Applications

Average Height of Cut:

1/16 in. ??? 1/4 in. (2.5 mm ??? 5 mm)

Greens Mowing Frequency:

Daily

Golf course greens are intensely managed, and mowed every day, at heights of cut from 1/16 in. ??? 1/4 in. (2.5 mm ??? 5 mm).

Average Height of Cut:

3/8 in. ??? 3/4 in.

(9 mm ??? 19 mm)

FairwayMowing Frequency:

Three times per week to daily

Reelmaster

Fairways are typically mowed three times per week, at heights of cut, from 3/8 in. ??? 3/4 in. (9 mm ??? 19 mm). Other areas, such as intermediate / semi- roughs and surrounds may also be maintained with reel mowers.

Other Applications

???Sports fields

???Other finely manicured turf areas

Reel mowers are also utilized, for mowing elite sports fields and other finely manicured turf areas.

The reel consists of a number of helix shaped blades, welded to supports and mounted to a shaft. This weldment is then ground to be a perfect cylinder.

The reel is rotated by a drive system, usually a hydraulic motor.

Below the reel is the bedbar assembly. The bedknife is held rigidly in position on the bedbar by screws.

The bedknife is sharpened to be flat and square so the sharp edge contacts the reel blades across their entire length.

If the bedknife is not flat, or the reel is not a perfect cylinder, it is impossible to get the bedknife to contact along the entire length of the reel.

Construction Details

Side Plate

Frame

The reel is supported by precision bearings held within the side plates.

The side plates are held in place by a frame.

This becomes the reel assembly, and is a precision cutting tool.

The reel assembly is supported by rollers, and pulled along the ground by a carrier frame.

Bedbar Assembly

Bedbar Pivot Bolt

Clip

Think of the reel mower cutting action like a scissors; two blades coming together, with light contact, to cut the grass. Without sharp reel and bedknife edges and properly maintained, light contact, the reel mower will not cut the grass and give a good quality of cut.

This illustrates the scissors-like cutting action, as viewed, from turf level, below the cutting unit. Note how the helix shaped reel blades, move across the bedknife, to cut the grass.

To understand reel cutting theory, you must understand the concept of clip and the shear point.

A shear point is any single point of contact made between the reel blade and bedknife.

Here we can see the distance between two successive shear points, one factor that affects the clip rate.

Clip Marks

If the reel speed is too slow in relation to the ground speed, there is too much space between cuts, resulting in visible clip marks and uncut grass.

Visible clip marks in the turf are the result of an incorrect clip rate.

NOTE: If you make a large change in height of cut, you may notice some visible clip marks after the first mowing. This will go away after the grass is maintained at this height over a period of time.

If the reel speed is too fast, in relation to ground speed, the leaves of the grass plants impacted multiple times before being cut. This can cause leaf tissue damage, and is detrimental to the long term health of the turf.

Requirements for good performance

These are basic requirements for good performance of reel mowers:

The cutting edges on the reel blades and bedknife must be straight and sharp.

The bedknife must be exactly parallel with the reel. And, the bedknife should be positioned against the reel with light contact.

When properly maintained and operated, reel mowers provide superior quality of cut. It cannot be overstated that reel mowers are precision tools. It is essential that they be adjusted, and operated with this in mind.

This illustrates a nice clean cut with all five cutting units on a fairway mower set-up and adjusted identically; rollers, bedknife and reel on each cutting unit, all parallel, bedknife attitude, height of cut, and bedknife to reel contact, set the same on every cutting unit.

Here, the cutting units are not set-up the same, or have different wear patterns between the individual cutting units. This can cause a mismatched appearance across the width of the mower.

Reel mower performance depends on proper set-up and adjustment procedures. An error of .010 inch or

.25 mm, in height of cut, end to end, or from one cutting unit to another, can be visible in the turf. In after-cut appearance terms this is known as, miss- match.

Information

Resources

The maintenance charts and Operator's Manuals should be used for reference to identify specific areas requiring ongoing scheduled maintenance. Service Manuals and Training Guides are also available from your Toro Distributor for many models.

Information about Service Education Materials, Maintenance Schedules, Service Bulletins and more is also available on the Internet at: www.toro.com.

Mowing equipment is designed for a specific application and should be operated keeping those restrictions in mind. Accidents and personal injuries can be minimized if persons will keep thinking and be aware in their every day work habits.

To Maintain Performance

Check Daily

???Bedknife to reel adjustment

???Edge sharpness

???Height of cut

Check Periodically

???Roller condition

???Reel bearings

???Bedknife attitude

???Roller Parallelism

???General mechanical condition

Prior to mowing each day there are several items that should be checked. There are several more items that should be checked periodically, according to the mowing conditions and mowing frequency.

Lubrication

Greasing should also be a part of your daily maintenance routine. Greaseable bearings should be greased after every use and after any washing. This not only lubricates, but purges water, which is responsible for the majority of bearing failures on this type of equipment.

Bedknife to Reel

Adjustment

Dual Precision Adjustment (DPA)

Before performing any set???up procedures, it is critical that the reel and knife cutting edges are straight, and sharp. Backlap, or grind as necessary. Adjust as needed, to ensure the knife, and reel, contact their full length, with LIGHT contact, and free reel rotation.

Note that different cutting unit models have different methods of adjusting reel to bedknife contact. The top illustration shows a four bolt style, adjustment mechanism. The bottom illustration shows a single point, adjustment, mechanism. Single point adjust, cutting units also have an adjustment mechanism on one end of the bedknife, for adjusting the bedknife parallel to the reel.

This illustration shows the dual precision adjustment (DPA) mechanism used on the newer Toro cutting unit designs. On this Greensmaster DPA cutting unit, each click of the adjustment screw results in .0007 inch movement of the bedknife; a VERY precise adjustment. On the Reelmaster DPA cutting unit, each click results in .0009 inch of movement.

Adjust the bedknife against the reel to EVENLY pinch one paper thickness across the entire width of the bedknife. Then cut paper strips to check blade sharpness.

Parallel, Light Contact and Sharp

Don???t wait until quality of cut deteriorates

??? Pull, and cut ???:

When the paper is used as a feeler gauge to set even contact across the bedknife, it is held parallel to the bedknife. The reel should pinch with the same amount of resistance at both ends and the center. The ???feel??? of this measurement should be somewhat the same as pulling the paper between your fingers while applying moderate pressure with your fingers.

The paper must be held perpendicular to the bedknife in order to check sharpness by cutting the paper. If it is not perpendicular it can be pinched between the reel and the bedknife. This is possible even if the components are sharp.

Properly adjusting the bedknife to the reel is one of the most effective preventive maintenance practices for reel mowers. The amount of contact, and how frequently it is checked, are major factors in performance. A light contact adjustment, if maintained, will help keep cutting edges sharp on the reel and bedknife. This requires that the adjustment be checked frequently at a predetermined time interval. Dulled cutting edges cannot be corrected by adjustment or over???tightening.

Do not wait until the quality of cut has deteriorated to check the bedknife to reel adjustment.

If the cutting edges on the reel blades and bedknife are not straight and sharp the mowing results may not be acceptable. This is true even if all other set??? up procedures are correct.

00

BCD @ 00

The bedknife angle and the behind center distance have a direct correlation.

When one changes the other changes in the same direction.

70

BCD @ 00

At seven degrees the behind center distance is even greater.

Increasing the behind center distance results in a more aggressive blade path.

Attitude

An aggressive setting is:

???Bedknife angle is extreme

???The bedknife is further from the centerline of the reel

???The reel blades approach is from an aggressive angle

The result can be a crisp, clean cut, however; differences in up and back appearance, a stripe, is pronounced.

The down side of this aggressive setting is that any variation in reflections can be very noticeable and perhaps undesirable.

An aggressive setting means the bedknife angle is extreme. The bedknife is further from the centerline of the reel and the reel blades approach is from an aggressive angle.

The result can be a crisp, clean cut, however; differences in up and back appearance, a stripe, is pronounced. The down side of this aggressive setting is that any variation in reflections can be very noticeable and perhaps undesirable.

Attitude

A flat setting (less aggressive) is:

???The angle of the bedknife is flat

???The bedknife is closer to the centerline of the reel

???The reel blade approaches from a horizontal direction

The result: A diffused appearance. Reflective variations cannot be seen as readily. The stripe is less defined. Cut is prone to stragglers.

With a reduction in behind center distance, the reel does not gather grass as cleanly; therefore the grass blades can be different lengths.

This is by definition stragglers, however; the difference can be negligible and tends to diffuse the reflective qualities of the cut grass thereby masking imperfections

Rollers Parallel to Reel

Height of Cut (H.O.C.)

On DPA cutting units, bedknife angle and behind center distance are maintained as the reel wears. This keeps the attitude, or aggressiveness, consistent throughout the life of the bedknife and reel.

As you can see, the reel diameter gets smaller as the reel wears. Note that all cutting units have a specified wear limit diameter for the cutting reel. The reel must be replaced when this wear limit is reach. A chart, with this, and other specifications is provided later in this program.

To achieve an acceptable quality of cut the rollers must be parallel to the reel. Before adjusting roller parallelism check for loose roller bearings. Adjust or replace the bearings as necessary. First parallel the front, or rear roller, which ever is not used for setting the height of cut. This paralleling roller is set to match the reel using a surface plate fixture. With the reel blades resting on a raised bar on the plate, use a feeler gauge along the bottom of the roller between the roller and plate.

Newer DPA model cutting units, with a rigid, bolted frame, normally do not require this procedure.

Set the height of cut to the desired height using an accurate tool. This procedure must be done exactly the same on each cutting unit. Before doing this adjustment the bedknife and roller, the one not used for height of cut adjustment, must be parallel to the reel, as described on previous pages.

As reel cutting unit design and configuration continue to evolve, height of cut settings may need modifying to retain visual and playability goals.

Remember, the setting you are making here, the ???bench set height of cut???, is different from the effective or actual height of cut in the turf

Bench Set vs. Effective H.O.C.

Effective H.O.C.

and Bedknife Selection

There can be a significant difference between a bench set height of cut and the actual height of cut when in the turf.

The bench set height of cut, is theoretical, based on the assumption that the rollers will set at the same place in the grass and that the turf is firm.

The turf can have varying densities. Different cutting unit models can weigh more or less and the rollers do not always set in the grass in the same manner.

In the circle above you see that after the grass is cut, the remaining grass must make it under the bedknife.

After the grass is cut, the remaining grass must make it under the bedknife. There is not a lot of room for that to happen.

If there is too much grass under the bedknife, it can lift up on the knife causing rifling or the appearance can vary due to the rollers lifting from the turf as the bedknife becomes the support and pivot point for the cutting unit.

On the other hand, if we have too thin of a knife or the height of cut is set higher; there may not be enough grass to aid in heat dissipation.

As you can see, selecting the proper bedknife for your height of cut and turf conditions is important. Bedknife selection will be discussed in more detail later in the program

Aftercut Appearance

This is NOT the same thing as:

Quality of Cut

Turf plant stress increases with:

???Too much tissue removed at one time (infrequent mowing).

Removal of more than 1/3 leaf tissue at one time can stop

root growth from 6 days to 2 weeks depending on the amount of tissue removed.

??? Increased leaf damage (dull blade, sub-optimum setup)

??? Increased environmental stress in combination with mowing

Ideal is to raise height of cut during periods of turf stress, such as high heat and/or low moisture

The term Aftercut Appearance, is very specific to appearance and is not the same thing as Quality of Cut. Quality of Cut can affect the appearance, but appearance does not, in itself, affect Quality of Cut. Quality of Cut refers to how well the individual leaves of the grass plant are cut. A quality cut minimizes damage to the leaves of the grass plant. After cut appearance, refers to the visual effects of the turf after it has been cut and across the entire width of the mower.

The standard rule for mowing, is never remove more than 1/3 of the grass plant leaf. This is true of all turf cultivars and any type of mowing device.

Leaf damage refers to quality of cut.

In the case of leaf damage, poor quality of cut will result in poor aftercut appearance.

Raising the height of cut is always an option that will usually increase both the health and appearance of the turf.

Related Mowing Quality Issue:

Reel mower sharpness and reel-to-bedknife contact could affect:

???Visual quality

???Plant vigor

???Susceptibility to disease

Factors that can affect aftercut appearance

Quality of cut can be affected by reel blade sharpness and contact with the bedknife. There is a lot of discussion in the industry about the desirability of running units with light contact. One camp says light contact is not necessary while the other says it is if you want the best quality of cut.

We are interested not only in the effect of these things on appearance, but the effect of leaf injury resulting from a less than optimum set-up on plant vigor and the plants susceptibility to disease. Most believe that increasing injury increases susceptibility to disease.

There are many factors that can affect after cut appearance, including, condition of the mowing equipment and agronomic factors. Turf conditions,

???Tire pressure

???Engine governed speed

???Reel bearing condition/adjustment

???Reel and bedknife sharpness

???Bedknife parallel to reel

???Bedknife to reel contact

???Bedknife attitude (angle)

???Roller(s) parallel to reel

???Height of cut (bench set vs. actual)

???Bedknife selection

???Roller selection

???Cutting unit alignment and ground following

???Roller and roller bearing condition

???Reel speed

???Traction speed

???Cutting unit drop speed and sequence

???Cutting unit counterbalance or down pressure setting

such as excessive thatch, sponginess, or attempting to cut off too much grass height may not always be overcome by adjusting the machine. It is important to remember that, the lower the height of cut, the more critical these factors are.

Also, remember that the effective or actual height of cut depends on many factors, including, cutting unit weight, cutting unit accessories, and turf conditions. Effective height of cut will be different than the bench set height of cut.

Streaks of uncut grass, will appear on the low areas of a grooved or wavy (rifled) bedknife

Barrel Shaped Reel

Cone Shaped Reel

When the cutting unit blades become dull and quality of cut deteriorates, the tendency is to want to tighten the bedknife to reel contact, resulting in heavy contact.

Heavy bedknife to reel contact can cause rifling, which appears as a grooved or wavy wear pattern on the reel and or bedknife. This condition can only be corrected by grinding the reel and bedknife.

BACKLAPPING WILL NOT CORRECT THIS CONDITION. The bedknife will usually need to be replaced rather than just ground.

A barrel shaped reel, caused by flexing of the cutting unit frame will also require grinding to bring the reel back to a cylindrical shape.

It is more likely that this will occur on cutting units with welded frames and not on the newer DPA model cutting units with more rigid bolted frames.

Flexing of the frame can cause uneven wear and eventually lead to rifling.

If the reel wears unevenly, it becomes difficult to keep the bedknife parallel across the entire width of the reel. You may be able to pinch paper in the middle, but not on the ends, or vice-versa. When adjusting a cutting unit with this condition, the tendency is to want to tighten the bedknife to reel contact, so the paper can be pinched and cut across the entire bedknife and reel, resulting in heavy contact.

Grinding will also be required if the reel is cone shaped or tapered. Reels eventually become tapered with use. If the reel is not ground to a cylinder shape again, a mismatch, in the height of cut between adjacent cutting units can result.

Sharpening Methods

???Maintain proper ADJUSTMENT

???BACKLAP the bedknife and reel

???GRIND the reel and bedknife

There are several methods that may be used to sharpen a cutting unit. The one that you choose will depend upon the condition of the cutting unit. It should also make the most sense for the anticipated use. For example, if you are about to cut greens that have been core aerated or top dressed, you may not want to grind the reels and install new bed knives.

By backlapping regularly, reel blade and bedknife sharpness can be maintained longer between grindings.

Backlapping cannot be used to sharpen a dull reel or bedknife. Backlapping is an edge maintenance practice.

As the reel blades run against the bedknife during backlapping, a slight burr will appear at the front cutting edge surface the full length of the bedknife. Run a file or facing grinder across the front edge to remove this burr.

Backlapping must be done after single blade grinding. This is done to establish a land area and to insure a perfect match between the bedknife and the reel edge.

Backlapping is not intended to be a reconditioning process to correct severely nicked or rounded blades, rifling or taper. If, after approximately 5 minutes of lapping, the edge is not restored, it is time to grind the reel and bedknife.

Backlapping is often a regularly scheduled maintenance process, particularly with greens mowers.

BACKLAP OFTEN

but

VERY LITTLE

Approximately

5 Minutes per Cutting Unit

WARNING:

Always use a brush with an extended handle to apply the lapping compound to the rotating reel. Using a short handle brush could cause your hand to be pulled into the reel, and cause serious injury. Keep your hands, feet and clothing away from moving parts!

If you use backlapping as a regular maintenance practice, backlap often, but for a very short time. For example, five minutes per cutting unit.

Before a reel can be ground correctly, the reel has to be cleaned and checked for loose or bent blades. The reel bearings must be in good condition, with no end play evident. Make sure the cutting unit frame and roller brackets are true and not bent or damaged from impacts with trees, posts or cart path edges. The cutting unit must be aligned so the grinding wheel will travel parallel to the reel shaft. This will result in the reel being ground to the desired cylinder shape.

Follow the grinder manufacturer???s instructions for set-up and operation of the grinder.

When grinding, be careful to not overheat the reel blades. Remove small amounts of material with each pass of the grinder.

After completing the grinding process, do a complete set???up and adjustment procedure on each cutting unit.

Grinders

WARNING !

Always wear a face shield or safety glasses when grinding or backlapping.

Milled Relief (Scalloped Blades)

There are several manufacturers of reel grinders. These same manufacturers also produce bedknife grinders.

Remember to always wear a face shield or safety glasses when grinding or backlapping.

It is important to understand that Toro reel mowers are designed and manufactured to optimize available power from the engine and hydraulic systems. To help do this, we put a ???relief??? or back grind on every reel blade to reduce the width of reel blade that contacts the bedknife. This has been proven to reduce power requirements, as well as allow the machine to operate more efficiently. This can be very important, depending on the terrain, type of grass and amount of grass being cut.

Toro has two different methods of manufacturing reel blades with a relief. The reel blades are made from straight stock steel and then are either relief ground or the relief is milled in. Either way, there is a relief on the blade when it is manufactured. A small, ground relief is also put on milled relief blades, during manufacture.

Toro greens mowers and DPA fairway cutting units are manufactured with a milled relief. Other trim, utility, and fairway mowers have a ground relief.

Spin Grinding

(Flat Grinding)

Single Blade Grinding

(Relief or Back Grinding)

There are two methods of grinding reels. This illustrates Spin Grinding (which is also known as Flat Grinding).

With this method, both the reel and the grinding stone are turning as the reel is being sharpened. It is sometimes stated that backlapping is not required after spin grinding because the reel is a perfect cylinder when grinding is completed. This depends on proper alignment of the reel in the grinder before sharpening. Also, the bedknife and bedbar must be straight and perfectly parallel to the reel when it is mounted. Backlapping will remove burrs and rough edges, producing a honed edge that will cut grass evenly.

If using a spin grinder to sharpen straight stock reel blades (such as on fairway mowers), some or all of the relief will be ground off. If you are going to restore the relief that was on the blade when was manufactured, you will need to also use the other method of grinding (single blade relief grinding). It is recommended to do the relief grinding first, then spin grind to restore the reel to a cylinder shape and establish the land width.

This illustrates Single Blade Grinding (which is also know as Relief, Grinding, or Back Grinding.

With modern grinding equipment, spin (or flat) grinding and single blade grinding are available on the same machine. Single blade grind if necessary, to restore the relief or back grind, then spin grind to sharpen and return the reel to a cylinder shape.

Toro recommends a 30 degree relief angle on each reel blade. The angle itself is not critical. You can put as little or as much angle on the blade as you think is proper. A larger angle will take off more steel and the reel may have to be replaced sooner. With a smaller angle, you may have to grind the reel more often to maintain a relief. See the reel and bedknife grinding guidelines chart, at the end of this section, for grinding specifications on each cutting unit model.

Reel Grinding

Grind parallel to the Reel Shaft

Do Not grind by equaling the spark pattern on each end

A = B

Bedknife Installation

Fairway and Utility Mowers:

250 ??? 300 in-lb. (288 - 345 KgCm)

Greens Mowers:

200 ??? 250 in-lb. (230 - 288 KgCm)

Whichever grinder you use, be sure to compensate for a cone or barrel shaped condition.

Grind parallel to the Reel Shaft. Do Not setup the grinder by simply equaling the spark pattern on each end. This will not remove the slight cone shape of the worn reel.

Reels naturally wear more on one end then the other.

Verify the reel centerline, which is the reel shaft, is parallel to the grinder stone travel.

If replacing the bedknife it is important to use the following procedures:

???Remove all rust, scale and corrosion from the bedbar surface before installing new bedknife.

???Make sure the bedbar threads are clean.

???Use new Toro screws. Apply anti???seize lubricant to the screw threads before installing.

Tighten the screws working from the center toward each end of the bedbar. Do not use an impact wrench.

Fairway/utility mowers:

250 ??? 300 in-lb. (288 ??? 345 KgCm)

Greens mowers:

200 - 250 in-lb. (230 - 288 KgCm)

Since there can be variations in the mounting surface of the bedbar, a new bedknife may not be perfectly flat after it is installed. Because of this, it is necessary to backlap or grind a new bedknife after installing it to the bedbar. Follow the existing angle that was ground into the bedknife and grind only enough to make sure the top surface is true.

???The EdgeMax??? bedknife includes a leading edge of harder steel

???Holds an edge twice as long and reduces the need for adjustments, backlapping and grinding

???Set bedknife to reel adjustment as usual

???Light contact while running on the ground

???No special requirements

Maintaining the EdgeMax Bedknife

???A dull knife must be sharpened

???If backlapping is part of your maintenance practice, be prepared to backlap for two to three times the amount of time as compared to a standard bedknife

???Front face grinding is acceptable in moderation

???Any facing or grinding must be done with exacting tolerances. Do not use a hand held grinder

Sharpening the EdgeMax Bedknife

???No special stones required

???Dress the stone more frequently

???Before starting and at least once during grinding

???One pass to dress

???Multiple passes will cause the stone to back up

???When grinding, remove smaller amounts of material (shallower cut)

???Expect a different spark pattern

The Edge Max bedknife includes a leading edge of harder steel.

The Edge Max bedknife Holds an edge twice as long as a standard bedknife, and reduces the need for adjustments, backlapping and grinding.

Set the bedknife to reel adjustment on an Edge Max bedknife as usual. Light contact while running on the ground.

There are no other special requirements.

A dull knife must be sharpened.

If backlapping is part of your maintenance practice, be prepared to backlap for two to three times the amount of time as compared to a standard bedknife. Front face grinding is acceptable in moderation.

Any facing or grinding must be done with exacting tolerances. Do not use a hand held grinder

No special stones required.

Dress the stone more frequently. Before starting, and at least once during grinding. One pass to dress. Multiple passes will cause the stone to load up.

When grinding, remove smaller amounts of material (a shallower cut).

Expect a different spark pattern.

Fairway

Low-Cut

Tournament

Micro-cut

EdgeMax ???

(Original Equipment)

Standard

HD

Low-Cut

Rollers

Wiehle

Full or Solid

Full Rollers

(Also referred to as solid rollers)

Wiehle Rollers

The basic groups of ground contacting rollers are shown here.

Full rollers provide a stable platform using full width contact. Some characteristics of full rollers include: Increases, the effective cutting height.

Rides higher or floats more on the turf.

Can be made heavier or larger to help with cutting unit control.

Less likely to scuff the turf in turns.

Less likely to damage the turf when lowering onto it.

Narrower rear rollers can help address overlap roller marks in cool season grasses. Note that the narrower rollers can reduce the stability of the cutting unit.

Wiehle (or grooved) rollers also provide a stable platform with some different characteristics.

Contact line is broken into individual contact points allowing for greater surface pressure at the contact point.

Individual contact points allow for better incursion into the turf canopy.

Allows seed heads to be cut and gathered better. Note that these rollers can sometimes scuff the turf in turns.

Wiehle Rollers

Shouldered Wiehle Rollers

Accessories

Here are some adaptations of the Wiehle roller: Aluminum lessens contact pressure due to weight difference.

Cast iron increases cutting unit control by increasing contact pressure.

Wider spacing tends to increase incursion into the canopy due to increased contact pressure while disturbing less grass.

Narrower spacing tends to lessen incursion into the canopy acting more as a full roller.

The end of the roller is designed to allow for a clean transition.

Tapered or wider transitions are less disruptive to the turf during cutting unit steer.

Disc (flute or Wiehle) design modifies turf interaction.

The shouldered Wiehle roller offers the same ground engaging characteristics as a non- shouldered Wiehle roller.

Outermost grooves are filled to help minimize stripping of grass due to cutting unit overlap in warm season grasses.

There is an entire array of accessories available for reel mower cutting units.

Accessories

Combs and Brushes

Accessories

Roller Scrapers

Accessories

Powered Rear Roller

Brushes

Combs and brushes are designed to be mounted behind the front.

Generally these devices are used to just make contact with the grass after the roller has pressed it down. This is to help stand the grass up for a more uniform cut.

Brushes may also be in combination with scrapers on front rollers.

Roller scrapers are designed to do just that, scrape rollers. This is to keep grass clippings from building up on the rollers, which can change the height of cut during mowing.

Scrapers are set with a small clearance from the roller. Note that affixing the scraper too close or on the trailing side of rotation will cause them to trap clippings, cause excessive wear to the roller or increase rolling resistance binding the roller.

Powered rear roller brushes are also intended to keep the rollers from collecting debris. The difference is that these brushes help disperse the debris and do an excellent job of cleaning up the final appearance.

Groomers and Thatchers

Groomer

Groomers are intended to cut stolons, promote upright growth and stand grass up for a more uniform cut.

Warm season grasses such as Bermuda grass and others, but also Creeping Bentgrass, which is considered a cool season grass, all benefit from the use of groomers on a regular basis.

One word of caution; groomers are used in a straight line. Turning or engaging the turf with groomers on cleanup passes can cause some serious issues.

A new variation is the Broomer. The brush helps to stand the grass up better than the blades alone, along with knocking off dew to reduce clumping.

Because of the stoloniferous growth of some cultivars, the turf tends to be ???grainy??? as can be seen in the photo.

It is difficult to give precise recommendations on the use of groomers because so many variables affect the performance of grooming:

Thatching Reel

Grooming is similar to verti-cutting in its runner cutting action. Grooming blades however, should never penetrate the soil like verti-cutting or dethatching. Groomer blades are spaced closer together and are used more often than verti-cutters so that they are more effective in cutting runners and standing up the grass.

IMPORTANT: Improper use or over-aggressive use of the grooming reel (such as too deep or too frequent grooming) may cause unnecessary stress on the turf, leading to severe damage to the green. Use the groomer cautiously.

It is important to determine the performance of the groomer before putting it into regular use on greens. We strongly suggest that a formal test procedure be used to determine the proper depth setting for your conditions.

It is difficult to give precise recommendations on the use of groomers because so many variables affect the performance of grooming.

Here is an example of a thatching unit, on a triplex riding greens mower.

Thatch is the accumulation of organic material at the soil surface and comes primarily from stolen, rhizome and root tissue in warm season grasses. Thatching (vertical mowing) is a mechanical method of removing excess thatch. Please note that dethatching is very disruptive to turf. This mechanical removal does not address the cause of excess thatch.