Works better than I expected | American Lawn Mower 1815-18 18-Inch Reel Mower

just whatt he doctor ordered | American Lawn Mower 1815-18 18-Inch Reel Mower

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	• American Lawn Mower 1815-18 18-Inch Reel Mower American Lawn Mower Company American Lawn Mower Company average customer review:based on 106 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Wish it ACTUALLY was MADE in USA

I did a fair amount of research before buying this product. I wanted to use a reel mower because of its environmental benefits. Similarly I wanted to find something that was made domestically, again, to reduce the carbon footprint associated with shipping products from China and China's poor environmental practices with respect to manufacturing.

SO I was please to find American Lawnmower Company and to learn that they still produce mowers in the USA. Unfortunately this is NOT a mower they make here. It seems some of their products are made here and some are not. I wish this info had been available either on Amazon or on ALMC's website.

That detail aside however, the mower is pretty good. It pushes with ease and seems to do a darn good job on my scruffy uneven lawn. I have serious doubts about the longevity of the handle. It seem the chief design criteria was to make the handle break down small enough to ship in a 20' box. The resulting handle is comprised of 5 parts and a pile of screws. This abundance of failure points combined with some pretty loose tolerance mating parts make the handle feel really spongy and will almost certainly case the thing to snap off at one of the many screw holes.

In the end though it still seems like a good value and certainly much better than some smoke belching gas mower.

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Works better than I expected

Easy to push, quiet, does a great job. It does leave a few of the longer strands at times, but I have an electric weedeater for taking care of that. It cuts weeds just fine. The best part is that it is light weight to you don't get blisters on your hands from having to grip so hard to control and push it. I've mowed the lawn at 9:00 at night. (not as hot then) It is quiet enough not to bother the neighbors. Kids could definitely use this.

just whatt he doctor ordered

Works like a charm,
Cuts the grass as long as you know that push mowers don't cut long grass!
Quiet, clean, green and healthy.
Just what the doctor ordered, or would have if I needed to be told.

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Very nice, but some plastic.

The handle requires about 15 minutes of tool-free assembly and is not difficult. The hardest part was attaching the two circlips that secure the handle to the mower; they cannot be pressed into their grooves by hand but must be pressed hard with something (I used the tip of pliers to apply the needed pressure, I didn't think to use the included blade adjustment wrench). Amazon's product description states you will need a wrench to assemble, but that is not true, the only tool you will need is 'something' to push those circlips into place. The padding on the handle was already installed, but it is foam rubber and probably will not last long. Once the padding shreds, I won't worry about it, it really isn't needed.

I made a couple test swaths through the grass and found the cutting blade factory adjustments to be perfect. It cuts fairly well across the entire 18 inches, but requires a second pass to get some blades of grass that didn't get cut, and even then a few blades of grass will still stick up. I have bent grass and a bent reel mower might work better than this, I don't know. Those with a fetish for a perfectly manicured lawn might prefer a powered mower. I found that it cuts through leaves and thin twigs easily, but someone who doesn't rake up a trashy lawn will have problems with trash jamming the reel. It won't chop up paper, cardboard and other garbage, then spit it all over the place like a power mower will.

This mower is noticeably easier to push than my gas mower! The silence is 'golden', just a gentle whirring sound. I can listen to my music while using this mower. NO smelly exhaust; NO hard starting; NO air filter cleaning; NO going to buy gas; NO engine maintenance or repair every 2 or 3 years! One thing I didn't think about when I made this purchase is 'IT DOES NOT KICK UP ANY DUST'! I used to wear a face mask when mowing with gas to keep me from coughing badly from inhaling the dust and shredded grass; but no mask is needed with this mower!

The build quality seems pretty good, but there is some plastic: The wheels, the rear rollers and the roller height adjustment mechanism are the plastic "weak points" of this mower. I am guessing one of the roller height adjusters will break eventually. The rubber tires have a shallow tread that may wear down after much use. The handle has some flex; not the stiff steel shafts I remember from years ago. No, this is not my father's very high quality reel mower that had stiff handles and NO plastic. But it is good enough.

The instruction sheet has a breakdown of ALL parts with part numbers so replacement parts can be ordered from the factory. There is a small wrench included to make cutting blade adjustments. Cutting heighth adjustment is made by wingnuts, no tools needed. The instructions show how to make even finer heighth adjustments (requires removing the wheels), but that won't apply to most of us.

Overall, I like this mower, but I think those plastic heighth adjusters should be made of sturdy metal. If you think you need a more robust reel mower than this, do a search: 'prison lawn mower'. I was tempted to buy one!

ADDED THE SAME DAY: I just noticed the price jumped by more than 11 dollars over what just I paid. If the price keeps going up the higher priced prison lawn mower might not be such a bad deal!

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Good for the environment and your wallet

This is a great product. I bought it as a replacement for my broken gasoline powered lawn mower. It works as advertised and was easy to assemble.

I have a small urban front and back yard - I think that's a big factor in its success. If I had a big suburban yard I probably wouldn't want this. Its true that it doesn't cut the grass 'perfectly' but I didn't know grass was suppose to be perfect ;) I like using this machine because its quite and pollution free and it simply works.

The business end of this hand pushed reel mower is solid, sharp, and easy to use, with five heat-treated, knife-sharp tempered alloy steel blades that can be adjusted for varying grass heights from 1/2 to 2-1/4 inches. With its 10-inch wheels, radial tires, 18-inch cutting width, and 2-inch welded shrub bar, this mower should enable you to cross whatever terrain and reach whatever hard-to-access rogue patches of grass you desire. Plus, the soft foam cushion on the handlebar is a nice -- and much appreciated -- touch. However, assembly can be a headache, even though the only tool you need is a wrench. The instructions could be clearer, and the handle parts could fit together better. This product is backed by a limited 2-year warranty.

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