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Early Push Reel Lawn Mower Technology


By Steven Blades Platinum Quality Author


Ever since man has had grass on the front lawn, man has looked for ways to keep it trim and neat. In the early days, landowners would till the grass with scythes. Later on, many landowners realized that relying on nature was far easier than spending hours outside trying to cut grass, so they would allow their livestock to go out and graze. Over time, this grazing would give the yard a trimmed, even look that homeowners have been trying to emulate ever since.

The first lawn mower was invented in 1827, although it is debatable as to who was the man who originally conceived the idea. Some say it was an English engineer named Edwin Beard Budding, while others claim it to be another Englishman, an inventor named Richard Meleady. However, while the lawn mower was patented in 1930, they did not begin to go into widespread production until sometime in the 1860s. The longest-lasting design for the lawnmower is the push mower. While push mowers of today almost exclusively run on gas or electricity, push mowers of the 1860s were far simpler devices that are still used to this day.

The basic push mower design was a simple one: a wooden push handle attached to a long wooden stick. At the other end of the stick were two rods that connected to the wheels. As the mower was pushed and the wheels rotated, the blades would rotate as well. Early mowers had upwards of six rotating blades that would cut the grass at an even height. The drawback to these mowers, which is still a problem today, is that the blades would dull rather quickly and require frequent maintenance to sharpen. Another drawback was that you would still have to exert lots of energy to push the mower across your whole lawn. However, as technology evolved, so too would the lawn mower.
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Going Green With Push Reel Lawn Mowers


By Susan Bywater


With the national average price of gasoline at over $4 per gallon, it's no wonder people are trying to come up with ways to save money on gas. One of the major trends in the U.S.A. right now is switching from gas lawn mowers to good old fashioned push reel lawn mowers. Manual mowers offer plenty of advantages over gas mowers, especially in regards to their effects on the environment. These mowers have come a long way from your grandpa's push reel mower.

Newer push reel mowers are lighter than they used to be, and easier to push. They also can include features like easy to adjust cutting heights, grass catchers and sharpening kits. Unlike gas mowers, they don't guzzle the money from your wallet with high gas prices, and are generally cheaper than gas mowers in the first place. They also don't make noise like gas mowers, which will have your neighbors thanking you if you like to mow early in the morning or right in the middle of their family barbeques on Sunday afternoons. Unlike most electric mowers, they don't require any kind of cords, which saves you the hassle of remembering to plug them in.

Gas mowers cause air pollution. They spit out a multitude of things like carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides. These kinds of pollutants affect the ozone, and can be harmful to our health. This alone is a great reason to switch to a push reel mower, as it becomes more and more important for people to use environmentally friendly products and practices.

In addition to the environmental advantages to reel mowers, there are also advantages for your lawn. Gas mowers cut grass with a jagged edge, while reel mowers have a clean cut. Jagged edges mean that your lawn will be more susceptible to disease and moisture loss. You will have a healthier lawn with a push reel motor, and may even become the envy of the neighborhood.

Although today's push reel mowers are much easier to use than in he past, an added benefit is that you may have to work just a little harder than if you use a self propelled mower, which gets your heart rate up (and yes, that does count towards your workout time).

So, whatever your motivation is for looking into push reel lawn mowers, there are definite advantages to them. Who knows? You might just find that while you are helping the environment, you're also helping your lawn (and yourself) be healthier.