YARDWORK : Reel Mowers Pushed Back Into Service

Sleeping in on Saturday mornings may become easier, if your neighbors are among the growing number of Americans welcoming back an old and almost-forgotten friend: the push lawn mower.

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More properly called a reel mower, these human-powered contraptions are making a comeback among environmentally conscious homeowners. Reel mowers don’t guzzle gas; they also don’t pollute and they offer a bit of a workout.

The pollution-free angle has not been lost on reel mower manufacturers, who are now promoting their century-old product as the “environmental mower.” The change has resulted in the biggest sales numbers since the 1940s, when reel mowers first gained mass popularity.

American Lawn Mower Co./Great States Corp. sold 200,000 reel mowers in 1945. The advent of power rotary mowers 20 years later saw sales drop to less than half that, but in 1991-92, sales leaped back up to the ’45 high.

“Our sales are going fantastic. We’re up about 130% in the last three seasons. And the West is where most of our sales are, especially in Southern California,” said Jim Hewitt, vice president of sales and marketing for the Indiana-based company.

Hewitt, and other reel mower manufacturers, attribute the Western boom to both environmental awareness and Californians’ obsession with keeping fit.

“I’ll go down to Huntington Beach on a business trip and see an 80-year-old jogging,” Hewitt said. “That is something you just don’t see here” in Indiana.

The fitness sales angle is not just marketing hype. It is possible to get a mid-level aerobic workout from pushing a reel mower if it takes at least 20 minutes to mow the lawn, according to Doreen Myers, director of cardiology at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana. Cardiovascular studies show that the average person burns up six to eight calories a minute using a reel mower, she added.

Even local retailers are noticing that customers are buying reel mowers with physical fitness in mind. “We have people coming in looking for them as a way to get exercise. It seems to be mostly men in their 30s who want them,” said Jonathan Beck, sales clerk for Home Depot in Westminster.

Home Depot’s sales manual--which profiles the hardware store’s average customers--states that reel mowers appeal to the environmentally minded and fitness-conscious, Beck said.

“It’s true,” said Dave Zerfoss, president of Husqvarna Forest & Garden Co. in North Carolina. “There’s health-conscious people out there who are paying for a lawn service and paying to belong to a health club when they could save money and get the same benefits by using a reel mower.”

The small size of Southern California’s suburban lawns, especially in newer developments, is another reason why manufacturers say they are gaining sales in the West. They claim reel mowers are easier to maneuver in tight yards and take up less storage space than a power mower.

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The roar of gas-powered mowers on a Sunday morning has become part of the stereotyped suburban landscape. More power, not less, is on the mind of comedian Tim Allen of TV’s “Home Improvement,” who talks in his stand-up comedy routine about replacing his mower’s engine with that of a Chevy truck.

Ironically, if everyone would follow suit and replace their old lawn mower engines with new car engines, it would actually be better for the environment, although not necessarily for the lawn.

Operating a power mower for one hour emits the same amount of air pollution as running 40 new cars for the same amount of time, according to studies by the Air Quality Management District.

Because power mowers are such high polluters, the state has passed a law that will force manufacturers to make more efficient models by 1995. Reel mower manufacturers anticipate that the new law will drive conservation-minded consumers to turn away completely from power mowers.

Sales brochures from several companies now make reference to reel mowers being “environmentally responsible” and meeting “today’s environmental concerns.”

Because the West is aggressive in air pollution laws, Zerfoss said his company is going to concentrate on marketing its Husqvarna 5400 reel mower to retailers in California. Currently the mower is only available to Westerners from mail order catalogues.

Reel mower manufacturer Agri-Fab Inc. has seen sales of its reel mowers increase 10% to 15% in the last year, with most of the new sales being recorded in the West, according to Hillary Stain, sales manager for the Illinois-based company.

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In addition to people wanting to save the environment as they burn fat, Stain said reel mowers are becoming more popular because of design improvements that have made the mowers lighter and quieter than the old clunker grandpa used.

“This isn’t your grandfather’s lawn mower that was a bear to use,” said Zerfoss. “The new mowers are lightweight with a tempered blade that requires less maintenance and stays sharper longer.”

The new reel mowers are quieter because the cylinder that contains the blades no longer hit the cutter bar as it is pushed. Thus, you don’t hear the clicking sound usually associated with reel mowers. The change also makes the mowers easier to push than their predecessors.

“I also think noise pollution has done a lot to get people looking at reel mowers,” Hewitt said. “Just look at a suburban neighborhood on a Saturday morning with 100 people out there mowing their little areas. The noise is enough to drive people out of town.”

In addition to the reduction in air and noise pollution and the health-improving elements, there is yet another good reason to turn to reel mowers: they do a better job of cutting grass than power mowers.

The rotary blade of a power mower hacks off grass in clumps, while reel mowers use a scissor motion that makes a clean snip and leaves a fine spray of cuttings that decompose quickly.

“You don’t have to rake up the cuttings. They break down and release nitrogen into the soil, actually acting as a fertilizer,” Hewitt said.

The gentleness of a reel mower’s cut makes it perfect for use on a newly planted lawn. The grass can be trimmed without fear that the mower will yank it up at the roots.

A hybrid reel mower, called a gang reel, is used to keep golf courses trim. It is dragged behind an engine powered tractor, though, not exactly ideal for the average homeowner.

Still, the same technology can be bought with the average reel mower.

“And there’s no fumes or pollution so it’s environmentally responsible, and it’s good exercise and a good stress release. What other product can offer all that?” asks Zerfoss.

Another advantage reel mowers have over their engine-powered counterparts is a lower price tag and simpler maintenance.

Reel mowers retail from about $58 to $100 from large stores. Models carried in mail order catalogues generally are priced higher.