American Lawn Mower 1815-18 Review

(Rated: 4 / 5) Review by Frank Lowery
Noise
Ease of Assembly
Maneuverability
Balance And Handling
Cut Quality
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A manual reel mower is a great investment for a number of reasons. These machines are the only lawn mowers available that are completely emissions free – so if you are concerned about doing your part for the environment, they are the best option. Not only do they reduce emissions considerably, they also are the quietest lawn mowers you can find, so you will never have to worry about disturbing your neighbors while you are cutting the grass ever again.

And they offer considerable savings to your wallet, both up front and over the long term. The money you will save on gas or electricity costs will allow a manual reel mower to pay for itself in just a year or two. And these machines need a lot less maintenance than gas or electric lawn mowers: all you have to do is periodically sharpen their cutting blades to keep them running smoothly. The American Lawn Mower 1815-18 offers all of the advantages of other manual reel mowers as well as a number of unique advantages of its own.

Review Summary

The American Lawn Mower 1815-18 is a manual reel mower with an eighteen inch wide cutting reel. That makes it one of the wider manual reel mowers on the market today, and the width of the cutting swath it provides is comparable with that of many powered rotary mowers as well. It offers a number of other great specifications as well: the cutting reel is equipped with five heat-treated alloy steel blades that are designed to stay sharp longer. And it has multiple cutting heights between 1/2 an inch and 2 1/4 inches so that you will always be giving your lawn the healthiest possible cut.

There are a few areas where the American Lawn Mower 1815-18 does not quite meet the highest expectations. It can have problems with thicker weeds and very tall grass, and twigs may stop the cutting reel from spinning altogether. Of course, these issues are fairly common to manual reel mowers, and I do not consider them huge red flags. The American Lawn Mower 1815-18 may also need a bit more maintenance than other reel mowers, however. I will cover all of these points in more detail in the Pros & Cons section. I’ll also provide a detailed product comparison chart so that you can see exactly how the American Lawn Mower 1815-18 stacks up against its competition.

Specifications

The American Lawn Mower 1815-18 is a manual reel mower with overall dimensions of 25 x 14 x 11 inches and a cutting reel that is eighteen inches wide. That gives it a cutting swath that is comparable to even average sized power rotary lawn mowers, but packs it into dimensions that are very compact. It has a loop handle that is padded with foam cushioning for more comfort and it weighs just 29 pounds.

The American Lawn Mower 1815-18 has a cutting reel that has five heat treated alloy steel blades that are designed to stay sharp longer and deliver clean cuts to your lawn without needing to be sharpened as frequently as other manual reel mowers. The reel can be adjusted to several heights between 1/2 an inch and 2 1/4 inches. A rear grass catcher is optional. It has a steel shrub bar to protect the undersides of your bushes. It comes with a 2 year consumer warranty.

Description

The American Lawn Mower 1815-18 is a manual reel mower with an eighteen inch wide cutting reel, which makes it one of the wider manual reel mowers on the market today as well as comparable to most power rotary mowers’ cutting decks. And it packs that into overall dimensions of just 25 x 14 x 11 inches, which means it will be easy to maneuver in tight spaces. And it will be easy to find adequate storage space for it in your garage or tool shed. The mower also weighs just 29 pounds, which will make it easy for just about anyone to maneuver it around their yard.

The mower’s cutting reel has five blades made of tempered alloy steel. These blades are made of durable, tough material that will resist wear and tear and need sharpening less frequently than other reel mowers. And the cutting deck is adjustable to a number of different heights between 1/2 an inch and 2 1/4 inches. That means you can give your lawn a cut like on the eighteenth hole at Pebble Beach or leave it a bit higher. And you will be sure that you are never left cutting it less than 1/3 its original height, which will leave it looking and feeling its best.

The American Lawn Mower 1815-18 is very quiet to run – much quieter than a gas powered or even an electric rotary lawn mower – so you will never have to worry about bothering your neighbors while you are using it. And it is the only kind of lawn mower that produces absolutely zero emissions, so if you are concerned about the environmental impact your gardening activities has, this is the lawn mower for you. It offers all of this at a very competitive price and with a limited 2 year consumer warranty.

Pros

Along with the benefits you would expect any manual reel mower to offer, such as less noise, maintenance and fuel costs than power mowers, as well as zero emissions, there are a number of other areas where the American Lawn Mower 1815-18 really shines. It has a very wide cutting reel with five durable blades. It’s very compact and lightweight for easier storage and use, and it has multiple cutting heights so that you can choose exactly the right height for your lawn. Let’s look at each one of these in a bit more detail.

1. 18 inch wide cutting reel for better efficiency : At a full eighteen inches, the cutting reel on the American Lawn Mower 1815-18 is almost as wide as it gets on a manual reel mower. This cutting width is even comparable to average sized power mowers. But at the same time, it’s not so wide that you will find it difficult to maneuver around your yard. For manual reel mowers, an eighteen inch cutting reel is the sweet spot between efficiency and maneuverability.
2. 5 tempered alloy steel blades : The American Lawn Mower 1815-18 has five blades on its cutting reel, and they are made of durable tempered alloy steel. That means that they will be able to slice through even tougher varieties of grass like St. Augustine or Bermuda grass without getting bogged down. And because they are made of durable material, they won’t need to be sharpened as often as other contact style reel mowers.
3. Compact dimensions and lightweight design : With overall dimensions of 25 x 14 x 11 inches, the American Lawn Mower 1815-18 is compact enough that you will find it is easy to maneuver in relatively tight spaces. It’s also going to be a simple matter to find enough storage space for it in your garage or tool shed. And at just 29 pounds, it is one of the lighter manual reel mowers of its size.
4. Multiple cutting heights : The cutting reel on the American Lawn Mower 1815-18 can be adjusted to one of several heights between 1/2 an inch and 2 1/4 inches. That means you can use it to keep your grass as manicured as a putting green, or leave it a bit taller. Multiple cutting heights are important for maintaining the overall health of your lawn, since you should never cut the grass shorter than 1/3 its initial height.
5. Quiet and environmentally friendly : The American Lawn Mower 1815-18 runs virtually silently, which means you be able to cut your lawn at any time of day without bothering your neighbors – even early in the morning, before the summer sun has made it to hot out to comfortably mow the grass. And like other manual reel mowers, this is the only kind of machine that is truly 100% emissions free, so you will go a long way to reducing your home’s carbon footprint by switching over.

All of these features combine to make the American Lawn Mower 1815-18 a solid manual reel mower that is excellent for the right kind of yard. If you have a small enough yard that using a manual reel mower will not be too much of a chore, consider yourself lucky. Not only does this lawn mower offer all of these great features, it does so at an affordable price with a two year warranty. And it will continue to provide savings over the long term.

Cons

In spite of all of its positive aspects, there are a few areas where the American Lawn Mower 1815-18 does fall a bit short of outstanding. Like any other manual reel, mower, it may have trouble with taller grass, thicker weeds, and twigs. These all potentially go with the territory when you are shopping for a manual reel mower, however, and I do not consider any of them to be particularly alarming drawbacks. This mower may require slightly more maintenance than other manual reel mowers, however. Let’s take a look.

1. The mower can struggle with taller grass : While this is an issue that is very common with reel mowers, because they are not designed with the kind of vacuuming power that rotary mowers have, it is still important to mention. You may not be able to let your grass go as long between cuttings as you might like – in part because the mower could have problems cutting it, and in part because its highest setting is only 2 1/4 inches.
2. Twigs may stop the mower in its tracks : If you have a lot of trees in your yard, you should be aware of the fact that the American Lawn Mower 1815-18 might stop altogether if it encounters an upright twig. Because of that, you may find that you have to clear your yard of twigs and other debris before you start cutting the lawn. But like the first Con, this is not entirely uncommon for manual reel mowers.
3. Sharpening the blades may be difficult : If you have never sharpened the blades on a manual reel mower, be prepared for a bit of a learning curve. To do so, you have to reverse the gears and apply a lapping compound to the blades, and then walk back and forth with the mower. Removing excess lapping compound when you are finished can be a bit messy and a little difficult at first. But with practice, this does get easier.
4. Mower might need frequent lubrication : The American Lawn Mower 1815-18 may lose performance quality if it is not lubricated frequently. While all manual reel mowers do need occasional applications of WD-40 to keep them running at their best, this model does tend to need it applied more frequently than is typically the case. While this is not a very difficult chore, you may have to keep a few cans of WD-40 on hand just in case.
5. May have trouble with tough weeds : Not all manual reel mowers have an easy time slicing through thick, tough weeds, and the American Lawn Mower 1815-18 is one that may have trouble with them. If your lawn is weed treated, then this should not be a problem for you, but if you do tend to have a lot of weeds in your yard, you may have to remove them by hand before you cut your grass.

As I said, I do not think that any of these drawbacks presents a major problem to potential owners of the American Lawn Mower 1815-18. When you are shopping for a manual reel mower, drawbacks like their inability to easily slice through twigs, thick weeds, or taller grass is par for the course. And the maintenance issues do not require any special mechanical ability; WD-40 is not difficult to use at all, and sharpening the cutting reel blades is a chore that is not difficult to get used to, either.

Product Comparison

It is always a good practice to compare a product you are thinking about buying with a few similar products made by its competitors. That gives you a good idea not only of what the overall market has to offer, but how a particular lawn mower stacks up against other ones. The following table compares the American Lawn Mower 1815-18 with the Great States 415-16 and the Fiskars 6207.

	American Lawn Mower 1815-18	Great States 415-16	Fiskars 6207
Cutting Width	18-inch	16-inch	17-inch
Mower Type	Manual Push	Manual Push	Manual Push
Handle	Cushion Grip	T-handle	Ergonomic Handle
Cutting System	Standard (contact)	Standard (contact)	Contact-free
Blades	5 blades	4-spider 5-blade	5 blades
Cutting Height	1/2- to 2-1/4-inch	1/2- to 2-3/4-inch	1-1/2- to 3-1/2-inch
Weight	29 pounds	26 pounds	41 pounds
Grass Catcher	Optional	Optional	Optional
Warranty	2 years	90 days	3 years

As you can see, the American Lawn Mower 1815-18 has the widest cutting deck of the three lawn mowers. The Fiskars is the only one with a contact-free cutting system, which will further reduce wear on the cutting blades. All three lawn mowers have fairly comparable cutting height ranges and all have the same number of cutting blades. The Fiskars is considerably heavier than either of the other lawn mowers, however.

Conclusion

Overall, the American Lawn Mower 1815-18 has a lot to offer its owner, especially when compared to similar models like the Fiskars or Great States reel mowers above. It has a very wide cutting reel with highly durable alloy steel blades, and a number of outstanding other features. Let’s take another look at both the pros and cons of this mower.

Conclusion Pros

1. 18 inch wide cutting reel for better efficiency.
2. 5 tempered alloy steel blades.
3. Compact dimensions and lightweight design.
4. Multiple cutting heights.
5. Quiet and environmentally friendly.

Not only does the American Lawn Mower 1815-18 have a wide cutting reel and sharp, durable blades, it manages to get all of that cutting power into a very compact package that is easy to use and even easier to find storage space for. In addition, it has multiple cutting heights so that you are always giving your lawn the best possible cut. And it’s virtually silent and completely emissions free.

Conclusion Cons

1. The mower can struggle with taller grass.
2. Twigs may stop the mower in its tracks.
3. Sharpening the blades may be difficult.
4. Mower might need frequent lubrication.
5. May have trouble with tough weeds.

I would not consider any of these cons to be so serious as to warrant a negative review for the American Lawn Mower 1815-18, and I also don’t think any of them raise the kind of red flags that should put a consumer off the idea of buying this lawn mower. Most of the cons are simply part of owning a manual reel mower, and the others are fairly minor concerns.

Final Word

Whether you are interested in a manual reel mower because you want to reduce your household’s carbon footprint by producing zero emissions while you are cutting the grass, or want to save money on fuel and maintenance costs, or if you just want a simple machine that can handle a small yard easily, the American Lawn Mower 1815-18 is an excellent choice overall. This lawn mower has an eighteen inch wide cutting reel that can help you finish the job in fewer passes and less time, and its cutting blades are made of durable tempered alloy steel so they can stand up to wear and tear.

The mower is compact and lightweight, so virtually anyone can use it easily, and you will not have any problems finding storage space for it. And because it’s so quiet, you can use it whenever you want without having to worry about disturbing your neighbors. Overall this is a solid manual reel mower at a very competitive price.

Best Price

That’s right – the American Lawn Mower 1815-18 is one of the more inexpensive manual reel mowers you can find on the market today that has an eighteen inch cutting reel and the kind of durable steel blades that will keep your lawn looking great. It’s far cheaper than rotary power mowers, and unlike them, you’ll never have to spend a dime on fuel or electricity to keep this mower running. The savings it provides in fuel costs alone will make it pay for itself in just a year or two of use. This lawn mower has a very competitive price, and it will save you a lot of money over the years if you take good care of it.