Scotts Outdoor Power Tools 2000-20S 20-Inch 5-Blade Classic Push Reel Lawn Mower, Green

As much as I love gardening, I hate mowing the lawn. I hate lugging my power mower out of the garage and maneuvering it around our cars and all my husband's junk. I hate the noise it makes. It's heavy to push and hard to get it into tight spaces. I thought I was at least avoiding the hassle and environmental issues of gasoline by buying an electric rechargeable one. But after a few years the battery stopped holding a charge and they discontinued the replacement batteries, so the whole thing is a giant piece of e-waste now. I didn't want to buy another one, so I decided to try an old-fashioned reel mower instead.Some of the reviews on this product had me worried. Some people found them hard to push, some said they get caught up on every little tough weed and twig, etc. After using my new Scotts reel mower for the first time, I really don't understand what those people were talking about. Maybe they were using it on super-high grass, or on wet grass. But the first time I used mine, I found it WAY easier to use than a power mower. It takes up much less space in the garage, and I can just pick it up with one arm and carry it outside. You walk up and down the yard with it, you're done in a few minutes, and that's it.I like that this particular model allows you to adjust the height to a maximum of 3 inches. (That's the height that's supposed to be healthier for your lawn and better for water conservation, but most reel mowers don't adjust that high.)There are a few caveats. If you look at my picture where I've used the 3" setting, you'll see that it doesn't chop every single blade of grass to a uniform height, like a carpet. Any grass or weeds that grow sideways, or that are tall and flimsy, don't get trimmed. I did have to bend down to pick a few dandelions it didn't get. But overall, considering it took me all of 10 minutes to cut it, and without breaking a sweat, I'm pretty thrilled with it.The other thing is that it does not eliminate the need for an edger/trimmer. You can see I had to leave some taller grass at the base of the trees. The one tree has a ring of rocks around it, and I was afraid of damaging the blades. I got closer to the other tree, but I'll still have to go back and use the weedeater around the base. But then, you'd have the same issue with any other mower as well.Some people complained it gets stuck on sticks and rocks. We had a wind storm the day before I mowed, and I did take a couple of minutes to go out and pick up any sticks that were big enough to stick up out of the lawn. But I certainly didn't pick up every little twig and seedpod. You can see quite a few of them still in the grass, and the mower didn't get stuck on any of them. I did have to bend down to pluck up a few dandelions by hand, though, as the mower just bent them over and didn't cut them. And there were a couple of little spots where I had to go over them a second time, because a few random blades were still sticking up.When I cut my lawn, it had only been about a week since the last trim, so I didn't have to cut off a lot of length. But if you let your grass get high, the mower is going to be harder to push. And if your grass is REALLY high, the mower might just sort of push it all over instead of cutting it. But that was also true with my old power mower. If you let the grass get really long, you need to go over it with a weedeater, then mow at the highest setting, and then lower it and go over it again. Obviously, it's better not to let your grass get that long in the first place. But the great thing about the reel mower is that it's so much easier to use than my power mower, I won't be nearly as lazy about pulling it out of the garage to use it more often. In fact, as much as cutting the grass can be fun, it was sort of fun.If you're wondering whether the grass catcher attachment is worthwhile... not really. The trimmings just sort of fly up in the air, and the open-topped bag picks up whatever happens to land in it, but a lot of trimmings still end up in the grass. The trimmings will help mulch your lawn and keep it healthy anyway. I only bought the grass catcher because I was hoping I wouldn't have to sweep the sidewalk. There was less to sweep up, but I still had to make a quick pass with a broom. I probably won't return the grass catcher, but if I had it to do over I probably wouldn't bother with it.Reel mowers are available in a lot of different widths, with this 20" one being one of the widest available. If you're wondering what width you should get, the wider they are, the more grass you can cut at once, which means they're also harder to push because there's more resistance. That said, I didn't find the 20" to be remotely hard to push. (The claims about it being a "good workout" are a bit overblown.) The only reason I could see for getting a narrower one is if you have a lot of really tight spaces in your yard that require some tricky maneuvering. The mower also works better if you are walking quickly, because that makes the blades turn faster. So you have strength or mobility issues that might make it harder for you to push it quickly, that might also be a reason to get one of the narrower models.

The seller was Amazon. I paid 109 bucks.This replaces a Sears Craftsman gas mower 6.5 horsepower (mulching or bag); I mulch my lawn.I narrowed my search to the following push reel mowers:American Lawn Mower 1815-18 18-InchGreat States 815-18 18-Inch DeluxeThese 2 mowers are identical, except for their name, model #, color, etc.They are made by the same company (American Lawn Mower).Maximum cutting height is 2.75 inches.Made in China.Fiskars 17-Inch StaySharp (6208)Fiskars 17-Inch StaySharp Plus (6207)Fiskars 18-Inch StaySharp Max (6201)Fiskars was too expensive.Maximum cutting height is 3.5 inches for the 6208, and 4 inches for the others.Parts are not available online, but available under warranty if you call Fiskars.The "max" model has an internal chain, which can wear over time.Made in China.McLane 17-PH-7 17-Inch 7-Blade Front-ThrowMcLane was too expensive.Maximum cutting height is 2.5 inches.Made in the USA.Some key features of the Scotts 2000-20:* Maximum cutting height is 3 inches.* 20-inch blade.* Width measured from wheel-to-wheel (outer edge) is 26.5 inches.* Parts are available online from American Lawn Mower at reasonable price.* Shipping for parts is also reasonable.* For online manual and parts, visit www reelin dot com* Made for Scotts by the American Lawn Mower Company.* Made in China.Other notes about my yard and the Scotts 2000-20:All parts are metal except for the wheels, wing nuts knobs, and wheel gears. The wheel tires are rubber, and the wheel rims are plastic. The wing nuts knobs are plastic, but there is a metal nut inside; this was no different than my Craftsman. The wheel gears (inside each large wheel) are plastic, but it is a thick/sturdy plastic.I like the 2 small wheels on the back (instead of rollers, which some reel mowers use). The handle is sturdy (it does not flex when I push the mower).My grass type is a blend of Kentucky Bluegrass and Perennial Rye; I live in the northwest USA. I keep my grass "high" all season. So, with the Scotts, I have the mower set to 3 inches (the maximum cutting height). I keep my lawn weeded, so I am mowing grass...not weeds. I mow once a week. I try not to overwater, and I use a fall fertilizer the entire season (19-4-4); this helps keep the lawn healthy, but prevents it from growing too quickly).My front lawn is about 600 square feet, and my back lawn is about 800 square feet. It takes me less than 30 minutes to do my entire lawn, which is about the same as my gas mower. In most cases, I can mow my lawn in one pass.Most of my lawn is bordered by pavement or by cobble stones, so that makes it easy to edge (I straddle the mower over the lawn/pavement and over the lawn/cobble stones).I do have trees and shrubs in the front yard and several trees in the back yard...all bordered by cobble stone. The border around the trees and shrubs is circular. It's easy to mow around the circle. The Honey Locust trees sometimes drop small, thin twigs; the mower grids them just fine.My yard has corners, nooks, smaller strips, circular areas, etc. I have no problem maneuvering the Scotts around my yard.When I first received the Scotts, I thought the blades were too tight, so I loosened them (and tested them by slicing pieces of paper with the blades). The adjustment was easy to do; a small wrench is included with the mower (or you can use your own wrench or a large flathead screw driver).Sharpening the cutting bar (blade) is easy to do (i.e., backlapping). Remove both wheels, reverse both gears, replace the wheels, place grinding compound on the reel blades, run the mower up/down your driveway several times, wipe off the excess compound, remove both wheels, reverse both gears, replace the wheels, done. Here is some valve grinding compound available on Amazon: Permatex 80037 Valve Grinding Compound, 3 oz...about 5 bucks.Alternately, you could buy the American Lawn Mower SK-1 Reel Mower Sharpening Kit, but why pay extra for it?A Scotts owner posted a video showing how to maintain the mower, including how to disassemble and reassemble the Scotts; go to YouTube and search for: oEePHETPZhEI'm very pleased with my purchase.I'm happy to sell my gas mower; things I won't miss about my gas mower: gas, oil, air filter, spark plug, noise, fumes, changing the oil, winterizing it, sharpening the mulching blade (couldn't do that myself), the smoke when I first ran it at the beginning of each season.keyword: maintenance, measurement, square footage, size