Reel Mower for Bermuda Lawn?

9 years ago

I was looking at the Fiskars StaySharp Max Reel Mower (formerly the Fiskars Momentum) for my yard. I certainly have well under half an acre of grass. I have no weeds and very little trees, so I have the benefit of mowing a purely grassy lawn with nothing in it.

Would the Fiskars reel mower work well for Bermuda grass in McKinney, TX? I've read that reel mowers with 7 blades is recommended for bermuda, however this one has 5. Any recommendations would be nice here.

I've been using a Honda push mower (rotary) for a while but there are a couple of reasons I'm considering a reel:

* No gas / oil / engine maintenance / etc
* Better and CLOSER cut of the grass
* My yard has a few dips and bumps (the latter from rabbit damage) so when I use the rotary I scalp the lawn in certain spots which looks really bad
* Personal fitness. I think the reel mower will be *slightly* more effort which is good for my health.

My main concern with the fiskars is that it only goes to 1", but that might not be such a bad thing since I am not trying to create a golf course quality lawn that I have to mow once a day. I'm looking to mow once a week. Last summer I kept my lawn at at least 2" height because any lower and the grass would look brown. I think that might be due to lack of water, but with McKinney putting us on a single watering every 2 weeks I think I won't be able to keep it short and look plush.

I'm hoping a reel mower improves things all across the board but maybe not. I'm a newbie here and open to suggestion.

Featured Answer

mightyquinnaty

9 years ago

With that small of a yard, a manual push mower may just be the ticket then. I have over 8K of lawn.

Comments (7)

mightyquinnaty
9 years ago
Using a manual push reel mower on bermuda may become a challenge as you get later into the summer as the bermuda will become really thick making it harder to push the mower through the grass. Cutting your bermuda at 1" will make it look better and grow more dense but you may have to cut the lawn at least twice a week during the peak summer months and may also require you to cut twice to get a smooth cut also. The more blades you have on your mower the lower your walking speed will be. Don't get me wrong, bermuda looks way better cut short with a reel than it ever will with a rotary mower. BTW, I have a TruCut C-25 10 blade mower and just got a Baroness LM56 Greens mower a few months ago. But since you aren't looking for golf course look a manual push mower should do just fine, but be warned it IS a work out to use one!!!
rosemallow
9 years ago
I do not think many homeowners would purchase a Baroness.
Mightyquinn1 I assume you do work on a golf course.
mightyquinnaty
9 years ago
I am not recommending him buy a Baroness by any means, I got a GREAT deal on mine a few months back, just letting him know I have some experience with reel mowers is all. I am a firm believer now that a used greens mower is better than a TruCut or McClane reel mower though and can be found for about the same price. BTW, I don't work at a golf course.
kqnash
9 years ago
I have a very small (relative to my past experience) front yard in FW city & have been thinking about a reel mower (as opposed to paying someone!). Roughly 25x25 plus about 7x25. Working on getting it filled out with bermuda. What did you end up with?
Greg Goyeneche
9 years ago
To the Original Poster:

A half acre (20,000sf) is a LOT OF LAWN for a manual mower. I've got nearly an acre lot, with about 25,000sf of lawn, and even a walk-behind self propelled mower kicks my butt. In New Jersey I have rye, but I lived in Southern California until 2000 and had St Augustine, so my experiences were similar to yours. However, I had a 12,000sf lot (big for So Cal) and about 7,000sf or actual lawn.

While I can appreciate your desire to get rid of a gas engine, I think you need to consider a power reel mower. Personally I like the Trimmer mower. I had a succession of both 20" and 25" mowers. Preferred the "Original" all chain drive mower, although the less expensive "Home Owner" model did an adequate job in a non-commercial environment. The Tru-Cut was also an excellent machine and was available in 21", 25", and 27" cuts. The Tru-Cut was a wheel drive while the Trimmer was a roller drive. At a lower price point, the 20" McLane was a competent machine. Not as good as Trimmer or Tru-Cut, but about 2/3 the price. Whatever you do, avoid the 17" model. I think it is a piece of crap.

Good luck.
madisonsearle
8 years ago
Can you tell us more about why you don't like the McLane's 17"? I'm interested in the push, not the motorized. I've never used a McLane but since it's the only heavyweight 7-blade push reel mower that I can find, I was curious about whether it might do a better job on Zoysia than other push reels. The several 5-blade models I've tried aren't up to the job. The best I've found is the 6-blade Whisper Cut (the old Agri-Fab design).