I currently own the fiskars staysharp reel mower and I'd like to upgrade to a gas powered one. I had empire zoysia laid in my front yard almost a year ago (2200sqft) and am thinking of doing the rest of the yard in the near future, and pushing this fiskars around is a bit of a work out, so I'd like to hear about some recommendations for some good gas powered reel mowers. The yard has a lot of unevenness in it so I definitely want to get a roller in place of the wheels as well. Thanks :waving:
Reel mower for residential use
FLdude
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Which specific model of bedknife? I agree with your mechanic in the stock thin bedknife for mowing down to green height is not made for mowing above 1/4" and is not debris tolerant. I use the thicker, harder bedknife made for a 1/2" HOC. Toro sells bedknives specific to what the mower is going to be used for. So far, it has had coral, gravel, and even some bolts/nails/screws go through it. Even with that, mower still cuts very well. I would love to see Tru-Cut and McLane make their cutting surfaces out of similar material to what the Toro mowers use.
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Not exactly sure the model but I'm pretty sure it's the stock bedknife. He says it will leave a better cut vs. a Tru-cut at heights below 1", but that is a given. Those mowers are made to be used on golf courses where HOC is always going to be lower than .5". A Tru-cut is designed for the commercial user in which HOC will be anywhere from .75"-2.5" thus the HOC adjustment on the fly.
I just look at it in a practical way. I can maintain my Empire Zoysia at 1.5-2" as easily as my Diamond Zoysia at .75-1" without having to modify the machine at all. I also have parts way more readily available when the machine needs repair or a relief grind. The other thing I look at is customers are pretty much oblivious to things and they aren't going to be able to tell the difference of what mower was cutting the turf at 1.5" or 1". I will always say to each his own and whatever works for a company or individual is great. Tru-cut works for me and most of the multi-million dollar companies here for the reasons I mentioned. The only time I see Greensmower bring used is on an estate that has hired a staff and the mower never leaves the property. Different strokes for different folks. How come you don't see Cal - trimmers or Lockes here? Parts would take forever to get if you could even get them....
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I do not see Cal Trimmers or Lockes either. Truth be told, I can get parts and service for a Toro way sooner and with less BS than a Tru-Cut or McLane. Golf is serious business. When I need a part for the Greensmaster, it will show up in 5 business days or less even if it has to come all the way from Minnesota. It can take up to a month for something to arrive from Tru-Cut or McLane and they are both in Los Angeles County.
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If I was in your shoes that would easily deter me from a Tru-cut. Nobody can wait that long.
My mechanic has the Tru-cut parts readily available since so many of his customers use them. I will get my mower back in 2 days for a backlap and 2-4 for a relief depending on time of year.
Like I said, people should do what works best for them. I still don't get why people would use a Walker mower...but there are some that will swear by it.
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People in Hawaii wait. Do not see why. Boggles my mind actually. I can order tools off of Amazon or shirts from Lands End and they are here in 5 business days or less. A Tru-Cut or McLane part can take weeks to come. Did I mention how those are actually commonly used by homeowners. You are very likely to see one of those in someone's garage.
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Newbie to this site as well.
I agree with FG...a gas powered reel mower is more than sufficient to cut 3000sf of lawn.
I have a 20" Tru Cut for my 1600sf bermuda lawn...the greens mowers are fantastic machines but they are designed to cut much lower than .5" and they are indeed overkill for your application...1 to 1.5" will get you that manicured look you are seeking, any lower and you will need to water everyday to keep the grass alive and cut a lot more often.
Note...at least here in GA, most 27" Tru Cut mowers with the GX engine were probably used commercially and the clutch might be on it's last leg so if ask questions if you decide to buy a used 27"....a 25" will make fairly quick work of your yard, but they are harder to find used.
Tru cut vs McClane or Trimmer...I had an old McClane (with a B&S engine) they have the lowest reputation, but with a Honda engine, a little cheap made machine, but they work fine, mu boss has one now...the older Trimmer mowers are built like tanks and I understand the new manufacturer has restore their old manufacturing processes and quailty...both have a similar wheel drive system. If you have long straight runs...these are fairly easy to operate. But, the clutch drive system is a lot easier to operate with the thumb control system if you have short runs, turns, etc. and you can also control the cylinder as well and that's why I went with a Tru Cut.
One last thing...if you want to keep it around 1.5" cutting once a week, I would strongly recommend a low nitro fertilizer...bermuda grows faster, but I cut every 3 days and keep mine at 1" and go up to 1.25" in late July/Aug.
Good luck!
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Thanks for your input. If I could find a nice used Tru-Cut I would consider it. Right now I am getting a great deal on a 10 out of 10 Greensmaster 1600. The guy will let me take my pick out of 7 of them. He will set it to 1.5" for me and do a maintenance on it before I leave. I have my Greens keeper on board for yearly sharpening, maintenance and repair. I am not worried about water since I have a new 8 zone sprinkler system recently installed. It comes on at 3am and finishes around 5:30am. Each zone gets 20 min of water. What kind of low nitro fertilizer do you recommend? I have just been using Milorganite and Ironite right now.
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CB...at least here, the market for used greens mowers is not as large as for a used gas powered reel mower so the prices are often lower. I was thinking along those same lines when I bought my current Tru Cut. Fortunately I was not looking for a 27" and I eventually found a reel mower locally.
Obviously those greens mowers are workhorses, and with the assistance you appear to have on the maintenance end, you're getting the best of both worlds sir. There are 3 places within 10 miles of me to get my mower serviced...odd that 2 or the 3 tried to steer me away from the greens mower I was considering.
The water is only factor if you decide to drop down to .5" or lower which obviously you could do...at 1.5", whatever your watering patterns are now should suffice.
Bingo...IMO you can't do much better than Milorganite for a low nitrogen fertilizer...this GA clay is tough to grow most things, my lawn is fairly new so I topdress in late spring to help amend it and I will probably keep doing that for another yr or two so I go with a lesco 24-2-11 w/ 6% iron to get the grass to power thru the topdressing, but every month thereafter I use Milorganite as well...I still cut every 3 days though, just don't need the catcher with the slower growth.
Either way, you're well on your way to a manicured lawn.
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Great point on the clutches. My mechanic said they are a couple hundred bucks alone so having someone look over the machine before buying is a smart move.
My mechanic rebuilds 27" and sells em for $950. He gets the shell, puts in the Harbor Freight motor (same as the Honda), paints it and puts new reel/bedknife if I remember correctly. Your basically getting a brand new machine for half the price.
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Wow...sounds like he's not making much profit, but I'm sure he's making enough to justify his time...saves money on the engine.
One of the places I go to service my mower refurbishes C27s and Cali Trimmers, but I don't think he's putting that much into them.
Years ago, a good friend of mine tried to sell me his C25...actually let me use it for about a month or so while he was downsizing from a single family home to a townhome...he was asking only $750...not knowing much about reel mowers back then, I balked...in hindsight that was a great price for a barely used C25.
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I made a mistake...$950 is for a 20". The 27" are $1150. I think he clears $450 per machine. He says he's happy with that. It's the way to go cause I think you get only a 90 day warranty when you buy a brand new one.
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My mechanic said what he really wants is the back lapping and relief jobs...so when he sells a machine he's hoping to get the maintenance on it.
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Those prices are more inline with up here...I bought my 20" from a friend that upgraded to a new C27...$500 with a roller, but no catcher.
Servicing, that's where the money is apparently.
I mentioned in another post, there are 3 reel mower service shops near me that actually service in house.
Two of them are getting $65 for backlapping , and roughly $140 for relief jobs...the place I go is a little off the beaten path charges $40 and $80 with a 2 day turn around...I recently learned the Ace Hardware and other retailers that sell the mowers send their service work to this guy are well and they get a wholesale rate...he says in peak season he gets about 160 of those type jobs a month and might sell 4 or 5 mowers a month.
Considering that he built a shop (a nice one too) on his own property next door to his home, he's probably doing okay....it's a niche biz, but growing...a lot more commercial guys are offering reel cutting services now.
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My mechanic charges the same for back lapping but a relief job is $450. But that comes with a new bedknife and all the other necessary small parts.
For $160 I can only imagine that's just to relief the reel and that's it.
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$140 actually for the other shops...and $85 for Reel Works, not $80. Ironically, I'm picking my mower up tomorrow...so you just made me call them, lol.
The grind job consists of the reel grind and the bedknife gets ("faced") lapped if needed ...they say the bedknife should be good for 400-600 hours for homeowner use...even then...$100 ($55 bedknife, $45 labor to install).
Per the tech I just spoke to said backlapping wears the bedknife and the grind wears the reel, so they recommend 2 backlaps to 1 grind to keep the mower in peak cutting form and the wear designed to replace the bedknife before the reel....the reel for mine is $300
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Glad you also have shops that relief grind as well. The two main shops in town here fell into the spin grind only voodoo. Makes me sick seeing their ads on TV showing them grinding off all of the relief angle. Might work on a hardened Toro reel but I have seen nothing but catastrophe when that kind of sharpening is done on a Tru-Cut or McLane. I had to buy one of these in order to be able to maintain the relief angle on my Toro and some people I backlap and bedknife grind for. http://www.miltona.com/store/Equipment-Maintenance/Relief-Bedknife-Grinding-Combo-Kit-P192C49.aspx There is one shop on the island that does it right, but turnaround time for that one is 7-14 days.
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Picking up my Toro Greensmaster 1600 tomorrow. Will post pix on Monday 
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Why is that grinder so expensive?
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Metabo grinders are not made in China. Made in Germany. Looking at the jigs, they look to be CNC machined out of tool steel. Berhard Grinders from England also makes a relief grinder. that one needs a high capacity air compressor to run and it costs about $1000. Bernhard Grinders is one of the companies pushing the no relief angle and zero contact method of reel maintenance. Their automated spin grinding machines cost as much as a car.
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. . . so I picked up the Greensmaster 1600 and it was in great condition. I brought it home and cut my lawn and found it completely unmanageable. To say I had to manhandle this beast would be an understatement. I think if my lawn was completely level, it might have been manageable with practice but my lawn is not ready for this, so I returned it for a full refund. Lucky for me the seller was a real 100% stand-up guy! I now think I am about 3 years away from the perfect lawn and after that it will be time for a smaller reel mower like the 20" or 25" Tru-Cut that FG originally recommended. This all said, I wasted a complete Saturday traveling 160 miles into PA to buy it, 160 miles back home, cut lawn, made decision to return it, drove back another 160 miles, returned it for full refund, drove 160 miles back home and collapsed! The whole learning experience cost me approximately $90 in gas :-(
Learning Experience: Listen to the seasoned members on this Forum and take their recommendations!
Learning Experience: Listen to the seasoned members on this Forum and take their recommendations!
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