by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Recently all over the internet an article appeared that had this headline and came from an online article base but was never properly accredited to there. Not that that fact is either here or there.
What this article claimed to advise – in the beginning – is the use of push mower and most people would here understand the manual reel mowers and the writer then continued to state that such mowers that he or she was advocating were eco-friendly but nothing could be further from the truth for, when the article continued, mention was made of checking spark plugs and oil and all that jazz and even further down in the article the author (whoever the original one may have been) recommends that people consider a self-propelled lawn mower. Those are not “push mowers” but walk behind, whether they are self-propelled or not and gasoline powered.
It would appear that this article, in all truth, was a “sponsored review” as there also were imbedded links to vendors of walk behind mowers.
It is most important, and we can see this again and again, that readers beware of what is being said and written. Eco-friendly in the first couple of sentences of an article and then repeated several times over looks great but, we must ask, is it really thus. The truth is only real push mowers of the reel variety are really eco-friendly, as they neither use gasoline nor electricity and, at the same time give you, the user, a good workout. No need to go to the gym; mow the lawn instead.
Now, as we are talking about such push reel mowers let's looks at them in little more detail.
Reel mowers are those that give you the best result your garden and the finest lawn and why... because they do not flail the grass but actually cut them, a little like scissors, using two blades. One being the reel and the other the bottom blade.
Because of this the distance between the two blades is critical to the proper operation of such a mower but the instructions that should come supplied with the mower, if you buy new, should tell you the settings.
In all honesty the reel should not be scraping the bottom blade in a way that some folks seem to be setting it. It should be spinning free above it by about – literally – a hair's breadth.
Some of those mowers use belts and some chains with which to transfer motion power from the wheels to the reel while others do use gearing of sorts. In all cases, if there are places where grease could and should be applied then do it. Do not, however, if the gearing are nylon cog wheels, for example.
Bearings may or may not be “greased for life” and a little oil on the axles and such will do no harm.
A push mower of the reel mower kind, for the really is no other push mower, is something that, in the main, does not require much maintenance and also does not, and let no one tell you otherwise, a service. You can do everything on it, bar the sharpening of the blades. The reel, the spindle, really needs to be precision ground on a lathe, but not every year. Touch up sharpening can be done with a file though it takes some time or a grinding pad that you can clip to the bottom blade.
The bottom blade, on the other hand, is straight and thus straightforward to touch up and sharpen with a file. And that is about all as regards to looking after you reel mower, bar keeping it clean.
© 2010
