Task Force 20" Reel Mower, model 289835

by Sally
(Cincinnati, OH, USA)


We got our mower last year. It was purchased at a Lowe's Home Improvement store. I think it maybe cost us around $130.


We had just moved into our first house together as a couple. We owned no tools. I had never mowed a lawn before in my life. We didn't have a lot of money. So (this sounds so trite) we decided to be green and save green.

It is an old-fashioned mechanical push mower. No gas can, no mixing oil, no charging. Also, no air pollution, noise pollution, or waste from the fuel and oil packaging. Just roll it out and go.

It is very light weight and easy to push. The noise from conventional lawn mowers had always bothered me, this mower only makes a whispery shirring sound. I feel safe using it; since it isn't motorized and has stops when I stop I'm not afraid of it throwing a rock or catching myself in it somehow.

I have now officially taken over lawn mowing. My husband is not allowed to do it because I get such a kick out of it.

The maintenance is practically nil. I think you are supposed to get the blades sharpened every few years, that's it. I'd maybe hit the wheels and the reel mechanism with a little wd-40 in the springtime, just to be safe.

I would absolutely recommend it to anyone with a smallish yard..

The is only one downside. It WILL NOT break through any kind of sticks or twigs that are in the yard. You absolutely must go through the yard and make sure there are no stray twigs, especially if there has been a storm or something recently. If the mower catches or jams on something, you must stop. After you stop, back it up, remove the offending object, and go back to mowing. DO NOT try to force it. My husband did and he pushed the reel mechanism out of alignment. That was a right pain to fix.

Comments for Task Force 20" Reel Mower, model 289835

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Aug 29, 2010
Rating
starstar
Good mower; cheap, crappy handle
by: John B

I would love this mower, if they had t chosen to put a really cheap and flexible handle on it. After a few uses, I the handle comes off in my hands several times per mowing and I have to stop to bend it back into shape and slip it back over the cylinders to which it attaches. 4ยข worth of cotter pins would have fixed this issue, had they bothered to test it, but now I have to find a way to drill into the little cylinders myself to fix what they should have seen int the design phase.

The mower itself works fine and when I replace this, it will be with another brand of reel mower, from a company that doesn't watch their pennies quite so closely.

Jul 31, 2010
Rating
starstarstarstar
Good mower
by: Zach Schneider

It's a good mower for the cost and it takes some change in mowing technique than from a gas driven mower. It will cut thick and high grass, but you have to know how to adjust the height of the mower adn how to adjust the reels to the shear bar. THE largest drawback to this mower is that the handle needs to be made of a more robust material as it constantly flexes at the point of attachment to the blade area and is suceptible to cracking.
I do not recommend this mower for anything above 2 acres unless you just like the workout.

Jun 27, 2010
Rating
starstar
Not for me
by: Anonymous

I do NOT recommend this mower to anyone with anything other than an immaculately smooth lawn. I have found several things:

a) It takes at least twice as long to mow as before, which I could live with if that were the only drawback.
b) Not only does it not like sticks and pine cones (and I have a lot of both), it WILL NOT cut high grass, coarse grass, crabgrass, or dandelions.
c) Because of b), I have to go back over the whole yard with a string trimmer in order for the yard not to look like a haircut given by a 5-year-old.
d) If you have any unevenness in the yard, it is unforgiving and either stops or just doesn't cut.

I'm glad so many people have had better luck than I have. It's possible my yard is not right for it. I was trying to be economical and ecological, but I'm thinking I may have to now bite the bullet and go electric...determined not to return to gas.

Apr 26, 2010
Rating
starstarstarstarstar
bad handle
by: Anonymous

The mower cuts well and is not too heavy. The only problem I am having is the handle where it attaches to the mower is folding up on itself and is not going to last much longer. Wish the handle was made better.

Apr 25, 2010
Rating
starstarstarstarstar
I love it :)
by: Victor

I typically wake up very early in the mornings and nothing was more frustrating than having to waiting till 10:30am till the neighborhood wakes up to mow my lawn with my gas mower.

Living in Texas, it can pretty hot by 10:30am in summer.

So enter the Task Force 20" Reel Mower.

AWESOME machine.
I found it far lighter to push and maneuver than my "self propelled" gas mower.

IT'S VERY QUIET.
I can use it at the crack of dawn without waking up my neighbors.

My lawn looks like a golf course now, lol. Nice and smooth.

ALSO, it's very easy to whip out during the week and trim faster growing areas of the lawn. No gasoline, very little hassle and best of all, since it actually cuts the grass not rip it, I have to deal with far fewer grass stains.

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