Reel mower for taller grass.

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JOhnH

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I am looking into reel mowers, largely for the exercise. I generally walk about 5 miles every morning and I often wish I could be doing something just a little more productive. Paying my lawn guy $200/month to mow is another (smaller) issue. But we have mostly St. Augustine grass which gets kind of thick and we like to cut it to a height of about 4 inches. Almost every reel mower I have looked at has a cutting height about 2 inches to as much as 3 inches. Am I not looking right or is there a reason reel mowers cut so low?
 
Probably because most people cut their grass to 2".

:D
 
Reel mowers rely on the grass to stick up into the reel between the blades, so it needs to be short enough to be reasonably stiff. A blade mower sucks the grass straight up so it can cut any length within reason.
 
There’s a guy on utube that reel cuts his St Augustine 2-3x week at 0.5”. Apparently it took a while and some extra attention for that to be successful long term.

Apparently the roller in front of the reel is the limiting factor for cutting height.
 
1) Many (most?) reel mowers have no engine and rely on ground friction to power the blades. In the taller grass, the chance of slipping go up quickly.
2) Reel mowers are very sensitive to the grass not getting bent/folded. I suppose someone with 4" grass who really stays on top of things could have grass that doesn't get bent, but the taller the grass the easier it is to knock it over.

I respect that you cut at 4" though. When I finally got that tip a decade or so ago, and stopped scalping my lawn, it got way more drought resistant and weed pressure was greatly reduced as well. I decided to stick with a conventional mower, after finding the above two points during my research, because I want to be able to go flying for a couple weeks at a time without having to worry about the lawn while I'm gone. Now, after a trip like that, I do a pass at 4.75 (IIRC, that's has high as my zero turn will go) and then a second pass at 4" and things look great with the two passes mulching everything up nicely.

Also, reel mowers require much more maintenance (sharpening and adjusting of blades) than rotary ones.
 
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From watching the Lawn Care Nut & GCI Turf on Youtube, it seems that reel mowers are used for short cut grasses and not recommended for anything above 3". Probably why you can't find one capable of a taller cut.
I think St. Augustine grass is in the same category as Bahia/tall fescue/some bluegrass and keeping it cut taller helps suppress weeds.
No reason you can't get the same workout with a push mower, just not one with driven wheels/propulsion.
Keeping your cut height high and mowing often leads to healthier turf.
 
When I was in college I ran a Locke tri- plex reel mower for a summer cutting lawns. That thing was a beast, but it made a lawn look like it was out of heaven. Even as a pool table and striping was perfect.
 
We had a reel mower for our small patch of front yard grass when I was a kid in Virginia Beach. It just couldn't handle grass over three or four inches tall. It was just choke and the blades would stall.

Powered reel mowers are used for maintaining golf course greens. Those might be able to handle greater lengths but then you are back in to a powered solution and you might as well use a standard spinning blade mower.
 
How about a scythe? Any height you want, better exercise...

en.wikipedia.org

Scythe - Wikipedia

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scythesupply.com

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Scythe Supply offers European style scythes, scythe blades, snaths, whetstones, hammers, anvils and equipment. We are scythe enthusiasts and want others to discover the rewards of using this elegant tool. Light, sharp and effective this scythe will mow, clear and harvest with ease — while you...
scythesupply.com
 
flyingbrit said:
This one claims a cutting height from one to four inches:

Click to expand...
That one looks excellent, even if it is twice the price of other I have looked at, but I have come to really like Fiskars customer service.

I bought a shovel of theirs (among other items). The thing was a heavy piece of steel but I could dig up rocks and cut through tree roots and pry out stumps without it bending. It was a workhorse, but the rubber end cap wore off. I sent them an email describing the issue and asked if I could buy a new end cap. They asked for a picture and my address and next thing I knew, I had a new shovel delivered to my door.
 
I used a manual reel mower on the small bermuda lawn at my first house. It was great unless the grass got tall. Tall grass just bent over and i'd have to mow multiple times. So if the goal is to mow tall grass, my experience is that a reel mower isn't the right tool for the job. Now if you want a beautiful (short) bermuda, zoysia, or st augustine lawn that's under maybe 1.5" tall, a reel mower may be the ticket. But you'll be mowing more frequently.
 
Sac Arrow said:
We had a reel mower for our small patch of front yard grass when I was a kid in Virginia Beach. It just couldn't handle grass over three or four inches tall. It was just choke and the blades would stall.

Powered reel mowers are used for maintaining golf course greens. Those might be able to handle greater lengths but then you are back in to a powered solution and you might as well use a standard spinning blade mower.
Click to expand...
Preach!

My dad made me and my brother use reel mower as well (also in Va Beach). He gave up after a while because the results were so bad. Damn thing weighed a ton and I literally couldn’t push it so my older brother had to do it.
 
I mow my lawn three times a year whether it needs it or not.
No one ever placed on their tombstone, the phrase “I wish I had more time to mow my lawn”
 
JOhnH said:
That one looks excellent, even if it is twice the price of other I have looked at, but I have come to really like Fiskars customer service.

I bought a shovel of theirs (among other items). The thing was a heavy piece of steel but I could dig up rocks and cut through tree roots and pry out stumps without it bending. It was a workhorse, but the rubber end cap wore off. I sent them an email describing the issue and asked if I could buy a new end cap. They asked for a picture and my address and next thing I knew, I had a new shovel delivered to my door.
Click to expand...

I heard a day or so ago that Fiskers may be filing for bankruptcy. If that happens I would be suspicious of their customer service.
 
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