Scotts 2000-20 Review

(Rated: 4.5 / 5) Review by Frank Lowery
Noise
Ease of Assembly
Maneuverability
Balance And Handling
Cut Quality
Check Price
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One of the great advantages of owning a home with a smaller yard is the fact that you can keep your lawn looking wonderful with just a manual reel mower. These mowers are lightweight and easy to use, and they eliminate the noise of electric or gas powered lawn mowers. They are also safe and easy to use, and they are the only lawn mowers that are completely emissions free. Not only that, but after you pay the initial purchase price you will not have to spend any money on fuel, power, or maintenance.

All a manual reel mower needs is periodic sharpening of the blades, which is something you can do yourself with no trouble. The Scotts 2000-20 is a quality manual reel mower that offers all the advantages of other reel mowers – it is lightweight, easy to use and economical. If you have a smaller yard that does not have too many weeds or twigs, the Scotts 2000-20 is a great option for all your grass cutting needs.

Review Summary

The Scotts 2000-20 has a 20 inch wide cutting blade, and that means it is one of the widest manual reel mowers you can find. The wider cutting blade will allow you to mow your lawn in fewer passes and less time and have you enjoying your weekend with your family sooner. It has nine different height adjustments between one and three inches.

The height of the cutting blade is easily adjusted using convenient quick snap height adjusters that provide fingertip control. It has five cutting blades on a reel that is mounted on a 5-spider ball bearing mounted assembly that makes it easy to get the reel spinning quickly with the lightest push. And it has ten inch front wheels along with six inch tracking wheels for increased maneuverability.

The Scotts 2000-20 may have a few drawbacks, as well: it can have trouble with grass that is much taller than the cutting reel, and it may leave taller, thicker weeds still standing even after a few passes. It can be difficult to use it to edge near fences or walls as well. I will cover all of these as well as the areas where the Scotts 2000-20 really shines in the Pros & Cons sections below. I’ll also provide a helpful product comparison table so you can get a good idea of how this mower rates against similar reel mowers.

Specifications

The Scotts 2000-20 is a manual push reel mower with a 20 inch wide cutting reel, which is one of the widest I have ever seen on a reel mower. It has an ergonomically designed handle with a cushion grip for more comfort while you are using it. The mower has a standard cutting system in which the cutting reel makes contact with a rear blade, which means it will require sharpening now and then.

The cutting reel on the Scotts 2000-20 has five blades made of heat treated steel for longer durability. The reel is mounted on a 5-spider ball bearing assembly, which makes it easier to get the reel spinning quickly. It has nine cutting heights between 1 and 3 inches. The lawn mower weighs 34 pounds and overall dimensions of just 28 x 18 x 10 inches. A rear grass catcher is optional. The mower comes with a limited one year consumer warranty.

Description

The Scotts 2000-20 is a manual reel lawn mower with overall dimensions of 28 x 18 x 10 inches and a cutting blade that is 20 inches wide. That makes it one of the widest manual reel mowers available today, and it packs that cutting width into a fairly compact package. A wider cutting reel will allow you to get your grass cut in fewer passes, which means less time. And the compact dimensions of the Scotts 2000-20 mean that it will be easy to find storage space for it in your garage or tool shed.

The mower has a standard cutting system, in which the cutting reel makes contact with a rear blade while you are mowing. That allows for cleaner cuts but it also requires you to periodically sharpen the blades, either yourself or at your local hardware store. The five blades are made of durable heat treated steel. They are mounted on a cutting reel that rides on a 5-spider ball bearing assembly that is designed to make it easier to get the cutting reel spinning quickly with minimal effort.

The cutting reel on the Scotts 2000-20 has nine height adjustment options between 1 and 3 inches so that you can always be sure you are giving your lawn the best possible cut for its health. The height of the cutting reel is easily adjusted using convenient one-touch quick snap height adjusters.

The Scotts 2000-20 has 10 inch composite wheels with radial tires for better traction. It also has two 6 inch rear wheels that are designed to reduce drag and make the lawn mower easier to push even over difficult terrain or through tough grass. And the mower has an ergonomic loop style handle with a padded grip for extra comfort.

The mower is very competitively priced, which will be welcome news to those of us on a budget. It comes with a limited one year consumer warranty.

Pros

The Scotts 2000-20 comes with a number of features that make it a solid manual push reel mower for the homeowner with a smaller lawn. It has an ultra wide cutting reel equipped with five heat treated steel blades mounted on a 5-spider assembly. There are nine height options for the cutting reel that are easy to switch between. It has extra rear wheels to make it easier to push over rough terrain. And it is compact and not too heavy.

1. Super wide 20 inch blade for faster cuts : A twenty inch cutting blade is wider than what is available on the vast majority of manual reel mowers out there, and it is comparable to the average width of many power mowers’ cutting decks as well. A wider cutting reel allows you to finish mowing your lawn in fewer passes, which means less time spent on yard chores and more time spent enjoying the rest of your weekend with your friends and family.
2. Five precision cutting blades on a 5-spider assembly : The Scotts 2000-20 has five precision blades made of heat treated steel for greater durability and cleaner cuts. The cutting reel is mounted on a convenient 5-spider ball bearing assembly, which is designed to help you get the reel spinning quickly without having to push the mower too hard. That means you can get it going at speeds that will slice through blades of grass cleanly instead of chewing through them and leaving your lawn looking ragged.
3. Dual wheel tracking for increased maneuverability : The Scotts 2000-20 has a unique wheel design that is built to give the mower more maneuverability on rough terrain or in dense grass. It has ten inch composite main wheels with radial tires for increased traction. And it has additional six inch rear wheels that help to eliminate drag and make it much easier to push this mower over any terrain. The mower is also less difficult to use on sloping lawns as well.
4. Lightweight and compact : The Scotts 2000-20 weighs just 36 pounds, which along with the 5-spider reel mounting assembly and the dual wheel tracking system will make it fairly easy for just about anyone to use. And even though it has a 20 inch wide cutting deck, it still has fairly compact dimensions of just 28 x 18 x 10 inches. That will make it easier to maneuver in tight spaces. It also means you won’t have any trouble finding storage space for it in your garage or tool shed.
5. Nine height options with quick snap adjusters : The Scotts 2000-20 has a full complement of height options – nine – that range from one to three inches. Multiple height options on a lawn mower is an important aspect of giving your lawn a healthy cut every time. And the height of the cutting reel is easy to adjust. You simply use the quick snap adjusters to change from one slot to another and lock it in securely, so you don’t have to worry about it moving out of place in the middle of a job.

One of the best things you can find in a manual push reel mower is a super wide cutting deck, and it is hard to find one that is as wide as the Scotts 2000-20. Add to that the fact that the mower has five precision blades designed to be easy to get spinning quickly so that you can provide precision cuts every time, and its wide range of height options, and you can see why this is a good product for the homeowner with a small yard.

Cons

There are a few areas where the Scotts 2000-20 is less than perfect. Most of these issues are rather common to manual push reel mowers, however. The lawn mower may have problems cutting tall grass and weeds easily, and it may run over tougher, thicker weeds without cutting them. In spite of the dual tracking wheel system, it can bounce over uneven ground, missing grass. It may have trouble edging near fences or walls, and the blades may need sharpening often.

1. May not cut tall grass or weeds easily : This is an issue that tends to be rather widespread in manual push reel mowers, as the cutting reel can tend to run over taller grass or weeds without cutting them. As a result, you may find that you have to use this lawn mower rather frequently to keep it cutting grass that is taller than six inches or so. At the same time, it will be difficult to find a manual reel mower where this is not the case.
2. Is not equipped to handle uneven ground well : In spite of the unique dual tracking wheel system, the Scotts 2000-20 can have trouble with very uneven ground, either bouncing over it or leaving one wheel in the air, which could affect cutting reel performance. If your lawn is on even terrain, this won’t be a problem, but if it is fairly bumpy, you may have to cross hatch it with this mower to get an even cut.
3. Standard cutting system can need frequent sharpening : While the blades are made of heat treated steel, which should make them more durable, the Scotts 2000-20 uses a standard cutting system in which the cutting reel makes contact with the rear blade. That may result in the cutting blades needing to be sharpened more frequently than on other models. Of course, this is something you can do yourself for free, and you may want to consider sharpening your blades often just to keep them at their best anyway.
4. Can be difficult to edge near fences or walls : The wheels on the Scotts 2000-20 are a few inches wider than the cutting reel, which means that there is a gap between the cutting swath and the edge of the lawn mower. That means that it might have difficulty edging near walls or fences that abut the lawn, and you may have to use a separate lawn trimmer on these strips of grass.
5. May leave tougher, thicker weeds standing : Like many other manual push reel mowers, the Scotts 2000-20 may have trouble with tougher, thicker weed stalks, and run right over them without slicing through them. If your lawn is weed-treated, this should not present a problem for you. But if you do have a lot of dandelions and other weeds in your lawn, you may have to remove them before you can get a clean cut with this mower.

If you have already done some research on manual push reel mowers, these issues should be somewhat familiar to you. That is because these are problems that are faced by almost every reel mower available today. Because of that, reel mowers are designed for a specific kind of lawn: a small one that does not have too many weeds or other obstacles on it. If you have that kind of lawn, then the Scotts 2000-20 should do the job just fine.

Product Comparison

Looking at several models is a good idea when you are shopping for a new lawn mower. It allows you to get a better picture of what similar reel mowers can offer, and a clearer idea of how a particular model stacks up against its competition. In this, I compare the Scotts 2000-20 with the Gilmour RM30 and the American Lawn Mower 1204-14.

	Scotts 2000-20	Gilmour RM30	American Lawn Mower 1204-14
Cutting Width	20-inch	20-inch	14-inch
Mower Type	Manual Push	Manual Push	Manual Push
Handle	Cushion Grip	Cushion Grip	T-handle
Cutting System	Standard (contact)	Standard (contact)	Standard (contact)
Blades	5 blades	5 blades	3-spider 1-blade
Cutting Height	1- to 3-inch	1- to 3-inch	1/2- to 1-1/2-inch
Weight	34 pounds	36 pounds	19 pounds
Grass Catcher	Optional	Included	Optional
Warranty	1 year	1 year	90 days

As you can see, the Scotts 2000-20 and the Gilmour have the widest cutting reels. They also have five blades each, while the AML mower only has one, and a wider range of height options. The tallest height option on the AML is half of that of the Gilmour or the Scotts. But the Gilmour and Scotts are both fifteen pounds heavier than the AML mower.

Conclusion

There are plenty of reasons why the Scotts 2000-20 is an excellent addition to your lawn care tools if you have the kind of yard it is designed for. There are also a few reasons why it may have difficulty with certain types of lawns. Let’s take another look at both the pros and the cons on this mower before we wrap up.

Conclusion Pros

1. Super wide 20 inch blade for faster cuts.
2. Five precision cutting blades on a 5-spider assembly.
3. Dual wheel tracking for increased maneuverability.
4. Lightweight and compact.
5. Nine height options with quick snap adjusters.

At 20 inches, the Scotts 2000-20 has one of the widest reel available on a manual push mower. The cutting reel has five durable blades for cleaner cuts and a 5-spider assembly that allows you to get it spinning quickly with minimal effort. It has unique dual wheel tracking, a wide range of height options, and is easy to maneuver and find storage space for.

Conclusion Cons

1. May not cut tall grass or weeds easily.
2. Is not equipped to handle uneven ground well.
3. Standard cutting system can need frequent sharpening.
4. Can be difficult to edge near fences or walls.
5. May leave tougher, thicker weeds standing.

The Scotts 2000-20 may struggle with very tall grass, thicker weeds, and very uneven terrain. But at the same time, these issues tend to be quite common on manual reel mowers. Therefore I do not think any of these cons is a reason to shy away from this lawn mower. Overall its positive features tend to outweigh the negative ones.

Final Word

If you have the kind of small lawn that a manual reel can take care of reliably, there are plenty of advantages to switching over to one. Not only are these machines quiet and easy to use, they are the only lawn mowers that are completely emissions free and require no fuel or power to run. They need minimal maintenance and save you hundreds of dollars on lawn care over the long run.

The Scotts 2000-20 has one of the widest cutting reels you can find on a manual push mower, which means you can finish cutting your lawn in fewer passes and less time. While it faces some of the problems that are common to reel mowers, it has more than enough positive features to make up for them. This mower is designed to provide you with reliable performance and clean cuts every time you use it. And as you’ll see in the next section, it won’t drain your garden budget for the season.

Best Price

The Scotts 2000-20 is very competitively priced. This is especially true when you consider the fact that it has one of the widest cutting reels you can find on a manual push mower and five cutting blades made of high quality, durable steel. It will save you money not only on the initial purchase, but over the long term as well, since you will never have to spend any money on fuel or power for it, and because it only requires minimal maintenance from one year to the next. All things considered, this is a solid mower at an excellent price.