Customer Reviews for Scotts 20 in. Classic Manual Walk Behind Reel Mower

I purchased my Scott’s Classic 14 years ago because I had a large lawn and wanted the biggest mower I could get. This unit has not disappointed. It’s wide, easy to maintain, and just keeps cutting. Follow the manual, to the T, keep it adjusted and clean, and it mows. I’ve only had to sharpen it once, and that’s mostly because I had the kit and wanted to. Best if you keep up on your lawn, let it get long and your in for harder pushing and less awesome cutting.

I read reviews that it was tough to push but I decided to give it a try myself. I’m a small woman and I am currently 5 months pregnant. I did my yard myself with no issues. It was easy to push and worked great! It will get stuck on branches and twigs but other than that I had no issue! I’m so glad I got this instead of a gas mower!

This is the second Scotts reel mower I own. I put my older one for use at a rental house, and got another for my place. Ready to go out of the box. Super sharp blades. If you have a small area of lawn, this works great and you won't disturb the neighbors early Sunday morning with engine noise. The handle is a bit light weight, but that helps keeps the weight down. The current model has a re-designed handle and it is much better with a padded push bar. Just don't man handle it and it will hold up. The grass catcher is worthless. I always let the clippings go back on the lawn, they mulch in and the lawn just gets better.

I'm a 5'0 women and after my gas powered mower gave out, I was looking for a more environmentally friendly mower. Although I was aiming to get a Fiskar's, budget didn't allow for it. I got this Scotts 20in reel mower and am impressed with how easy it was to use. Now my grass was at least 5-6 inches tall in some places. The reel mower went through with some effort, but not as much as I thought. I didn't have to huff and puff. It does require at least two passes to make sure all the grass is cut down. It DOES NOT cut down weeds. Those I had to pull on my own. At least the taller varieties. I think it worked well for my grass even though I have uneven terrain. I thoroughly enjoyed the use of it and while it took me about an hour to cut down my 1/4 acre, the workout I got from it was very beneficial. I do not mess the smell of gas/exhaust or the bone-rattling noise of my gas mower.

I was extremely excited to get this product and start mowing. But after the first use the rear left wheel is wobbling so badly it seems like it is about to fall off. I am having an extremely hard time trying to figure how to tighten it. Please advise what can be done as this is very frustrating in particular after one use. I see others have had similar issues and this is obviously an issue Scott’s needs to address

Good so far. Smooth trimming and eco friendly. Love the long cuts.

a very odd “feature” is that when you adjust the cutting height, it changes the angle, and therefore the height, of the handle. with a non-adjustable handle, this means that you should hire a short person to cut the lawn short, and a giant to do the thicker lawn. it could really use an adjustable handle.

Its been working great but the gears are worn out cant find replacement parts.

Before I decided to buy a hand-push reel mower for my lawn, I compared several brands. I liked the Scotts Clasic 20" most. I shopped on-line with Home Depot Canada and picked up in store. Very pleasant experience. This reel mower is very well made, well designed and sturdy. The cutting height adjustment is easy, with two nice orange knobs like gear shift of a car, very easy to handle. The height can be adjusted from 2" to 3", with 1/8" interval. If you want to have a much lower setting, you can, just read the manual. As soon as I finished the assembly, I took it outside to have a try. Vow! The sound was so sweet, and it was very easy to push forward. The mower weighs 30 lbs, I think I can use much less than 10 lbs force to push the mower going. I am 92 years old, if I can, so can everybody. During the first try, I already noticed the cutting was nice and fine, because the action was just like several pairs of scissors, smoothly cutting the grass. After a few weeks, the result was obvious, the grass was greener. My finding is: 1. If your lawn is not too large. 2. If your lawn is more or less flat. 3. If you like mowing. 4. If you like doing a bit of exercise to keep fit. 5. If you like to be environmentally friendly, no gas and no oil. This is it. I certainly recommend this product to my friends. To show my feeling, I have written the following lines. Green Green the Grass Beauty Once in a nice warm summer, I bought a Scotts reel mower. Turning the Scotts Classic around, And listen to the sweet blades sound. All I need is a slightly touch, The reel will turn and cut. Green green the grass beauty. I love this hobby fun, And like to mow in the sun. Pushing the reel mower wheels, Happy with what I feel. O! The scissors cut that matters, My lawn is greener than ever. Green green the grass beauty.

I inherited a used one if these not expecting much of it. A back wheel assembly that wobbled, very dirty blades and frame. First mowing I was convinced this was worth some rehab. I had a hard time removing that back wheel to get to a nut underneath that had become loose and couldn't hold the cutting height assembly in place. Very straightforward but that top nut wasn't loosening! Finally wrench and hammer persuaded it so I could tighten the nut underneath. Then I cleaned the heck out of it, got some valve compound to spiff up and sharpen the blades. A final going over with WD-40 SILICONE spray and I'd compete with any new out if the box reel mower. All this brought home to me the KEY to these reel mowers performing beautifully is maintenance! I started with old and used. Starting with new should be a breeze if it's kept clean and we'll maintained! Don't let gunk build up on something so easy to blow off or hose off and spray with silicone to keep it like new. Keep the blade edges clean and wiped with silicone. It will be a long time before you have any issues! By the way. I'm 70, petite, and have no trouble pushing this mower at top speed because I keep it in top working condition, just like new!

cuts well, useless to me without a grass catcher since it leaves clippings all over the lawn. No option to purchase one on the site. If there was an option to purchase as an accessory, then rating might be higher.

Highly recommended reel mower. With it being a 20 inch wide mower you dont get the random jumps you get with the smaller 16 inch mower. Leaves the grass nice and flat, comes with a mulch bag for the clippings. Also if you remove the caps on the end of the tires it lets you adjust it to even lower settings. If you have been wanting to get into a manual reel mower you cant go wrong with this one.

Purchased less than one year ago. Used about 10 times. One of the small rear wells just fell off while mowing. Looks impossible to reattach. Other reviewers have had same problem. Scotts needs to fix this design flaw.

This is a wonderful push mower and it really gets the job done with ease, while saving my hard earned cash and doing my part to help save the environment .

I have a very healthy Bermuda lawn. No weeds, no sticks. As soon as the blades touch the grass the reel stops, the wheels slip and it tears the grass up by the stolons. I believe it has to do (mostly) with the hard plastic wheels that do not grip. I tried adjusting the blade for more contact, no joy. Less contact, no difference. I tried pushing and pulling the mower back and forth in jerking motions to keep the drum spinning fast with no luck. Just butchers my poor grass.

The mower wasn't cutting in the center, and it appears the bedknife is warped and/or the reel is not straight.

One of the trailing wheels fell off after less than a year and it is impossible to reattach. Very disappointing.

I bought this a month ago and it takes several passes in several directions to cut anyting. I wonder if it's supposed to be sharpened before use use it. I'm going to return this and exchange it for a battery powered mower. I had hoped to use a reel mower because of the environment and for physical exercise

I have used mine a couple of years and it seems to be holding up good. I did notice my bedknife was a little bowed up a few thousandths of an inch in the middle, but that might have been from my abusing it. You probably will need to use your power mower during the dandelion blooming weeks, that is true with all reel mowers. I'm no tree hugger, but I like the lack of noise.

This mower cuts the grass nicely. Two things. The handle is weird. And why does the mower not have a roller at the back?

Used mower twice and wheel got loose. Cannot access bolt to tighten it.

Does Scotts offer a shorter handle or some way to shorten a stock handle for the Classic 20" ? We love ours, but the handle is a bit too long for us shorter people. Any suggestions? thank you in advance for your time

I'm a bit different. I just switched to a reel. Used it for the first time yesterday and fell in love with it! So easy and light weight. The cut is amazing! Highly suggest this for a first reel! I'm sold!

The included assembly instruction are in Foreign language. While assembling we can very easily get cuts and bruises as the blade is right next to where the handle needs to be connected. The package came with all accessories needed.

Have struggled with this unit for two years to cut about 500 sf of lawn. Usually needs two passes, north-south and east-west to cut the grass and it still leaves tufts of grass. Doesn’t really cut well. Generally I go back over the lawn with a weed eater to complete the cutting. If the lawn was any bigger I would have trashed the mower.

I really wanted a push reel mower, but this mower hasn't been worth the trouble. Blades can't cut anything except very soft grass and I have to go over spots 3-5 times for consistent cut. On my 5th use the wheel fell off, and the way the bolt is fused I cannot reattach. I'm going to try to return it and trade up to something powered.

Purchase about 5 years ago to replace an electric power mower that went bad. Very easy to use and cuts better that a power mower. It does take some minor mechanical expertise to sharpen the blades, but it is not too difficult.

I've had this for about a year; used it less than 6 times. Rear wheel set fell apart today - almost impossible to fix without 3 hands.

I am a 61 year old female and received this second hand from a friend. I really like it and it is easy to push. I am using it on a fairly level surface and with the wide cut I am done in no time! The blades are really sharp.

I've used mine for about 10 years, and it replaced one by another manufacturer that I used for about 15 years. It uses no oil or gasoline and doesn't polute at all. It's actually much easier than a power mower to turn, because the four wheels are much closer together and it weights so much less. If your lawn isn't extremely thick, and if there are lots of turns or trees to trim around, I highly recommend it. The only maintenance is that I wipe the cutting surfaces free of moisture and wet grass after each use (to prevent rust). That takes less than 5 minutes, and I've never had to have the cutting surfaces sharpened.