I agree with you Bradley0241 as reel mowers are probably healthy and do make a yard look nice as compared to most rotary designs. Not the case with all though, and it depends on the blade, the deck design and whether one bags or not. However Bradley that machine you referenced is a commercial model and very expensive compared to the models here being compared. Not apples to apples. A better comparison would be to look at a Mclane 17-4.75 GT series powered rotary mower. However keep in mind that Reel mowers slice the tips of the grass blades off much like a barber does to ones hair but it also means that to obtain the best results out of one, you must cut your grass more frequently and if you have better things to do then this will not be for you. Anyway I too looked and considered the JD JS45 and the Craftsman Prosumer Yellow mowers. After careful consideration with reviews and with my type of lawn, I am just going to keep what I have. Actually I am going to fix up my old JD 12SB and just put a new engine on it. Those suckers run forever and require little maintenance with a Kawasaki engine. The new JD's are just not what they used to be. Craftsman in my mind represents a better value and their equipment seems to hold up better on the residential level than John Deere. Thanks though alerting me to the rebranding of the Cub Cadet. This is nothing new either as this sort of thing has been going on for decades and even John Deere has been complicit in this practice.

Well, I mowed the back yard today with my new SPV21675E. All I can say is, I'm kicking myself.... for not getting a good machine like this YEARS ago. I coulda saved many, many, many hours. I was bagging the clippings, and the performance was astonishing. My old "pile-of-unmentionable" mower would require me to stop after about 1 to 1-1/2 rows to empty the bag, which never got more than 25% full. But if I didn't empty it I was treated to a clogged deck & chute and grass clumps all over the lawn, a real pain to rake up. This Snapper requires 1/5 the stops. Not a typo - 20%. The clippings get packed into the back of the bag. In fact, if you run the engine without the bag, the machine will blow the cover plate open about an inch or so. Coming from what I had, this thing is just great! And, it doesn't blow clippings all over the patio. The self propel also works great. If I pull the handle all the way I have to walk FAST to keep up, but not unreasonably so. I couldn't believe how fast I got through the job. The manual says 4.2 mph, which is a good brisk pace. The simple lever system for controlling the mower is easy and natural. I'm glad I chose this over the Deere JS25 (which is essentially the same mower) - I'm convinced that I wouldn't like the Deere "Mow-Mentum" system as well as the less flashy Snapper control. My lawn is dead flat so I can't comment on hilly terrain performance but it seems quite strong and traction is good. The evenness of cut is outstanding - I couldn't ask for any better. It's quite a bit better than the one Honda commercial mower I borrowed (sorry I don't know the model number) but then again this is a brand new blade and I doubt the Honda blade was freshly sharpened. In any case, the grass looks beautiful. I never wanted an electric start before and just got it this time because I got a good price on the machine. But I would now recommend it. It is really great just to turn the key after emptying the bag without bending and yanking and vapor lock on a hot day... it was 100 here today, and that key start was absolutely decadent! The Briggs 675 is one of those "no-prime, no choke" engines and started instantly every time. There's no throttle on the engine - it runs full throttle all the time. Fine with me - faster blade means better vacuum and better cut. The self propel speed control is so easy and smooth you don't even really think about the lack of a throttle. I had a single-point height adjustment mower years ago and loved that feature. I still do. So easy to fine tune the height, no pain, no strain. This is a great feature and will spoil anyone fast. Cleanup was pretty easy. I always hose off the under-deck. I had a mower rust out once, so for the past 25 years I rinse off the underside of the mower and have never had any problems with rust since. Then I run the engine for a couple minutes to blow dry. Easy. I do think those machines with the topside hose port would be cool, especially if you fit a quick disconnect. But unfortunately Snapper doesn't have it. Still, it was only a couple of minutes to get the machine cleaned up. This Snapper isn't a commercial mower and it may not last as long as those do. But I have to say that it is the best running, best performing machine I, as joe average homeowner, have ever had. I'm very happy with how quickly and effortlessly I was able to complete the job, and how good the grass looks. The bagging performance is, once again, unbelievable. Next time, I'll try the mulching... but I have an old Toro "Recycler II" mulcher so even if this Snapper doesn't do as well at mulching I will still be a happy camper (I bag mostly). If you are looking at $200 mowers, step up to this one. You will not regret it! I haven't actually used the equivalent $400 Toro or LB or whatever. So, they may be great, too. But you won't be unhappy with the performance of this Snapper.

Older post but here is my experience: We just moved out of a house that had an old "root cellar" that was in the corner of the basement. It was about 10 X 12 and it had shelves and a large rack with a drain on top that was for blocks of ice. The walls were insulated with 12" of what looked like cedar mulch behind wood panels covered with aluminum flashing. The previous owner had removed the old wooden door and installed an equally old metal insulated door from a restaurant or whatever. They told us that the room stayed cool most of the year but in the dead of summer they would put (10) 20lb bags of ice in the rack and it would last almost a week. I tried this once and the room stayed about 15 degrees colder for more than a week, around 55 degrees. I thought this was neat but I didn't think the ice was practical. 5 years ago I was at an equipment auction after the local Dairy Queen moved and, after getting a bright idea, I inquired about the cooling units on the roof. The owner said that if I paid for them to be removed I could have them, and the indoor units in the freezer room. Long story short: I ended up with 2 working units and plenty of freon. I had the HVAC people install one of the units in the root cellar and I wired it up. The unit was way over-sized for my little room but it fit and looked OK. It had 5 fans, was almost 8 feet long and hung 2 feet off the ceiling. The outdoor unit looked like a regular A/C unit with no guards, but was ok since it was out back. When I turned it all-the-way down the unit easily brought the room below 0'F and would cool down to -25'F before it seemed to "stall out". I knew this wasn't practical so I rewired the unit to only run 1 fan and to cycle it off and on when not actively cooling. My wife was skeptical at first but soon found herself frequently using the room. She was really sorry to see it go when we sold the house. We had saved a lot of money shopping at Sams and saved many, many trips to town. I think it added $20-$30 to our power bill each month. The unit drew about 120KWh/month if I turned it to 45'F, so it was reasonably well insulated. The HVAC people charged me $475.00 to remove the units and install the one, but I sold the second unit and made $525 profit. I personally had around 30 hours messing with the whole project, $155 for a new electronic thermostat (to cycle and defrost), $154.28 in wiring and mounting hardware, and I later built new shelves out of pressure-treated lumber at a cost of $318.00 and 6 hours work. The Realtor said that the room was a big selling point and she thought that it added $10,000 to the value of the house. The purchaser said the "cooler" (as he called it) was a big reason he bought the house since he does a lot of hunting. I am currently looking for the parts to build another cooler in my current house.

Oh, sorry, Marcolo, I thought you'd seen my table before. There's no leg. Just a couple of strong folding brackets. It is supposed to be able to support more than a hundred pounds of pressure or something. I can't remember for sure, but my cabinetmaker said I could roll dough (i.e., lean hard) on it if I wanted (I'd rather not for other reasons, but I could). I don't know if this is a good application for stone, but you could easily do the counter extension from wood, metal wrapped wood, or even formica if that suits. This plan does give up a little storage by the sink, and keeping the sink centered on the window requires either the smaller DW or a blind corner, but you gain all the pantry space above and below the oven, as well as where the old oven was. By not remodelling the structure you also gain money to put into better slimmer appliances. I have a new full sized DW, but I swear it doesn't actually fit that many dishes because of the way it's laid out and how it works. An 18" Miele might hold just as much or more. I didn't want to get into details in putting this sketch in, since they can get in the way of imagination. One thing you can do to maximize storage is to have a run of short upper uppers that go round the room, with some decorative brackets or corbels to "support" the places where there aren't wall cabinets under. You could have the hood over the window go up just to the cabinet as its support as well. On the wall where the table is pictured, you could put art, beadboard, shelves/cupboard above head height, or even standard uppers if you don't want to be sitting back to the wall. The kind of table I've shown doesn't even need the castors unless you want it topped with stone to match counters. It should be light enough to just lift. Though the castors allow you to move it while lunch is already set out. Here is the picture of the table side of my island. The stone overhangs the table by 6". When the table is folded flat it's entirely underneath the overhang. I think it's about 3" thick folded. No more than 4". You can just see the bottom of the bracket on the right side, against the side of the island. These brackets do have a diagonal brace. I can find out more about the hardware and take a picture of the underside if you're interested.