Don’t buy gasoline-powered lawn mowers
May 29th, 2006 by Erich ViethUnless you really and truly need one, that is.
The lack of respect given to the push reel mower is a good example of how mindset affects consumer behavior. I’m referring to the type of mower with a rotating cylinder of blades that is powered by your muscles. This post is not really about saving energy. Small residential lawn mowers use very little gasoline compared to our transportation and heating uses of oil. Rather, I find choice of lawn mowers revealing about the nature of consumer choices, specifically about the American love affair with engines, noise and power (NASCAR, anyone?).
In the past week, we’ve spent some time discussing things people might be willing to do to conserve energy. Here’s a no-brainer for those with small-to-medium sized yards. Push mowers are far superior to gasoline powered mowers. Most people simply don’t consider this choice, however. Thanks to sales hype regarding the much more expensive gasoline-burning models, buying a non-gasoline powered mower never ever occurs to most people. Major hardware stores relegate such mowers to the back shelf. Consumer Reports gives little attention to these wonderful machines, year after year.
I speak from experience. I’ve used a push-reel non-engine lawn mowers for 12 years. They are as easy to operate as those powerful roaring gas-powered mowers. Here are seven solid reasons to chose a no-gasoline model next time you buy a mower:
- Push-reel mowers cost only $100 brand new. The mower I bought was manufactured by American Lawn Mower Company, based in Indiana.
- Push reel mowers have no engine, so they create no noise pollution.
- Push reel mowers produce no air pollution. The California Air Resource Board has determined that using an un-tuned gas mower for 30 minutes emits as many pollutants as driving a car for 172 miles. Gas mowers are “the single largest unregulated source of carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide emissions.”
- Modern push-reel mowers weigh only 16 to 32 pounds, half the weight of the non-powered mowers owned by your grandparents. They are precision machines, capable of slicing through tough zoysia.
- Push-reel mowers are easy to maintain. A $15 sharpening kit keeps the blades sharp forever.
- The type of cut offered by reel mowers is healthy for your lawn: the scissors-cut of a reel mower sutures the grass blade, holding in much-needed moisture and keeping out diseased organisms. There is no ripping or tearing of the grass blades. A reel mower disperses the clippings in a fine spray–not clumps–that decompose quickly.
In 1990 more than 87,000 persons with injuries caused by power mowers were treated in emergency rooms. - Electric lawn mowers are not a solution to safety concerns or to noise or air pollution. Many electric mowers produce 80 db of sound, and they depend upon the pollution-causing production of electricity. The production and disposal of lawn mower batteries (for cordless units) are horrendous to the environment.
Ever since buying one, I’ve wondered why they aren’t more popular. There’s really no good reason. Just like the unnecessary packaging described by Jason, the choice of lawn mower is but one of many consumer choices that, in the aggregate, would make a significant beneficial impact on our environment.
September 19th, 2007 at 10:28 am
A nice thought, but for many people they are NOT a good answer. The biggest is bagging, (either due to volume of clippings and/or for composting). And convenience… they are not terribly efficient unless the blades are kept nearly razor sharp all the time and are always slower than doing it with a power mower. As for price… I paid 90 bucks new for my gas powered, bagging mower with mulching ability. I mow once a week (all I have time for). I have yet to drain the 2.5 gallon gas can I filled up at the beginning of the season or had to top the qt of oil it took to fill the gallery up. I had an electric, but it’s just not up to the task of my relativley smallish yard. Being corded it had no batteries, but the motor burned up within a few months of relatively light use on easy grass.
September 19th, 2007 at 6:48 pm
I use a battered, old, corded electric mower that I salvaged from the alley, to which I added a wheel and and replaced the cord. The blade is half worn away from sharpening by the previous owner, and the bolt holding it is so corroded that nothing seems to make it loosen. In my experience, electrics are indestructible and un-stallable. I use mine to mulch grass in place, although neither the deck nor the blade are optimized for this treatment. Biennial sharpening is all the maintenance it needs.
But I’ve got a small city lot, mostly landscaped. Low water consumption, and little mowing needed.
October 23rd, 2007 at 2:33 pm
I have a reel mower also and so far it’s great. In reply to “OhPlease”: You stated that the biggest problem of reel mowers is the bagging of clippings. Most reel mower companies offer a clipping extension. So your reason is baseless. Also you should not be bagging your lawn clippings in the first place. You should mow once a week so the amount of clippings is small enough to fertilize your lawn. Clippings will decompose in a few days and build up your soil. You can compost using other matierals. My Brille mower never requires it’s blades to be sharpened. It takes a bit more time to mow your lawn with a reel mower…but it is worth not polluting the air…and it’s good exercise. An electric mower is second to the reel mower because of the battery use and should be re-powered using a solar generator ($40). Remember not every lawn mower manufactuer is the same, so if you buy something cheap it will not last too long. Good job to Dan who salvaged something that would otherwise be in a landfill.
March 6th, 2008 at 11:10 am
Mowing my small lawn with a push mower is one of my favorite relaxing Saturday afternoon activities. Those of you who are using a noisy, smelly, cumbersome gas mower are missing out!
July 19th, 2008 at 8:02 am
I have .6 acres. I used a recharge electric but it took 3 days to cut, bought a reel push mower and stopped cutting 2/3 of the lawn. The deer moved in. Now I am looking for a gas or rechare electric large reel mower. Any ideas?
July 26th, 2008 at 12:23 am
How much pollution does a gas-powered lawn mower produce? Here are some more stats about two-stroke engines in general, including a few specific notes on lawn mowers. http://dangerousintersection.org/2008/07/26/polluter-scooters-and-mowers/