Brill Luxus 33 push reel mower information

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Brill Luxus 33 summary

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The Brill Luxus 33 is a German made reel mower that weighs about 16 pounds. It has five blades, and it has a cutting range of 14 mm up to 45 mm. In inches, that's about .6" to 1.9". It mows a 33 cm wide path, which is about 15 inches. The Brill has a "silent cut" design, which means that the blades to not make direct contact against the cutter bar when the blades turn. This reduces friction and makes the reel mower a bit easier to push, and also makes the blades last a lot longer before they need any kind of sharpening.

Assembling a Brill Luxus 33 manual mower

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Assembling the Brill Luxus reel mower is very, very easy. There are no tools required, and it takes about five minutes or less. The reel mower body is already fully assembled. You only need to attach the handle to the mower. As you can see from the photos underneath this paragraph, the reel mower handle comes in three pieces. The bottom section of the handle snaps onto 2 metal attachments on the mower body. The other sections of the handle attach to each other using wing nuts that you can spin tight with your hands.


Box that the reel mower comes in.


What the mower looks like when you open the box.


All the mower pieces. No tools required!


Where the lower mower handle attaches to the body.

Changing the cutting height is quite simple. To adjust the Brill reel lawnmower cutting height, you'll find an orange knob on each side of the mower body. You'll also find a measuring unit on each side that measures from 14 mm to 45 mm. Loosen the orange knob on each side, move the height where you want it and tighten the knob back down. Do the same thing on the other side, making sure that the height matches.

Adjusting the reel / blades on the Brill

What's the difference between adjusting the blades and changing the cutting height? The cutting height adjustment changes how high the grass is cut. The blade adjustment adjusts how the reel turns inside the mower, keeping the blades cutting properly when the reel turns. The Brill reel mower comes with the blades pre-adjusted, so you won't need to mess with it initially.

The Brill owner's manual also comes with a thin strip of metal and a complicated explanation of how to adjust the blades. That method works, but it is difficult and time consuming. I'm going to tell you the easy way to accomplish the exact same result.

After using the Brill a couple of seasons, you might notice that it doesn't seem to cut as well as it used to. You'll look down at the blades and see that the blades have a flat edge that isn't sharp at all and you'll think, "Gosh, the blades must need sharpening." But that isn't the issue at all. When the mower is brand new, the blades have that very same flat edge. The Brill blades are not supposed to be sharp like a knife. Look at your new mower when you get it and notice this! I even included a picture.

So how do you make it cut well again, if it doesn't need sharpening? You simply adjust the mower reel. Flip the mower upside down, and you'll see that there are two silver spring loaded bolts that hold the cutter bar in place on the bottom of the mower. Take an adjustable or metric wrench. Next, just barely tighten the bolts on each side. Keep tightening until when you spin the reel, the blades knock against the cutter bar. At this point, just slightly loosen the bolts until there is no more knocking.

Your reel mower is now perfectly adjusted again, and you're ready to mow for another couple of seasons. Wasn't that easy?

Cool features of the Brill Luxus 33

Brill reel lawn mowers have several cool features that set them apart from most other reel mower models. They have a powder coating on all metal components. You can read about the advantages of powder coating versus plain old paint here.

Brill reel mowers also have sealed bearings. That means you don't have to deal with constantly oiling them, etc.

Brill reel mowers have flame hardened, welded steel blades. This flamed hardened. welded steel, combined with the non-contact silent cut design, means that you pretty much never have to sharpen the blades. You just have to adjust them now and then.

Where to buy the Brill Luxus 33

Buy reel mowers here.

Other information about using push reel lawnmowers:

Don't forget to read the general guide to using a manual reel mower on the front page of the site.



All of the information from this page is Copyright 2003. I spent a lot of time and effort writing this, using the knowledge I have gained from years of experience with reel mowers. You are welcome to link directly to this page or to other pages on the site, but do not steal my work. I search all the time, so I will find it if you do.