🌿 Mow with Style: Elevate Your Lawn Game!
The Scotts 18-Inch 7-Blade Push Manual Reel Lawn Mower combines efficiency and durability, featuring a wide cutting width, adjustable height, and a comfortable design, making it the perfect choice for eco-conscious homeowners seeking a pristine lawn.
N**A
Brilliant little yard machine
Context:I am mowing a Bermuda grass lawn, about 3,200 sq ft.Is this mower easy to assemble?Yes, I did it entirely without tools. However, this gives one the 2-3" cutting range which is the default. To go lower, you will need/want a crescent wrench and a socket wrench to change the large 10" drive wheels' starting position.Is it hard to adjust the drive wheels on the Scotts Pro to the lower cut level?Not at all - but you will need some wrenches. The wheel and axle are shifted to another setting by physically detaching the main axle, shifting it around the reel's drive axle axis and reinserting the drive wheel and axle into the new height range. There are three axle positions possible, you need to see it to understand fully, but however arcane this sounds now, it is not hard. Took five minutes, right the first time.Are 7 blades worth it?Yes - it will cut much better on fewer passes. the famous "rifling" of the lawn that the 4-5 blade versions create is greatly reduced. That said, the key to reel mowing is hitting the lawn often. One is trimming and grooming, not cutting the grass.Speed?This is actually faster than my gas powered walk behind. I get done quicker and the lightness of the machine makes up for the fact that it is 100% human power. Not difficult to use at all.Can it maneuver? What if the ground is bumpy?I have an area that inclines rather noticeably and this machine is unfazed by this. It rolls along an incline and tracks true, either parallel to the incline or moving up or down it. I understand from other reviews that this is not always true of mowers from other makers. I also have my share of bumps where the lawn needs leveling, and given its width, that is not a problem. This thing even blasts small twigs without a care (although I prefer to miss them for the sake of continued sharpness of the grass knife), whereas most reel mowers reportedly seize up on the smallest obstacle.Results?Awesome - after three uses, my Bermuda already looks more like an emerald carpet. The reel mower does not stun the blades with a crush-cut like a string trimmer or rotating horizontal steel blade does. As mentioned, this is a trim and groom mower. The grass never misses a growth beat and there are no "hairy edges" left behind to add a tan sheen to the lawn as the crushed bits die and new blades must form. Keep your gas monster for scalping or those times when vacation forces you to let it grow too high and you want to recover back to height quickly in a couple of mows. The gas monster also will suck up light debris in fall as leaves are dropping all over. I see some on YouTube using their gas machine as a yard vacuum of sorts, setting it higher than the reel mower and sucking up loose thatch and leaves.General notes below:Why buy a reel mower?Your lawn is a hobby and you seek golf course quality. You know more than a little about how to care for it holistically. A reel mower clips the grass with a neat scissor action that does not stun the blades. The grass recovers immediately and learns to spread out wide and thick. Great for Bermuda. Turns your grass into carpet as your reel mower trims and grooms it, which you are happy to do every 2-4 days. You love the exercise and the meticulous care of the lawn.Why would I not want to buy one?The above description sounds more like chores from hell than fun.
M**G
Easy to mow 1/3 acre.
I have Bermuda and this move from a 5 bladed reel to 7 (recommended for Bermuda and Zoysa) was astounding. It was actually as easy or easier to push than a motorized version and provided a beautiful cut. I had to move the adjuster after removing the wheels to the forward position to get the 1/2" to 1" range. 1/2" Bermuda is beautiful! Just upset it took me 25 years to discover this. I'm 73 now and, like I said, no problems pushing this guy.
S**E
1st Impressions fr 1st time mower user.
Up to adding the handle to mower and the E screws, this was easy to assemble out of box. Other instructions besides basic height adjustment and pushing to cut grass, all went over my head.I got this model bc it has 7 blades. I live in S. Florida and have mixed grass ( mostly St Augustine and Bermuda). The handle is not adjustable, so if you are over 5 ft or so, it will be uncomfortable to use. I used it on small, uneven grounds where there were scattered tall grass and it did skip some tall grass. The blades are sharp, easily cut the grass and it was easy to push around.OTHER information- for installation I wore gloves to avoid getting cut; putting on the handle to base is a bit challenging - still lost the E screw. It’s a bit on the heavier side.This is a small reel manual mower. Be realistic about expectations. It produces no pollution, easy to store, decent price and cuts grass.
D**D
Good! On flat surfaces!
Works great on shorter grass and flat surfaces! I had to switch tools due to living on a bit of a hill. Front lawn is a breeze with it since it's level, and storing it is easy since it's small. All and all, I'd say a good purchase if you're looking for a mow on a easy lawn.
B**E
So disappointing.
We happily used the Fiskars reel mower for 11 years. it uses a chain, the chain eventually broke, and I borrowed our neighbor's Scotts 20-inch reel mower while trying to figure out how to fix the Fiskars chain. Our neighbor's Scotts mower worked so well and was so much lighter than the Fiskars that I decided to replace the Fiskars with the Scotts. I bought the the 7-blade 18" Scotts, the one I am reviewing, rather than the 20" Scotts reel mower my neighbor has, thinking, "Why not - that sounds like maybe Scotts' most recent model, maybe an improvement." But it has been an utter disappointment. First, it is NOT easy to assemble. Hint: don't put the handle together first, as the directions say to do. Assemble the lower part of the handle to the body first. That's the only way that most of us will get enough leverage to "snap" (i.e. force) the handle to the body. OK, then ready to mow. I followed all the directions in the manual, careful to do everything just right, and even called the manufacturer's number twice for advice (and yes, to complain. But nicely, I thought.). Sstarted high and went low, added WD40, mowed more frequently than usual, etc. And at this point, I am sorry to say -- but want others to be aware -- that this mower not only mows poorly but also is loud as heck for a reel mower. I have to make at least three passes to get any kind of decent cut, and in many places, I have to go at the grass repeatedly from different directions. Even then, there is a shaggy, unkempt look to the lawn. So even though this mower is very lightweight -- its one virtue, as far as I can see -- it takes at least three times the work of the Fiskars, which is indeed heavier. Personally I'm fine with the Fiskars' relative workout, especially when the results are so superior. Note that our lawn is composed of mixed grasses, with seemingly all varieties needing this quadruple-at-least mowing by the Scotts. Second issue: noise. The Scotts has a loud, unpleasant grating sound -- yes, even with WD40 applied. The customer rep said that this is to be expected, and that it isn't due to a blade-sharpening function. It's just how the Scotts mower works. I have no idea how my neighbor's 20" Scotts reel mower didn't have this sound and also cut the lawn well. My neighbor later told me that he made an adjustment to get rid of the noise, but he is a mechanic, and I think that you have to really know what you're doing if you want to both reduce noise and still cut the lawn. Or maybe the 20" is simply better in this way than this 7-blade model. In any case, at this point, I can only say that I feel I've given this lawn mower mire than a generous chance, and it is so inferior to the Fiskars in two very important ways, that I am going to go to the trouble of returning the thing and trying again to get our old Fiskars chain fixed. Someone suggested that a bicycle shop might be able to help, so that is my next step.
Trustpilot
2 months ago
1 month ago