Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 16-20 of 57
 An Adequate Replacement for a Gas Mower July 11, 2008
Douglas Black (Central Ohio, USA)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I have had my Gilmour mower for about a month. On the whole, I like it. I expected it to be physically demanding to use, but it really isn't much harder to push than the average power mower. I have about a 1/4 acre yard, and it takes me less than an hour to mow. I think of it as getting a workout without having to go to the gym.
On the downside, it doesn't cut quite as evenly as a power mower, and it doesn't even touch grass that's more than about 4" tall. I find it necessary to mow a lot more often as a result. I've also found that getting a fairly even cut requires overlapping swaths by 6" or so. The self-sharpening feature means that the blades are honing themselves with every rotation, which makes it pretty loud. I don't think it's as loud as most gas-powered mowers, but it's hard to judge since this is a more high-pitched noise.
Overall, I'm happy with my purchase. No maintenance, no gasoline, and it's light and compact enough to hang on a wall during the off season. Best of all, I don't have to wonder whether I'll be able to get it to start next spring.
 Manual reel mower April 12, 2008
C. Ponder (Northeast GA)
3 out of 7 found this review helpful
The Gilmour mower is not as sturdy as I expected. It is doing the job it was intended for, but certainly not the quality of manual push mowers of the late 1900's.
Great Mower April 29, 2008
Pamela Gray (Tennessee)
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
I love my push mower . The best thing is that it works from kid power. In the past my G/daughter who's 12 would just stay in the house. Now she thinks it's fun to mow the lawn. All the grass from the catcher goes into the compose bin. I should have bought one of these years ago.
 Great mower June 2, 2008
Edward L. Debuhr (Northern St. Paul suburb, MN)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I feel that this mower will be with me for some time. I have 10,000 + yard and I have used a 21 inch gas mower for some time. I had a 16 in version of the reel mower for this same lawn and it would take me some time to go through it. My wife was the skeptical one on this purchase.
I received it quickly via UPS ground and it took me no time to put together. Directions were more than clear enough for me and I knew what to expect seeing as I have used these before. Bag was a nice size and being able to adjust the quick release lock so that the bag would travel at a good hight while the handle was in a raised position was a good call. The easy to use hight adjuster is a huge plus over having to remove the wheels to adjust the cutting hight. I left mine at the #4 level, which is close to what I normally cut at. the higher the better, as its better for the lawn and water retention. Most lawn care specialists and greens keepers will tell you to mow your lawns long and often.
I have your standard Minnesota blue grass with a mix of crab and quack grasses that are a paint to get rid of, but thats a story for a different day. I found the push to be as easy as my 6 horse push mower. I used a weed whip to begin with to make the edging easier. I was able to mow my entire front lawn in the time it would take me with the gas mower if not quicker. I have a few grasses that were folded over as well as a few dandelion stalks that didn't cut. Big deal, just reached down and pulled them up, or just rolled the mower back and forth to get them. This is typical with a reel mower and should not be faulted. As most people do not tend to realize that a gas mower will use the blades to suck up or stand up the grass with a vacuum type operation, where as a reel mower acts like a rolling scissors. What you miss today you will get the next time. Also, the cutting action of a reel mower is better for you lawn than a high operation ripping operation.
So, if you are thinking of getting one, I wouldn't think to hard and just buy it. To those that say that this is not a good mower, I think you need to spend more time researching your products before spilling junk reviews on something you tend to know nothing about.
 Do NOT buy this mower!! June 11, 2008
M. Seeley (NJ)
3 out of 10 found this review helpful
I was psyched to get this mower at such a great price from Amazon. What a disappointment! If you've checked the other reviews, you've probably noticed the mention of the sound it makes. I can only conclude that the reviewers who didn't complain about the noise are deaf, delusional, or outright liars. I don't have a decibel meter anymore, but to give you an idea: the sound emitted from this powerless mower is about as loud as my current Honda gas mower. Worse, it's a horrible SCREECH that is guaranteed to annoy your neighbors, curl your hair, and set the dogs a-howling. I tried adjusting the blade like one reviewer mentioned - no difference. It's just a poor design or execution (or both).
Some reviewers mentioned the installation too. The instructions are indeed lame, though I was able to figure it out without a problem. That is, until I got to the last bolt. In typically incompetent Chinese style, the idiots who designed and manufactured this product made the hole too small for the bolt. Take your choice: drill it yourself or hammer the bolt in. On the bright side, there's no need to worry about the Chinese taking over the world anytime soon if they can't even sweat this minor detail.
Oh yes - I almost forgot to mention the smell. I can't describe what the odor was exactly, just a nasty machine-like odor that even emanated from the box when it was sealed. Once opened, the smell was unbelievably strong and nauaseating. Yuk.
I can't say how well this item actually cuts the grass, because I disassembled and put it right back in its box for return.
Ignore this review at your own peril. Going green shouldn't be this problematic - making reel mowers isn't rocket science! A pox on the corporations who move their production overseas - it will come back to bite them ALL you-know-where. I'll NEVER buy a Gilmour product again. I've already returned this item and will try the Scott 20" mower next. Stay tuned....
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