Cylinder Mower Vs. Rotary Mower

Ease of Use

• Older, cast iron reel mowers were heavy. Newer models are lightweight and easier to push. Pushing a reel mower is clean, quiet work, a comfortable form of aerobic exercise. Unless you have a self-propelled rotary mower, you have to push both the mower and engine around your yard. Baggers get heavier as they fill, and moving on hills is even more work. It helps if you buy a model with large rear wheels. If you do not use a bagging or mulching attachment, rotary mowers can spit out pebbles, sticks and twigs. Rotary blades are a hazard to your toes if you aren’t careful.

Quality of Cut

• Reel mowers cut grass blades like scissors, so they cut cleanly. They flatten high grass instead of cutting it, and they can't cut weeds. Because the wheels of reel mowers are outside the cutting reel, they leave wheel tracks on the lawn. Rotary mowers whip grass with spinning blades. They cut evenly although they fray the edges of the grass. Because the wheels of rotary mowers are generally inside the widest swing of the blade, you can trim grass close to flower beds, tree trunks or fencing, and you can whack down tall weeds. When you’re finished, your lawn looks clean and tidy.

Clippings

• Because reel mowers are not good for tall grass, you have to mow more frequently. Mowing more often means small clippings. You can collect these clippings in a catcher, but if you leave them on the grass, they will decay and return to the lawn, lowering your need for fertilizer. You can use a bagging attachment on a rotary mower to collect the clippings or a mulching attachment to chop the clippings finely so they can return to the lawn as mulch, and you can collect tree leaves and small twigs.

Mowing Time

• You can use a reel mower to cut your lawn when it’s wet, so you can mow early in the morning when it’s cool. Because reel mowers are quiet, you won’t disturb your neighbors. This is a special advantage in hot summer weather. You can also mow in the evening after the dew has condensed. In wet weather, rotary blades spit out chunks of grass that you have to rake. They send up clouds of dust in hot weather.

Cost and Maintenance

• Reel mowers are simple, easy to maintain and cost less to buy and use. Rotary mowers are powered by gasoline or electric engines. Gas engines are noisy, and they emit carbon dioxide and other air pollutants. If a rotary mower has a two-cycle engine, you have to mix oil with gas. If it is powered by an electric engine, you have to drag a cord around. If the electric engine is battery-powered you have to dispose of worn-out batteries that are toxic waste.