Customer Reviews

Scotts 415-16S 16-Inch Elite Push Reel Lawn Mower

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Part I

I have been intrigued by reel mowers ever since I noticed Wally and Beaver using one on Leave It to Beaver re-runs. It was my job to mow the lawn growing up and the Cleavers always made lawn care look a lot more fun than it was for me pushing around a heavy gasoline-powered mower.

When we bought our first home, one thing that really didn't occur to me was that once again it would fall to me to keep the grass cut. Kids come by the house asking if they can do it, but at their going rate of $30 to $40 dollars, I usually ask them if I can mow their lawn instead.

In the process of renovating our home and yard, which had been left in not exactly the greatest shape by the previous owners, I quickly went through four separate gasoline-powered mowers, either simply wearing them out or by hitting upon (literally) hidden treasures like the remnants of a grown-over outhouse, or the mostly buried boiler in the yard that broke the engine of one of the mowers. I then switched to buying used ones for under $100 from a local guy, but soon tired of their inevitable refusals to start, usually just before we have guests or during the last mow of the season, leaving patches of uncut grass for winter.

A riding mower seemed like overkill and plus, I grudgingly like the exercise that I get from cutting the grass. I finally decided to take the plunge and buy a reel mower, figuring that at the least, I could use it as a back-up. My wife tried to warn me off the endeavor, remembering painful childhood hours spent pushing an old, rusty reel mower with dull blades on her family's farm, but I figured that it was worth the risk, given that they aren't all that expensive anyway, and took the plunge.

Doing research on which one to buy, was far from easy. Reel mowers are a product that people seem to either love or hate with equal passion. Lawns come in all sizes, with different kinds of grasses that vary in texture and of course, humans come in different sizes and strengths.

Ultimately, it appeared that there were two major choices, either a Brill-type mower or a Scotts-type mower, with the major difference between them being that the Brills did not need sharpening, while the Scotts-type mowers were recommended for higher, thicker grasses, due to the slightly different manner in which they clip grass. Apparently, the Brill-type mowers are big in Europe where lawns are far smaller and gas-powered mowers are used sparingly. Most reel mowers have five blades, but some of the ones for shorter grass varieties come with seven blades.

After a little more research, I decided to buy a Sunlawn MM1, from Amazon, which was a less costly five-blade clone of the Brill-type, and which also offered the ability to cut a bit higher than the Brill. I am not exactly sure what types of grass I have in my yard, but I think that they are mostly blue grass varieties that grow a bit higher than some Southern varieties, and so I did want the ability to cut above a golf fairway height.

I decided to purchase a Sunlawn MM1 and have used it for over a month, after buying it as a backup for my old gas mower that has already been serviced twice this spring and still refuses to start.

I have been pretty happy with the design of the Sunlawn and particularly enjoyed the soothing sound that its blades make while cutting grass, but I am afraid that Sunlawn must be in the initial stages of product production in China and quality control is apparently not good right now. Previously, some of their dealers have seemingly implied this, as they have delayed production of their new mowers in this style:

"Due to a major production issue with our supplier Sunlawn has been forced to refuse our shipments of the MM-2 model. As a result, availability of the MM-2 will be delayed until further notice. We apologize for the delay and the inconvience but Sunlawn insists that all of our quality standards be met or exceeded."

http://www.rewci.com/lux38freship.html

As evidence of these problems in my own case, the handle bars of my Sunlawn MM1 were warped right out of the box, and this made putting the unit together much more of a chore than it should have been, although Sunlawn was responsive about dealing with this in terms of sending replacements.

Unfortunately, however, after a little more than a month of use, the adjustable metal brackets for changing the mowing height, in the back of the Sunlawn MM1 mower, have both cracked in two, and the mower can no longer be used at all. This happened on Sunday.

It simply appears that the metal was not cured properly or otherwise Sunlawn is going to have to engineer this metal thicker. The Sunlawn has a 2-year warranty and I have no doubts that they will send me a new mower, but I have grass to mow immediately and hence I bought the Scotts Elite because it was available for pick-up at Home Depot for $84, which is about 2/3 to 1/2 of the going price for the Sunlawn.

I wasn't all that upset about having to invest in a second mower because I have really enjoyed using the Sunlawn mower and its temporary demise gave me a chance to try the Scotts type and to detail my experiences here.

One reason why there are so many varying opinions about these reel mowers is the different ways people use them. Some people in condos and townhouses and the like, have about 100 square feet of grass. I think virtually all of them could (should) be using a reel mower.

My yard is pretty large, probably about a quarter acre of grass, however, and I mowed all of it during the past two days with the Scotts Elite and was impressed. It may be preset a tad low compared to what many recommend but I have usually preferred to mow lower than most people so I probably will not fiddle with the height settings, as I think it is harder to change heights on the Scotts than on the Sunlawn, which had detailed height markings. When I get the new Sunlawn, I may leave it on its highest height setting and use the mowers in tandem.

My grass was about as high as it ever gets during the two days that I mowed it with the Scotts Elite and the Scotts was easily able to handle it, although it was quite a work-out for me. For comparison, the grass height would probably have choked and halted a 4.5 horsepower gas mower unless mowed very slowly, but the Scotts plowed right through it. For further comparison, I then mowed a patch in the front yard that was at a normal cutting height and pushing the Scotts through it was actually easier than pushing a gas mower, as they are much heavier than reel mowers.

I think I like the sound the Scotts makes even better than the Sunlawn.

The Scotts was also easier to assemble and seems better able to handle tall grass than the Sunlawn was, and as I said, my grass was very tall since it needed to be mowed several days earlier. The Scotts' cut may have also been a shade crisper. My Scotts Elite seemed to have more metal parts and to be better constructed than the Sunlawn. My only complaint was that the handles were uncomfortable to hold compared to the Sunlawn but adding some black electrical tape seemed to help.

Theoretically, it may be harder to sharpen the Scotts at some future point, but I obviously have not gotten to that point yet. The Sunlawn may only need sharpening every 7-10 years, as they claim, but there is scant possibility that the mower will last that long, if used on a large yard, although I guess one could get replacement parts after the 2-year warranty expires.

I would add one thing about aesthetics. Part of the fun of these is the throwback aspect, sort of in the same way that vinyl records and tube radios are making a comeback.

Scotts has two mowers under their name. The Scotts Elite, which is the 16-inch mower, seems to me to be more of what people think of when they remember classic reel mowers, with blades that are about shoulder-wide, and usually sells for $80-$100, which seems a bargain. I really like the look, sound, and feel of this mower which seem to embody what a reel mower is, or at least should be, to me. If anyone has read my earlier posting regarding record players, the Scotts Elite is the AR Turntable of reel mowers. http://quakerfox.blogspot.com/2008/08/reel-mowers-revisited.html

It has classic styling, simple engineering that simply works, and few if any extras to break or complicate use.

Scotts' other mower is the 20-inch Scotts Classic--so named, even though it looks less classic to me than the somewhat smaller Elite. The Scotts Classic is about twice the cost of the Elite, and to me, looks a bit strange as it is somewhat wider and has what look like training wheels in back, instead of rollers as on the Elite and on the Sunlawn MM1.

I did not like the look and feel of the Classic nearly as much as the Elite. It felt clunkier and as though it was shaped to meet the 20-inch width just for competitive reasons rather than principles of engineering, because many people who have never used a reel mower before seem to want the widest one possible because they think they will finish mowing quicker.

People forget, however, that getting the larger cutting area is not "free." Aside from the fact that the Scotts Classic costs much more than the Elite model, potential purchasers need to remember that given the laws of physics, it is probably about 25% harder to push the bigger 20-inch Scotts Classic than the 16-inch Scotts Elite.

I also notice on the box that the manufacturer is the American Lawn Mower company, which also makes mowers under its own name, which look similar. They are usually an attractive red in color, and the one for sale at Home Depot was even cheaper, at $74, with a cutting width of 14 inches. It might be a better choice for smaller people or those with less pushing power.

So far, I am very, very impressed with what I got for $84 in the Scotts Elite, but I will let you the gentle reader know if any negative things crop up.

Right now, I would probably recommend that for people who want a mower for a condo or tiny, well-manicured lot, or one with really short or thin grass types, that they consider the Sunlawn since it doesn't need sharpening every year or two, but for people who need a workhorse mower, the Scotts are the way to go.

Among other manufacturers, the American Lawn Mower, Sears and Prison(Yes, really! That is the brand name) reel mowers are probably fairly similar to the Scotts in their mechanics, while the Brill and Gardenia are closer to the Sunlawn, I believe. In terms of aesthetics, I think both the Sunlawn and Scotts Elite are equally attractive, but would give the Sunlawns the edge over the Scotts Classic, which looks ungainly to me.

Lastly, let me say a couple of things about the ease/difficulty of use of reel mowers. If the grass is high enough so that someone would objectively say, "hey, that grass really needs to be cut," then a reel mower would probably be harder to push than a gas mower(non-self-propelled) on flat terrain(Self-propelled mowers have their own issues in terms of being difficult to use, but I won't go into that here.). Reel mowers are actually easier to manage than gas-powered mowers on very hilly terrain due to the lower weight of reel mowers, but overall, if the grass is high, reel mowers are harder to push.

If you stay on top of your lawn, however, and mow perhaps slightly earlier than you would otherwise, then a reel mower may actually be easier to push since they weigh much less.

Secondly, using a reel mower successfully probably demands a change in the way a person mows the grass. If you are the type of person who always is in a hurry to finish mowing and have a fairly large lawn, then reel mowers are probably not for you. You are not going to achieve any significant savings in gas by using a reel mower, although they are safer, much quieter and less polluting, not to mention not having to worry about running out of gas in the middle of mowing and having to trek off to the gas station.

The great thing about reel mowers is that you can mow for five or ten minutes a day, without getting all hot and sweaty and without smelling like gas and without wrenching your arm out starting the mower. You can have fellowship with your family out in the yard because the noise factor is minimal. You can stop whenever you need to rest or get thirsty because there is no worry about starting the thing up again or wasting gas while you rest a second if you leave the gas mower on.

You may actually start enjoying your time spent mowing now that, instead of trailing the hot fumes and noisy barrage of a dangerous gas mower, you are focused on the gentle and safe whirring of a reel mower's blades and the delicate balance of the grass blades as they lift gently in the air after being cut.

Ulitmately, mowing with a reel mower is a Zen thing. If you think it might be for you, give it a try.

Part II

I now have had the opportunity to use my Scott's Elite mower exclusively for a couple of months and I have to say that my opinion of this unit has only gone up. It simply works beautifully and for me, anyway, has made lawn care somewhat addictive.

One tip that I want to share is that I did make one adjustment to the unit's factory settings, which was to raise the cutting height to its maximum. While you cannot really do this on the fly with this mower as you can with the Sunlawn's, it really is not all that difficult to do and takes about five minutes to change, but what a change!

The mower is much easier to push and the difference in cutting height is not all that great. In fact, I believe that many of the people who have found these types of mowers too difficult to push probably never tried the mowers in the highest cutting position.

After adjusting the height to its maximum, it was much easier to cut tall grass, while cutting grass which was just at the verge of needing to be be cut, was almost too easy, as there was very little resistance at all. I am sure a physicist could explain this with an equation, but basically, the larger the mower's width and the higher the grass, the more effort it takes to push a reel mower and small differences in the dimensions and settings might make a significant difference in terms of the pushing effort required.

For where I live, which is the hot and sunny Mid-Atlantic region, the highest setting is plenty short to be presentable and is probably close to the optimal cutting height for the Ryes and Blue Grasses used in this region.

With respect to some of the other issues regarding reel mowers, I continue to find most of the criticisms overblown. My yard is larger than recommended, it is uneven in places and has different types of grasses. None of these factors has been much of a hindrance.

Some critics have raised the question of small sticks getting caught in the mower. The Elite is more susceptible to this than the Sunlawn, but it really hasn't been a big deal. You either roll the reel back slightly or just plow through it if the stick is small enough.

Reel Mowers are not great at cutting tall weeds or breaking sticks into mulch or leveling uneven soil, but most of these practices are not essential, or even antithetical, to safe, proper lawn care. If there are weeds that don't get cut, I simply yank them out.(or if they are dandelions, they eventually fall over on their own.) Yes, it takes a little more time, but the yard ends up looking better. Reel mowers are actually better for mowing near obstructions such as rocks or stumps, as they tend to cut the ground around these objects without hitting them, unlike gas mowers which often break or lose their sharpness due to hitting stumps and exposed concrete and the like.

About the only other issue has to do with the sharpening of the blades. I have mowed a lot of grass with this Scott's Elite and the blades still seem perfectly serviceable. I have, however, bought a blade-sharpening kit for this unit and it appears to be much easier to do than I expected. Although I haven't used the kit yet, I have read the manual.(rtfm, right?) Basically, you apply a sharpening compound to the blades and then either roll the mower backwards, or take one of the wheels off and crank the reels backwards for a few minutes to make the reel edges sharp again, but after a couple of months of using this mower, I don't feel that it is necessary yet. http://www.rubyrooms.com/p/How-To-Service-Your-Reel-Mower/l-2452012

There have lately been a slew of articles, including one in the New York Times, which have dealt with the inability of many small gas-powered engines to run well on fuel blends which contain ethanol, which is basically all of them in the U.S. now. Apparently, small engine machine shops have been inundated the entire country all over, with malfunctioning gas mowers.

This probably explains why my gas mower has died three times in the last 9 months and probably is now headed for the recycling heap. I recently tried high octane gasoline to see if that might turn its sputtering into starting, but to no avail. The only other thing to try is some type of fuel additive, and if that doesn't work, then I am giving up on my gas-powered mower. I wouldn't even bother trying, except for the challenge to see if I can get thing running again.

Nevertheless, with the possible exception of grinding fall leaves, which I haven't had to do yet, I honestly cannot envision a situation where a simple gas-power mower is superior to the tried and true reel mower given my personal lawn mowing needs. Although I have actually seen some good looking gas mowers on sale recently for around $100, I just don't miss the noise and the smell and the wrenching my arm out starting the thing, even if the newer ones actually do work with ethanol blends.

I bought this mower, and have been using it for a year, and I love it. I chose a reel mower for one reason: SIMPLICITY. No gas. No spark plugs to replace. No cord to pull. No exhaust. No dust blowing everywhere. No noisy motor.

The good:
1) Quiet, inexpensive, light weight, and easy to push.
2) Small storage footprint (about 12"x20").
3) Easy to maintain. WD40 before and after each use. Adjust stationary blade 1-2 times per year (or as needed). Sharpen reel blades every 1-2 years. If you think your blades need sharpening and you've never adjusted the stationary blade, the blade just needs to be adjusted. Ditto if you took the mower out of the box and it doesn't cut properly. Adjust it!
4) Promotes good lawn-care habits (see below)

The bad:
1) This mower is designed to cut grass. It WILL get stuck on every single twig you roll over. I typically spend 1-2 minutes picking up twigs/sticks before I mow, and it still gets stuck on 5-10 unseen sticks. All you have to do is stop, back up, use your shoe to spin the blade backwards (which dislodges the stick), back up some more, pick up the stick, give it a stern talking to, and then eject said twig from your lawn.
2) In my experience, gas powered motors get a little closer to borders (fence, flower box, etc.) expect to spend a little more time with the weed trimmer if you use a reel mower.
3) This mower is designed to cut grass. It is not a gas-powered vacuum for your yard. This will not remove clippings or leaves from your yard (there is a clipping catcher bag available, I haven't used it, but I hear it doesn't really work). This is a minor annoyance, but it does promote leaving the clippings on the grass, which is good for your yard. Those bags full of grass clippings that your father used to cart off the lawn are packed full of nutrients and water, leave them on and you'll use a lot less fertilizer.
4) This mower is good for trimming any where from 1/2 inch to 6 inches off of your grass. If your yard is a forest of weeds, this mower will likely not do much damage. This promotes another good habit - cutting regularly and removing (instead of just cutting) weeds. You should only be cutting the top 1/4th of your grass; if you're cutting it in half you're damaging it.
5) I have a small patch of bermuda (fine blade) grass in my lawn. The rest is St. Augustine (coarse blade). This mower cuts the coarse bladed grass like a champ, but the finer grass usually needs 2 passes before it looks good.

If your yard isn't big enough to justify an electric mower, and you want to have the lowest possible carbon footprint possible, an old school reel mower is the answer you're looking for. Just be prepared for a good workout as you'll have to cover the same ground at least 3-5 times in each direction, cross-hatch, for anything resembling a clean cut, though you'll definitely need an edger/trimmer to complete the job. Also, if you have a lot of weeds, buy a good weed cutter because they laugh in the face of this particular reel mower. I bought the 16" thinking it would be good enough for my smallish yard, and while it mostly gets the job done, I wish I'd gone for the Scotts 20-Inch Classic Push Reel Lawn Mower #2000-20 instead.

So I won't go so far as some to call this a Zen experience but I have really enjoy my time with the Scott's Elite 16". I bought mine last summer and used it the whole summer with no problems. After using it for a year I can definitely say that it is a much more pleasant mowing experience even in the heat of a Texas summer. I found it nice not to have all five of my sense assaulted every time I mowed. From the dust and debris in my mouth, eyes and nose, to noise from the engine hurting my ears, smell of gas in my nose, and the debris that flies out from under the mower to attack my legs.


Suggestions:
1.) You will need to make at least two passes with your reel mower on every line. I find that a down and back approach works well for me.

2.) Do your maintenance. ( I have learned the hard way. I did not do any maintenance the first summer and now I am about to start.) If you don't do your maintenance you could end up with it becoming harder to push, having a louder reel and/or dull blade.


Nit Picky Issues:
1.) Does not chop through sticks very well.

Resolution: Prep you mowing by picking up any sticks that laying about your yard that are more than a quarter inch in diameter or you may be pausing frequently to clear the reel.

2.) It is not bushhog capable. This means don't plan on using it to mow down a tall growth of weeds. You might get some of it but it really isn't built for that job.

Resolution: You will be better served to rely on your weed eater in these places. In the future do not let it the weeds get so high and take over.

3.) The black plastic end caps on the handle bars dislodged somewhere in my yard during the first two uses.

Resolution: I would recommend you use a bonding agent to secure them in place.

4.) Handle grip issues. While quite comfortable the lightweight material has a tendency to shift position on the handle bars during use. Also, without the end caps the lightweight material handle grips can become shred on the ends of the handle bars.

Resolution: resolved both of these issues by leaving a third of an inch of metal exposed on the ends of each handle and then wrapping it with three revolutions of black electrical tape. I had of half of the tape adhered to the grip and half on the metal. I did this on each side of the grip on both handle bars in order to negate any slippage and further shredding of the grip.

An update after another season with this mower. The information from last year still holds. Mower has been sharpened once and it continues to work well after two seasons. This is a good product.

++++++++++++++++++


I have been using a reel mower for six years. Five years with an expensive Brill model and the past year with the less expensive Scotts 16 Inch Elite. I am past getting excited about the experience of a new mower or a new reel mower. I wanted a machine that was a good value and worked.

The past season the Scotts did the job and yes you will get exercise, get to talk to neighbors and be able to mow your yard twice to get a decent cut.

The Scotts is an excellent value (at least 1/2 the cost of the Brill). I prefer it over the Brill because you can sharpen the blades. I am not sure how to sharpen the Brill - the blades do not touch making it easy to push but hard to sharpen at home. The Brill tended to bend the grass and not cut it after a few seasons.

Regardless of the model another feature of reel mowers is they have a small footprint and take up almost no space in the garage or shed.

The Scotts is well built, works, easy to store, inexpensive and can be maintained.

My friend and I run an eco-friendly lawn care business and the Scott's Push Mowers are our main tools. Here are a few of its qualities that make it a great product.
- great functionality for great price (other push mowers of similar cutting length can cost way more)
- sturdier than the 20 inch model (unless you replace the handle fasteners on the 20 inch with nuts and bolts and washers)
- easy to maneuver
- easy to clean/maintain
- easy to adjust

If you do not have a massive yard to mow, then this push mower is an excellent tool. For residential lawn care, a push mower is the way to go, and the Scott's 16 inch is the best on the market in this price range.

My wife and I bought this lawn mower last year for our first house, wanting to make a relatively green choice of a mower. Deducting from the lot size the house and woods, we have probably 1/2 acre of lawn. That's a larger lawn than this mower is designed to handle, and so we cut the lawn in sections--usually dividing the job in three. (We are probably going to buy a cordless electric mower next but use this one for touchups).
Pros: . Not hard to assemble out of package
. Light and not noisy
. Well-made--even with heavy use nothing has broken
. All the environmental advantages of a reel mower
. Cuts short to medium grass effectively
Cons: . Does a poor job on tall grass and weeds, and especially on dandelions. This is apparently common for reel mowers, but I didn't know this when I bought it and find this frustrating. Anything tall--dandelions, grass gone to seed, etc.--will just roll under the mower and very little will be cut. If you buy this mower and have as many dandelions as we do, you will probably want to use a scythe or trimmer to knock them down.
. Like many reel mowers, grass wraps itself around the axles outside of the blades and bogs things down.
. You'll have to clear grass out of the curved cutting bar periodically.
. One negative surprise: You will often have to clean buildup on the edges of the blades and the cutting bar. If left uncorrected, it will impair the mower's performance. We have to do this every few uses.

Overall, this product isn't ideally suited to the lawn we have, but it is well made and does what one would expect of a reel mower well. For a smaller yard, it would be ideal.

I have a small bermuda lawn in Arizona, about 900 square ft, so I thought a cheap reel mower would be the best choice. I couldn't have been more wrong. When this mower didn't skip over the top of my lawn, cutting nothing, it would bog down with the blades locking up on the thick bermuda grass. The problem seems to be both the light weight of the mower not letting it push down into thick grass, and the roller bar on the back of the mower. The roller bar is what adjusts the cutting height of this mower and it would constantly ride up on the grass resulting in the mower just skimming over the top of the grass. I eventually gave up and just bought an electric mower.

The Scotts Elite reel lawn mower is the same Great States lawn mower that I have used for the last 20 years with one exception, it was outsourced. Within two months both reel drive pinions had broken. I replaced them with a 20 year old pinions from a previous mower. The Gears were machined with less material and the hardness of the plastic was not the same as produced 20 years ago. I usually get five years out of a mower before the corrosion and rust make it easier to buy a new model. I have never seen this type of failure before. Then I needed to adjust the cutter bar and found out that the steel adjustment screws had been replace with aluminum. Three of the heads were so corroded with the steel contact bar that they instantly striped. This was after using DW-40 before ever using the mower. Evidently the produced forgot that a phosphate coating is always required when steel is in contact with Aluminum. It seems obvious that this only looks like the mower that I have bought previously and if Scotts is outsourcing their products, you must wonder what chemicals your putting on your lawn.

I was excited to use a push-reel mower to take care of the grass around my townhouse for all the previously-mentioned reasons (no gas, smell, noise, etc...) but after two seasons I'm afraid I have to put this poor thing out to pasture.

At the beginning of this season (3rd season) I used some valve-grinding compound to sharpen the blades (the same 'goop' that comes with the lawn mower sharpening kits) and the blades were as good as new. Unfortunately, one of the plastic clips that keeps the rear roller attached snapped and, despite some care and crazy glue, isn't coming back.

After reading the other reviews, I think I'm going to try to upgrade to the 20" classic because of what looks like more rigid construction.