About Us

Founded in 2006, EcoMowers.com is refining the niche “green mower” market even further. We offer environmentally friendly lawn mowers and tools from our headquarters in Traverse City, Mich.

The term "reel mowers" is old and boring, so we've reinvented it! Our trademark brand "ecomowers" is new, fun, and easy to remember. By keeping our product line as narrow as possible our idea is to turn "ecomowers" into a new garden category (we need your help, please tell your friends...).

The mowers we offer have been hand selected and personally tested to represent the best in class available anywhere. Good luck finding more than 3+ reel mowers in your local hardware store - you will not find them. Maybe 1 old, heavy, clunker if you're lucky. We offer the best selection of reel mowers - period.

Let us know what you think of our mowers, our website, and our brand.

Thank you for choosing to shop at EcoMowers.com!

To learn more about EcoMowers.com listen to the following radio show with our founder Andy Humphrey:

Play: What is Ecomowers?
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With: Andy Humphrey

Sponsored by: Ecomowers.com

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ANNOUNCER: Welcome to Ecomower Radio brought to you by Ecomowers.com. Ecomowers.com leaving the eco-friendly lawnmower movement making it easy and enjoyable for any individual to eliminate their climate impact and transform lawn mowing to a clean future and more enjoyable experience; helping to shift the consumer turf-care industry towards more sustainable practices. Ecomowers.com just a naturally clean cut. Now here is your host, Damien Allen.

DAMIEN: Good morning and welcome to Ecomowers radio. My name is Damien Allen, and joining me today on the phone is Andy Humphrey, the founder of Ecomowers.com. Good morning, Andy, welcome to the program.

ANDY: Good morning, Damien. Thanks for having me on.

DAMIEN: It’s a pleasure to have you today, sir. We’ve checked out your intriguing website. Tell how did the concept of going green with "push mower" come about?

ANDY: That’s a good question, Damien. It turns out that I have a degree in horticulture and professionally tied to the landscape and irrigation industries so I’m constantly surrounded by new and innovative lawn and garden products and one particular product line that caught my attention a few years ago was old fashioned push mowers and the trend that was happening in America with people beginning to use these old fashion mowers again, and as I looked around at the products there was a few new models of these old mower types and one of the things I noticed that was sort of lacking was a good brand to go with the products, because your everyday, average American had kind of forgotten about these mowers, and they didn’t really know the industry term real mower as they are called and so they kind of just thought of it as an old fashioned mower and one of the things that came across my mind was hey these mowers need help from a brand in order to get back to market. So I decided to create a fun and exciting brand to go along with these mowers to compliment them in order to try to bring recognition and bring a new flavor to these old fashioned mowers. So that’s really where Ecomowers came about was seeing an opportunity for a product line and seeing an opportunity to connect fun brands with a product line.

DAMIEN: What is the movement, Andy?

ANDY: The movement is part of the brand appeal and so one of the things I saw early on when consumers started to buy these mowers from us is that they were really invested in the product. They had fun using it, they wanted to tell their friends about it, and they really enjoyed the concept of it and so the movement is really about telling the story of what was old becomes new again and it kind of paints a picture for this trend and tries to kind of gather people together and tell this story so that as one person uses one of the mowers they don’t feel like they’re off in a corner somewhere all by themselves as a silly person using this mower. It’s really about trying to create this trend and gather like-minded people together to take this concept further.

DAMIEN: Well getting back to nature with a push reel mower, what is the biggest obstacle going back to these old-style lawn mowers?

ANDY: That’s another great question, Damien, because there are a lot of preconceived notions that people have about these mowers; however, most of the preconceived notions are not really true. Particularly as it relates to those are hard to push, those are heavy and there’s no way you’re going to get me out there using one of those mowers that my grandfather used. So the three things that kind of become the biggest obstacles right now as it relates to using a real mower is 1) Lawn size. So if you want to mow over about a ¼ acre, it’s going to take you more than an hour. So the larger your lawn, the less likely somebody is to use one of these mowers. 2) Lawn debris. So if you’re more in the woods than out in the sun and you get a lot of sticks and branches falling from trees and leaves in the yard and debris that can get caught up in the cylinder portion of the mower, debris in the yard can become an obstacle, and lastly, the frequency of mowing. So with a real mower, cutting a little bit shorter on the grass, you’re going to want to mow a little bit more frequently. So that could be as often as every five days in the summertime and it’s very important that you don’t get lazy and get behind on your mowing or say you go on vacation for two weeks and come back and want to cut it. So those are the three things; lawn size, lawn debris, and the frequency of cutting.

DAMIEN: What are some of the benefits of using a push reel mower versus a traditional gasoline mower?

ANDY: I think some of the benefits, Damien, are pretty obvious, but the way a real mower cuts the grass is healthier so as the reel spins like a cylinder and it cuts up against the bed knife, the grass gets snipped like a pair of scissors. So you have a perfectly sheared piece of grass versus grass that is cut with a gas powered rotary mower is torn and ripped so the grass blade edge is frayed which allows it to become more susceptible to lawn diseases getting into the foliage of the grass. So it provides a cleaner cut which is healthier for the grass. The obvious one is we’re not using any gas or oil or batteries that are charged up. So it’s actually better for the environment and it’s great for your health. You don’t need ear protection, you can mow at any time of day, and it’s a great way to get a workout.

DAMIEN: Now there is no gas, there’s no oil to use, and the zero carbon footprint. Are these mowers easier to maintain than a traditional gas mower?

ANDY: Yes, actually it takes very little to maintain a push reel mower, and you can relate it very closely to say owning a bicycle versus owning a motorcycle. A motorcycle takes a lot more to maintain than a bicycle takes to maintain and it is kind of the same analogy with a push real mower versus a gas powered mower. We recommend you keep it clean. So that’s number one, keeping the reel mower clean, brushing off the grass after your mowing, storing it in a place that is indoors or covered and then keeping it properly lubricated. And one of the things that we like to recommend is the use of a silicone spray because it a silicone spray dries dry versus drying with the greasy after affect. The silicone spray actually helps to send off a lot of dust and dirt from sticking to the reel mower and so just keeping it clean, keeping it lubricated and storing it in a covered location is all you really need to do.

DAMIEN: What is the difference between using a modern push reel mower versus the old fashion push mower my grandfather might of used?

ANDY: This comes back to why the trend for modern reel mowers is coming back, because modern reel mowers are different than the ones people’s grandparents used. There are a couple of things in particular. Number one would be the weight of the mowers. Most of the modern reel mowers weigh between 17 and 30 pounds to the lighter weight which makes them easier to push. Many of them have better ergonomics built into the handle bars which also make them easier to push and then most importantly is the modern cutting technology. So if you can picture the horizontal cylinder reel spinning up against the bed knife and cutting like a pair of scissors, old fashion mowers had a contact cutting system so you had metal on metal, friction scraping going on which really caused the mowers to need an annual sharpening and so sharpening was part of the maintenance on old fashion mowers. Now new reel mower technology uses what’s called a contact free cutting system or a frictionless cutting system or a silent cutting system. In other words when the cylinder reel is spinning, and it passes the bed knife there is a very, very small gap about the width of a human hair. So the gap is small enough to cut grass, but yet large enough that the blades don’t touch each other and that contact free cutting system makes the mowers easier to push, because you are not pushing against the friction of the metal and it doesn’t require any sharpening for the mowers. So you will get 8 to 10 years without any sharpening required and that cutting technology is really one of the things that separate modern reel mowers from old fashion push mowers.

DAMIEN: Are there any requirements to operating a push mower? Can anyone use a reel mower?

ANDY: This is another great thing, Damien, because what we are seeing are a lot more women using reel mowers. So not to be stereotypical here, but generally in the last number of years, lawn care has been done more often done by the male population and less by the female population. So we’re seeing more women get out and mow, because the units are lighter, they are cleaner, they’re easier to push and you can get a great workout as well as we’re seeing younger generations get out and mow the lawn. And it might not be the whole yard, but we are seeing younger children ages 10 to 18 actually enjoying going out and mowing the yard versus having to collect $10 from mom and dad from their allowance to mow the lawn. So we are seeing more women mow the land and more younger generation mowing the lawn.

DAMIEN: Is there a big difference in storing these reel-mower over winter verse a gas mower?

ANDY: The beauty of storing a push reel mower is it really doesn’t take any space. You can hang it on the hook in your garage. If you live in a townhouse or a condominium where you just mow a little bit, you can store it in a closet. There is no oil to drain, there are no filters to change, it just is simply hang it in the closet or store it in the garage very, very easy.

DAMIEN: Is there a difference between the push reel mower models? Is there a vast difference between the modern types that are out now?

ANDY: There are some differences between the models in terms of width, the cutting width so it ranges from on the small end about 13” or 14” wide all the way up to 20” on the width. So you can decide on the cutting width and obviously the wider the mower the faster you will get the job done. They vary in cutting height so some mowers have a max cutting height of an inch and a half while other push reel mowers have a max cutting height of 4” and they also vary on the number of blades. Your traditional push reel mower, your everyday push reel mower has five cutting blades and there are a couple of models that have seven cutting blades. They are used really for the southern grasses like Bermuda grass that grows dense so you get basically more cuts per revolution by having the two extra blades on the reel. So you can decide between your cutting width, your cutting height and your cutting style of the mower.

DAMIEN: How do I know which push reel mower is right for me?

ANDY: Well you can kind of categorize it in a couple of areas. Number one would be do you have cool season grass; do you have warm season grass? Do you live in the north or the do you live in the south? Number two would be the quality of your lawn. Do you have a flat, perfectly maintained, nice smooth yard, or do you have more of a country yard that has varying grass types and weeds and bumps and hills. So you look at the quality of your yard as well.

DAMIEN: Where do you see this movement growing too? Do you see reel mowers as a viable solution to creating a greener environment, Andy?

ANDY: Well I think what we are going to see is more individuals will use push mowers up until about a quarter acre. So I think that a quarter acre and less will see this trend continue. A quarter acre to 1 acre will start to see maybe more battery powered rotary mowers and then over an acre will see more high efficiency ride on mowers. So that’s kind of where I see the environmentally friendly lawn mower trend as a whole moving towards.

DAMIEN: How do I get my hand on one of these non-powered push mowers?

ANDY: Damien, our push mowers are sold at www.ecomowers.com. We warehouse them in Traverse City, Michigan, and we do try to ship same day. So if you order online, it should reach you within 2 to 4 days.

DAMIEN: Andy, do you have a particular favorite push reel mower?

ANDY: I do have a couple favorites, actually, that I like to use. Most recently I’ve got into using a brand new Fiskar’s Momentum Reel Mower. It’s new to the market. It’s got some really cool cutting features like a bigger reel to make it easier to push and a little bit taller cutting height so that’s been a real fun one and before this mower came out, a great favorite was a Brill Razor Cut Mower and the Nature Cut Ideal 40 and the Nature Cut Classic HD. Those are my 3 – 4 favorite mowers. And of course, my wife calls me crazy, because I have a garage full of them. Mowers all over the place.

DAMIEN: How long have you been in business, Andy?

ANDY: We founded Ecomowers.com in the spring of 2007. So this will be the fourth year in business, Damien.

DAMIEN: Would you kindly share your website and contact information with the listening audience for anyone who is interested in learning more about push reel mowers and Ecomowing.

ANDY: Yes, I will please come and visit us at www.ecomowers.com. You can also reach us toll free at (888) 326-6693.

DAMIEN: Thank you very much for joining us today and discussing Ecomowers with the listening audience.

ANDY: Thank you, Damien.

DAMIEN: We have been speaking with founder of Ecomowers.com, Andy Humphrey. We have been discussing push reel mowers and the green evolution of keeping your lawn trimmed. You’ve been listening to Ecomowers Radio. My name is Damien Allen. Everybody have a great afternoon.