# Manual vs Powered Reel Mower



## Samothy_16 (Jun 1, 2021)

Curious of the groups opinion.

I know in the future I would like to make the switch from a rotary mower to a powered reel mower. Having never used a reel mower I am curious of the cut difference on my specific lawn. I am toying around with the idea of purchasing a manual reel mower to dip my feet in and getting some of the learning curve out of the way.

My question is, are manual reel mowers worth getting or should I just keep using my rotary mower until I purchase a powered reel mower? Any recommendations for a specific manual reel mower?


----------



## rascalson (Jun 26, 2020)

I purchased an American Lawn Mower Company 1815-18 and have been pretty happy with it so far. Not all of the manual ones will go down to .5 inches. If other features like a catcher for the clipping is important to you it make take some extensive searching to find one with all the features you want.


----------



## probasestealer (Apr 19, 2018)

A 7-blade will help, but my manual reel washboards so bad I typically just cut with my rotary at 0.75


----------



## Chuckatuck89 (Mar 28, 2019)

Samothy_16 said:


> Curious of the groups opinion.
> 
> I know in the future I would like to make the switch from a rotary mower to a powered reel mower. Having never used a reel mower I am curious of the cut difference on my specific lawn. I am toying around with the idea of purchasing a manual reel mower to dip my feet in and getting some of the learning curve out of the way.
> 
> My question is, are manual reel mowers worth getting or should I just keep using my rotary mower until I purchase a powered reel mower? Any recommendations for a specific manual reel mower?


I briefly went down this path this year and didnt end up purchasing one. The main issues I had were that I couldn't actually find one designed to maintain below 1" HOC and the cut width on them is pretty discouraging, like 13-14"


----------



## Bombers (Jul 14, 2020)

I dove straight into the deep end and purchased a GM 1000. No regrets.


----------



## rjw0283 (May 11, 2020)

I found a used Toro greens master flex 21 on Craigslist for 450. It needed some work but I am glad I pounced on it. If you're a handy individual that is the way to go. The service manuals are good and parts are still available for my 18 year old machine. I was looking for 8 months before I bought it, by then I had enough market research and I knew what a fair price for my area was. There is also of plenty of manual reels on FB marketplace, people use them a time or two and realize it's not for them.


----------



## Rooster (Aug 19, 2019)

I am cutting with a manual reel and like it for my tiny lawn, but the drawbacks are real and there are certainly times I wish that I had a powered one. I have no regrets about it vs. a rotary, though.


----------



## Jeff20 (Jun 30, 2017)

I started with a manual 5 blade, then 7 blade, then Trucut, then J.D. Save yourself the trouble and find a J.D. or Toro. You want regret it.


----------



## Awar (Feb 25, 2019)

I went straight into an expensive reel mower (Swardman) and happy with the transition. I did not consider a manual reel as I have 5,000 sq-ft and if you want to double or triple-cut to get a nice cut with a manual reel it'll become more of a chore than a fun thing to do.

I recently watched a video of the SunJoe cordless (battery-powered) reel mower and that's fairly affordable to find out if reel mowing is right for you!

[media]https://youtu.be/o2U5m5Xrkfg[/media]


----------



## ag_fishing (Feb 3, 2021)

I started with a 5 blade manual and now have an 11 blade GM 1000.


----------



## feinhorn (May 3, 2021)

I went to the cal trimmer 20" from rotary, no regrets and not too much learning curve. I wasn't willing to spend much more than $1000 and I accomplished that, 1200 all in with catcher and front roller.


----------



## ShadowGuy (Nov 20, 2020)

I was in the same spot. Found a 20" Mclane on CL for $50, spent another $100 on parts to get it running right, and then probably another $100 on things to make it better. Been reel mowing for a couple months and so far so good. I may upgrade to something else eventually, but at least I know I could flip my Mclane for more than I have into it.


----------



## burnhagw (Oct 17, 2019)

I use a Earthwise manual reel to cut my front right now. It's about 3500sqft. If you cut often, it's not so bad and a good workout. Heck yeah i want a powered reel, just wasn't in the cards yet. Bermuda looks sooooo much nicer low and cut with a reel.


----------



## rbvar (May 28, 2020)

Went manual reel last year. At first it was ok, as I was coming from 419 maintained way too high, so it was thin. As the lawn thickened up, floating was a big problem. Basically had to cut, or double cut, every day to keep close to desired HOC. Maybe with PGR it would be better, but I doubt I'd consider it for a full acre. Not using the manual reel this year.


----------



## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

@rbvar it probably would have been worse with using PGR since it gets super dense. No way I would try to manually reel cut anything more than 1000sf or so.


----------



## Samothy_16 (Jun 1, 2021)

Wow, thank for all the feedback everyone!

While I would love to make the lunge and get a nice powered reel mower off the bat. It would be a expensive investment for something that would only be used on about a 1/4 of my lawn. Our house sits on 1 acre and majority of it is grass, so my plan was to reel the front lawn and a little in the backyard as well. The remaining parts of our property would need to be rotary cut so save time and effort. That being said, I will keep a look out for a used piece of equipment. Putting a little TLC into a used mower doesn't bother me either.

Would it be best to keep an eye out for a greens mower rather than a Mclane/Tru Cut etc? I think the HOC is a factor but what are some of the other things to consider when deciding between a greens mower and a more residential style reel mower?


----------



## rjw0283 (May 11, 2020)

Samothy_16 said:


> Would it be best to keep an eye out for a greens mower rather than a Mclane/Tru Cut etc? I think the HOC is a factor but what are some of the other things to consider when deciding between a greens mower and a more residential style reel mower?


There are a lot. Here are a few just on the top of my head.

Greens Mowers- Are heavier, have a heavy drum and stripe better. They are commercial grade equipment that cost up to $10,000K new. Parts availability is better and the parts are usually cheaper than what you'd pay for a McClane. I would have went with either a Residential or Greens mower, I just happen to see a Toro Greens Mower I couldn't pass up. McClane mowers go from 150-700 and Greens mowers go from 400-4500 (usually) You just have to start watching marketplace/craigslist and start gathering the $ data.


----------



## MGC (Jun 4, 2017)

if u plan on pushing a manual reel across 1 acre personally id rethink it , i use for now the 7 blade earthwise 1715-16ew on my front , rotary on the back i feel the manual reel is a better cut than rotary but be prepared to to do some cardio with a manual reel you have to stay on it pgr helps pros and cons to everything , i can beat the heat and mow before the neighbors wake up and no one knows im mowing , I would enjoy a powered cylinder mower for sure , taking donations LOL


----------



## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

I would start with your small area using the manual and keep an eye on craigslist, marketplace, and the auctions. If you are close to Moultrie there are turf equipment auctions twice a year at Weeks Auctions. The greensmowers are much heavier duty than the residential versions.


----------



## rjw0283 (May 11, 2020)

Just keep an eye on craigslist and marketplace as stated above. 
I still look every few days, you never know.... I like my Flex, but I am always looking for an upgrade.


----------



## sam36 (Apr 14, 2020)

I can vouch for Mascot as one of the few good reels mentioned here. I do about 10k sqft every 5 days or once week. I have it set at 1.5" and it is pretty easy to push, especially if you go over it with a rotary first. However, I tried to do a scalp on about 8k sqft this last weekend and set it to .75", could not even push it through. Set it to 1" and managed, but what would normally take me 30 minutes, took an hour and 30 minutes due to lots of break time.

Also with a manual reel, your bed knife clearance will be critical as far as effort needed. The usual recommendation is to have it so it will slice paper. But I've found that makes it much harder to push (like way harder). I'll get mine to slice paper, then back off a bit so the reel can mostly "freewheel". That makes the pushing experience much more enjoyable.


----------

