Reel Mower vs. Rotary Mower Comparison

Cut Infield 1Why use a reel mower? Because they do the best job of creating and maintaining a beautiful lawn, plus they save time and energy. Reel mowers will provide you with a healthy lawn that has the look of a finely manicured golf green. For a side-by-side comparison of the benefits of a reel mower with those of a rotary mower, consider the following.

A Clean Cut

Reel mowers maintain a healthy lawn because they shear the grass with a clean, sharp cut like scissors instead of tearing off the ends of the grass blades like a rotary mower. When grass is cut in a clean, smooth manner, nutrients are locked in promoting healthy growth and resistance to disease, which means less maintenance for you. A healthy lawn that has been cut by a reel mower looks beautiful and green instead of yellow from the torn leaf ends that come from the inefficient cutting method of a rotary mower.

A Precise Cut

Every California Trimmer mower comes with two height adjustment features that allow you to precisely lock-in your desired cutting height. Located at the base of the mower, the height adjuster allows you to select between eight positions giving you a cutting range of 3/16″ to 1-1/2.” The caster bar bracket at the front of the mower is also easily adjustable to help you cut in the lowest (or highest) positions. Try achieving that kind of cutting precision with most rotary mowers.

The Drive Roller Eases Mowing and Beautifies Your Lawn

The 9″ wide deep-tread drive roller of the California Trimmer was designed to make the operation as smooth and easy as possible. The drive roller propels the mower forward using a deep-tread no-slip covering that protects the grass and provides tremendous traction. By resting directly on the lawn as you mow, the drive roller propels the mower without tearing the turf. Plus, it keeps the turf smooth and compact instead of sucking up the dust and blowing it around, sometimes with foreign objects, as rotary mowers do. Need to operate the cutting reel without forward movement? Simply raise the roller off the ground and take advantage of the mower’s unique “freewheeling” feature — perfect for cutting under shrubs and in tight spaces.

Unmatched Craftsmanship

We incorporate the same materials and design into today’s rugged units as those that were first introduced in 1935. Every California Trimmer mower is constructed with a solid welded steel frame, ensuring superior strength. Our reel and cutter bar are both handcrafted of heat-treated high carbon steel, allowing for sharper blades and a longer-lasting cut. Precision-ground at the factory, California Trimmer reels are offered in 5, 7 or 10 blade configurations, enabling you to choose the reel and cutter bar combinations that are best suited for your type of grass. This superior craftsmanship will ensure that your California Trimmer will still be manicuring beautiful lawns long after your old rotary mower has been retired.

The ‘Reel’ Difference

When mowing with reels, they follow the up and down contours of the lawn rather than scalping it with an unforgiving rotary blade. Plus, the speed of the cutting edge is much slower than a rotary blade and consequently safer. The cleaner cut of the reel mower blade means that less than one-third of the leaf area is cut, resulting in a stronger and greener lawn. When more of the grass blade is cut off using a rotary mower, it leaves the grass yellow with an excessive amount of clippings to smother the plant.

Quick Links

For detailed information about specific California Trimmer product features and benefits, check out these links:

Select Language