Great lawnmower for yourself or tenants

[mortgageman]

Last weekend I purchased from RONA what I think may be the best lawnmower going.
It`s a Gardena 320. It`s a reel or cylinder (no motor) push mower but it`s not like those horrible heavy steel monsters that were the bane of my childhood chores. It`s incredibly light and smooth to use. My two-and-a-half year old son had no problem pushing it around the store. I think it may be the best lawnmower for tenants. No need for gas or oil. No noise. No major maintenance issues. It doesn`t pollute. You can put it together in about five minutes. It takes up a fraction of the space a gas mower takes up in a garage or shed. And people smile when they see you using it. It`s kind of like the Mini Cooper of lawnmowers.
The only downside is price which is $230. That`s less than most gas mowers but considerably more than buying a used lawnmower which I have traditionally done for tenants.
Perhaps we can lobby RONA to have it on our standardized materials list so we can save some cash.

 

[mortgageman]

Oops. Typo on the model number. It`s a 380, not a 320. They are an aqua blue. You can`t miss them on display. Sold in a two foot by three foot or so box.

 

[RebeccaBryan]

Good tip. I`ll go and take a look at them. Never even thought of that alternative. Have you actually tried it on grass?

 

[lanedry77]

We have the Gardena 380 C reel mower ourselves, so I can toss a few years of hand-on experience into the conversation.
It`s a great mower - quietest mower in the neighborhood, completely eco-friendly, small and light - great if you are tight on storage space, and does not require gas, oil, or even an electrical cord.

And, if the grass is shorter (mowed recently) it`s incredibly easy to mow. not as easy as as Rona`s concrete floors, mind you...

BUT - if your grass gets a bit long, say it`s rained for a week straight and you last mowed four days before the rain started, you are in for one heck of a struggle. More than once, we have had to shorten the lawn with the weed-whacker to a manageable length so the mower could do the rest of the job.

It`s also narrower than most mowers, so you have to walk the yard more.

And it`s not a mulching mower, it`s more like a side discharge. This means that your grass is covered with trimmings after a mow, and some of those trimming will find themselves into your house.

We just purchased an electric 3-in-1 mower, and use it on the mulching option. Diane will still use the reel mower when appropriate, but personally I suspect I`ll use the electric from now on - it`s FAR easier.

I LOVE the idea of the reel mower, but it`s not as good in practice as in theory.


David.

 

[samwei]

QUOTE (mortgageman @ Jun 2 2008, 11:03 AM) Last weekend I purchased from RONA what I think may be the best lawnmower going.
It`s a Gardena 320. It`s a reel or cylinder (no motor) push mower but it`s not like those horrible heavy steel monsters that were the bane of my childhood chores. It`s incredibly light and smooth to use. My two-and-a-half year old son had no problem pushing it around the store. I think it may be the best lawnmower for tenants. No need for gas or oil. No noise. No major maintenance issues. It doesn`t pollute. You can put it together in about five minutes. It takes up a fraction of the space a gas mower takes up in a garage or shed. And people smile when they see you using it. It`s kind of like the Mini Cooper of lawnmowers.
The only downside is price which is $230. That`s less than most gas mowers but considerably more than buying a used lawnmower which I have traditionally done for tenants.
Perhaps we can lobby RONA to have it on our standardized materials list so we can save some cash.

Hi Jason,

As a comparison for about the same amount of money, Home Depot offers a 20" Homelite electric model with a rear bag grass catcher for $239. Homelite lawn mower

sam

 

[lanedry77]

QUOTE (DavidSandbrand @ Jun 2 2008, 06:45 PM) Diane will still use the reel mower when appropriate, but personally I suspect I`ll use the electric from now onI should add that Diane likes mowing the law, and I do not, so this isn`t me being a horrible husband.

David.

 

[EdRenkema]

mowing the law ??
Is that a typo?
Or a Freudian slip

 

[mortgageman]

More walking = more exercise

I do think that tenants might appreciate a decent tool that won`t cost them money for gas/electricity.

 

[lanedry77]

QUOTE (EdRenkema @ Jun 2 2008, 09:30 PM) mowing the law ??
Is that a typo?
Or a Freudian slip

Whoops! Take your pick, I guess.

QUOTE (mortgageman @ Jun 2 2008, 09:44 PM) More walking = more exercise

I do think that tenants might appreciate a decent tool that won`t cost them money for gas/electricity.
I completely agree, there are a lot of great things about a reel mower, and I truly wish more people had them (especially Sunday morning at 8:00am). I just don`t think there`s any model out there that is perfect, which is why we now have two.

But with reel mowers being as advanced as they now are, and electric mowers having the power they now have, there`s no reason for gas mowers at all - not to mention that one hour of mowing with a gas mower polutes as much as driving an average car some 550 km.

And the reel mower we have is probably the highest performing tool in our garage - it`s built incredibly well, and except the odd adjustment with an allen wrench, it`s completely maintenance free.


David.

 

[invst4profit]

I prefer electric for my tenants. I did try a reel mower once with one of my tenants but he let the grass get too long and found it too hard to cut so I went back to electric.
If you don`t keep things simple and easy tenants are not dependable cheap labour.

 

[GarthChapman]

QUOTE (DavidSandbrand @ Jun 2 2008, 09:13 PM) I should add that Diane likes mowing the law, and I do not, so this isn`t me being a horrible husband.

David.


So David, now with the new baby in the Sandbrand family, you are now doing ALL the mowing, yes?

 

[lanedry77]

QUOTE (GarthChapman @ Jun 3 2008, 10:45 PM) So David, now with the new baby in the Sandbrand family, you are now doing ALL the mowing, yes?
Yes, but with the electric mower.

David.