If your very mechanically inclined, I'd buy a used one. Get a low hour machine at 2-5 K and save a lot of money.
These machines will last for years! Buying one that is a few years old will last. Mine is 19 years old and runs awesome

Here is a Baroness with 30 hours on it. https://www.usedturfequipment.com/product/like-new-baroness-walk-behind-mower-no-basket-only-30-hrs-2995/

 

If you are not comfortable working on it, find a local greenskeeper who is willing to work on it. I have a friend who bought a used JD 220e and has it serviced at a nearby golf course. It's not something they advertise and probably don't want or need a lot of business but this guy works on the reel mower for what I consider a very reasonable price.

 

I second that - you're ready to go now. $4k buys a late-model, low hour 26" machine in like-new condition. I've seen new, never used (but 3-4 years old) machines sell for this price range too.

https://prairieturfequipment.com/product/new-2016-jacobsen-eclipse-2-hybrid-walking-greens-mower-15-blade-reel-zero-hours-never-been-used/

(I would ask for a different reel in the linked machine!)

These machines are meant to be rebuilt season after season and perform as good as new.

Buying a new greensmower is akin to buying a new (insert German luxury car brand here). You will lose 3x what the machine will be worth in 5 years just to depreciation. And new greensmowers will not require less maintenance than a used unit. The sharpening and adjustment requirements are the same. Repairs could be handled by a local dealer familiar with turf equipment, or a willing local golf course maintenance shop. Most courses have full-time mechanics still to maintain their equipment and who doesn't love a little moonlighting on the side? Many would probably happily explain the basic care you need to know as the operator of the machine.

 

How much yard do you have? You could always start off with a resident model Mclane or cal Trimmer. They are also easier to work on. I am not real mechanically inclined either but have been able to do repairs by following great advice from posters here.

 

Yikes that sounds like an enormous amount of money to drop on a mower!

I can't work out from your post whether you are mechanically minded or not. If you are then, as someone else has said, just buy a relatively inexpensive used machine, get a new reel and bedknife if need be and away you go. Mowers tend not to be particularly complex machines

 

Awesome thanks, I guess I'll be looking for a good used one! I have 8k sq feet, so it'll last me a long time.

 

Used market is definitely the way to go if you are just getting into reel mowing. I was setup to buy a used one from the JD dealer in Colorado Springs until one came up on Facebook marketplace nearby.

https://www.pbequip.com/used-equipment/

 

@MasterMech makes an excellent point. Relatively speaking, a new mower will require the same amount of maintenance as a used one as far as year to year operation goes.

Feel free to chime in and correct me, guys, but I think the majority of reel owners in this group bought theirs used or bought a new "home owner" model in the $1500 to $4000 (California Trimmer, McLane, Allett, Swardman).

 

If you are not comfortable working on it, find a local greenskeeper who is willing to work on it. I have a friend who bought a used JD 220e and has it serviced at a nearby golf course. It's not something they advertise and probably don't want or need a lot of business but this guy works on the reel mower for what I consider a very reasonable price.

I do the same thing, have my golf course guy who works on these things daily can keep it in tip top shape.

I just emailed all the golf course superintendents asking if they would allow me to have my mower serviced. I emailed half a dozen and found one that was close to the house. Turn around time is also super quick as these guys understand our passion for turf. I broke something over the summer a couple of years ago and he had the part in stock and the mower ready the next day.

If you have a pickup truck and some ramps this is a super easy machine to transport.

 

I also would suggest buying a used unit.

Phone around to local golf courses, a lot if them have machines as spares they often don't mind selling. They can also point you in the direction if outside servicing and parts guys.

I bought both my mowers of golf courses.

I got a walk behind and a tri plex all for under 2k.

 

If youre mechanically inlined, you'll be fine. Basically other than backlapping the reel, its not that different from a rotary mower.
I couldnt imagine spending that kind of money on a mower but hey, you gotta pay to play.

 

Picked up a 2011 Greensmaster 1600 with 250 hours for $1000 off of facebook market place. It took me a while to find one but it was worth the wait. It cuts paper and I greased it. The guy changed the oil, spark plug and air filter before selling. I'm going to order a new belts, bedknife and have the reel sharpened. I would imagine if you buy a used one and took it in for service it would be less than $500 for everything unless it needed a new reel. Used is the way to go, you're going to be paying for maintenance either way.

 

Are these golf courses that you guys are contacting for maintenance private or city/county managed? Does that matter? (Everything here is public, at least the ones that I know about.)

 

Are these golf courses that you guys are contacting for maintenance private or city/county managed? Does that matter? (Everything here is public, at least the ones that I know about.)

I have had success with both, just email the superintend you should be able to find the email online.

 

Sorry to revive a year-old thread, but this thread title was pertinent and I couldn't find another covering this question!

So I am debating whether to take the plunge into reel mowing with a used, walk-behind greensmower like a Toro GM1600 or similar. I have 10Ksqft of bermuda (tahoma31)and am looking to maintain at 1" HOC. While I'm fairly mechanically minded, I am uncertain that I would have the time to perform all needed servicing of the unit. I reached out to a few golf course superintendents recently asking if they would be willing to service an outside machine, and none has bitten thus far.

Assuming I ended up going with a used Toro GM1600 and needed to perform maintenance myself, would be interested in hearing how much time some of you put into your machines each year. What are the maintenance activities that require the most time/equipment/skill, and typically how often per season are each needed? I'm assuming sharpening the reel is one of the primary ones here. Thanks for any insight as I try to arm myself with as much pre-info as I can before taking the leap to a reel mower!

 

You will end up cutting lower than 1" if you buy a reel. I suggest you download the service manual for the unit you are looking for and see what the recommendations are. Adjusting reel to bedknife clearance and backlapping will be performed the most often. I check reel to bedknife at least every third mow. I hit the grease points maybe 4 times a year, oil and air filter is a annual item for me.

 

Reel and bedknife is critical. I would say it's at least a weekly or bi-weekly check for even cutting contact with paper strips. Or look at your grass blades and see it if's tearing instead of a clean shear.

Backlapping I will leave it as-needed since every homeowner is going to be different. It goes hand-in-hand with strip test. You can get away with printer paper and not thin newspaper like golf courses do.

Professional sharpening is as-needed as well, but I think homeowners with an average size lawn (up to 10k or so) can get away with bi-annual servicing.

Engine is all about running clean fuel, keeping the carb clean, and replacing oil and air filter every season.

Grease has recommended hours, but is required after if you hose down your mower. Less is more, you don't want to pump excess grease and blow the bearing seal.

Belts can last several years, but not something you can get ASAP from down the street so plan for downtime or have spares on hand.

There's recommended hours in the manual for everything. I would read over that and see how feasible everything is for you.

 

@Bombers @Boy_meets_lawn Greatly appreciate that advice! I read through the GM1600 operator's manual, its service manual and the Toro Reel Mower Basics manual.

Based on those manuals and your feedback, I am thinking all maintenance looks doable for me except for the bedknife grinding and reel grinding/sharpening. I'm thinking I'll need to keep looking for a local shop (or golf course) willing to do that.

When ya'll take yours in for grinding, do you typically bring the entire mower in or remove the reel and just bring that in?

 

I think most home owners will maybe need to get their reel mowers sharpened every 3-5 years. If it is new or has recently been sharpened with a relief grind as long as you maintain proper reel to bedknife contact you will cut down on needing to get it sharpened by quite a lot. One thing I have noticed is that when backlapping isn't getting the job done, refacing the bedknife or putting a new one on will usually do the trick. With all that said it depends on what kind of mower you have and how hard the steel is on the blades.

 

Homeowners are more likely to tear up their reels by the time they need ground down and sharpened, so buying a new reel usually buys you the upgrade and the cost of a sharpening.

Taking care of a reel is literally not that hard, nor is it much work. If you are reel mowing, use pgr, and on an off day when you would mow, take the 15 min to grease the zerks, face the bedknife and spin it a little with some compound and backlap.

 

@Mightyquinn @FATC1TY Thanks for the great advice. This is making me feel better about frequency of grinding, which was my big concern since I've not yet found someone local for that service. Cheers!

 

...
When ya'll take yours in for grinding, do you typically bring the entire mower in or remove the reel and just bring that in?

It depends on the unit, for the GM1600, you'd be taking the whole unit in. For something with a floating cutting unit, like a Toro FLEX, you could bring just the cutting unit. Generally, you would not remove the reel itself for sharpening.

 

...
When ya'll take yours in for grinding, do you typically bring the entire mower in or remove the reel and just bring that in?

It depends on the unit, for the GM1600, you'd be taking the whole unit in. For something with a floating cutting unit, like a Toro FLEX, you could bring just the cutting unit. Generally, you would not remove the reel itself for sharpening.

Great to know that for the GM1600. Since I don't have a truck or ramps, I'll need to factor in some way of getting it to/from the servicer. Thanks for the insight!