Maybe you have noticed that we talk, and talk, and talk about the new Fiskars Momentum. What else are we going to talk about, that super heavy old mower your grandpa used? No way! Fiskars continues to feed us new and exciting marketing tid-bits and we are excited to share them with the ecomowers community.
The following how-to videos will help explain how-to assemble the Momentum mower and how to adjust the cutting height and handlebars of the Fiskars reel mower.
It was announced today that Fiskars completed a product test of the Momentum mower by the National Home Gardening Club. Testers were NHGC members and were pre-screened to be current reel mower users. After assembling and using the Momentum, testers were asked to rate the mower on several different attributes on which Fiskars scored extremely high.
100% of testers would recommend the Momentum to another member!
Below is a short summary of the test results.
Momentum Mower NHGC Test Results
NOTE: NHGC will feature the Momentum test results in the July / August issue of the Gardening How-To Magazine.
Creating happy customers and energetic fans is what we like to call “customer service 2.0″. Helga from LiveGreenMom.com is a great example. Helga was eying a new Momentum mower from Fiskars for the longest time, talking about it on Facebook, sending fun tweets to her twitter community – then she got her hands on the mower. Her friends thought she had gone bonkers, “you’ll hate a reel mower” they said! Checkout LiveGreenMom’s 2min quick Fisakrs Momentum video –> “that was easy!”
Fans of EcoMowers.com tell us they love their new Momentum reel mower, and to top that, Consumer Reports gives Fiskars the best ratings! Consumer Reports selected the Momentum reel mower over the Scotts Classic and EASUN Classic HD reel mowers. A well deserved congratulations is in order for the entire Fiskars team who diligently worked on this fantastic green machine – way to go!
Consumer Reports 2010 Eco-Friendly Mower Reviews
The three mowers tested are best suited for longer, thicker grasses (we still have a place in our heart for the Brill and EASUN Ideal mowers for a shorter professional look). According to Consumer Reports, the Momentum mower was selected for its single-lever height adjustment and the front-throw cutting design (we also like the new 4″ cutting height). If you can afford $250 – this is a great mower!
Consumer Reports reviewed 3 of the top reel mowers (Fiskars being their pick), so let’s take a quick look at the Scotts Classic and the EASUN Classic as both are good mowers with different price points. The Scotts Classic is generally $150 or less and is a push mower you can trust. It cuts most grasses well and will last for years (pending annual sharpening). The EASUN Classic is just over $200 and uses modern “contact-free” cutting technology which both eliminates sharpening and makes pushing easier.
Get a reel mower! I have a Reel Mower! These mowers Reely work! Reel men push mow!
The list is long for these clever and popular puns. Huh? What is a “reel” mower anyway? For many green industry “professionals”, namely landscape contractors, golf course superintendents, turfgrass managers, etc., the term “reel mower” is common. But your average everyday American has absolutely no idea.
Let me explain (in brief):
Reel Mower Concept
Reel mowers have curved blades that produce a cutting action alongside a stationary steel plate (like a can of Pringles chips rolling across a table). The blades form a spiral around the reel axis, and as they spin, the spiral of blades forces grass past the stationary plate. Reel mowers leave behind clean-cut grass, as if the grass had been cut with sharp scissors.
New reel mower technology has advanced since the days of Grandpa’s old clunker. Unlike the cutting action of scissors, it is not necessary for the blades of the spinning reel to contact the stationary plate. A clean cut is possible if the gap between the blades and the plate is less than the thickness of the grass. This modern reel mower technology is referred to as “contact-free”, “non-contact”, “silent-cut”, and many other terms. The benefit is a mower that is easier to push, and a mower that does not require sharpening. What, no sharpening? Nope. Think about it, there is no metal-on-metal contact to cause the reel blades to become dull. The blades only come in contact with grass, wood, and the occasional pebble or two – non of which will cause the blades to lose its edge.
There is a ton to talk about so feel free search around our learning center and read more more about reel mower technology, and how your lawn may benefit by using a reel mower.
The new Fiskars Momentum reel mowers are now ready for your purchasing pleasure. We are gearing up for the summer 2010 mowing season, which means our stocking supply of momentum mowers will be here in just few weeks. We have partnered with Fiskars to make online ordering easy – you can even order your mower before our supply arrives!
The new Momentum mower has similar characteristics to the Scotts, Brill, Sunlawn, and EASUN mowers – however, it aims to target these reel mower ‘pain’ points, mainly bogging down in tall grass and clogging on small twigs. The Momentum® Reel Mower combines patent-pending technologies and Fiskars expertise in ergonomics to dramatically improve ease-of-use and cutting performance.
These new technologies include:
InertiaDrive™ Technology: A large diameter cutting reel and heavy blades store energy much like a flywheel, so the Momentum® delivers twice the power to cut through small twigs, weeds or dense grass that clog other reel mowers. The mower also requires 30 percent less push force than standard reel mowers when cutting long grass.
StaySharp™ Cutting System: Precision engineering allows grass to be cut without the blades touching – greatly reducing friction & blade wear. By eliminating the steel-on-steel contact that dulls standard reel mowers, peak performance can be maintained without annual sharpening.
VersaCut™ Design: The Momentum® delivers the greatest cut range of any reel mower with cut height settings ranging from 1 to 4 inches. In addition, it edges three times closer than other reel mowers, and never leaves uncut strips under the wheels.
Fiskars Ergonomics: The Momentum® incorporates a number of best in class convenience features to enhance the mowing experience – including an ergonomic height adjustable handle with a padded grip, a quick and easy one-touch cut height adjustment system, and a grass discharge chute that directs messy clippings forward, away from the user’s feet.
The Momentum® comes with a 4-year warranty – the longest available warranty for any reel mower on the market. Why not put this new reel mower to the test today!
We will continually add to this list of Popular Reel Mower Questions:
What is the difference between old and new cutting technologies?
All reel mowers have curved type cylinder blades that create a cutting action against a fixed plate. The blades make a spiral around the reel axis, and as they spin, the spiral of blades forces grass past the stationary plate.
Contact (friction) Mowers
This is the “older” more conventional form of cutting method. The cylinder blades are in direct contact with the bed knife and scrape across each other very similar to scissors shearing together. There is generally more friction (hence the name) which causes these mowers to be slightly more difficult to push. The friction also causes noise which can vary depending on each model – some are more quiet than others. Friction mowers generally need to be sharpened every 2 to 3 seasons. If you have a yard full of weeds then a friction mower is the best choice.
Contact-Free (frictionless) Mowers
The newer more modern reel mowers use a contact-free or frictionless cutting system. The term contact-free is used to describe a small gap (usually around 0.05mm) between the reel mower blades and the bed knife. The gap is roughly the width of a human hair and small enough to cut grass, yet big enough to eliminate all friction and noise caused by friction. Contact-free reel mowers are easier to push then the older style making them more fun to use and less tiring. Contact-free mowers cut best when used on healthy turf with minimal weeds. These mowers also cut best when used at lower cutting heights. There are some models available today that claim to be used on 2-3″ cutting range, however, much of the grass is left behind. The best cutting height range is 1-1.75″. Contact-free reel mowers usually do not need to be sharpened for at least 5-10 years depending on use.
When Do The Reel Blades Need Sharpening?
Most mowers stay sharp between 2-4 years depending on use. This can vary from lawn to lawn and manufacturer to manufacturer. You can tell when your reel mower needs to be sharpened when much of the grass passes by the reel and is left uncut.
Contact-free mowers do not require sharpening. Instead, it is a best management practice to adjust the gap distance between the reel and the bed knife. This is very easy can be accomplished in less then 3mins and performed as frequently as needed.
Contact mowers require sharpening on the average of every 2 years. You can purchase do-it-yourself sharpening kit and sharpen your own reel mower.
What Is The Best Cutting Height?
This is a very popular question and a topic with a lot of misinformation – especially if you surf around the internet… Reel mowers cut best when the cutting height is set lower then 2″. When set higher then 2inches, some of the grass tends to get “missed” and multiple passes can be required. For more information please visit our section dedicated to Height Of Cut (HOC).
Should I Buy/Use A Grass Collector Bag?
Our general recommendation is no, however, below are list of the pros and cons. For more information please read about Grasscycling here.
PROs To A Grass Bag
-Grass clippings are good for the compost pile
-Can prevent weeds from spreading if cutting the seed stalks
-Slightly “cleaner” look is achieved when removing more then 1/3 the grass height.
-Wet grass clippings can smother together and will not filter down as easily.
CONs To A Grass Bag
-Grass clippings hold valuable nutrients which can be returned to the soil.
-Grass clippings less then 1inch will filter down to the soil.
-Grass clippings DO NOT cause thatch!
-Unlike rotary mowers, grass clippings are not blown into a pile, they are gently scattered (mulched) behind the mower
I have Emerald Zoysia at my new house and I own have a 4 year John Deere 21″ push mower that does okay but I want to buy a new mower. What type of mower should I buy?
If quality of cut is your top priority, then a good reel mower is the only way to go – a rotary, homeowner grade push mower should be your last choice. Zoysiagrass mowed by a rotary lawn mower looks terrible and you tend to get round scalp marks every time you turn the mower…
In my opinion, one of the reasons many so called ‘experts’ recommend a three inch cut for rotary lawn mowers is that they know it is NOT really a three inch cut. The reality is that the length of the grass blade left after mowing with a rotary lawn mower set to cut at three inches will always be much closer to two inches…read more.
What is the best HOC for the grass plant? If you look around the internet you may find that three inches seems to be a favorite recommendation. Why? There are many reasons for recommending a three inch cutting height, especially when using a rotary lawn mower. Interestingly, three inches is not the best HOC for the grass plant for many agronomic reasons.
What is the best height of cut for the grass on your lawn? There is no perfect or exact answer to this question so let’s discuss some of the variables that will impact this decision and why longer is often not better when mowing your yard. The very first thing to consider is what type of grass you have. This will be directly influenced by where in the country you live. If you live in the south or the west, you probably will have what we refer to as warm season grass, most typically a Bermuda grass variety, although there are many non Bermuda warm season grasses as well. If you live in the north down through the heart of the country or the mid-Atlantic, you probably have cool season grass, most likely Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass or a blend, although others exist here as well. The growth habit and physiology of these two types of grasses differ dramatically and we will discuss the differences elsewhere, but for now the important thing to remember is that warm season grass can tolerate and actually thrive at a very short mowing height, while cool season grasses generally prefer to be mowed slightly higher. What is not true is that either likes to be kept at an excessively long length and excessively long can legitimately be described as anything above three inches and shorter for warm season grass. Grass plants develop chlorophyll, the property that gives them their green color and nourishes them through a process called photosynthesis. This process is encouraged by sunlight. That is one of the reasons you have such a hard time growing grass under those large shade trees in your yard, no sun. Three inch grass blades and longer only serve to shade themselves, like when we wear a hat and this shade inhibits photosynthesis. At two inches, you have 33% less shade and a better developed leaf blade…
Mt. Vernon, Ball Bearing, Reel Mower
9 INCH DRIVE WHEELS, FOUR KNIVES, WITH GRASS GUARD
This mower is the same as the Mt. Vernon, but has ball bearings. The reel knives are made of oil tempered tool steel and shelf-sharpening. Knives are carefully ground to insure best of kind work positive ratchet and patent cone adjustment. For a medium priced machine it did excellent work and gave universal satisfaction. This machine was thoroughly tested with above results.
Mt. Vernon Reel Mower
9 INCH DRIVE WHEELS, FOUR KNIVES, WITH GRASS GUARD
This mower was built on the same lines as the Badger, but stronger, having larger and heavier driving wheels. The reel knives are made of oil tool steel and self-shaarpening. Knives are carefully ground to insure best of kind work and give universal satisfaction. This machine has been thoroughly tested with above results.
Rob Anthony, a nationally recognized and respected Horticulturalist and Turfgrass Manager recently joined our team to assist us with content writing! Rob currently serves on the reader advisory board for Turfgrass Trends Magazine, Athletic Turf and Technology Magazine and contributes regularly for the latter as well as the highly respected international publication, Stadia Magazine. His professional experience includes Head Groundskeeper for the Green Bay Packers, and Athletic Turfgrass Development Manager with two nationally ranked Division I Universities.
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