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Imagine yourself waking up on a beautiful Saturday morning. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, the coffee maker is roasting, and a cool breeze flows through the swaying trees.
You grab your cup of Joe and head out to the patio to soak in the relaxing atmosphere and beautiful peace and quiet. That first sip is always the best on a Saturday morning.
Then all of a sudden you hear it, the noise that can ruin anyone’s morning… the sound of the lawnmower pull chord.
After about 17 pulls and a few cuss words, your neighbor realizes he needs to refill his ridiculous mini red gas tank and grab some SAE-30 oil from his local hardware store to get the SOB running (His words not mine). The gas tank itself cost him $14 (I can’t believe a piece of molded plastic that is no more complex than a bucket costs that much now) and fills it with gas for $7. Then runs over to the hardware store in his monster truck, and grabs a can of oil for $10.
Meanwhile, he’s been gone so long, you think he’s given up, and the pull cord has saved your morning. Not so fast my peace and quiet loving, a cup of Joe sipping, beard strumming friend. The monster truck man is back, and this time he’s angry. He spent over an hour of his Saturday morning and about $30 at the store, just collecting supplies to get his mower started.
You hear the pull chord again; it becomes fiercer with each tug. Choke, pull, choke, pull, choke, pull, the battle rages on. Then finally a breaking point, a glimpse of hope for the monster truck man…the motor starts halfway.
Oh, he’s got this lawnmower right where he wants it. He pulls harder and faster than ever before, sweat pouring off his brow, and finally, the eruption of sound and fumes begins. You’re a rational man so you head inside to try and get some peace and quiet. “Oh no you don’t,” says the Monster Truck Mans motor, not on my watch, I am only a bit less noisy inside your house.
Then all of a sudden you hear another lawnmower crank up. This time it’s Fat Bob, the other neighbor. Now Fat Bob doesn’t push his mower like the monster truck man. He rides his mower, complete with a padded seat and mini fan for his 6,000 square foot yard. Fat Bob’s mower is even louder and emits even more gassy fumes into the neighborhood. But boy oh boy is Bob done in a jiffy, and Mrs. Fat Bob got doughnuts!
Why You Should Buy A Reel Mower
Cue my solution to all these problems. The Reel mower, a reel man or woman’s mower (I’m so punny sometimes). A reel mower is one that is powered by the most amazing force on this planet, the human body. You strap on your mowing shoes, get those quads going, and shred some serious grass. There’s no gas to fill, oil to change, and spark plugs to replace on a regular basis; you just push, and it glides through the grass like fiberglass in the water.
How a Reel Mower Works
You may be a bit skeptical at how efficient a reel mower is if you’ve never seen, or used one before, as I know I was. Yet throughout my research, it became very clear how efficient they really are. Many professional and collegiate groundskeepers use them to keep the field well maintained. If you’ve ever been to a baseball game, you probably have seen one of these giant mowers giving the grass that two-toned striped look.
The blades are powered by the motion of the wheels, which give them the turning power they need. The blades are very sharp and make a clean cut on grass. Traditional gas mowers will rip or tear the grass where the reel mower makes a nice, clean slice. This in turn is much healthier for your lawn. This is powered by YOU so a fair warning, you may burn extra fat cells by using one of these. If you like being fat then stick to the riding mower, as it will burn the least amount of fat cells.
Reel Mower Maintenance
Well, I am glad you asked. Depending on your mower, you will have to sharpen the blades every 1-5 years. You can buy kits to do this for about $14 online or you can take it into your local mower repair shop and they’ll do it for you. Since we like to save our dollars and increase our stash flow here, I recommend buying your own kit and putting those newly worked muscles to use again. These kits usually come with oil to apply to the blade, a brush to apply the oil, and a sharpening stone. What is cooler than sharpening a blade with a stone? Not much. When my friends ask me “What did you do today?” I say I sharpened some blades with a rock, what did you do”? They always talk about how manly I am for the rest of the day.
Anyways, if you want to get a little fancier, you can buy a sharpening kit that attaches to your mower and sharpens the blade as you push the mower for a few minutes. These can really cut down your sharpening time. Other than sharpening the blades, if you keep the moving parts oiled, you’ve got yourself the most efficient mower in the neighborhood. I plan on being the only guy in 2065 still using a reel mower. If you maintain your reel mower, it can last you multiple decades (How many gas mowers can last over 10 years?).
Choosing a Reel Mower
Though there are not as many reel mowers to select from as gas-powered mowers, there is still a large selection of mowers to choose from (Well much larger than I expected). I was looking for a few key things when searching for my new man-machine:
Height Adjustments
I wanted to be able to adjust the height depending on where I was mowing, which gives you much more flexibility when mowing tall grass.
Cutting Width
How wide the cutting range was is very important for reducing mowing time. I am all about the efficiency of my yard work so I wanted a mower that had a cutting width of 20″. They make some that are 16″ in width, which may not sound like a big difference, but when I saw them in person they look significantly smaller than the 20″.
Weight
The way my back yard is landscaped; I have to lift the mower to different areas of grass. Though I am all about lifting heavy things and putting them back down, this became somewhat of a chore. The reel mower is much lighter and easier to carry for these situations. Weight also factors into how easy it is to push a reel mower but most modern mowers are light and easy.
Here she is, just slicing away.
The Best Reel Mower
After going through this checklist, I decided to search for a Scotts 20″ Classic Reel Mower. Scott’s classic will run you a pretty penny new at your local hardware store, so I went searching for a deal. I first pa-roused craigslist and thought this route would be a good way to test out the mower since I’ve never used one. There were a few folks selling used Scott’s mowers for $100 and one selling for $65. I emailed the $65 seller and offered $40 but he wouldn’t budge so I kept looking. After a few days of looking, I found a liquidator who was selling a brand new 20″ classic for $70 (50% off of a new one).
Great Scott’s I think we’ve found it! I headed over on my lunch break and tried to get an even better price, but this liquidator doesn’t negotiate. The mower was definitely brand new, with all functions in pristine condition, so I went ahead and purchased it. It’s been smooth sailing ever since.
Why are Reel Mowers so Expensive?
Actually they are quite the opposite in the long run. They are extremely cost effective. Here is why.
A push reel mower can save you a boatload and increase your stash flow over the long haul. The well-maintained machine can last a lifetime (There are still models made in the ’50s being used today.)
A new gas-powered mower will last on average about 5 years before a mechanical failure and the owner realized it costs almost as much to fix, as it does to just buy a new one. So let’s say you buy a new gas mower every 5 years. Depending on how fancy your pants are, they can run from $250 – $1000. Over a span of 10 years that results in $500-$2000.
Over 40 years that’s $2000-$8000 and with an 8% interest rate invested, that money is a very large chunk of change. Then you say, “I only buy used”. Well, Mr. Frugal, used mowers last on average 1-3 years before they fail, and you too realize they are just as expensive to fix as just buying a new one. So you get one for $50 on craigslist or the lawn repair shop. It breaks every 2 years and you find another one. That’s $250 every 10 years and $1000 every 10 years that could have been invested.
But wait there’s more than meets the eye. You have to put gas and oil in the mower. So add $25 in gas and $25 in oil every year. Now we’re adding another $50 a year. So an extra $500 every 10 years or $2000 every 40 years. That’s not a fun loss when you look at the 10-40 year ranges.
Now we add spark plug replacement which only $5 a year, or $50 every ten years, and $200 every 40 years. Not s significant cost but adds to the bottom line.
So we come to a grand total of:
(10 Years/40 Years)
New Mower: $1,550-$2,550 / $4,200-$10,200
Used Mower:$1,050 / $3,050
Reel Mower: $159 / $209 (Reel Mower + New Sharpening Kit Every 10 Years)
| 10 Year Costs | 40 Year Costs | |
| New Mower | $1,550 – $2,550 | $4,200 – $10,200 |
| Used Mower | $1,050 – $2,550 | $3,050.00 |
| Reel Mower | $159 – $209 | $836.00 |
Additional note: If you invest this money instead at a 7% rate, these numbers will grow to 20k+.
Additional Reel Mower Benefits:
We’ve already discussed that reel mower is good for your wallet and help you burn off last night’s cookie binge, but there are additional benefits to owning a reel mower beyond the price and pure coolness.
Environmentally friendly
Reel mowers are much more environmentally friendly than our gassy counterparts. A gas-powered mower emits more pollution that a sedan driving 200 miles. That statistic blew me away when I first read it but realized it makes sense when you can smell the emission three houses down from your neighbor. So to all the environmentalists out there, this mower is for you.
More Fun to Mow
Another additional benefit in my own personal opinion, it’s just more fun to mow. The grass is flying everywhere as if you were a lawn samurai, destroying any blade that comes into your path. Most reel mowers come with a grass catcher so if anyone is worried about clippings this will do part of the job. (It’s not the best way to catch your clippings, but is better than raking clippings after each mow.)
Sum it Up
All in all, I am a big fan of the reel mower and its list of benefits. I have been through many different gas mowers in the past few years and have finally found my money savings alternative.
If your yard is too big for a real mower I would recommend a chord-less electric mower. It has many of the benefits a reel mower does, but with a higher cost. So if you want to burn fat, stash more cash, shred things with a reel of blades, not pollute the environment, and be the coolest kid on the block, than the reel mower is for you.
Andrew is the host of The Personal Finance Podcast, a show that is changing the way you think about your money. His primary goal with the podcast is to bring as much value as possible to his listeners.
Andrew's favorite free financial tool he's been using since 2014 to manage his net worth is Personal Capital. Each month he uses their free Investment Checkup tool and Retirement Planner to track his investments and ensure that he's on the fast track to financial freedom.
His favorite investment platform is M1 Finance, a site that allows him to build a custom portfolio of stocks for free. It has no trading fees and is his preferred way to invest without having to lift a finger.
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