# My Dream Reel Mower



## frostyshake (Jan 3, 2021)

I'm a mid-tier lawn enthusiast. I use a manual reel mower on 3k sqft of my yard. I feel like there is a missing type of reel mower that isn't being sold that would work well for many homeowners like me. Here is my wishlist of features:



Electric - Low maintenance and quiet. Would only need to cut around 5k sqft on one charge for many people. Big yards could get more batteries.


Front and Rear Rollers - No wheel stripes. Better for minor unevenness. Easier to cut around the edges of the lawn compared to wheels.


Only the Reel is Powered - Many yards are relatively flat. Pushing the unit would only be a minor workout.


Relatively Lightweight and Small - Easier to maneuver and store. Stripes aren't a priority for me.


Large HOC Range - 0.5 to 2.5 in would cover a lot of people's needs. The FOC could be adjusted to be ideal for a particular HOC.

I'm hoping a manufacturer out there sees this and makes a model for me/us. If there's a lot of interest, we could crowd source a design on here. I could make a 3D model and drawings (engineer) but finding a place to actually build it would be the tough part. Let me know what you think!


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## Austinite (Oct 4, 2018)

This all exists with the exception of HOC (I think) . From what I recall, Swardman can go to 1.75 but it's not lightweight! I am curious why you would need 2.5 on a reel?

If you took HOC and Reel Only Drive out of there, Allett Liberty would meet the other bullet points.

Good wishlist!


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## frostyshake (Jan 3, 2021)

Swardman and Allett are too expensive for what I'm thinking. Casual lawncare nuts won't shell out that kind of money. The cartridge system probably adds some cost and isn't something most people need. I'm thinking more like the Sun Joe cordless reel mower, maybe a bit more robust and better thought out.

The high end of the HOC range is somewhat flexible. I'd just want the range to cover the majority of the heights people would want.


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

I think your "dream mower" would be expensive regardless as there just isn't a market for it. Majority of people take mowing the lawn as a chore and aren't willing to put in the effort to have a nice lawn. It would need to be produced on a large scale to keep the price down and that just isn't going to happen, plus all the R&D that it would require to get it to work correctly. Until you start seeing reel mowers sold at Home Depot and Lowe's, you aren't really going to see much change in the market than what you already have.

I think reel mowers are more for us lawn enthusiasts which is a niche market and Tru-Cut, McClane and California Trimmer already have that market nailed down with Allett and Swardsman having the higher end of the segment. When you start going battery powered, that's when the prices start going up considerably as with anything nowadays.


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## Automate (Aug 14, 2020)

I don't think the Sun Joe is that far off from what's being asked

Electric - check
Front and Rear rollers - shouldn't add that much to cost
Only reel powered - check
Relatively light and small - check
Large HOC range - 0.6 to 2.0 is probably good enough

Main thing I think it needs is a higher voltage battery (40+). Mowers need a lot of power. Lower voltage batteries lose a lot of power and efficiency due to the corresponding higher current required (I^2 R losses)


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## Sonoran Desert Lawn (Aug 22, 2020)

Convert a cheap Craigslist McLane to Electric. About 2 to 300 instead of 3k plus


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## rbvar (May 28, 2020)

Maybe reels are just too finicky for hitting that expected mid-range price and quality, since companies like Ego don't seem to be stepping up to fill that niche. And looking at how the cutting method in robo-mowers differs from both reels and rotaries makes me wonder whether some alternative cutting technology would be a better fit. Reels are a pain to adjust, backlap, sharpen, replace, etc., and get dinged easily by lawn debris. I'm really curious how something like a scaled-up, 22 inch version of hair clippers would compare to reels in terms of cut quality, ease/cost of maintenance, and resistance to damage.


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## MGC (Jun 4, 2017)

i understand where you are coming from Frosty , the sun joe or whoever else could make one only needs slight improvements to sell to the lawn enthusiast that's not quite needing a pool table lawn but like a reel mowed property just an improved upgraded reel and bedknife that could handle a occasional stray landscape chip without bending the reel would sell more units its almost a choice currently between light duty might work if ur super careful to way over the top professional home use equipment , my manual reel has more robust components than the sun joe or other cordless reel mowers have currently, one would think with a few upgrades some advertising exposure they could easily bump a few rotary mowers out of the way but i do see the flip side from a business view ... hey its just grass and the majority of the consumers just want to cut it and forget it. cheers


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## frostyshake (Jan 3, 2021)

rbvar said:


> Maybe reels are just too finicky for hitting that expected mid-range price and quality, since companies like Ego don't seem to be stepping up to fill that niche. And looking at how the cutting method in robo-mowers differs from both reels and rotaries makes me wonder whether some alternative cutting technology would be a better fit. Reels are a pain to adjust, backlap, sharpen, replace, etc., and get dinged easily by lawn debris. I'm really curious how something like a scaled-up, 22 inch version of hair clippers would compare to reels in terms of cut quality, ease/cost of maintenance, and resistance to damage.


My father in-law does some edges of his lawn with this. https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-O...joj8AFrfqxNOF7gAL3hoCEcMQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds He loves it. It is basically hair clippers. I'm not sure if this type of cutting action would be more or less robust than a reel mower.


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## dksmc (8 mo ago)

frostyshake said:


> I'm a mid-tier lawn enthusiast. I use a manual reel mower on 3k sqft of my yard. I feel like there is a missing type of reel mower that isn't being sold that would work well for many homeowners like me. Here is my wishlist of features:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yes to all of this. I wish something like this was available. The electric options seem so expensive and hard to justify. But after using an battery powered rotary for 7 years there is no way I want to go back to gas.

If anything ever comes out that really fits this I will definitely be interested. The sunjoe seems to be the best option currently.


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## Katodude (Apr 22, 2021)

The Sunjoe is close but not quite there. The reel is a little too flimsy.

I would figure it is only a matter of time before Trucut or Caltrimmer makes a battery version. It should not be too hard, and I would think the uplift in cost should be manageable. Motor battery combo's have come down a lot these days. Just look at all the folks that have taken scooter motors and batteries and converted.


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

I would disagree with only having the reel powered. Having the reel speed and ground speed fixed to each other is an advantage, not disadvantage. You could get away with it at heights over .5" but if you are going all-electric, it would be easy to drive the whole machine, not just the reel with one motor and it could reverse direction, unlike a gas-powered machine. 

Lightweight is also not really an advantage, especially for machines on warm-season turf, doubly so if we are talking about full-width rollers front and rear.

A battery-powered Hudson Star (optimized for your .5"+ Hoc range) with a brilliant handle/control assembly that allows it to reverse/free-wheel at will would probably be exactly what you seek.


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## Reelrollers (Feb 6, 2018)

Following and working behind the scenes.


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## girevik (Jan 8, 2021)

I read an old Toro document where reel speed, blade count and forward drive speed are VERY important to performance/cut quality. 

No idea how it truly applies in the real world but that would be my main concern. I'd want to know what those ratios are and try to stay within a "reasonable" range of that.


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## frostyshake (Jan 3, 2021)

MasterMech said:


> I would disagree with only having the reel powered. Having the reel speed and ground speed fixed to each other is an advantage, not disadvantage. You could get away with it at heights over .5" but if you are going all-electric, it would be easy to drive the whole machine, not just the reel with one motor and it could reverse direction, unlike a gas-powered machine.
> 
> Lightweight is also not really an advantage, especially for machines on warm-season turf, doubly so if we are talking about full-width rollers front and rear.
> 
> A battery-powered Hudson Star (optimized for your .5"+ Hoc range) with a brilliant handle/control assembly that allows it to reverse/free-wheel at will would probably be exactly what you seek.


Ground speed and reel speed can still be fixed with only the reel being powered. A sensor can read the rear roller RPMs and the reel speed can be adjusted to get the desired frequency of clip.

Weight can always be added if stripes are important or floating is an issue. No need to make the mower unnecessaryily heavy. It would be nice if the mower made it easy to add weight like sand/water in the rear roller similar to how stripe kits work.

A Hudson Star cuts a little too low for the market I'm thinking of and is too expensive even without the electric components.


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## cleohioturf (Jul 20, 2020)

girevik said:


> I read an old Toro document where reel speed, blade count and forward drive speed are VERY important to performance/cut quality.
> 
> No idea how it truly applies in the real world but that would be my main concern. I'd want to know what those ratios are and try to stay within a "reasonable" range of that.


clip rate (frequency of clip), very important for high end turf (golf greens, fairways, teeing surfaces). You need to have the FOC set based on the application.

However, would agree, if your reel is powered you want the drive to be powered to keep FOC in check. If you have higher reel movement but dont keep mower speed up you will get the washboard effect.


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## frackh (4 mo ago)

Hudson Star mentioned they're looking at doing a battery operated model and possibly doing a cartridge system. Not sure if anything becomes of it.


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## frostyshake (Jan 3, 2021)

cleohioturf said:


> clip rate (frequency of clip), very important for high end turf (golf greens, fairways, teeing surfaces). You need to have the FOC set based on the application.
> 
> However, would agree, if your reel is powered you want the drive to be powered to keep FOC in check. If you have higher reel movement but dont keep mower speed up you will get the washboard effect.


Yes, but you don't have to use a powered drive to get a desired FOC. A mower could tell how fast you are pushing it by measuring the RPMs of the rear roller and the diameter of the roller. Let's say you are walking at 2 ft/s, have a 10 blade reel, and want a FOC of 0.5 in. (2 ft/s) / (0.5 in) / (10 blades) = 288 rpm needed for the reel. If you change your walking speed, the mower would change the reel speed. This would be relatively simple for the reel speed controller to do.


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## Katodude (Apr 22, 2021)

Reelrollers said:


> Following and working behind the scenes.


You’re killing me. You cant just leave us hanging like that…..


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