Great States 1204-14 Deluxe Hand Reel Mower

by Gregorio Williams
(Buena Park, California)

14-Inch Deluxe American Hand Reel Mower

I'm currently eighteen, living in Buena Park, California. Currently living on a budget and getting all my mower advice from the man I actually mow lawns for; My Grandpa. I'll admit I know next to nothing when it comes to this, but I have used quite a bit of mowers thanks to my grand parents.

My Grandpa once told me that real men don't have to rely on lawn mowers that do all the work for you. He was old fashioned, never relied on some mechanical equipment to do his job.

So, recently he bought a new push mower: From The Great States, 14" deluxe hand-reel mower (See all Walk-Behind Reel Mowers). Bought it online, unusual for him to do, but he managed to succeed. It was easily the worst mower I've ever had in my life... Granted, in did a wonderful job at cutting the grass (In small areas, I didn't have the time for bigger areas-- That and doing them was more of a hassle than it was worth. Clean up was always terrible and I favor gas mowers for that aspect.) I just didn't have the time like he did. I hated pushing it around--

Although, this might be because I'm lazy. The actual mower did it's job well and by well I mean it was the best I've seen from a hand-reel mower. It cut the lawn just how it was meant to be cut and boy, did it do an amazing job. Opposed to lugging around one of the mechanical mowers, this one was pretty easy. It moved pretty weightlessly while you pushed it and it was guaranteed to get the job done better than any gas powered mower ever could.

Now, I don't want to be siding with my Grandpa on this one, but I have to admit. When it comes to getting that fresh, clean cut you're looking for. I'm going to have to side with my bias on this one for sure.

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Great States 1204-14 Deluxe Hand Reel Mower

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Great States 1204-14 - Best Mower For A Small Girl Like Me
by: Cecila Reyes

I have owned the American Lawn Mower 1204-14 Deluxe Reel Mower for about 9 months. I recently moved into a rental house with a small yard. I needed to have something that I could store inside my house; I do not have a garage or shed. I also needed a non-gas powered mower.

I did not want to have to go to the gas station and pay to mow my yard. I researched Amazon.com and fount this one. It cost around seventy dollars and there was free shipping. It came unassembled and was easy to put together. I actually just took it apart to move it to my parent?s house, and know it will be easy to put together again.

I love the fact that this mower is a push model. I am a small girl and it is easy to pick up and move around my yard. It does a pretty good job of cutting the grass, and doesn?t leave a huge mess around the yard when I am done. The blades are still sharp. It is important to keep the mower out of the rain so it does not rust.

The cons of this mower are that it is difficult to mow tall grass. I would suggest getting a weed whacker or mowing often so the grass is not too tall. It also cannot handle thick weeds. I had a few "tree like" weeds that I needed to pull myself. The mower just pushed them down.

The other con is that often there are a few stray blades of grass that are still around after I mow. If you are interested in a green option for a mower this is the one for you. Just do not expect a perfectly mowed yard. Maybe other push mowers could perform better; I know Amazon has a large selection.

Rating

Blades Are Exposed - Be Careful Around Small Children Or Pets
by: Barbara Davis

My lawn mower is a push lawn mower that I purchased at the WalMart down the street from my house in San Diego, California. It is a Great States Push Reel Lawn Mower that is fully human powered and was purchased three years ago for around 100 dollars.

I love that my mower does not require gas or electricity. It is environmentally friendly. The flip-side of that is that it can be difficult to mow the lawn. Using it over large areas is most definitely an arm workout. At times, it feels like an aerobic workout as well.

The mower works well on the crab grass that dominates my backyard. However, the particularly mound like grass that is invading can be difficult to mow with this lawn mower. Also, it does not roll backwards easily. You always have to lift it off the ground and turn it around to change directions or go back over a place you missed the first time around.

My front yard is roughly 1000 square feet and the backyard is about the same. It is a major chore to mow even this relatively small yard with this mower. However, I enjoy the workout and the peace of mind that I am not polluting the environment while mowing my lawn. I would not recommend this lawn mower for people who have difficulty exercising (mildly) or have very large lawns.

Another drawback of this mower is that the blades are completely exposed. As the mother of a toddler, this scares me. We keep it locked away in a closet and only use it when one of us can take our child to the park as the other mows the lawn. Although all mowers are inherently dangerous to small children, the lack of a guard covering the blades on this mower seems to make it even more dangerous than most other lawn mowers.

Despite the drawbacks of this lawnmower, we are still using it three years after purchasing it. It is our only lawn mower (much to my husband?s dismay) but we do occasionally supplement it with a weed eater to control the edges and those clumps of grass the mower doesn?t knock down. We have frequently oiled this mower and stored it in a dry, covered location. The exposed nature of the blades could cause them to weather quickly if this mower is not stored correctly.

Rating

Cheap And Cheerful
by: Lesley Jenkins

I bought an American Lawn Mower Model: 1204-14 to be more eco-friendly. Since gas prices have been rising, I?ve decided that maybe a push mower would not only be eco-friendly but save me some money in the process. So I bought this model from American Lawn Mower to take care of the small patch of yard of my apartments.

I bought it online at Amazon.com and with their free shipping with purchases over $25, it was a steal. I was a little disappointed that I did not receive the color (red) that was advertised on the website. Instead I received a rather ugly blue one.

I?m a 5?5? woman and didn?t really have a lot of trouble pushing around this mower. It?s nice and sturdy for the short crab grass and weeds of my yard. The handles are a little bit flimsy and I do worry that if I press down too hard or put too much weight on them that they would bend.

I think that may be because of the material (aluminum) the handles are made of. The foam grips are a bit cheap and they?ve torn with use. Little bits and pieces of it are missing since using the mower. I did take this to my parent?s house where the grass is a mile high and had a tough time cutting anything.

The mower works great on short grass but when you tackle anything over four inches it just kind of poops out. It doesn?t even cut just whacks the grass around and leaves me frustrated. After a while the blades do dull and I didn?t take account of the upkeep needed for them.

So the mower works pretty good on small yards and doesn?t require abs of steal to push. I?d watch out for the handlebars because they?re pretty cheaply made. Also, the American Lawn Mower isn?t made for heavy duty jobs so I?d go back to a gas powered motor for that. I have saved money and loosed some weight by using this lawn mower though.

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