5 Reasons To Choose A Reel Lawn Mower For Your Small Yard

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If you own a standalone home, you probably have a yard as well, and having your own yard is a big responsibility. It's solely on you to care for it, and that means mowing it regularly. Typically, this would require investing in a hefty lawn mower, and if you had an especially large lawn, you'd definitely want a powered mower, or even a riding mower. On the other hand, if you're looking to mow the lawn on a smaller yard, around a third of an acre or less, there may be a better, more economical option available: the classic reel mower.

Reel mowers, also known as push mowers and manual mowers, are the classic ancestor of modern powered mowers. It's just a couple of spinning blades mounted to a pair of wheels with a sturdy handle to push it. While such a thing may seem primitive by today's standards, the smaller your lawn is, the more viable its use becomes. That's especially true because its simple design comes with a surprising number of benefits, like its quiet operation, easy maintenance, potential health perks, and, of course, no fuel costs.

Anyone who has ever lived in a suburban neighborhood knows and dreads the ever-present scourge of noisy lawn mowers. There are few things as irritating as trying to enjoy a quiet day, only to hear that distinctive revving in your eardrums, as well as knowing that you're probably going to keep hearing it for at least an hour. That noise is no picnic for the one actually using the mower, either, often necessitating ear protection. If you'd rather avoid this equation altogether, reel mowers are a perfect solution.

Because reel mowers are completely manually powered, with no motors whatsoever, their operation is borderline silent. You can pull one out and give your lawn a grooming at first light of the day, and nobody else in the neighborhood will know or care. It's also a great way to cut down on general noise pollution throughout the day. Depending on where you live, it may already be pretty loud during daytime hours, and everyone will thank you for not contributing to the cacophony.

As the name implies, a powered lawn mower requires power, usually either from regular gasoline or a hefty battery pack. Naturally, this means needing to keep your mower gassed up or charged whenever you want to use it. You'll also need to have backup cans of gas or batteries on hand for when you run out of fuel or the battery dies. Power in all forms is not cheap, especially in this day and age, and while certain brands and models of mowers may claim to be more energy efficient, it doesn't get much more efficient than cutting the energy element out entirely.

Reel mowers have no motorized components whatsoever. The rotation of their blades is powered exclusively by the movement of the wheels as you push it. This means no need to fuel up an engine, no need to charge up batteries, and no need to spend any money on either. You can also pull out your reel mower and get mowing right away in any circumstance, as opposed to being unable to use your gas-powered mower if you're out of fuel. As an added perk, no gasoline means no gasoline smells in your face while you're mowing or sticking to your clothes the rest of the day.

Powered mowers, and especially riding mowers, have a lot of moving parts, including the components of the engine, the spinning blades, and any electronic elements. All of this hardware does make a powered mower very good at its job, but that's contingent on it all working properly. If anything breaks, the whole setup can get thrown out of whack, which means you'll need to either fix it yourself or shell out to have a repair expert handle it for you. If you're worried about the specter of maintenance, a reel mower casts a far smaller shadow.

Because a reel mower has no engine or motor and not many mechanical components beyond its blades and wheels, its overall maintenance requirements are substantially lower than those of powered mowers. The main part of a reel mower that even needs any kind of consistent upkeep is the blades, and even that only requires a little kit you can get at Home Depot for around $12. Beyond that, just hose off the grass and dirt, maybe give the wheels a little oil every now and then, and you're good.

As cool and impressive as a powered or riding mower is, it's not exactly the safest implement to handle, as you may expect from something that uses large, spinning, motor-powered metal blades. Mowers require a healthy degree of practice and safety instruction to handle properly, and mishandling or accidents can result in severe injury. If you have any misgivings about the safe handling of a lawn mower, a reel mower can alleviate more than a few of them.

While there are some tips and tricks to optimal usage of a reel mower, it's generally easier and safer than a powered one. For one thing, unlike a powered mower, a reel mower's blades can only spin when you're pushing it, which can lower the risk of accidentally catching an arm or leg under one. Even if you or someone else did happen to get in a reel mower's way, the blades spin far slower under manual power than they do with engine power, making serious injury less likely. By the same token, the slower spin of a reel mower also reduces the likelihood of sudden, dangerous projectiles being launched, as opposed to small sticks or pebbles getting picked up and sent flying by motor-powered blades.

As we mentioned before, powered mowers require energy, either from gasoline or batteries. While using battery power is better for the environment than gasoline, both are still a net drain on energy resources, and gasoline emissions can produce harmful effects on the broader environment in the grand scheme of things. That gasoline smell isn't great for local animal populations either. Switching to a reel mower for a smaller yard can help to reduce your home's overall environmental footprint, which, while perhaps not immediately beneficial to you in the same way as fuel savings, is a nice thing to strive for.

If you want more immediate benefits, here's something to consider: in addition to the environment, using a reel mower is also quite good for you personally. Since it's powered exclusively by your pushing and walking, using a reel mower is a great workout, with an hour-long mowing session usually good for burning off at least a few hundred calories. You get a nice outdoor workout, the lawn gets tended to, and the environment breathes a sigh of relief; everyone wins.