Customer Reviews

American Lawn Mower 1ST-SP Reel Mower Grass Catcher

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(46)

 

 

I bought a Scotts 2000-20-20 and wanted a Grass Catcher with it. Though all the reviewers warned of not having the instructions to attach this grass catcher to Scotts 2000, I went ahead and bought it. My catcher arrived with no instructions at all. Fortunately, the same model was available in my Home Depot and I went through the instructions. Completely useless.

Here are the instructions and the material you will need. This is what works great for me. Your experience may vary

1. Place catcher close to the Black rod behind the catcher.
2. The grass is thrown to your left, if you standing behind the catcher. So place the catcher to the extreme left of the black rod. The space on the right hand is not a problem.
3. Cut four square patches of small Velcro and attach to 2 pieces to the black rod and 2 pieces to the catcher on either end where the steel rod is exposed. This prevents the catcher from sliding to the right.
4. Use a strip of velcro to attach the catcher securely to the black rod.
5. You are in business. Go cut some grass.

The velcro helps in detaching the catcher from the scotts for easy storage (duct tape works, but is too hard to remove. You can use twistix, but the catcher slides)

Have fun.

This thing is a piece of junk. Hard to put on, easy to fall off. It misses 30-40% of the grass thrown at it. Most of the remaining grass piles up on the mower reel. I have a _tiny_ lawn, and i had to stop 3-4 times to re-attach this bag.

This thing needs a serious redesign, start with the attachment clips...

I purchased this grass catcher to use with my new Scotts Classic 20" reel mower. The mower's great. The catcher isn't. The fit is...well...iffy. It snaps easily enough on the bar above the rear roller assembly, where it awaits the most inopportune moment to detach itself. I've found the best way to counter this is to lift up on the handle when pulling back on the mower, thereby avoiding telescoping the grass catcher (and dumping the cuttings back on your lawn). However, the mower cannot be pushed with the handle raised even slightly or the clippings will spill forward out of the catcher. Also, on every path or so it's necessary to reach down behind the blades and sweep the grass toward the back of the catcher: otherwise there isn't enough room for the next batch.

I guess this thing will have to do, as I have yet to locate a better device. But I'm looking.

After using this catcher, I'm now looking for an alternative. I bought it with the Scott's mower, and they were clearly not designed to work together. The attachment to the rear bar is not positive, and comes off frequently, and is cumbersome to attach. I long for the old days, and my fathers reel mower with a catcher that lasted for my entire youth. Easy on/off, and cought all the clippings. How hard could this be?

For such an easy and simple need this catcher falls really short of its' usefulness. This is one of those times where the concept on paper doesn't convert in to a real functioning end product. The problem is the catcher does not stay in place on the transverse bar on the mower. The plastic grip on the catcher is not capable of holding the catcher to the mower. Even the Scott's rep admitted that this thing is useless. I tried using Velcro straps tied around the bar and through the plastic base of the catcher to secure it in place. That worked but the catcher is then not easily removed for dumping of the clippings. Also the little sewn on holder for the vertical bar that keeps the catcher fully opened ripped off. Though this is amazingly flawed I have to make it work since I don't want clippings left on the ground. But I have my eye out for a better catcher. Good luck. Be Patient if there is nothing better you can find. And when you do find something better let me know and be sure to return the old flawed one.

Doesn't work quite as well as most other grass catchers I've had on gas mowers, but it does its job. I only use it when I've allowed the grass to get a little long and it keeps me from having to rake my entire yard. Sure it misses some grass and sure it is difficult at times to back up the lawnmower, but show me a grass catcher that doesn't do that on a push mower. I've had several and they are all similar at times. The biggest advantage is that I can catch the bulk of my grass in silence, without gas fumes, while I get a little exercise! Love my push mower!

Like other reviewers, I bought this with my Scott's mower. They were NOT designed to work together at all. The main problem is that the catcher is designed to work with two mower types--neither of which is the Scott's. The bottom hook meachanism does not work. Second problem is that, even if I did get it hooked on with some duct tape, it's narrower than the cutting part of the mower, so a lot of grass would not even be caught. Select a higher setting on your mower and all the grass would remain on your lawn.

I'm a pretty handy guy and I could not figure out how to properly install this "universal" catch...probably because it's simply not a good fit even when installed to specifications. Why Scott's brand would allow such a generic "piece" to be associated with their product and brand name is beyond me. Unless you know how to weld the included hardware to the rear cross-member (and I certainly do not), I find this catch to be totally worthless...if you're like me, you knew you were in trouble when the assembly instructions didn't even offer assembly for a 20 inch mower.

The construction is poor. It did not function properly as it did not remain securely fastened to the mower and thus was unusable.

Reel mowers have been around for quite a while and it baffles me to no end why there is still not a decent grass catcher for this "classic" lawn mower. Just a small wind from behind or a small amount of grass collected along the forward portion of the catcher ensures that you have to continually stop and manually redirect the grass to the rear of the bin or plan on raking.

Installing the catcher to the bar is a chore each and every time unless you store the catcher on the rear of the mower. That increases the amount of storage space you will need by not a small amount.

I've done my bit for the environment this year, but next year may bring the ear plugs and a gas engine back into my yard. Reel lawn mowers are real pains.