Scotts 20-Inch Classic Push Reel Lawn Mower #2000-20

Pluses:
1. Safer: no flying rocks or other projectiles, your kids won't sneak up on you and get extremities caught in the blade the way they do with gas mowers. As an ED physician, this is an especially important observation that I don't think had been pointed out before.
2. Quieter: my neighbors are thankful, as are my ears
3. No smoke, no gas fumes
4. Easier handling than gas mower, lighter, can get in crevices more easily and safely
5. Better for environment, save on gas, oil.
6. Easier to start-up; I'm more likely to cut the grass with this mower
7. Doesn't take any longer to mow then lawn vs. a gas mower (and if you gas mower is finicky, will probalby be faster).

Negatives:
1. Requires a bit more elbow grease with thick grass, especially on hills. Not a lot more, but a bit more (good exercise though).
2. Tall grass/weeds will not be easily cut with this; anything taller than 6-8 inches probably won't spring back up in time for the blades to cut them
3. 20" cutting swath a bit more narrow than your average gas mower, so you may need a few more passes. On flat land, it's no problem whatsoever.

I'm happy with this mower, how well it holds up remains to be seen. Construction quality is decent, the price and free shipping can't be beat. Haven't tried the $200+ models of reel mowers, so I can't comment.

If you have a smaller (< 0.5 acre), relatively flat yard, what are you waiting for?! If you like to think of mowing the lawn as exercise and have a bit larger yard, this may also be for you. Lastly, if you have kids and safety is a concern, (yes, you Volvo all-wheel-drive owners out there), a reel mower is also the way to go.


The Lawns of Kilimanjaro   July 2, 2005
M. Allen Greenbaum (California)
138 out of 167 found this review helpful

Recently, the act of mowing the lawn has been viewed as one of "lost" manly virtues. It's as if Hemingway had written about taming the savage rye instead of hunting lions. Reclaiming this technique, along with trimming the turkey and cleaning one's pipe, etc., may stem from a need to reassert one's mastery at a time when all seems digitalized.

Know Your Limits
Whether the quest is for knightly skill, a quieter, energy-efficient, and resourceful return to self-reliance, or simply saving a few bucks, non-powered lawn mowers are the new thing. Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that a person-powered (man-powered, if you must) mower will never cut as fast or as close as a gas-powered machine. You will inevitably find long stringy blades that refuse cutting, no matter how many times you go over it. Others, more cooperative, will yield only after at least a couple of tries, perhaps from different angles. Diligence is also required. The owner of a reel mower can expect to mow the lawn once a week during the growing season-wait longer and you will work much harder. That's one reason why I recommend the Scott mower: It forgives you if you go two weeks without a mow because you were catching swordfish in the Gulf.

Know Your Tool
The Scott mower is a beast, a beautiful beast, a powerful beast; one that needs patience, proper technique, and sometimes sheer muscle. In reality, however, I found the 2000-20 20" (so named because it cuts a 20" swath; I don't know what the "2000-20" stands for) easy to operate, almost tapping into some raw mine of id and instinct. In most situations, the mower needs but one push over the lawn. It's light, and therefore can be turned (for the next 20"swath) quickly and precisely and easily. The trailing wheels may add some stability-they seem like they should-but their primary benefit is for wheeling the mower from one location to another (e.g., the front to the back). I was pleased with how easily it rolled; although you may not want to disclose this, navigating the mower over dirt or cement or brick requires little or no training.

As mentioned above, long blades about to go to seed and certain species such as the awful fiscue left by a previous landowner are difficult to cut. In these instances, one resorts to one's bare hands and pulls out the long, tough blade or the thin, wiry clump, staining the fingers and palm a pale chlorophyllic green. Otherwise, the Scott 20-2000 does a superb job of it. It's big enough for a small or medium sized lawn, it spreads the cut lawn around and in back of you as you mow (some will argue that this has a mulching/composting quality and is therefore beneficial; there is another camp, personified by my gas-mowered neighbor, that claims the scattered cuttings store heat, etc. Here in California, after a few months of mowing, I have encountered no problems.

The matter of how closely one should cut one's lawn is another area of controversy. If you believe a very close, manicured cut looks more proper and encourages growth, then you're better off with a power mower. However, there is some room for individual preferences, the mower adjusts up or down with equal ease. I tend to put it on the lowest setting (although the manufacturers mismatched the up-down arrow labels on the left and right rear wheels); you can drop if further by disassembling the axle section and lowering the blades even more. Scott comes out clearly for the "easy does it" boosters (as do most of the reviewers here), cutting it too close risks damaging your crop. That said, you will probably never need to take the mower apart. I also did not have a problem with the mower leaving a large "frame" of uncut lawn around the perimeter, but then I don't have many plants that get in the way of cutting with half of the mower off the lawn's edge. For tight edges, stubborn clumps, and for an enviably neat border, you would do well to get an edger/trimmer.

Installation and Maintenance
It took me about an hour to assemble the mower, much of this consisted of getting the Styrofoam out of the way. There was absolutely no difficulty in moving the handle cover up over the handle, as others have reported. The only difficult part was clamping the final assembly over the axle; this required a heavy push and some pliers for added force. You might want to do this step with a good friend. I definitely recommend the lawn mower cover; without it the foamy black handle cover began to disintegrate within a matter of weeks. Also, the manufacturers recommend drying and lubricating the axle assembly after every use. I spray it in open air with WD-40, which is a good but smelly thing, and I don't dry and spray it after every use, and it seems, once again, to forgive this lack of discipline.

The Beauty of It All
Everyone will derive his or her own kind of satisfaction with the mower: It may be the feeling of saving energy and not fouling your neighbors serenity, the sense of accomplishment when you see your lawn cut to the desired height, the surge of endorphins after light but continuous exercise (results will vary), or the sublime and private thoughts that well inside--observing the sounds and smells of lawn cutting memory. I highly recommend this mower, over gas powered, over electric (a nice alternative if your cord situation is manageable), and over other brands; it's difficult to imagine that another mower could beat this for price, ease of use, and overall quality.


You gotta try this!   April 24, 2007
D. Watson
53 out of 55 found this review helpful

Everyone I know advised me against getting a reel mower. I was cautioned that they don't cut well and they're hard to push. But I didn't consider a gas mower an option (too expensive, noisy, hard to maintain, and dangerous), a corded electric would be too cumbersome, and a rechargeable would be impractical because there is not a convenient place for me to charge it. So I took the plunge and bought this one.

I'm completely intimidated by all things mechanical, so I was worried about assembling this mower, but it really is easy. The only thing you have to do is screw the five sections of the handle together, then clip it onto the mower body. The instructions were adequate (3.5 stars there), even for an assembly-phobe like me. The current configuration does not require any tools for assembly, but there was an add-on bag of washers and nuts included with my mower that are recommended for a more securely assembled handle. If you opt to use the new nuts instead of the original wingnuts, you'll need a wrench.

After just fifteen minutes or so, I was up and running. To my delight, the mower pushes easily, even through long grass. And it's very entertaining to watch the grass being rapidly snipped off. I felt like Edward Scissorhands. Who would have thought mowing grass would be so fun? I was a little tired and winded when I finished (in a good way), but I had been practically running with this thing because I enjoyed it so much. I kept looking for stray patches to go over again, but, alas, the mower did such a good job, when I was finished, my yard looked like a golf course.

A few facts about me and my lawn to see if my wholehearted recommendation will apply to you: I'm female, plus-sized, totally out of shape, and usually quite sedentary (one reason I thought this would be a good idea). I had never mowed grass before in my life (didn't have a yard before last summer, and then I accepted the fine services of a neighborhood girl with a ride-on mower who worked cheap). My yard is about 6500 square feet, level, fairly flat, and covered with long pine needles all over the place (the mower didn't even notice them).

Some older reviews address a couple of problems that are no longer an issue: Scotts now (late April 2007) packages the mower with the cushioned handgrip already on, and the apparently easily loosened wingnuts (as already mentioned) can now be replaced with regular nuts (not mentioned in the current manual, but included in the box with a note). Scotts should have included shorter bolts with the new nuts (since you now don't need the extra length the wingnuts required), but this is a trivial point. Put your wingnuts on after the new nuts for a more "finished" appearance.

A reel mower might not be suitable for everyone and every yard, but for me, it's fantastic. It's quiet, easy to maneuver, non-intimidating, good exercise, fun, environmentally sound, and inexpensive. I couldn't be happier with this mower.


For small, pristine lawns only   August 18, 2000
JerseyTomato
50 out of 64 found this review helpful

I really wanted to enjoy using this mower. I love the sound of a reel mower, they are supposed to be better for your lawn, and I liked the environmental aspect. However, it did not turn out to be practical for our yard. At 100x140 feet, it takes us about 2 1/2 hours for us to mow it with our current electric mower. With the reel mower, it took twice as long. Our lawn, if you want to call it that, is very weedy, and the reel mower just didn't cut the tougher ones. We also have a lot of tree debris on our lawn such as pine needles, cones, twigs, etc. Our electric mower goes right over them, chopping them up. The reel mower was constantly just stopping when debris got caught in it. And we weren't about to spend more time raking the lawn before mowing it! We finally sold it to a couple who just bought a townhouse and only had a little patch of a new lawn. For that circumstance, this mower might be fine. Otherwise, if you are concerned with emissions from gas mowers, I'd recommend an electric or rechargeable one.