Reel mower choices- not sure which one?!

3431 Views 9 Replies 7 Participants Last post by 95mmrenegade, Aug 6, 2017

FATC1TY

Discussion Starter · Jul 31, 2017

Diving head in, despite my yard probably not being ready for a reel...

I have a bead on a very clean looking tru cut h20 with a Honda and roller for 650. Local buy, people. Second owners, said it runs fine, has been maintained by the mechanic at their golf club.

700 for a Jacobsen greensking 522a mower with groomers, but will need minor parts. Haven't seen it, it's in the shed at the golf course I live next too.

950 for a toro flex 18 greens mower with groomers, broom, lights and whatever other gizmos they could toss on it. 2011 age and from a dealer/reseller.

Having trouble deciding? Cost wise and knowing how hilly and bumpy my yard is- I feel the tru cut would be perfectly fine. The ocd wanna go big or go home kind of has me wanted to snag the Jacobsen. Plus I'm not sure my yard is ready for that low of a cut.

Is the tru cut worthwhile at that price ??

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Llano Estacado

· #2 · Jul 31, 2017

I went the trucut route. Have a P20, very similar. Works great for me and my yard is not perfectly level. I have lots of small bumps and low spots. I gave $300 for mine, but it was not in as good a shape as that one is. I rebuilt it and put more than $300 in parts on mine. So $650 may be a good deal or may not. Just depends on the condition. Don't know a thing about greens mowers.

The only thing about the reel mower and mowing low is you'll be mowing often. At one point I was mowing every other day, until I learned about growth regulators that is.

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FATC1TY

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jul 31, 2017

Well... I own a reel mower now. ... prepare for the questions

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Redtenchu

· #4 · Jul 31, 2017

I'd skip the flex18 unless you have a 2k sqft lawn, the other 2 are a solid choice.

The GK522 will give you the best cut/stripes/smoothest lawn out of the 2. Yes, a greens Mower will smooth out your lawn over time.

The TC will allow a higher max HOC and less frequent mowing with decent stripes.

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FATC1TY

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jul 31, 2017

I may still get the GK522a down the road. He isn't looking to move it, or use it it sounded like.

I bought the tru cut and it started on first pull. Sounded good. Everything lubed and tight. Was in good shape and tires weren't hardly worn.

Will take some time to get used too, cuts good and nice and smooth despite my god awful bumpy lawn and roots. You really feel them with this mower.

Took it down to around an inch today, looks a little yellowed and dull but should be fine with some water.

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SGrabs33

· #6 · Aug 1, 2017

Nice, congrats!

It looked like a nice reel for the price. I'm guessing you have read through the TruCut Questions. Let us know if you have any others.

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Movingshrub

· #7 · Aug 3, 2017

For those with reel mowers, does the brand/model recommendation hinge on the size of the yard to be cut?

Brand A for a small yard from X to Y sqft
Brand B for a larger yard from A to B sqft, and so on.

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Ware

· #8 · Aug 3, 2017

Movingshrub said:
For those with reel mowers, does the brand/model recommendation hinge on the size of the yard to be cut?

Brand A for a small yard from X to Y sqft
Brand B for a larger yard from A to B sqft, and so on.

I don't think brand matters as much, but I would consider a 26" reel (or 27" Tru-Cut) for a larger lawn, or one where you might desire a slightly taller HOC (above 1"). I think all of the major greens mower manufacturers have a 26" reel in their lineup, and they all seem to have a slightly larger HOC range on the top end. I think they are commonly used for mowing tee boxes on golf courses.

That said, everyone's preferences are a little different, so I think it would be hard to assign a square footage threshold to it. For instance, I think I could reap some of the benefits of a 26" reel on my ~7k ft2 lawn (I used to mow it with a Tru-Cut C-27), but I know people who don't mind mowing a lot more with a 22" reel.

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FATC1TY

Discussion Starter · #9 · Aug 4, 2017

Movingshrub said:
For those with reel mowers, does the brand/model recommendation hinge on the size of the yard to be cut?

Brand A for a small yard from X to Y sqft
Brand B for a larger yard from A to B sqft, and so on.

I have a hilly yard full of planters and sidewalks/patio, and only around 4500k total grass to cut, the rest is natural tree canopy and landscapes. I felt the 20 was the best to maneuver around the yard rather than look for the largest cutting head possible.

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95mmrenegade

· #10 · Aug 6, 2017

Tru-Cut - Easy to use and adjust, wish they had something different than a thumb operated clutch engagement, if you have raised beds, its easy to get close where trimming is a piece of cake, I have a C27-7blade, wish I had a 10 blade and not a big fan of the solid front roller

GreenKing 522A - Great unit, I like the spiral front roller and the solid back roller, you will need to sink your beds to below turf to make cutting easier. I like how easy they are to backlap and the reel adjustment is better than the tru-cut eccentric bearing setup.

Things I like:
close cutting edge of the tru-cut
groomer availability on the greens king
Solid rear drive rollers on the greens king
weight of the greens king
reel adjustment on the greens king
Cutting height adjustment on the greens king

Things I dislike
bulky cutting sides on the greens king for a standard home
eccentric reel adjuster on the tru cut
solid front roller on the tru cut
thumb drive on the tru cut
speed of the tru cut(too fast IMO)

If I had an endless budget, I would have an Cub Cadet infinicut.

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