[g-man]

I recently acquired a John Deere 220E from Global Turf via their auction. It was a good experience and one do recommend for folks that cant find reel mower locally. Most of the cool season guys cant get their hands on reel mowers in the used market.

I received the mower today and I plan to use this thread to document a tear down, improvements and rebuild. This will be a way for me to ask questions (I'm new to the reel ownership) while also it might be useful for someone in the future (ie. eric gautier)

This is the mower as I received it today.

It has a 14 blade reel and a greens groomer.

My current plans:

• I plan to mow at 1in +/- 0.25in (25mm +/- 6mm). This means that I have to use a 7 blade reel instead of the 14 blade to try to get the Frequency of Cut (FOC) close to the Height of Cut (HOC).
• I will replace the bed knife to a fairway hi cut (5 degrees front angle).
• i will either replace the greens groomer with a fairway one or adjust the spacing to 1/2in.
• replace bearings and remove old grease and general cleanup
• replace oil, filters, etc
• the engine fired on the first pull and seems to be fine, so i wont touch it.

I discovered that the Reynolds John Deere store that is 6miles from my home is also www.greenfarmparts.com Therefore getting parts should be easy. I need to stop by and see if they might also grind the reels.

This should be a fun project for the winter months.

 

[Ware]

 

[Pete1313]

I can't wait to see you transform the new toy into the perfect setup for reel mowing cool season grass. Don't hesitate to ask any questions. That machine is beautiful! Once again, congrats!

 

[wardconnor]

What Ware Jerry Seinfeld said.

 

[MasterMech]

This ^^ :nod:

 

[gene_stl]

 

[SCGrassMan]

Following. May I ask what you paid, what freight was, what you budget for the rebuild? I'm looking to do something similar if not the exact same

 

[g-man]

Following. May I ask what you paid, what freight was, what you budget for the rebuild? I'm looking to do something similar if not the exact same

Sure. A lot of info are in these two threads:

• Winter 2017 http://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=1533
• Aug 2017 http://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=637

Being an auction, the price will depend on how many they have to sell at that time and the number of interested folks. I wanted a 220E and getting one around indy was really hard. Buying a used one straight from Global Turf (not at auction) was $3k + shipping. They only had 4 at auction (all 2013). The first two had ~2000 hours and they both sold for $170. I think that was a great price. Of the other two, one went for $400 and mine I got it at $375. I was ready to go up to $1000 (I really really wanted one).

My budget was around $500 for rebuild. This includes a new reel (~350), new bedknife (~60), bearings/ seals, etc (~100). I'm doing the work myself, so labor is "free".

Freight was the most challenging part, just because the logistics. I ended up using a carrier broker. It is one of the 3 that global turf uses when they sell equipment. He handled the logistics. I did multiple quotes before the auction (I recommend you do this) to see how much it was going to be. Before Christmas prices seems to be higher. They have two options: direct to your house or terminal. Terminal means it gets delivered to a warehouse close to you and you go pick it up. Global turf places the items on a pallet for free (this is a big help). The price to Indy terminal (1000 miles) was 350. Direct to home cost $100 more than terminal. I chose direct to home to avoid the hassle of taking a day off in winter to load it.

I did consider the option of flying to Tampa in a one way southwest flight on Thursday night and renting a pickup or SUV. Picking it up on Friday and driving it back (14hrs). I think it was $120 for the flight, $200 for the 2 day rental plus gas/hotel. This was my backup plan if I could not get the freight arranged before the 14 days window they give.

 

[Ware]

^^^ Great analysis. I'm stoked for you!

 

[SCGrassMan]

Awesome info everybody, thank you. I have Zeon Zoysia, and I plan on a HOC somewhere in the 0.75" to 1.5" range. What is the contraption between the front roller and the bed knives called?

Sounds like auction is the way to go - I've been seeing $2000+ on eBay.

 

[Ware]

What is the contraption between the front roller and the bed knives called?

It is called a groomer and is optional equipment. They are expensive to add if you buy a mower that doesn't already have one, but I have mixed feelings about its usefulness at the HOC range you're targeting.

 

[SCGrassMan]

Is that the contraption that chops up the stolons underneath etc?

 

[g-man]

JD has two type of groomers, they call them Greens Tender Conditioner (GTC) or Fairway Tender Conditioner (FTC). The intent is to cut stolons or lift the blades up right before cutting. The shape of metal in the Greens is a bit more aggressive than the fairway one. The green spacing is 1/4in between knifes and 1/2in for the fairway. Pete1313 reno thread has assembled pictures of it (http://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=436#p8113).

The fairway knifes for the JD 220 E are MT2624 - here is an image https://www.rrproducts.com/Knife-~-Greens-Conditioner-product51815

The greens knifes for the JD 220 are ET14707 - here is an image https://www.rrproducts.com/Verti~Cut-Blade-~---025-x-2--375-product29575?k=ET14707

Here is JD sales info on the groomers. A groomer is geared with the reel, so i adding it involves some work like Ware said. http://salesmanual.deere.com/sales/salesmanual/en_NA/golf_turf/2009/feature/cutting_units/qa5_fairway_tender_conditioner.html

 

[SCGrassMan]

Gman that's great and detailed info, I appreciate it!

 

[MasterMech]

What is the contraption between the front roller and the bed knives called?

It is called a groomer and is optional equipment. They are expensive to add if you buy a mower that doesn't already have one, but I have mixed feelings about its usefulness at the HOC range you're targeting.

Where do you think they start to become useful? I've not used one before, but with warm season turf I'm now curious. I have a few areas that are a real pain in the rear to vary the mow pattern on and I'm wondering if a groomer is an option to keep from developing "grain" in those areas.

 

[SCGrassMan]

JD has two type of groomers, they call them Greens Tender Conditioner (GTC) or Fairway Tender Conditioner (FTC). The intent is to cut stolons or lift the blades up right before cutting. The shape of metal in the Greens is a bit more aggressive than the fairway one. The green spacing is 1/4in between knifes and 1/2in for the fairway. Pete1313 reno thread has assembled pictures of it (http://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=436#p8113).

The fairway knifes for the JD 220 E are MT2624 - here is an image https://www.rrproducts.com/Knife-~-Greens-Conditioner-product51815

The greens knifes for the JD 220 are ET14707 - here is an image https://www.rrproducts.com/Verti~Cut-Blade-~---025-x-2--375-product29575?k=ET14707

Here is JD sales info on the groomers. A groomer is geared with the reel, so i adding it involves some work like Ware said. http://salesmanual.deere.com/sales/salesmanual/en_NA/golf_turf/2009/feature/cutting_units/qa5_fairway_tender_conditioner.html

I think you may have the greens and fairway knives backwards, just FYI. Although I managed to figure it out

 

[g-man]

I think you may have the greens and fairway knives backwards, just FYI. Although I managed to figure it out

It should be correct. These is the maintenance part list for the 220E.

https://jdparts.deere.com/partsmkt/document/english/featbene/kg_maintsheet_220E%20.pdf

 

[SCGrassMan]

That's weird - they call the fairway knives "greens conditioner" on the parts site, thats what threw me, but the part numbers match.

 

[g-man]

Update:

Mud in the garage walls, 50% done
Work meetings - finished for 2017 (I hope)
Built in drawers in the closet with double rods thus keeping the wife happy - almost done
Reel tear apart - 0% complete

I'm off from work next week, but temperatures might be too cold for my garage (high of 20F). I might take the QA5 head off and work from the basement.

I plan to go tomorrow the JD store near my with a shopping list of parts.

 

[g-man]

I went to the JD store this am. They are the store for www.greenfarmparts.com . Great facility with a lots equipment. They have an area just for golf equipment with multiple warehouses full of triplex. It was a toy store for a lawn nut. They have the equipment to grind the reels, but their machine needs the entire cutting unit instead of just the reel. They had 3 head from the Victory Field greens and he showed me how they do it. In short, they spin the reel mounted on the QA5 or the mount a 220B into it and the spin the reel like ************ without the bedknife mounted. Overall every person I interacted was very nice and interested in helping the non-farmer.

They then mount the bedknife to the cutting head, set it up and also grind the bedknife to get it parallel and true to the reel. At the end it cuts an entire sheet of paper (11 x17) and it is ready to mow (no ************ needed). The do this service for multiple golf courses. He stated around 200 heads from January to March at $125 per head.