Message Board - Natural Turf: Think this will make you laugh
19 Aug 2010 by Ryan
 |
Popped to my sons football training tonight his team have just got keys to their first ground (not run by the council) I have known they were doing this for some time and have been advising them on what type of mower to buy along with a friend that does some ground work for other sports grounds. Havnt spoken to his team for a few week so just went to say hi and his manager who is also the chairman had this big cheesy grin we have brought a mower he told me it was a triple gang with raker and scarifier so thought good buy for the £1800. Then asked him where it was he pointed to the little space built into the club house that was locked and told me that the person with the keys would be there shortly so waited around for a while. watching the lads train could hear this engine start and looked over and it was a single deck rotary ride-on at most 50inchs wide. so i asked the chairman was that it and was told it had 3 18inch cylinders that can be towed so at most the cutting width would be 54inchs the field is massive (id tryed to get them to but a 5 gang motion driven cylinder total cut width of over 100inches would have cost them £1000 max) he said it would take him 2hours max to cut more like 2 days. I might record him trying to cut it soon. O and i forgot the grass is a foot tall at the moment.
20 Aug 2010 by Kelvin Lockwood
Hi guys, which machines would you recommend for a village football club that has to maintain 1.5 hectares that includes one football pitch...
20 Aug 2010 by Minormorris64
Once cut our cricket outfield with an 18 inch rotary, 3.5 acres in 8 hours 
What goes around, comes around
20 Aug 2010 by Parken
a 50" rotary deck will cut a football pitch in under one hour no problem
if the area is not mainated daily the use of cylinder cutters may struggle if the grass is long
one issue may be that at the figure of £1800 it may not last too long
Kelvin i would go for a rotary
20 Aug 2010 by Parken
Kelvin
i dont really help you much there, as to why
rotary mowers are more versitile than cylinder mowers and if the budget permits small mid mounted sub compact tractors can offer more options
if the grass is not cut through the growing season on a regular basis cylinder cuuters may struggle too give a clean cut, the rotary will hack it down!! they also cut wet grass better (sometimes you have to)
the down time spent on a rotary is much less than ride on cylinder mowers
use it for the seaon and but new blades
and if you whack a stone with a rotary dont worry about it, reverse and whack it again!! it dont matter
these are only my opinions (apart from the stones bit which was a lie)
cheers
chris
20 Aug 2010 by jlawrence
To be fair Chris, whacking a stone with a rotary is no where near as catastrophic as it is with a cylinder. Take the blade off, attack it with a file and 15 minutes later you can be back cutting again. Yes, things might be slightly out of balance but it's still usable and you can sort the balance problem out easily and quickly in the workshop.
Try getting a cylinder back in action after hitting a stone and it can take eons.
Cylinders can give you a better presentation but I think they'll be quite happy with what can be achieved with a rotary.
My only thoughts are why was it so cheap. 1800 for a rotary AND gangs ?
Of course there's no bounce, bend your back and put some bloody effort in.
20 Aug 2010 by Parken
agreed, it was half a lie
having whacked the odd stone with a triple it is depressing and perhaps thats where my dislike for stones comes from
a rotary and maybe a mulching option
20 Aug 2010 by Kelvin Lockwood
Thanks Chris
I found a similar post on this message board where a Toro Recycler Mower was suggested...
any thoughts on the Toro XL380H ?
20 Aug 2010 by ticky21
Kelvin...that was probably me...ive got a Toro Groundmaster 228D with a 62 inch recycler deck...and it is a fantastic machine...i paid £3000....for it...
Ticky supports British farmers...!!
20 Aug 2010 by agrostis
Hi Kevin and All,
Looking at the comments I would also go for a rotary side discharge mower if you could get something similar to the Toro above but with side discharge or a Ransomes Frontline rotary second hand.
If the grass gets out of control you could get it back easier with a rotary side discharge by cutting a couple of stripes then work off lands on both sides moving the cut grass on to the area first cut, leaving it in a row. It would then take a bit of hand raking but the cut grass could be removed. You would only have to do this two, three or four times across the pitch according to how long or dense the grass is, to get all the cuttings off. Then a final pass to tidy everything up in a different direction. When the grass is not that long or growing too quick then topping once or twice a week leaves it looking ok. Try a box chain behind the mower not cutting to band the pitch up for games when it is dry.
Good Luck,
Steve
21 Aug 2010 by panch
Ryan, I would personaly go down the route of a triple cylinder mower. A number of people have advised that if your grass gets a bit long the rotary will cut better and this is simply not true. Rotary mowers tend to spin the grass round before ejecting it so when it is long and wet it sticks and clogs the speed of cut usualy means the clippings are larger and tend to be left in lines which if not collected will kill the grass underneath. Cylinders cut the grass and throw it up into the air imediately it is cut dispersing clippings much better. We look after about 200 acres of parks and recreation grounds on fortnightly cutting schedules, we have tried roller mowers (major 12000 and 8400) but couldnt get anywhere near the performance or finish of cylinder gangs.I would personaly look for something like a hayter 322 if you field is quite level you will be ok with the two wheel drive and it makes signicant difference to price, look to get one with the larger 10" cylinders if your cutting is going to be irregular. You will quite easily cut 2-3acres an hour in its fastest cutting speed and you will achieve an excellent matchday cut by cutting slower as the cylider speed is independant to forward motion so the slower you go the more cuts per metre
21 Aug 2010 by panch
Something else i forgot, the weight of the cylinder heads give adequate rolling effect to keep your pitches level using finishing type mowers you will find your pitches become bobbly and you will have use something else like harrows or a light roller to keep the surface true.
21 Aug 2010 by ticky21
Panch...i run Majors....i got a 8400 and a TDR16000 roller mower...and i get a perfect finish with them....faster, more robust, less down time....easier to adjust height etc...and i too look after parks, schools sports pitches and recreation grounds...and as i said in previous thread...my Toro outfront does a good job too....mulcher deck...leaves no cuttings at all....regular cutting on surfaces requiring good presentation is a must....
Ticky supports British farmers...!!
22 Aug 2010 by Parken
I am no petrol head so my comments only come from my expriences,resources and financing will contribute to the choice
we have used a triple mower on larger areas and we had to keep ontop of the cut and always there are other things to do
understand Panch"s explination of the distribution method of a rotary and a cylinder mower will offer a more precise cut.especially if you are cutting a low heights. although i do like the finsh upright cut of a rotary
claiming that the rotary will cut long or wet grass better is true for the fact that cylinder mowers wont cut the grsss if its too long,it will fold it, you may need to raise and then reduce the height,
the concept of using a mulching deck will enable clippings to be broken down quickly and release nutrition for the plant and as advised wont leave clumps and for the situations and budgets discussed they sound ideal for these situations
gangs do make sense on larger areas
we use a rotary for cutting 3 pitches and it can at times leave piles of grass, so did the cylinder mower so we would need to double cut.
you can drag a matt behind the mowers or a light roller can be trailed to assit with levels
managment of the resources has lead to our move away from the triple as it did not do a lot for us
on a slightly higher budget we use sub compacts with a mid deck, this allows us to attach a number of implements to the back such as brush, roll spiker, sweeper, roller, slitter..... and when the money is there we may invest in a set of trailed used gangs and develop a "chop and chew system"
demo each type of machine and i would suggest that you will find its a lot less bover with a rotary
enjoy the day
chris
22 Aug 2010 by panch
Ticky mate, its that long since you last used a cylinder mower youve forgotten how good they are 
. We just need the contractor using the flail to tell us we are all wrong. At the end of the day its personal preference, my 7 gang has 14 adjusters to move your major 16000 has 12 not much difference realy, We both lose quality of cut when cutting at speed. Yes roofing bolts used as net pegs are the bane of my life but the hayters we use are pretty bomb proof, and with my staff they need to be!
22 Aug 2010 by Andy Matthews Last edited 22 Aug 2010
I can confirm Panch's staff thing, but come on Panch nowts Dave proof 
.
23 Aug 2010 by ticky21
Not ture Panch..i subby to a mate who has 60 schools and i often tow his Hayter 7 unit machine....and yes it is personal preference....i dont lose quality of cut at all....Hayters can only do a good job up to 8 mph...but mine can still produce a good cut at about 11 mph on smooth ground...remember Majors are designed to run up to 720rpm PTO speed....i will contradict you on being bomb proof....let me stick a bicycle spindle in front of your cylinders, and see who is still mowing after youve hit it.....or a broken golf club left on a playing field...i guarantee my Major will still be romping on while your slackening off cylinder and removing lump of metal then re setting ..IF it hasnt bent cylinder or bottom blade...all i have to do in worse case scenario is 4 bolts an swap blade...as i always acrry a couple of spares.......you cant exactly carry a spare cylinder unit can you....
Ticky supports British farmers...!!
25 Aug 2010 by barry glynn
Ive recently hit something nasty with my triple cylinder and I think the unit is boogered. One of the blades looks bent and that means you cant adjust it properly cos if you adjust it so the bent blade is correct the other blades are to far away from the bottom knife blade and vice versa.
What do I do? I just cut the grass.
25 Aug 2010 by A J
Sounds like it needs a visit to the grind doctor then barry?
I`ve had to do it before now, just take the uint off and run it in for regrind & should have it back ready for the next day? depending how busy your spanners fella is?
Grow in grace...........
25 Aug 2010 by Kelvin Lockwood
I have just spent £2550 on a Massey Ferguson Compact Tractor with 48" Rotary to cut our football pitch, more details:
http://www.pitchcare.com/message/message/20632
26 Aug 2010 by barry glynn
Bluecoat, my son works for them and the are very very busy and understaffed and they charge £200 for regrind. Bottom blade needs doing as well. Gonna have to limp through season, Ive had another go at adjusting it today but its too wet to try it anyway!
All units need doing, hopefully club is ok to get them done.
What do I do? I just cut the grass.
27 Aug 2010 by Parken
nice one Kelvin
if you have any change a matt towed behind would work well
i would not use a metal one though as the may stress the plant
had the pleasure of visiting a danish football club this week and was discussing the machinery
they have a 5 cylinder mower for cutting the training grounds outside the stadium and informed me that they can only cut the 10 pitches 2 weekly. in the growing season they cant cut the plant as it folds over and now want to invest in a rotary, what do you think i was asked?
it reminded me of that classic A.Morissette line, it goes
"are you thinking of me when you fart on her!"
ironic eh?
Back to Top - Go to Next Unread Message
This Message is closed, you may not post a reply at this time
