I like Push mowers ! So much that I made a video about why they are cool - and its a review too.

If you have a small lawn and are thinking about buying one - then this might help you out.

Superb!!

Awesome. Makes me want to mow.

I can only assume that, with lawn so nice, it's not all down to the push-mower and that you also have some kind of revolutionary soil moisture monitoring system at work?

Tip: to get any push mower to run better, buy comfy shoes.

A nice little video clip.....

My lawn was always healthiest when I had a flymo push mower. I added 12inch wheels from a push bike to mine to cut the grass long and lush.

A pro informed me that push mowers actually cut the grass cleanly while others just tear it - which means push mowers prevent your lawn from browning off.

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dirtyharry said..
Awesome. Makes me want to mow.

I can only assume that, with lawn so nice, it's not all down to the push-mower and that you also have some kind of revolutionary soil moisture monitoring system at work?

thats a VERY interesting concept! Is it incredibly easy and convenient to use?



I do use soil wetta - applied very unscientifically...

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Reflex Films said..
A pro informed me that push mowers actually cut the grass cleanly while others just tear it - which means push mowers prevent your lawn from browning off.

You can see the scissor action of the rotating blades against the fixed blade on the push mower. It really is like cutting your whole lawn level with a pair of scissors.

cant believe i just watched a review on push mowers and liked it.

Bike wheels is a total upgrade - i like your thinking!

This is my flymo cut lawn using the 12 inch solid rubber tyres (they slide straight onto the existing wheels). Flat as a billiard table, but soft and thick too. Also, almost 100% green with no strangly, shredded, brown bits.

Now we've let the secret out on how to have the best lawn in the street. Cut clean, cut long, cut often!

SWEET - that lawn looks



MINTOX.

i am going for the upgrade!

^^^^

I'll post a photo of the wheel upgrade tomorrow. It's dark outside here now.

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Harrow said..

Reflex Films said..
A pro informed me that push mowers actually cut the grass cleanly while others just tear it - which means push mowers prevent your lawn from browning off.

You can see the scissor action of the rotating blades against the fixed blade on the push mower. It really is like cutting your whole lawn level with a pair of scissors.

That's why I use a reel mower (same as push mower but with a motor) Scott Bonnar 45 with a Briggs & Stratton donk. It was made on the 10 June 1977 (So its older than my wife)

It was my grandads and I used to use it on their lawn when I was about 8. Did a full restore on it a while back.
Still going strong


On the push mower you should be able to take the reel & bed in to be reground so its super sharp again ;)

I restored a very old Husky push mower (40-50 yrs at a guess based on great-grandfather-in law owning it originally). Hardly turned when I got it, all gunked up. Pulled it down to smallest pieces I could, cleaned it out, reground the blades by hand with an angle grinder, gave it a respray, tuned the life out of it, and now it sounds like a demented food processor when you push it fast and throws up great clouds of cut grass behind it that sometimes reach waist high. Extremely satisfying to use.

It took my son 12 years to kill our flymo [much to his disgust]
The rear roller ended up wearing through where the axle pins hook into it.

"Thank f**k for that - now can we get a proper mower!"

So out to the shed I went, and ran a piece of ally tube through the roller, with threaded rod running from end to end as it's axle.

son wasnt very impressed - it took another year for it to die properly.


stephen

Post of the year so far.....
I watched from start to finish enjoyed every minute with the full feeling of being educated.
It's strange I love kitesurfing but found a vid on lawnmowing more entertaining than half of the vids that get posted here............


And I don't even have much of a lawn , But if I did .........

"Engage with your lawn, manicure it, make it beatiful". That is wonderfully said.

I love lawn to the point i ripped out one of my lawns last spring to trial Velveteen lawn and whilst my mower is fantastic, i't looks as though the push mower really is worth a try to take the cut to the next level. Loads for $50+/- on gumtree

How does it go with thatch or are the blades of grass cut quiet finely?

Harrow, that is exceptional. What is your maintenance routine like?

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MDSXR6T said..
Harrow, that is exceptional. What is your maintenance routine like?

About 15 years ago I had the top 6 inches of the yard removed because it was solid clay, and replaced it with decent soil. Before I did that, 5 minutes of rain would pool in the yard for a month. It was a quagmire, and was simply unusable from May until September.

Current routine is fairly simple. The lawn is a modern soft leaf buffalo.

1. Fertilise 2 or 3 times a year with Scott's Lawn Builder, using half the recommended amount. (Whenever it starts to lose it's depth of colour - actually I'm overdue!)

2. Only water when the blades of grass begin to shrivel, and when I do water, I walk around with a bare hose (no spray fitting) and soak the ground well. That makes the roots go really deep. Only had to water twice in the 6 week drought Sydney just had. Guess you probably can't achieve that outcome if you have sandy soil.

3. Cut long and cut often. If you let your grass grow long, and then cut short, you are left with stalks. I always use the highest setting on my mower, and cut it regularly - I cut before it looks like it needs to be done, so only take a small amount off each time. This makes the lawn thicken and stay lush and upright.

4. Remove weeds by the root by hand. If you just mow over the weeds, they will gradually spread and take over. It's not hard if you do a quick scan of the yard every few days and keep everything in check. I find it therapeutic, and the long thick grass blocks most of the weeds out anyway.

Oh yeah, buy a push mower. There is no comparison with the result.

This is so true. I have a push mower that I used on our old house with a small lawn. It was a type of buffalo grass I think and with time, was totally lush.

Our new place has much more lawn and a different variety, I've had to go to a petrol mower and it doesn't look half as good.

If anyone wants my push mower they are welcome to come pick it up for free. (I'm in Perth)

Classic review.
You definitely are now "the King of the Cut videos"

+1 on Scott Bonnar reel mowers.
Barely need to idle along, cut superb, self propelled, slip diff setup in rear roller for turning corners, and go forever. Our dad's 1972-3 model is still being used like it is new by my brother and it has been serviced about twice maybe.
The reel against bed plate will still slice paper cleanly.

Hey Matty
Totally agree with you on which is the best push mower.
I started on an Aldi pusher with a catcher around 10 years ago.
My next door neighbour liked it so much he researched heaps and ended up with the Flymo H40.

Eventually he gave up on it because every now and then you need to adjust the blade on the striker plate.
I showed him how to do it but within a year he'd had enough and offered it to me.
He now pays a guy to mow his lawns.
I have to say the Flymo just the best push mower.
You don't need a catcher but if you wish you can buy one for this gem.

One of the best things about these mowers is you are not sniffing 2 stroke fumes, no need for ear muffs and
you don't put your back out trying to pull start the bugger.
You don't need to sharpen the blades as the mowing process does it for you.
I agree, suitable only for small patches of lawn as you mostly need to double pass.

Waz

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Harrow said..

Only had to water twice in the 6 week drought Sydney just had. Guess you probably can't achieve that outcome if you have sandy soil.

6 weeks is not a drought its summer. Longest I can remember with not a drop was almost 6mths, at Leeman between Perth and Gero.
Best summer ever for wind too.

How things are just 'sposed to be

Another advantage is the no noise factor- much nicer for the neighbours.

Some say its better not to use a catcher as the grass cuttings act as a nice mulch- as long as you don't leave too long between cuts.

Must say I am rather pleased to see so many lawn enthusiasts and push mower fans coming out of the woodwork. Is the push mower revolution upon us?

I finally found a store here in Japan where I could buy a bigger, wider push mower...now have a mighty 300mm wide-blade; an increase of 100mm from the old one. I looked at a motor mower: $2,500 for a Honda, and just recently $750 for a Chinese POS.

If I had seen this 6 months ago I would have not ripped up my lawn, ive battled with my lawn for 8 years and finnaly gave up and went fake. Mind you the fake is great, my weekends are a lot easier now.

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Reflex Films said..


Some say its better not to use a catcher as the grass cuttings act as a nice mulch- as long as you don't leave too long between cuts.

I'm pretty sure the catcher from my H40 is gathering dust under my workbench if anyone [local-ish] wants it.

stephen

Picked up my H30 off gumtree, guy couldn't get it to work ( just needed the blades adjusting, 5 mins and good as new), best $30 spent

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Reflex Films said..
i am going for the upgrade!

Here's the big boy. I was trying to figure out how to get an extra couple of cm's on the cut height, when my neighbour put out an old kiddies bicycle for the council cleanup. Couldn't believe my luck - the solid foam rubber tyres were a perfect fit!