Earthwise 1715-16EW 16-Inch 7-Blade Push Reel Lawn Mower, Grey

I bought this to mow my new installed Bermuda turf... (It's hard to crank though... LOL!) it was extremely easy to assemble and the blades were sharp from the factory. I found it very addictive to mow with despite having an expensive Zero Turn mower and a new rotary mower. Obviously the noise level is much lower than a motorized mower and the gas savings are a plus. It is light weight which was perfect for my newly installed turf. I am mowing approximately 3200 sq ft around our house (I use my Zero Turn for the rest of my 3 acres). I have yet to have to sharpen the blades or to adjust the bed knife. IF it ever wears out, I would buy another one immediately!!! My wife is 5'2" and barely 100 lbs and she has NO PROBLEM mowing with it... it is easy to push. When I finish mowing, I WD-40 the bed knife and then run the blades over it by pulling it along my concrete drive to distribute the WD-40 on all the blades. Great mower for the price!!!

Husbands review: simple, easy to use, easy to change how to cut, easy to make major height adjustment when you take the wheels off (took maybe 5 minutes). I’m currently mowing on the 2nd lowest setting around 0.75 inch.Wife’s review: husband loves it, spends every waking moment thinking about mowing his grass with this mower and when I can’t find him — guess what.. he’s mowing our grass with this mower. Definitely getting his moneys worth!

I bought this mower because I wanted a reel mower for my weed free, flat, Bermuda front yard without spending $3k for a powered reel mower. Also the 7 blades were a selling point. This has proved to be a great purchase for what I use it for and I’ll list out some pros and cons below.Cons:-Adjusting the height is a pain. It’s not hard to do, but it’s cumbersome and irritating to do by yourself. So set it once and don’t ever touch it again.-The grass clippings shoot back to your feet, I knew this before buying, but other brands have a guard to shoot them forward in front of the machine. Something to keep in mind.-It’s got a small footprint, expect to make several more passes in your yard then you would have with a gas mower.Pros:-it just works. No gas to mess with, no oil changes or yearly carb cleanings. Sharpening is recommended, but If you keep a clean yard you won’t have to sharpen as often. I will admit sharpening a rotary blade was easier, reel blades are also easy but it can get messy.-Surprisingly easy to push, again though, I have a weed free, flat lawn and never mow more then .5 inches at a time, typically mowing 3 times a week during the peak growing seasoning.-My allergies love this thing. It doesn’t kick up dust or grass like my rotary mower does.-It mows under a trampoline with ease.This mower isn’t replacing my rotary mower, I still need rotary suction to clean up fall leaves, and even use the rotary for my larger back yard. The front yard though is solely done by this reel mower. It gives a significantly better cut then my rotary mower and is able to cut down to near golf course 2nd cut fairway levels.

I really wanted to do a review on the Earthwise 1715-16EW 7-blade push reel mower because it works so well. I have been mowing this year with the Fiskars 18 inch stay sharp max reel mower, and I have had some problems with it. The way the front wheels are so far in front of the cutting bed with the rear wheels so far behind it can make it an issue when mowing on even a gentle hill; the bed drags on the ground and the mower scalps. I also had a problem with any little debris in the yard catching in the reel and stopping the mower. When I purchased the sharpening kit, the first time I received a kit without a crank handle. Had to go through the return process and finally received the full kit. But then when I went to remove the small gear on the reel shaft, I torqued my allen wrench 90* trying to break loose the set screw before the bolt hole finally stripped out. Don't know if they loc-tited the screw or if it was installed with an impact wrench at too high a torque setting. I ended up having to drill/tap the opposite end of the shaft for a 10mm bolt so I could attach a nut driver to backlap and resharpen the "non-contact" blades. Overall the Fiskars is not a bad machine, but for the price it has serious drawbacks. This Earthwise 7-blade mower is superior to the Fiskars at less than half the price (I paid $87 for it - was on sale - suh-weet deal). Took me about 10 minutes to attach the handles and set the height for my yard (I mow at 1.5") and I was out and mowing. The reel turns much faster for the same walking pace than the Fiskars reel and that and the fact that it has 7 blades made mowing today a single-pass effort where previously I would have to pass over the same lane 2x with the Fiskars. The rollers on the back also help keep the Earthwise level when mowing uneven areas as well as far superior when overhanging the landscape edging. Because the cutting bed is centered under the wheels, I do not have any problem with the bed contacting the ground at any location in my yard, which was definitely not the case with the Fiskars.Time will tell if this mower is long-term reliable, but the reel and the bed look and feel well-made, the handles are sturdy and the 10" wheels had no problem with slipping (which I was originally a bit worried about).The only minor gripe I would have is that I would prefer the handles be slightly wider and straight vs angled, but I can rig up something for my comfort very easily (perhaps some bicycle bar-ends or some such thing).I have a residential yard and it takes me about 30 minutes to push mow. It is not a high level of exertion, just a little push with a walk.I was worried about this purchase based on other reviews, but I am pleased that I own this mower and also that it works better than the more expensive one I previously purchased. Anyone want to buy my old Fiskars? lol.