Posts Tagged ‘cutting’
Get a reel mower! I have a Reel Mower! These mowers Reely work! Reel men push mow!
The list is long for these clever and popular puns. Huh? What is a “reel” mower anyway? For many green industry “professionals”, namely landscape contractors, golf course superintendents, turfgrass managers, etc., the term “reel mower” is common. But your average everyday American has absolutely no idea.
Let me explain (in brief):
 Reel Mower Concept Reel mowers have curved blades that produce a cutting action alongside a stationary steel plate (like a can of Pringles chips rolling across a table). The blades form a spiral around the reel axis, and as they spin, the spiral of blades forces grass past the stationary plate. Reel mowers leave behind clean-cut grass, as if the grass had been cut with sharp scissors.
New reel mower technology has advanced since the days of Grandpa’s old clunker. Unlike the cutting action of scissors, it is not necessary for the blades of the spinning reel to contact the stationary plate. A clean cut is possible if the gap between the blades and the plate is less than the thickness of the grass. This modern reel mower technology is referred to as “contact-free”, “non-contact”, “silent-cut”, and many other terms. The benefit is a mower that is easier to push, and a mower that does not require sharpening. What, no sharpening? Nope. Think about it, there is no metal-on-metal contact to cause the reel blades to become dull. The blades only come in contact with grass, wood, and the occasional pebble or two – non of which will cause the blades to lose its edge.
There is a ton to talk about so feel free search around our learning center and read more more about reel mower technology, and how your lawn may benefit by using a reel mower.
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We will continually add to this list of Popular Reel Mower Questions:
What is the difference between old and new cutting technologies?
All reel mowers have curved type cylinder blades that create a cutting action against a fixed plate. The blades make a spiral around the reel axis, and as they spin, the spiral of blades forces grass past the stationary plate.
Contact (friction) Mowers
This is the “older” more conventional form of cutting method. The cylinder blades are in direct contact with the bed knife and scrape across each other very similar to scissors shearing together. There is generally more friction (hence the name) which causes these mowers to be slightly more difficult to push. The friction also causes noise which can vary depending on each model – some are more quiet than others. Friction mowers generally need to be sharpened every 2 to 3 seasons. If you have a yard full of weeds then a friction mower is the best choice.
Contact-Free (frictionless) Mowers
The newer more modern reel mowers use a contact-free or frictionless cutting system. The term contact-free is used to describe a small gap (usually around 0.05mm) between the reel mower blades and the bed knife. The gap is roughly the width of a human hair and small enough to cut grass, yet big enough to eliminate all friction and noise caused by friction. Contact-free reel mowers are easier to push then the older style making them more fun to use and less tiring. Contact-free mowers cut best when used on healthy turf with minimal weeds. These mowers also cut best when used at lower cutting heights. There are some models available today that claim to be used on 2-3″ cutting range, however, much of the grass is left behind. The best cutting height range is 1-1.75″. Contact-free reel mowers usually do not need to be sharpened for at least 5-10 years depending on use.
When Do The Reel Blades Need Sharpening?
Most mowers stay sharp between 2-4 years depending on use. This can vary from lawn to lawn and manufacturer to manufacturer. You can tell when your reel mower needs to be sharpened when much of the grass passes by the reel and is left uncut.
Contact-free mowers do not require sharpening. Instead, it is a best management practice to adjust the gap distance between the reel and the bed knife. This is very easy can be accomplished in less then 3mins and performed as frequently as needed.
Contact mowers require sharpening on the average of every 2 years. You can purchase do-it-yourself sharpening kit and sharpen your own reel mower.
What Is The Best Cutting Height?
This is a very popular question and a topic with a lot of misinformation – especially if you surf around the internet… Reel mowers cut best when the cutting height is set lower then 2″. When set higher then 2inches, some of the grass tends to get “missed” and multiple passes can be required. For more information please visit our section dedicated to Height Of Cut (HOC).
Should I Buy/Use A Grass Collector Bag?
Our general recommendation is no, however, below are list of the pros and cons. For more information please read about Grasscycling here.
PROs To A Grass Bag
-Grass clippings are good for the compost pile
-Can prevent weeds from spreading if cutting the seed stalks
-Slightly “cleaner” look is achieved when removing more then 1/3 the grass height.
-Wet grass clippings can smother together and will not filter down as easily.
CONs To A Grass Bag
-Grass clippings hold valuable nutrients which can be returned to the soil.
-Grass clippings less then 1inch will filter down to the soil.
-Grass clippings DO NOT cause thatch!
-Unlike rotary mowers, grass clippings are not blown into a pile, they are gently scattered (mulched) behind the mower
You can see grass bag options here:
I have Emerald Zoysia at my new house and I own have a 4 year John Deere 21″ push mower that does okay but I want to buy a new mower. What type of mower should I buy?
If quality of cut is your top priority, then a good reel mower is the only way to go – a rotary, homeowner grade push mower should be your last choice. Zoysiagrass mowed by a rotary lawn mower looks terrible and you tend to get round scalp marks every time you turn the mower…
We recommend a power reel mower or the Scotts Classic Mower.
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Have you ever looked closely at a lawn mowed using a rotary mower, especially a day or two after mowing? You will see a brown haze to the surface of the lawn and a closer look will easily show the splintered and shattered tips of each blade of grass that has died back an 1/8 of an inch or so, victim to the brutal bashing from the rotary mower blade.
This is bad for several different reasons. The first and simplest is the appearance, it just doesn’t look as green as it should or could. You will not see this brown haze color on professional high quality grass stands like golf courses or athletic fields. This is because there is no trauma or damage caused by a rotary mower, and we are talking about grass mowed at very short heights. You can achieve the same professional results at home and eliminate the brown shade on the surface by mowing your own lawn with a reel mower.
Secondly, all this damage on the tips of each blade opens up millions of damaged sites for disease to enter the grass plant and affect your entire lawn. It is the equivalent of humans having a compromised immune system and being more susceptible to colds and flu germs…
Conversely, a grass blade scissored off with a reel mower has none of this damage on the tips, just a perfectly clean cut that does not open the door for excessive disease pressure. Grass cut using a reel mower requires less energy from the plant itself to heal the damage, cutting down on fertilizer, water requirements, weed control, and disease control.
You may remember that I stated in HOC discussions that the best defense against weeds is a strong stand of grass. All are good side benefits for the environment, and for your wallet and your time. Take the time you spend dragging the sprinkler around the yard and pushing the spreader back and forth and use it to put an extra reel mower cut on your lawn each week. It will be time well spent and it won’t cost you any money.
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Further to the basics of cutting height (you can read more here) and how it influences the quality of your lawn, let’s examine the equally important quality of cut (QOC).
In a separate blog entry I used the roses in the blender analogy to illustrate what happens to tender grass blades when cut using a rotary lawn mower. The key element at work in mowing grass with a rotary mower is SPEED – speed of the blade turning fast enough to tear or flail the tips off of the grass being mowed.
You may be surprised to learn that only the last ¼ to ½ inch of a rotary lawn mower blade ever does any actual cutting, but if you think about it the blade is moving so fast, that as you push the mower forward only that portion of the blade makes contact with the longer grass blade – everything farther down the blade just passes over the already mowed grass.
The sharpness of the blade is another misunderstood concept. Many people believe that a rotary blade should be extremely sharp, this is a misnomer:
Firstly, if you use a rotary you know that a razor sharp blade is impossible to maintain, just a few minutes of cutting will dull rotary blades significantly. The lifting force that many rotary mowers are designed with today also brings all kinds of debris into contact with the blade, dulling it significantly. That is why a rotary mower dealer or mechanic will not even recommend a blade that sharp, because it can’t be kept that way and is more susceptible to damage as you try to make it sharper and the leading edge becomes thinner.
Finally you would need to sharpen the rotary blade after every mowing, which is not only inconvenient; it can be dangerous if you are not careful and know what you are doing. If the blade is not perfectly balanced each time it can put tremendous strain on the mower as an unbalance blade spins irregularly on the drive shaft of the engine.
The bottom line is that the only way a rotary can mow grass is by shear speed and to smash the tips off the blades of grass. No matter what you do, you cannot overcome this mode of mowing action with a rotary lawn mower.
If you want the best looking, most healthy grass – stick to using a reel lawn mower. All the professionals use reel mowers……
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I’ve talked about the highest quality grass in the world and it’s no coincidence that all of it is cut with reel mowers. Rotary mowers are virtually nonexistent in Europe where for centuries all manner of lawns have been mowed with reel mowers. The great gardeners of Europe wouldn’t consider mowing their prized lawns with a rotary mower. You shouldn’t either. I’d like to summarize some of the information I’ve discussed regarding mower cutting height – specifically when it relates to eco friendly reel mowers.
Much of what you may read and hear as you research proper mowing/cutting height suggests that your lawn should be at least 3 inches long to be successful and healthy. This is absolutely NOT true.
First things first, all good quality turf grass must have decent soil, adequate nutrition, and proper water to be successful and healthy. Given these elements in reasonable amounts it is proven on some of the finest stands of turf in the world that a shorter grass blade length or HOC will always produce a better stand of grass, and the only way to really achieve this good quality of cut at this recommended shorter HOC is with a reel mower. Again, a reel mower cuts by a scissors like action and cuts the blade cleanly inflicting as little damage to the leaf blade as possible and allows a cut height of any length all the way down to 1/16th of an inch and still provides good quality grass.
With a rotary lawn mower anything under 1 ¾ inches puts so much stress on the grass plant that it will soon decline and weeds will invade and the stand will get worse and worse with time. It simply can’t be done with a horizontal blade spinning at high speed that essentially tears the end of the grass blade.
Imagine taking a beautiful bouquet of roses and before placing them in a vase of water putting the stems into a whirring blender to put a fresh cut on the stem as the florist recommends instead of using scissors or a sharp knife. The resulting smashing action of the stem is the exact difference between mowing a tender grass blade with a rotary mower versus a reel mower. There simply is no comparison!!
Remember, the best quality grass in the world is all cut using reel mowers. Rotary mowers are practically nonexistent in much of Europe where for centuries lawns have been maintained using reel mowers. The grand gardeners of Europe would not even think about mowing their cherished lawns using a rotary mower. You shouldn’t either. The reel mower will remain the premiere mower of the future with so many environmental positives that we will talk about in the upcoming posts.
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In previous posts, I’ve primarily talked about the height of cut for warm season grass which is mostly Bermudagrass, and why shorter is usually better.
Let’s now look at cool season grasses:
Think for a minute about where you see the shortest mowed grass in the world…typically on athletic fields and golf courses – equally cool season as warm season grasses. It is also the most beautiful grass you will find. This in itself is enough to dispel the notion that grass has to be long to be high quality; in fact just the opposite is true as long as several general principals are applied.
Firstly, consider that golf greens are mowed shorter than 1/8th of an inch in today’s game and yet still have good quality roots systems and are incredibly dense. How is this possible? Sound cultural practices.
The grass isn’t allowed to grow up to two or three inches and then chopped to an 1/8th. It’s mowed everyday and just a small amount of leaf blade is removed. You can do the same thing in the realm of residential cutting, get great exercise, and have the best lawn on the block! I’m not suggesting that you mow every day, that wouldn’t be necessary even if you wanted to. But assume you mow your lawn at 1½ inches. You may need to mow it every 5-7 days, but it will not be difficult and your lawn will respond exceptionally well.
The reel mower cut has significant advantages over a rotary mower. Reel lawn mowers leave behind clean-cut grass, as if the grass had been cut with sharp scissors – this cylinder cutting method reduces disease, reduces clipping accumulation and other negative environmental factors we have discussed before. Another added benefit to the reel mower and a lower mowing height is the extra density you will see in your lawn. When each grass blade is able to stand straight up on its own and not shade the blades around it, more blades will develop generating a lusher stand of grass. The thicker the lawn, the harder it is for weeds to invade. The best defense against weeds is not a bag of weed killer but a strong stand of turfgrass to prevent their encroachment. A frequent cut with a reel mower will insure that clippings do not accumulate at a negative rate and keep the lawn looking good all the time. You can tailor a program to whatever you have time for and exactly how long you want your grass to be. If you can find a little extra time to mow frequently you will be amazed at the results. Trust me.
Please don’t be fooled, a higher cutting height is NOT better for the grass!!
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In my opinion, one of the reasons many so called ‘experts’ recommend a three inch cut for rotary lawn mowers is that they know it is NOT really a three inch cut. The reality is that the length of the grass blade left after mowing with a rotary lawn mower set to cut at three inches will always be much closer to two inches…read more.
What is the best HOC for the grass plant? If you look around the internet you may find that three inches seems to be a favorite recommendation. Why? There are many reasons for recommending a three inch cutting height, especially when using a rotary lawn mower. Interestingly, three inches is not the best HOC for the grass plant for many agronomic reasons.
What is the best height of cut for the grass on your lawn? There is no perfect or exact answer to this question so let’s discuss some of the variables that will impact this decision and why longer is often not better when mowing your yard. The very first thing to consider is what type of grass you have. This will be directly influenced by where in the country you live. If you live in the south or the west, you probably will have what we refer to as warm season grass, most typically a Bermuda grass variety, although there are many non Bermuda warm season grasses as well. If you live in the north down through the heart of the country or the mid-Atlantic, you probably have cool season grass, most likely Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass or a blend, although others exist here as well. The growth habit and physiology of these two types of grasses differ dramatically and we will discuss the differences elsewhere, but for now the important thing to remember is that warm season grass can tolerate and actually thrive at a very short mowing height, while cool season grasses generally prefer to be mowed slightly higher. What is not true is that either likes to be kept at an excessively long length and excessively long can legitimately be described as anything above three inches and shorter for warm season grass. Grass plants develop chlorophyll, the property that gives them their green color and nourishes them through a process called photosynthesis. This process is encouraged by sunlight. That is one of the reasons you have such a hard time growing grass under those large shade trees in your yard, no sun. Three inch grass blades and longer only serve to shade themselves, like when we wear a hat and this shade inhibits photosynthesis. At two inches, you have 33% less shade and a better developed leaf blade…
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Recommended Mowing Heights
The following reference chart is helpful for determining the proper height of cut for your reel mower. It is also important to remember the “1/3rd” rule so that you do not stress the grass.
| Species |
Normal Weather
|
High-Temperature
Stress Period
|
| Colonial bentgrass |
0.30 – 0.80
|
0.50 – 0.80
|
| Creeping bentgrass |
0.125 – 0.80
|
0.188 – 0.80
|
| Fine fescue |
0.50 – 2.00
|
1.50 – 3.00
|
| Kentucky bluegrass |
1.50 – 2.25
|
2.25 – 3.00
|
| Perennial ryegrass |
1.50- 2.00
|
2.00 – 3.00
|
| Tall fescue |
1.75 – 3.00
|
2.50 – 3.50
|
| Bermudagrass |
0.25 – 1.50
|
NA
|
| Bahiagrass |
1.50 – 3.00
|
NA
|
| Buffalograss |
1.00 to unmowed
|
NA
|
| Carpetgrass |
1.00 – 3.00
|
NA
|
| Centipedegrass |
1.00 – 3.00
|
NA
|
| Seashore paspalum |
0.45 – 2.00
|
NA
|
| St. Augustinegrass |
3.00 – 4.00
|
NA
|
| Zoysiagrass |
0.50 – 2.00
|
NA
|
Source:
Christians, Nick, Fundamentals of Turfgrass Management: Ann Arbor Press, Chelsea, Michigan: 1998.
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Measuring Your Lawn Mower’s Height of Cut
How do you determine more accurately what the true reel mower height of cut is? On most residential and commercial turfgrass surfaces this is not an exact science. Using three very simple steps it is possible to make close approximations with any push reel mower.
Step 1.
The height of cut (HOC) must be measured on a freshly mowed lawn. Take a few minutes and push your reel mower using the height setting of your choice, or the setting of which you intend to measure.
Step 2.
Take out a ruler or a tape measure and push the end down into the grass until it sits firmly on the soil or on the thatch layer of the lawn.
Step 3.
While making sure the grass is standing upright measure to the top of a freshly mowed blade. The resulting number will be the approximate height of cut that you are actually mowing at. It is sometimes a good idea to measure 5+ grass blades using the average length as the final HOC.
Suggested Mowing Heights
| Species |
Normal Weather
|
High-Temperature
Stress Periods
|
| Colonial bentgrass |
0.30 – 0.80
|
0.50 – 0.80
|
| Creeping bentgrass |
0.125 – 0.80
|
0.188 – 0.80
|
| Fine fescue |
0.50 – 2.00
|
1.50 – 3.00
|
| Kentucky bluegrass |
1.50 – 2.25
|
2.25 – 3.00
|
| Perennial ryegrass |
1.50- 2.00
|
2.00 – 3.00
|
| Tall fescue |
1.75 – 3.00
|
2.50 – 3.50
|
| Bermudagrass |
0.25 – 1.50
|
NA
|
| Bahiagrass |
1.50 – 3.00
|
NA
|
| Buffalograss |
1.00 to unmowed
|
NA
|
| Carpetgrass |
1.00 – 3.00
|
NA
|
| Centipedegrass |
1.00 – 3.00
|
NA
|
| Seashore paspalum |
0.45 – 2.00
|
NA
|
| St. Augustinegrass |
3.00 – 4.00
|
NA
|
| Zoysiagrass |
0.50 – 2.00
|
NA
|
Source:
Christians, Nick, Fundamentals of Turfgrass Management: Ann Arbor Press, Chelsea, Michigan: 1998.
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Reel Mowers versus Rotary Mowers: Safety Precautions
The reel mower was the original form of mechanical mower for lawns, and the mechanism has changed little over the years; reel mowers have curved blades that produce a cutting action alongside a stationary steel plate. Rotary mowers, on the other hand, cut grass with a horizontal blade that moves at high speed. Although rotary mowers are popular with homeowners, they may pose a safety risk. The spinning blade of a rotary mower can throw debris hidden in the grass at very high speed or cut off a hand or foot if proper safety measures are not respected. The danger of rotary mowers can be demonstrated by placing on object in the grass chute:
Simply tie an uncooked chicken wing to the end of a broom handle. The wing, which looks a little like a human finger, is then placed in the grass chute as though it is being used to free clippings that have built up and are blocking the release of grass. The blade quickly shreds the bones and skin and shows the spectator what will happen if their hand or food gets too close to the blade . . . (Be sure to wear eye protection when conducting this demonstration.)Christians, Nick, Fundamentals of Turfgrass Management: Ann Arbor Press, Chelsea, Michigan: 1998, page 146.
Between the two mower types, Reel mowers are the safer choice, but all mowers must be operated with caution.
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