Reel mowers
- Thread starter Patman
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Originally Posted By: Patman
What about one of those cooking sprays like Pam? Or olive oil? I'd love to use a food based lubricant if possible!
We used Canola oil on ours for years, always worked well.
What about one of those cooking sprays like Pam? Or olive oil? I'd love to use a food based lubricant if possible!
We used Canola oil on ours for years, always worked well.
Originally Posted By: GumbyJarvis
Originally Posted By: Patman
The sound that it makes as you're moving along the lawn is pretty cool too, and if I want to mow my lawn at 6am on a Sunday I won't wake up the neighbors!
Wheres the fun in that? I hate my neighbors, well, some of them, so nothing like cranking up the old Craftsman on the day people THINK theyre gonna sleep in (Saturday) and all of a sudden you look over and have a poed neighbor yelling with her curlers on
Years ago, when I lived in the ghetto, I had neighbors that would keep me up all night. So... on Saturday or Sunday, when everyone was drugged up and hungover, at DAY BREAK I'd fire up the mower and go mow the lawn. Sometimes, this meant at 5:45AM or 6AM. In fact, my elderly neighbor who was always up before me, would start his mowing right after I was finished to keep it going for another hour or 2. I know it wasn't right, but it gave me such satisfaction.
Originally Posted By: Patman
The sound that it makes as you're moving along the lawn is pretty cool too, and if I want to mow my lawn at 6am on a Sunday I won't wake up the neighbors!
Wheres the fun in that? I hate my neighbors, well, some of them, so nothing like cranking up the old Craftsman on the day people THINK theyre gonna sleep in (Saturday) and all of a sudden you look over and have a poed neighbor yelling with her curlers on
Years ago, when I lived in the ghetto, I had neighbors that would keep me up all night. So... on Saturday or Sunday, when everyone was drugged up and hungover, at DAY BREAK I'd fire up the mower and go mow the lawn. Sometimes, this meant at 5:45AM or 6AM. In fact, my elderly neighbor who was always up before me, would start his mowing right after I was finished to keep it going for another hour or 2. I know it wasn't right, but it gave me such satisfaction.
Originally Posted By: scurvy
Originally Posted By: Patman
What about one of those cooking sprays like Pam? Or olive oil? I'd love to use a food based lubricant if possible!
We used Canola oil on ours for years, always worked well.
Was there no build up? Some arborists use vegetable oil in their chainsaws, but if the saw sits for a while the oil can oxidize and clog up the oiler. Stihl sells a stabilized veggie bar oil, which probably is a good general lubricant for something like reel mower and a jug is probably a lifetime supply.
Originally Posted By: Patman
What about one of those cooking sprays like Pam? Or olive oil? I'd love to use a food based lubricant if possible!
We used Canola oil on ours for years, always worked well.
Was there no build up? Some arborists use vegetable oil in their chainsaws, but if the saw sits for a while the oil can oxidize and clog up the oiler. Stihl sells a stabilized veggie bar oil, which probably is a good general lubricant for something like reel mower and a jug is probably a lifetime supply.
Originally Posted By: IndyIan
Was there no build up?
I don't recall ever having this issue with our reel mower. If there was, the next round of cutting our yard stripped it off the cutting surfaces of the blades. I couldn't care less if it built up on other surfaces - the machine was made to cut grass, not to eat off of it.
Was there no build up?
I don't recall ever having this issue with our reel mower. If there was, the next round of cutting our yard stripped it off the cutting surfaces of the blades. I couldn't care less if it built up on other surfaces - the machine was made to cut grass, not to eat off of it.
Patman
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Originally Posted By: scurvy
Originally Posted By: Patman
What about one of those cooking sprays like Pam? Or olive oil? I'd love to use a food based lubricant if possible!
We used Canola oil on ours for years, always worked well.
Did you use it only on the blades or for the wheel bearings too?
Originally Posted By: Patman
What about one of those cooking sprays like Pam? Or olive oil? I'd love to use a food based lubricant if possible!
We used Canola oil on ours for years, always worked well.
Did you use it only on the blades or for the wheel bearings too?
Originally Posted By: Patman
Did you use it only on the blades or for the wheel bearings too?
Just the blades. Never did anything to the wheel bearings, nor did I have to.
Did you use it only on the blades or for the wheel bearings too?
Just the blades. Never did anything to the wheel bearings, nor did I have to.
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
I use a reel mower, but it's not human powered...
That looks like a Trimmer, made in Fresno.
Those and Tru-cut are great machines.
I have a Scott's push mower and it works great for weekly mowing. If the lawn goes two weeks it can't cut it and the Honda rotary comes out. Also a reel mower can't cut any extra tall shoots and leaves straglers if the grass is too tall.
I use a reel mower, but it's not human powered...
That looks like a Trimmer, made in Fresno.
Those and Tru-cut are great machines.
I have a Scott's push mower and it works great for weekly mowing. If the lawn goes two weeks it can't cut it and the Honda rotary comes out. Also a reel mower can't cut any extra tall shoots and leaves straglers if the grass is too tall.
Originally Posted By: tom slick
That looks like a Trimmer, made in Fresno.
They used to be up until a couple of years ago when Eastman bought Trimmer.
The good new is they're still being produced to the exact same specifications
as Trimmers were made under. Eastman mowers are made in Maine, USA.
That looks like a Trimmer, made in Fresno.
They used to be up until a couple of years ago when Eastman bought Trimmer.
The good new is they're still being produced to the exact same specifications
as Trimmers were made under. Eastman mowers are made in Maine, USA.
I have a 22" Craftsman, for about 3000 square feet of lawn. I like it. It's quiet, takes up little space, and has no cord, gas, or batteries to deal with. Best of all, I don't need to have a shower and change my clothes after using it like with a gas mower! I don't find it significantly more difficult to push than a gas mower - a little harder than a light one and a little easier than a heavy one - and it's a lot easier to maneuver.
The main disadvantage is its poor performance in cutting long, stiff strands of grass. I always tend to wait too long before cutting though. If I made sure to do it once a week or less it probably wouldn't be an issue. It also doesn't cut very close to walls and fences, and obviously it's unable to collect and mulch leaves in the fall.
I think this is the fourth year I've had it. I haven't done anything with it except pull it out, cut the grass, and put it away. I don't cut the grass when it's wet though, and it's rarely humid here. My ex-girlfriend has been using an 18" Craftsman for almost a decade now and, judging by her lawn, it must be working fine. I don't think it's received any maintenance aside from the couple of times I repositioned the cutter bar.
The main disadvantage is its poor performance in cutting long, stiff strands of grass. I always tend to wait too long before cutting though. If I made sure to do it once a week or less it probably wouldn't be an issue. It also doesn't cut very close to walls and fences, and obviously it's unable to collect and mulch leaves in the fall.
I think this is the fourth year I've had it. I haven't done anything with it except pull it out, cut the grass, and put it away. I don't cut the grass when it's wet though, and it's rarely humid here. My ex-girlfriend has been using an 18" Craftsman for almost a decade now and, judging by her lawn, it must be working fine. I don't think it's received any maintenance aside from the couple of times I repositioned the cutter bar.
Originally Posted By: Patman
Originally Posted By: vossman
I have a Scott's 20" and love it as well. I have used WD40, RemOil and a multi-purpose oil from Ace Hardware with Cerflon in it. Of the three, I liked the RemOil best. It seems to evaporate and not attract dust like the other two. It also seems to give the best and longest lasting lubrication (reel seems to spin easier longer) I would think vegetable oil would make a sticky mess IMHO. I am going to try to find a moly dry lube and try that next. I spray a line along the rigid cutterbar and spin the reel backwards to lube the cutting edges. Let me know if you find a product you like!
What about one of those cooking sprays like Pam? Or olive oil? I'd love to use a food based lubricant if possible!
I like to have the best lubricant possible to make the reel a little easier to push and the RemOil seems to last about halfway through mowing my yard. I just never ventured into cooking oil due to I thought I have heard its not a great lubricant by itself and I thought it would oxidize and gum up on areas that don't do the cutting. I'm sure it would keep the rust away and certainly be environmentally friendly. I figure the Teflon or even Cerflon would provide some longer wearing and "slippery-er" lube in a low speed application like a reel mower. I did find a biodegradable gun oil with Teflon in it if you are interested. Its Weapon 3x from a company called Centerfire Cleaning Solutions. Keep on reelin'
Originally Posted By: vossman
I have a Scott's 20" and love it as well. I have used WD40, RemOil and a multi-purpose oil from Ace Hardware with Cerflon in it. Of the three, I liked the RemOil best. It seems to evaporate and not attract dust like the other two. It also seems to give the best and longest lasting lubrication (reel seems to spin easier longer) I would think vegetable oil would make a sticky mess IMHO. I am going to try to find a moly dry lube and try that next. I spray a line along the rigid cutterbar and spin the reel backwards to lube the cutting edges. Let me know if you find a product you like!
What about one of those cooking sprays like Pam? Or olive oil? I'd love to use a food based lubricant if possible!
I like to have the best lubricant possible to make the reel a little easier to push and the RemOil seems to last about halfway through mowing my yard. I just never ventured into cooking oil due to I thought I have heard its not a great lubricant by itself and I thought it would oxidize and gum up on areas that don't do the cutting. I'm sure it would keep the rust away and certainly be environmentally friendly. I figure the Teflon or even Cerflon would provide some longer wearing and "slippery-er" lube in a low speed application like a reel mower. I did find a biodegradable gun oil with Teflon in it if you are interested. Its Weapon 3x from a company called Centerfire Cleaning Solutions. Keep on reelin'
I have one that I have been using since 2003. I like it and recommend it. The only thing I have done to it is to adjust the blade. Am I supposed to oil it?
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