Customer Reviews
Piece of junk 
2008-07-10
Do not buy this product.
I chose it because of the cutting width and height adjustments. The thing broke within the first hour of use. Amazon sent a replacement, and that one also broke, although after about 4 months of use. The two-year warranty is worthless, as they won't replace their defective product.
This mower has a serious design flaw. The sprockets inside the wheels are made out of plastic. They get stripped by the metal of the blade-axel. Then they are totally worthless. After one breaks then the blade is turned only by the other side, putting more strain on it. It will soon break too.
This was two separate units that broke. It's not that I got a lemon. The product is worthless.
Reel mowers are very nice. Choose another brand.
Great lawn mower for smaller yards 
2008-07-10
The Scotts 20-inch Classic Push Reel Lawn Mower does a great job on my smaller yard. I have used it about half a dozen times and only encounter problems when I come across small sticks. The quiet nature and lack of fumes is well worth the the small amount of headache sticks create. Overall a great product.
Great mower, good work out 2008-07-07
The mower works great, although you have to keep up with it. If the grass gets to long, it won't cut it. A great way to workout.
Bad factory adjustments 
2008-07-06
I liked the whole idea of not paying for gasoline and not having to maintain a power mower. When this mower arrived, I found that the reel was adjusted so tight that it could not even be moved. The instructions said that it was properly adjusted by the factory. It wasn't and after considerable work on my part I managed to get it to work fairly well. It does take more effort to push this mower and I wouldn't advise someone to use it if they are not in good physical shape.
No Fuss 2008-07-05
My Scott's mower has proved to be a good purchase so far. I've used it several times over the last few months and have enjoyed using it. I originally purchased it so I could have the kids cut the lawn without worrying about them having an accident with my power mower. They now prefer using the Scott's over the power because it's quicker and lighter to handle than the power. I enjoy it for the exercise I get and the ability to use it during early or late times without bothering my neighbors. My only concern for the future use is the durability of the mower handle. The wing nut screws seem to loosen after awhile and need a turn here and there-but so far no big problem. The other rule that I've read before is you can't let the lawn get too long and try to bull through it-you can but it won't look good. In conclusion-good product-wanted to buy an American made mower but they did not get the positive reviews this one did!
Basically Junk 2008-07-20
I was hoping this would be a good option for saving on gas and getting some exercise, but although this mower accomplishes both those things, it does a really poor job of cutting grass. I have to mow over some places multiple times, and this mower WILL NOT CUT DOWN A DANDELION. I have to go back and pull all of those up by hand. It also jams really easily with just small (1/2") pieces of bark or limbs. I gave it 2 stars because it always functions, and if something were to go wrong with my regular mower, I could use this one in a pinch. But as for saving fuel, it just isn't worth it. It takes me two hours to do my yard with this mower, whereas I can finish in an hour (or less) with my regular mower. An hour of my time is worth more than the $4 for a gallon of gas. I'll pay the $4 and save time and aggravation.
Awesome yard, easy to use and great exercise 
2008-07-19
I purchased this because I always wanted one as a child. My parents never thought much of them. I recently decided to try it while my husband was out camping with boy scouts. WOW! It's everything I imagined and more. Not only is it easy to use and lightweight, but the yard is looking better and better with each cutting. I've been using it for about a month now. The benefits: easy to use, very little storage room required, quiet, can mow in the rain or when grass is still wet, excellent workout. In fact, I am an overweight, 44 year old woman and this is one of the best motivaters for exercise I have found. If you don't mow the grass, it gets too long to work. Also, not only are you getting a good workout, you get a great looking lawn also! You can see the fruits of your labor being cut from the lawn and you get fit also.
I didn't realize people would purchase these to save gas, but that's another added benefit. Go green! Go fit! Go motorless!
Deja Vu. Cutting Grass Again. 2008-07-17
I have no complaints. The 20-inch Scotts Classic Push Lawn Mower came partially disassembled, but putting it together was reasonably easy. And using it wasn't as dreaded a chore as I thought it would be. The last time I had cut grass was in 1958 (50 years ago) when I was 18 back in Connecticut. Now I'm 68 and now I'm cutting tough Bermuda grass in the hot, summer heat here in Northern Texas. P.R., Fort Worth, TX
ok for tiny little yards 
2008-07-13
I love the idea of this mower - no gas, kinder to the grass, a more environmentally responsible choice. It is terrific for a tiny little yard and if used every few days. I cannot use this mower for my entire 1/4 acre (and I'm an athlete so I'm not afraid of a little physical workout) but I guess I just don't enjoy lawn mowing enough to attempt a morning of mowing with this reel mower. I use it on my front yard only. And if I let the grass go for longer than a week, it is too late and we have to have it done with a power mower. A terrific alternative for city folk and those suburbanites with very small plots of grass.
Artisan Mowing 2008-07-13
I saw these on sale for Earth Day, but didn't make the decision to buy one until a couple of weeks afterward. This review is for the Scotts 20-inch Push Reel mower, but as the only push reel I've ever owned, this is also partly a review of push reel mowing in general.
This mower does generally do a good job of mowing. It is not perfect, particularly with weedy parts of the yard, but it is adequate if you are okay with your yard not looking perfect. In fairness to the push reel mower, my powered mower doesn't yield perfection either.
It is quieter than a powered mower. It is by no means silent, but I can wear my .mp3 player and mow. There are no gas fumes, which is also a plus. It's definitely more eco-friendly because it relies on human power.
It's a bit more work than my power mower (which isn't self propelled), and it tends to work the upper body more while my power mower takes more leg power.
I call this review "artisan mowing" because there is more technique involved with this type of mower. It thrives on long, continuous cuts. You have to be willing to go backwards (which doesn't cut) and sometimes forwards again to get a nice clean cut on some corner areas or other tight spaces. The blades of grass are cut just once, which means that the resulting clippings can gather on the lawn and not look as clean as the mulched clippings from a power mower. The advantage to this, however, is that I don't get a lot of "lawn pesto" on the sidewalks and drive. The clippings do tend to spray out the back of the mower onto your legs, but because the grass isn't being pulverized by a blade it's not annoying or messy. One day I was mowing through clover flowers and felt like I was a float in the Tournament of Roses parade with all of the flowers spraying up around me.
Mulch and twigs will get caught in the mower and stop it. It's easy to just rotate the blade back with your shoe and you can move forward again.
I did not experience any issues getting the foam handle on the mower - mine came with the foam handle on the mower. I deducted one star from this review because the handle is not very durable and actually quite flimsy. As you turn corners, the handles works its way loose. The mower does have wing nuts, so it's easy to tighten the handle on the fly, but it is annoying. I've found that it helps to back up and hit something at a different angle rather than trying to turn corners with the mower.
You have to get the knack for dealing with the width of the cut - it does leave a relatively wide uncut boarder and thus requires both more overlap when mowing the yard and more work with the trimmer afterwards. The mower is much wider than it's cutting path, especially compared to powered mower.
Overall, I recommend this mower, but I still need to use my power mower to get a good clean cut from time to time, especially when the weeds are growing fast. It is definitely more fun and less annoying than the power mower, and the extra work is great exercise.
