In two years of using our push mower, we have not only saved gas, but added more frugal exercise to our already frugal regimen of running. Mowing the lawn with this thing on our .22 acre lot is quite the cross-training workout. In the summer, I can work up a great sweat.
I love it because it is nice and quiet. Most of all, it is an environmentally sustainable practice.
Have we gotten rid of our Circa 1980 Honda gas mower? No. Especially since you won’t find a more well-made Honda mower brand new! We have it for those stretches of summer days when the lawn grows faster than we can get to it. But with the price of a gallon of gas going up and up, you may want to look into stretching out your dollars with a good manual reel push mower.
Here’s an excerpt from Mother Earth News in 2002:
Reel Mowers: $100 to $225
Hand-pushed reel mowers offer multiple advantages over gas-powered mowers: no noise, no noxious air pollution, no danger of flying rocks, low maintenance and no worries about getting them started. Plus you get a great aerobic workout every time you use them, burning about 300 calories an hour.
The secret to easy cutting with these mowers is frequent mowing. If you let the grass get too long, the reel mower blades will tend to bind up or take an inordinate amount of pushing to get the mower through long grass. Cut when the grass is no more than an inch longer than you want it. A quarter acre (100 feet by 160 feet) of lawn can be cut in about an hour with a reel mower. For areas larger than that, you may want to go to a walk-behind, gas-powered cutter, either push or self-propelled.
As always, do the research before buying. As you can tell, I am partial to Mother Earth News, the Original Guide to Living Wisely.
~Aimee, TFF
Related links:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It-Yourself/Push-Reel-Lawn-Mower.aspx
Two Frugal Fairfielders 
What a great concept – a Mowercycle! I love the combination of exercise and chores. Thanks for the link between our posts! ~Aimee, TFF
With more neighbors moving to lawn services, the noise pollution gets worse and worse – makes the sound of our “regular” gas mowers sound quiet. Maybe we need to get all the neighborhood children pushing these reel mowers – quieter, keep them busy, and no fear of them running themselves over.
Ah-ha! We are going to do a cost breakout regarding lawn services (sort of like our garbage pick up post). Stay tuned! And, wouldn’t it be nice to have kids do lawns again? That’s how my husband made money as a teen before he could get a “real” job in high school. ~Marilyn
Hi Sue! I like the idea of getting the children involved – so many added benefits! Marilyn, I think the gas mower we have is from when Stephen mowed lawns as a teen! ~Aimee, TFF
They don’t make ’em like they used to (lawnmowers), do they!
I’m really partial to the Landlord lawn mower, Does a real good job,and I’m happy with the results