Customer Reviews

Sunlawn LMM40 16-Inch Light Weight Manual Push Reel Mower

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

The LMM40 is my second reel mower. I'm very happy with the first use today in the long spring grass. I have about 5000 square feet of turf. My previous mower was the Scott's 20 inch. It worked ok, but it was very difficult to adjust the blades to get a good cut. I found it necessary to make a second pass or tighten the blade so much it was hard to push to get a good cut. The Sunlawn right out of the box cut all the grass on the first pass. The bottom blade is much more robust so it doesn't flex. I haven't had to adjust it yet, but the spring loaded adjustment bolts look much more precise than other models. I am not at all concerned about the durability of the plastic sides. The mower is very solid and well built. I think the few extra dollars is worth it for the better machine.

I guess I'm a bit of a throwback to the good ole days but I was expecting something a bit more substantial. These days you reduce weight by making it out of plastic. I was somewhat disappointed in the amount of plastic on the machine...even the wheels seems to be PVC. To me it cheapens the overall product. This certainly isn't my grandfather's reel mower of memory.
That said, it is light, setup was very easy, and the thing works great. I have a townhome and a small back yard so I'm done in 10 minutes but I could easily see a larger yard being mowed this way. I love the distinct lack of noise! I bought this after my rechargeable B&D mower's battery went out. This cost a little more than the battery and it should last much, much, longer!

I purchased the LMM40 in an attempt be more environmentally concious. My lawn is about 5000 sq. ft. and I can get through it in about 90 minutes. At first, I was a little dissapointed in having to make multiple passes over the same patch but that seems to have gotten better. Perhaps my lawn is getting used to this type of mower, I am getting used to overlapping, or the blades are self sharpening. Either way, it seems to be getting better. One of the coolest impacts of this mower is the ability to quickly grab it and mow a section of the yard if I need to. With my old craftsman self propelled mower, it was more of a project to get it out, fill with gas, pull the rip cord 20 times to get it started. Compare it to grabbing a broom versus pulling out the leaf blower.

Pros
- lightweight
- less of a project to mow the lawn
- no fear of burning the lawn
- I can mow at any time without worrying about disturbing neighbors
- grass looks great
- better for the environment

Cons
- have to go over tall sections multiple times
- better to use the grass catcher with dense grass
- takes a little bit longer to mow
- spend more time picking up twigs and sticks in the grass so the blades don't get caught and stop the mower.
- No lines in the yard (my wife's comment) - she likes seeing the mow lines. This doesn't bother me as much because they fade in a couple of days anyway.
- no vacuum effect
- neighbors look at me funny when using a reel mower. I feel a bit like an early adopter. Oh well... some day they'll get the idea.

Summary:
All in all, I am glad I got this mower. I haven't been tempted to get out my old rotary mower. The grass really seems to be responding to this type of cut. More clippings are going back to the turf. It's more quiet than the rotary mower and I can quickly pull it out and mow without it becoming a project. I would recommend the LMM40 for early adopters who are willing to take a chance and do their part with the environment. Lack of lines and vacuum effect are the only real drawbacks but I feel that it's a small price to pay.

I bought this for $160 and free shipping for a few small patches of relatively flat grass. It was easy to assemble, about 15 mins from opening the box to finish, and I have used it twice so far. The first run was rather difficult, as the grass had gotten pretty high, and so I started on a disadvantage, but the second time was pretty easy. Sometimes the grass needs a second run over it so I find working in one direction, then overlapping by about half going the other direction seems to work the best. It is more difficult to mow along borders and I find that it leaves a few inches (room for the wheel and then the start of the blade) unmowed, but that's a small tradeoff considering I don't have to drive my car to get a gallon of gas to mow a lawn I would have to edge and weedwhack the corners anyways. It does work your arms a bit, and it was a bit tougher this morning as the grass was a little wet. Overall it takes a little more time to mow, but considering you don't have to fill up the gas and check the oil and open the garage and roll out the lawnmower and find your earplugs and shower right afterwards to get rid of the gas smell- it pretty much evens out the time difference. A great product.

I've updated this review after another year. I still like it but think there is more to share. I will leave my rating a 4 because my cautions would apply to all push mowers.

This is almost perfect. As other say its very easy to assemble, easy to push, very light weight. Make sure to tighen the height setting I found it shifted to the lowest until I got it really tight. UPDATE - I am continuing to have problems keeping this set at 2" I've had my very strong neighbor tighten it for me and after a mowing my lawn it is back to 1-1.5 inches. I think I will take it to someone to see if we can drill a whole and put in a plug to keep it from shifting. This is a problem when it is dry and letting your lawn grow longer is a good idea. Setting the mower to a 2" height - the highest option it goes over most little hills and bump as well as twigs. When I had it shorter more things got caught. Although that's not a hard fix if you like a lower cut. It takes me no longer and with no more effort than my old key start power mower.

What I had not considered is my whole yard is bordered by a flower garden with the traditional low rolled plastic edging. With my power mower I just rolled over the edging and got all of the grass. This doesn't work with this mower, it gets stuck. If I try to go along the side of the edging it is about 3 inches from the outside of the wheel to the blade so it leaves about 3 inches of grass. So I'm trying to figure out a way to avoid going around on my hands and knees with a grass clipper or having to buy a weed wacker. I tried tilting the mower back and I got some more grass so maybe I can master a technique that will work. UPDATE - I was unable to figure out a way to use the mower close to the edging. I've planted violets on the grass side of the edging they stay short where I can't mow and they can take the wheel pressure as I mow the grass.

The other thing to consider is how often you will be mowing. With this lawn mower you really have to stay on top of mowing weekly. If you do that you'll be fine. UPDATE We had a dry spell and I chose to let my lawn go long so I didn't have to water as much. (note - lawn experts suggest keeping lawns 3" for water conservation and weed management - that is not possible with this mower) The challenge then is that the push mower pushes the long grass down rather than cutting all of it. It isn't impossible to mow the blades have stayed very sharp now 2 seasons but it requires going back and forth at least 2 directions to get it all cut or being OK with a patchy lawn. I may borrow a neighbors power mower to get it back in line.

UPDATE Finally while I don't mind the pushing and find it fairly easy to use my kids hate this mower mainly because without careful watching and going back to pick up missed spots or places where it lays down it can leave the lawn looking spotty.

I also purchased the 16 inch (MM-1) version of the Sunlawn reel mowers, in May 07 for a small, leveled yard. It worked, until is also broke this summer 08 = the metal loop connections that support the anchors to adjust height & tighten the blades are both cracked. I also tried contacting them via Amazon's message system, email and phone, on numerous occasions. Contact info on their website does Not work! It's been over a month! Amazon ALSO can Not get through to them. Amazon responded that after 90 dys of purchase, in this case, they could not directly intervene! These units come with a 2 year warranty!
*Warning: I would not buy from this company, consider a different manufacturer of reel mowers, at this time.

Update/Tip: contact the Better Business Bureau, "IF" the manufacturer doesn't respond. It works!

*****NOTE: 6/1/09 Sunlawn is Officially NO LONGER- New promises made to buyers via Better Business Bureau complaint processing were(intentionally) NOT kept & WEBSITE is Totally shut down! If I lived in Colorado- I WOULD certainly take them to small claims court!!!

Sorry to say, but I won't trust /buy from a young & independent company for landscaping/ yard tools again (a least a very long time!). Time-tested Brand names will ONLY be considered.

We purchased Model MM-1 last summer (07). Loved it until it broke this spring(08) under normal use. It came with a two year warranty. We contacted the company through phone (full mailbox) and email. Received an automated email response a month ago that "issue will be resolved". Have heard nothing since. Voicemail is still full and email contact no longer working...absolutely no satisfaction and no way to get in touch! I would stay away from this company even though I love their "green" aspect.

I have had this mower for about a month. Assembly was very fast. I took the time to make sure the blades were adjusted properly and that took 5 minutes at the most. I was concerned about spending this kind of money on a manual mower but as gas prices climb I decided I had to try. The mower has exceeded all my expectations. After reading lots of other reviews I was concerned about wet grass and tall grass as well as weeds but I have found very few problems. I have a smaller yard but I can mow it faster with this than with my 21" gas mower. It seems to be faster because it is so light. I can turn it quickly, if something is in my way I don't have to stop my mower move the obstruction and then start the mower again. I have cut wet grass and been happy with the results. After all, it's a lawn. If it isn't perfect I can deal with that. The biggest change to get used to is keeping track of where your last row was. It does not show like my gas mower did and you can't go by the wheel indent because the cutters are shorter than the wheel width. One of the nicest things about it is how quiet it is. I can carry on a conversation or hear the music on my outside speakers. Because nothing is flying out of it I can mow in my sandals and shorts and not worry about getting hit with anything.

I am very happy with my decision to buy this mower and having used it the price does not bother me at all.

The Sunlawn is awesome. I can now wear my flip flops when mowing my lawn. I can listen to music and the birds instead of an obnoxious motor. I can smell the flowers instead of fumes. I love this mower. It is as easy to push as my gas mower (I did not have self-propelled). My only suggestion is that you buy the bagger that goes with it. It cuts the grass in bigger chunks than a gas mower, and as much as I want to firm up and lose more weight, I don't want to rake.

Got mine today. I am a 5'2" grandma and was worried if I could push it, but no problem! I have a large hilly yard, and it was easy to push. Seems to cut just fine but any little sticks will stop it. Just clear it out and go on. If you have a small yard this is all you need. I may end up just using it in between gas mower cutting, and to touch up. Too soon to know, only used it once. Usually I hate putting stuff together because manufacturers assume everyone is mechanical, but this was five minutes from box to yard. Very easy.