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Discussions: reel (manual) lawn mowers

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reel (manual) lawn mowers
Started by LibraryCin, Monday, July 14 2008. Last post Wednesday, July 23 2008.

So, I bought a reel lawn mower last year. I rent, and am provided with an electric one, but that cord just drives me insane! And of course, I really wanted the most environmentally friendly option anyway, so I bought my own. Other reasons I bought it were because I figured it would be faster (no having to haul out the cord and plug it in, mow around it, etc), quieter, more pleasant, and I wouldn't dread mowing so much...

I don't recall having problems with the thing last year. This year, the first time I got it out, part-way though mowing, it got squealing so horribly and loudly, I couldn't even think! I am NOT a handy person. I had no idea what to do. I believe I finished mowing the lawn the first time. Second time, I only did half the lawn before I couldn't stand it any more and had to quit (and I'm sure the neighbours weren't impressed either!).

So far, I've tried spraying the blades with WD-40 (probably also not the most environmentally friendly option, but the other option is going back to the electric mower). The only lasted about 2 minutes before the squealing started. Today, I tried spraying the blades, the wheels, and any other metal part near the blades and wheels. Much better - for a while. About half way through, when the squealing just started a little bit, I resprayed.

Kept going and one of the %^&*($%^* wheels look like it's about to fall off!!! Separate issue, I know, and I will have a friend help me with that. In the meantime, the squealing started again, so obviously the WD-40 is only working for a very short time.

Any other ideas on what I can do? (Once the $%O)%^&b wheel is fixed...) Thanks! Sorry - I'm a bit frustrated with the thing! One of the benefits of these mowers is supposed to be quiet... Sigh...
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howard1004 - Tuesday, July 15 2008
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Hahahaha! I don't have any ideas for you but I can certainly relate. I thought I'd do fine with one of those mowing a couple of acres around my house. That was the most ridiculous thing I've ever tried! Any little weedy patch made it stop dead. I'd be hauling it back and forth over the same little clump over and over again trying to flatten that spot down. I think they were meant for perfect little 12 foot yards. My country home just isn't the place for it.
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LibraryCin - Tuesday, July 15 2008
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Oh no! I don`t have a tiny yard, but it`s not big either. No, it doesn`t do very well with weeds, unless you catch them before they are too tall. I think it`s the height it has a problem with.
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howard1004 - Tuesday, July 15 2008
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You're right. My yard gets some height when I turn around.
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FutureAuthor23 - Wednesday, July 23 2008
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I Googled your problem and came upon a website that said to use silicone spray and it actually said to stay away from using WD-40.
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LibraryCin - Wednesday, July 23 2008
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Thanks so much! Now, I'll have to find out what exactly silicone spray is (I'll Google it!), then find out where to get some. Thanks again!
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FutureAuthor23 - Wednesday, July 23 2008
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No problem. :)
I think the name of the website was ecomowers.com
It said the spray eliminates sqeaking and binding. But obviously this is not something I have tried so I can't guarantee. Ha ha.
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