Push It Reel Good

Posted by Freddie on August 17, 2007 under Uncategorized |

I’m the proud new owner of a Brill Luxus 38 push reel mower (thanks to Clean Air Gardening). I assembled it last night, mowed my back yard (which is, thankfully in this heat, small), and marveled at the impact of quality engineering. Based on the insubstantial difference I notice between a push reel mower and a traditional gas-powered motor, I would call the latter an exercise in over-engineering. It’s amazing how much energy we’ll put into making something insubstantially easier. (In fact, the idea of cars as a form of individual personal transport strikes me, generally, as overkill.) The only place I had to exert myself physically were the few parts of the yard that had somehow managed to grow long and thick in the drought. Otherwise, the mower was quiet and effective.

As usual, I’m interested in doing my patriotic part to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. But with the number of Air Quality Alerts I’ve seen on local interstates, recently, I’m also interested in not deepening my environmental footprint in the area. I guess I shouldn’t've been terribly surprised to read up on the impact of gas-powered lawn maintenance. Mowing with a gas-powered mower for 1 hour is equivalent to driving a car 100 miles!

When I mentioned considering getting a push reel mower to a friend, he told me that Black & Decker has a line of battery-powered lawn care devices, including electric grass trimmers. So if I need to trim around the edges, I might look into one of those.

In the meantime, I’m actually looking forward to lawn care for the rest of the summer!

Volunteer Voters » Exercises In Overengineering Versus Exercises In Overexercise said,

[...] Freddie O’Connell extols the environmental virtues of his new lawn care device: It’s amazing how much energy we’ll put into making something insubstantially easier. (In fact, the idea of cars as a form of individual personal transport strikes me, generally, as overkill.) The only place I had to exert myself physically were the few parts of the yard that had somehow managed to grow long and thick in the drought. Otherwise, the mower was quiet and effective. [...]
M Kennedy said,

If you got a couple of goats you could get the lawn care, milk, and meat.
I agree with your view of the car, nothing more than a glorified and cumbersome wheel chair or golf-cart in many cases.
Freddie said,

The point being that engineering is something I generally admire. I don’t admire shooting ourselves in our collective foot by overengineering.

As a computer scientist by interest and background, I don’t have the appropriate mentality for being a Luddite.