Reel Push mower Lawn care... good idea, bad idea

[alehandros_lilbreaker]

I am planning on opening a eco friendly lawn care service with push reel mowers. They don't need gas, low maintenance, eco friendly and actually leave a better cut on your lawn. Now why aren't people using this method! is it some kind of lawn care taboo? I also need to find a way to edge and blow lawns without using gas. I know there are some eco friendly options but here are the problem with those: The problem with battery powered is that the battery only lasts 30 min or so, which will make it impossible if i am going to mow 10 houses a day. And if i use plug in equipment, im stuck carring an extension cord everywere, not to mention that houses only have outlets in the back yard. I can always just use a broom vs using a blower... but for the edging...are there any manual trimmers for the grass? If this topic was already discussed please send me the link so i can read up on it. thanks

[Steve]

Lawn care business tips

Hi alehandros, I think you are on to something. It can work but I think it depends on many factors. First off, what area are you in? Is this an area that will be more eco-friendly? Then I would wonder what are the average yard sizes in the area you would service? Are they small enough to allow you to do this work and not be worn out too quickly? Maybe you could go with an electric mower instead of a push mower? Or maybe even a propane powered mower? As far as electric edgers, could you take something like the one in the picture below, like get a used one and convert it to be powered by a car battery? That could be really cool. What do you think about this?

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[alehandros_lilbreaker]

I am planning on targetting smaller lots that require walk behind mowers anyways.

I live in montreal and I can say that eco-friendly products are poping up everywhere, but it isn't so popular in the services.
As a formal employee of a landscaping company i know that a quieter, smog free lawn mower would be most ideal for the worker and most importantly the home owner. With that said, an electric powered lawn mower wouldn't be ideal for the same reason of a trimmer, too much hastle with all the cords and the innaccessibily of powering your lawn mower from outlets located in the back of houses. If you look up a reel mower you will find out that they actully cut cleaner than a rotary lawn mower and have several other benefits. IT also cuts costs on gas expense so thats more profitable for you.
Anyway, a machine that is that large and still runs on gas or propane, still wouldnt be ideal. If i want to go eco friednly id have to go all the way. And even if i convert it to a car battery, i guarantee that the car battery won't last me through a full day. there for i'd have to carry multiple batteries with me. Thanks for the suggestion though.

I also want to suggest to all landscaping companies to sell off your gas lawn mowers and change to reel mowing. Global warming is a huge problem and changing our habits can hopefully influence others and ultimatly cut down on pollution. Gas mowers and other small motors don't have catalytic converters to clean out most of the pollutants, on a gallon to gallon basis a mower is 93 times more pollutant than a new car. Imagine how many lawn mowers per year are blowing out pollutants right in your backyard.

[Steve]

Maybe just start with a push reel mowers and go from there? See if the market would jump on it. It sure would be interesting to see!

We've also bought a reel mower to do smaller lots as part of our push to get into organic lawn care. I live in Vancouver, so I'm pretty much in the same boat as you in terms of lawn size...we do all of ours with push mowers.

For a lot of other people to convert to push-reel mowers it would be difficult, because of the scale of jobs. I definitely agree that it's a better cut, also stripes the lawn nicely. They're just more of a hassle to sharpen the blades on.

[alehandros_lilbreaker]

thanks for the post.

I actually just found on google a trimmer WITH a catalitic converter and from what i know, are allowed to be selled in california. the reason why i mention california is because they have a strict emmision law that prevents high smog-emmision products to be sold within its state.
heres the name of the trimmer:
Makita BCM2610 25.6CC

How are people reacting to the idea of reel mowers in vancouver?
Another great factor is that you don't need a truck and trailer to haul your equipment. Reel mowers are very light and very small. A mini van or even a car with seats that fold down in the back can cary all the equipment needed.

[makbootzy]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (alehandros_lilbreaker @ April 14 2008,8:35)]A mini van or even a car with seats that fold down in the back can cary all the equipment needed.

or a hybrid?

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (alehandros_lilbreaker @ April 14 2008,11:35)]How are people reacting to the idea of reel mowers in Vancouver?

Don't know yet, I don't start working for another two weeks. Gotta finish school.

[alehandros_lilbreaker]

A hybrid vehicle is very expensive. that is my goal one of these days, but to afford that every crew has a hybrid vehicle would be too much of an expense.

[makbootzy]

Yeah they are a bit much....what anout buying a small old diesel and convert to run on vegetable oil