Anyone use a rotary lawn mower?

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GeoffisPure

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# 181281 8-Oct-2015 22:25

I know this goes against the grain of this site, but I'm considering buying a cheap rotary mower.
http://www.thewarehouse.co.nz/red/catalog/product/Hand-Lawnmower-14-inch-Blade-with-Catcher?SKU=1542302

I only have a small grass area and currently am paying somebody $25 each time (advantage is he takes the clippings away)

Does anyone have any experience with these? I wonder if they've got easier to use over the years.

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# 1402768 8-Oct-2015 22:36

I recently bought a Morrison one at Mitre10 - I think I paid about $130. It goes okay, but takes quite a bit of physical effort.

My grass area is tiny and barely takes five minutes to mow, but if I had a larger area then I would have bought a petrol one as they didn't seem to be too much more expensive.

Niel

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# 1402770 8-Oct-2015 22:38

Considering the blade is only 35cm wide, it will take you a while no matter how small the lawn. Ozito electric mower at Bunnings is only $100 and much more convenient (though the same width).

I used an old school push mower about 30 years ago. It was heavy, and needed to be to get momentum behind the blade to keep it spinning at high speed (higher speed is less torque, requires more momentum to keep it going).

Clippings can go to the land fill, and offsets the non-green stuff going to the landfill (or rather, it is allowed in Auckland). Just put it out with your weekly rubbish.

You can never have enough Volvos!

Sideface

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# 1402775 8-Oct-2015 22:46

Apart from being hard work, and slow, hand mowers really plow up a lawn if it is damp (the mower gets power from its wheels).

I use a cheap electric mower for our small lawn - it works very well, even on wet grass.

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eracode

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# 1402802 9-Oct-2015 04:39

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I recently bought a 14" McCulloch (the chainsaw and outboard motor people) from Bunnings for $100 for a small lawn. It works fine except you can't mow up close to anything - the width of the wheels plus side mechanism means that the edge of the blade is never closer than about 100 mm from an edge board or wall. Same if you mow up to a wall by running in at 90 degrees/perpendicular - can't get close. Had to also buy a cheap line-trimmer to deal with this.

Bunnings had several brands/models to choose from but when you compared them closely they had only cosmetic differences (apart from width) and I was pretty sure they had all come from the same factory.

BTW I don't think these are 'rotary' mowers - rotary is a normal motor mower. I believe these are hand reel mowers. (Mr Pedant).

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

RunningMan

5613 posts

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# 1402810 9-Oct-2015 06:38

I use a hand mower and it cuts easily and does a good job. Only big issue is if the ground is very wet then the wheels skid so the blade doesn't turn.

MadEngineer

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# 1402816 9-Oct-2015 07:09

Haha who mows their lawn when it's wet?

Batman

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# 1402826 9-Oct-2015 07:38

Just one thing. With push mowers you can't let the grass get long otherwise it is too much for the poor thing. And keep it sheltered or it will rust (just like anything really)

Involuntary autocorrect in operation on mobile device. Apologies in advance.

gzt

10982 posts

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# 1402827 9-Oct-2015 07:43

Well Sonny ; ), with these you have to cut regularly, even in winter. Winter/Spring is wet, and wet is relative with these things. Now get off my lawn. /oldmanmode

eracode

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# 1402835 9-Oct-2015 08:13

joker97: Just one thing. With push mowers you can't let the grass get long otherwise it is too much for the poor thing. And keep it sheltered or it will rust (just like anything really)

Yep - when I have finished mowing, I hose all the clippings off, let it dry and store it away. Easy to do because it's fairly new but I'll keep doing it.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

Davy

184 posts

Master Geek

# 1402870 9-Oct-2015 09:19

I used to use one of these! I enjoyed using it immensely, and on a nice day it is great exercise. But they do indeed skid on wet grass and also if you have twigs on your lawn from any nearby trees they will jam the blades and bring you to a sudden and very annoying halt.

huckster

378 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 1402873 9-Oct-2015 09:27

Davy: I used to use one of these! I enjoyed using it immensely, and on a nice day it is great exercise. But they do indeed skid on wet grass and also if you have twigs on your lawn from any nearby trees they will jam the blades and bring you to a sudden and very annoying halt.

Ditto, but still use it i.e. still get excercise, enjoyment and/or annoyance.

robjg63

3000 posts

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# 1402874 9-Oct-2015 09:32

Yep - as mentioned above - its not a rotary mower.
A rotary is an 'upside down' helicopter!

Anyway - I used to cut the grass with one like this when I was a kid.
The old masport handmower....
They make a good job if the blades are sharp enough.
They dont cope with really long grass either - naturally.
The old ones were quite heavy cast iron wheels - the weight probably helped them to stop skidding when the grass was wet.

As mentioned above - best used when the grass is dry and provided you use it regularly (the grass is not too long).
The excercise is free.

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler

gzt

10982 posts

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# 1402878 9-Oct-2015 09:47

GeoffisPure: I know this goes against the grain of this site, but I'm considering buying a cheap rotary mower.
http://www.thewarehouse.co.nz/red/catalog/product/Hand-Lawnmower-14-inch-Blade-with-Catcher?SKU=1542302

I only have a small grass area and currently am paying somebody $25 each time (advantage is he takes the clippings away)

Does anyone have any experience with these? I wonder if they've got easier to use over the years.

You can find.many under the name reel mower. If I was buying a new one then I would look at Fiskars, just because the one or two tools from them I've used have been very good design and not unreasonable cost.

I googled In USA there are many brands and model like 20" etc. Chain drive etc, dedicated review sites, yep all manual.

I saw bunnings have ozito and McCulloch for under 100.

Fred99

8913 posts

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# 1402886 9-Oct-2015 10:01

We use one, section is landscaped with about 4 separate levels, a corded electric mower would be inconvenient, I'll use a petrol mower when we get back from holidays and the grass is too long, but it's easier just to use the hand-mower most of the time. I don't bother using a catcher, so long as it's mown often enough there's no point - and it's probably better for the lawn. The modern push mowers are all light. So long as they're sharp and adjusted correctly they seem to work fine. One issue I've had with different models is the pawls in the blade drive axles getting sticky. Every year or so need to pull the wheels off, then remove the drive cog and thoroughly clean the pawl and slot in the axle so it moves freely. If one side isn't engaging then the wheel which does engage is likely to slip, and if they're a bit sticky they'll also feel jerky and tend to slip when the pawls do engage.

GeoffisPure

435 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 1402907 9-Oct-2015 10:42

Thanks all for the replies. Sorry I got the wording wrong - can a mod please reword the title to hand/push mower?

A couple more questions:
Is it okay to leave the clippings on the lawn? I remember when I was renting we were not allowed to do this. Does it annoy the neighbours?
Also I notice that some of these advertise features such as "self sharpening blades" and "able to adjust height without tools". Are these things I should be looking for?

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