop problems.

I'd pick up a copy of Modern Maturity and look at the small mowers advertised there, then go out and find one. They are designed for people who are not strong and no longer have much yard.

Answer 5

There is no combo pack. Get the 6.5 horse Yard Machine. Around $250-expensive but good mower. Bags & mulches.

Answer 6

Funny you ask. I saw a guy in my neighborhood using a weedwacker to cut his small lawn. Just a rod with the whirling wire on the end, easy to handle. But it lacks a bag to catch the clippings. But a bag like that is really not necessary anyway.No one I know uses one. We all just let the clippings sit, to be a possible mulch for the soil.

I think someone should invent a bicycle-powered lawmower, that you sit on, and don't need gasoline and oil for.

Answer 7

I love my reel mower. You can get them with a bag, though it's really better to leave clippings on the ground.