# New to reel mowing - Head is about to explode



## OFace12 (Jun 9, 2020)

Hey there! Just created this account today, as I'm brand new to reel mowing. Less than 2 weeks.

My brother in law gifted me a McLane 20" 10 blade mower that I added a front roller to, sharpened it, replaced all the fluids and started going.

I've gotten through a few cuts so far, progressing my way to under 1" cut. I've got Bermuda in the front, and fresh Zoysia in the back due to limited sunlight throughout the day.

My only gripe with the mower is the width of it. I went from a 50" zero turn to this mower. So, naturally, I started to look online for what I could upgrade to after this season. That turned into a rabbit hole and now I feel like my head is about to explode.

Some of the questions that I've been trying to figure out are:
- Floating head vs fixed head mower. I have read that the floating head mowers are better for uneven or undulating lawns, and the fresh sod in my backyard still has quite a few dips in it. Hoping that the solid front roller that I put on the McLane will fix that over the course of this season.

- The McLane that I have is very touchy on it's self propelled system. I did a pass with my neighbor's Toro 1600 and it was so much better. I'm aware that the Toro is much more expensive of a mower, but will the nicer ones all be smoother like that? I noticed that his mower had large drums on the rear, whereas mine has a single gear.

- How should I be transporting these across concrete or hard surfaces? I see a lot of the newer ones online have transport wheels that can come off, but I don't have anything like that with the McLane.

Thank you for any info that any of you can provide. I'm already loving the looks of the grass being cut shorter than my zero turn can go.


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## Millennial Mower (Mar 23, 2020)

Welcome to the mow low club, homie!

My 2 cents (which arent even worth that)

- Floating head vs fixed head mower. I have read that the floating head mowers are better for uneven or undulating lawns, and the fresh sod in my backyard still has quite a few dips in it. Hoping that the solid front roller that I put on the McLane will fix that over the course of this season. *I have both fixed and floating heads. Not a huge difference IMO other than the ability to interchange cartridges/cassettes like on the Swardman or Allet type mowers. As far as how they cut on uneven surfaces, it doesnt really matter because you're going to get the sandleveling bug soon *

- The McLane that I have is very touchy on it's self propelled system. I did a pass with my neighbor's Toro 1600 and it was so much better. I'm aware that the Toro is much more expensive of a mower, but will the nicer ones all be smoother like that? I noticed that his mower had large drums on the rear, whereas mine has a single gear.*Different mowers have different propulsion mechanisms. My Swardman, a split drum like your neighbors. My Cali Trimmer, simmilar to yours. My Tru Cut, wheel driven where the drive is separately controlled from the reel speed. Different strokes for different folks. *

- How should I be transporting these across concrete or hard surfaces? I see a lot of the newer ones online have transport wheels that can come off, but I don't have anything like that with the McLane. *You wont hurt anything as long as the reel isnt coming into contact with anything. *

Hope some of this helps.


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## DFW_Zoysia (May 31, 2019)

The floating heads such as the TORO Flex I prefer over fixed heads. The cutting unit can be easily removed and separated for maintenance making life MUCH easier.

Also, you can adjust the frequency of clip on the FLEX, I'm not sure if you can do that on the regular TORO's.

At the end of the day, you can't go wrong with either.


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## Pamboys09 (Apr 16, 2019)

Get some greens mower. I have mclane too but after i got my greensmaster, i never use my mclane anymore.


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## OFace12 (Jun 9, 2020)

Thanks for the info.

A couple other questions

- How often are you guys backlapping your reels? I just had it sharpened by Reel Works over in Auburn a couple of weeks ago, but wanted to make sure I stay on top of the maintenance of it.

- As far as the sand leveling, are you guys going with straight play sand? Or should I do a 50/50 of play sand peat moss?


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

I have had mine for one full year now - purchased and used in June of last year. I had the reel ground when I first got it. Haven't done anything to it since. I might try to back lap it this year but I'm not really that worried. I also have a smaller yard than you. But you won't be using this everyday like they would on a golf course or baseball field.

For sand, try to find brick or mason sand. I believe play sand is too fine.


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## smarchandiv (Aug 22, 2018)

As far as sand goes, get it with as little clay as possible. This way it will spread better, fill in holes and you won't have clumps to deal with.
Get a tool like this to top dress:


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## quadmasta (Apr 3, 2019)

Get masonry sand. It's super fine and won't have any larger bits in it.


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## OFace12 (Jun 9, 2020)

smarchandiv said:


> As far as sand goes, get it with as little clay as possible. This way it will spread better, fill in holes and you won't have clumps to deal with.
> Get a tool like this to top dress:


Where'd you get that from? I'm guessing it would be an online order, as I haven't seen anything like that in a big box store before.


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## OFace12 (Jun 9, 2020)

quadmasta said:


> Get masonry sand. It's super fine and won't have any larger bits in it.


Like this? https://www.homedepot.com/p/0-5-cu-ft-Leveling-Sand-98000/100343385

I've been poking around online today and came across Swardman mowers. They don't have the wider cut like I was looking for, but being able to get a brand new unit is enticing. Not sure about gas vs. electric though.


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## DFW_Zoysia (May 31, 2019)

OFace12 said:


> quadmasta said:
> 
> 
> > Get masonry sand. It's super fine and won't have any larger bits in it.
> ...


I use the Home Depot Quikrette play sand and it is very good.


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## southernbuckeye (Sep 29, 2019)

Used the Quickrete play sand this past weekend to fill in some new sod seams, worked great.


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

OFace12 said:


> quadmasta said:
> 
> 
> > Get masonry sand. It's super fine and won't have any larger bits in it.
> ...


You're on 7k sq ft according to your profile. That should be a piece of cake with a 22"/26" reel. For reference, I'm mowing 20k with a 26" reel.

Cost of ownership, I think the Swardman guys are going to come out on top for this one unless you have very easy access to someone with a grinder to to the heavy maintenance.

I like the idea of being able to have separate cutting units available for a floating head mower, and only store/maintain a single traction unit. However, I think the extra weight on the cutting unit a fixed head unit gives is an advantage on thick Bermuda turf. Especially when setup with the right rollers.


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## quadmasta (Apr 3, 2019)

OFace12 said:


> quadmasta said:
> 
> 
> > Get masonry sand. It's super fine and won't have any larger bits in it.
> ...


I get mine from a bulk supply place, if you've got a truck it's the cheapest way


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## OFace12 (Jun 9, 2020)

MasterMech said:


> OFace12 said:
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> > quadmasta said:
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Getting a reel ground will be very easy for me. Reel Works is about 15 minutes from me. They just did the McLane that I was gifted.


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## OFace12 (Jun 9, 2020)

When it comes to the clippings, are you guys leaving them down or catching them? I always thought that leaving them was best for the free nitrogen?


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## JRS 9572 (May 28, 2018)

@OFace12 I've always bagged clippings. I know the experts say let them go back to the turf. But the remaining debris gets down in the turf (clippings are 70% water and nitrogen. Well the remainder has to go somewhere.) I was leaving them out for collection on Thursdays, but now I have a neighbor that uses the clippings to put around the base of some young trees he has.

Here's the big question on the step up from the McLane. Is your yard flat or is there any inclines? That make a big difference where your next move is. At the end of the day the McLane is an entry level to the motorized reel mowing world. It is what it is.


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## bwhitaker (Apr 11, 2019)

DFW_Zoysia said:


> Also, you can adjust the frequency of clip on the FLEX, I'm not sure if you can do that on the regular TORO's.


This is a really big feature, the reel speed and ground speed should be properly calibrated, on most reels you can't change the reel speed, and obviously it's expensive to change the reel.






Anyway on a fixed frequency of clip(foc) you need to modify your cutting height. Many greens mowers come with 11 or 13 blade reels and think bedknives, this means a very low, 0.25" or lower cutting height for optimal FOC.

Anyway in terms of consumer vs greens reel mower, get a greens mower.


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## OFace12 (Jun 9, 2020)

JRS 9572 said:


> @OFace12 I've always bagged clippings. I know the experts say let them go back to the turf. But the remaining debris gets down in the turf (clippings are 70% water and nitrogen. Well the remainder has to go somewhere.) I was leaving them out for collection on Thursdays, but now I have a neighbor that uses the clippings to put around the base of some young trees he has.
> 
> Here's the big question on the step up from the McLane. Is your yard flat or is there any inclines? That make a big difference where your next move is. At the end of the day the McLane is an entry level to the motorized reel mowing world. It is what it is.


The sides of my yard are a steep grade, 15-20 degree. Backyard is less, about 5-10 degree. The front of the house is flat.


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## JRS 9572 (May 28, 2018)

@OFace12 that being the case. Talk to the different brands about how well they can handle those grades. I never really had a problem with my McLane until I moved to a home with all sorts of hill action to climb.


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

OFace12 said:


> JRS 9572 said:
> 
> 
> > @OFace12 I've always bagged clippings. I know the experts say let them go back to the turf. But the remaining debris gets down in the turf (clippings are 70% water and nitrogen. Well the remainder has to go somewhere.) I was leaving them out for collection on Thursdays, but now I have a neighbor that uses the clippings to put around the base of some young trees he has.
> ...


My front and sides are similar, I'm doing fine with a greensmower, as long as the grass is dry and I don't have a ton of thatch underneath. Any more than this though and something like a Tru-Cut would be better.


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## OFace12 (Jun 9, 2020)

Is there any benefit to having a mower that has the rear drum to drive it vs the wheel like my McLane currently has?


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## quadmasta (Apr 3, 2019)

Yeah. The Mclane's manly got the two outer wheels that hold the pressure of the mower on the rear. With a drum the force is divided across a much larger area so in theory it's less compaction


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## trl2112 (Jun 10, 2020)

OFace12 said:


> Is there any benefit to having a mower that has the rear drum to drive it vs the wheel like my McLane currently has?


I believe lawn striping is much more prominent with a drum or cylinder mower. If you're wanting that look.


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

OFace12 said:


> Is there any benefit to having a mower that has the rear drum to drive it vs the wheel like my McLane currently has?


Full width drums for traction drive

Pros:

Lawn striping
Lack of turf damage 
Lock of compaction
Eventually helps smooth high-spots in the lawn
Ease of use for the operator

Cons:

Traction is lacking on severe slopes or moderate slopes if your lawn is developing a thatch problem.

Mower is more susceptible to "bobbing" if the thatch layer is getting excessive.


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## Wfrobinette (Feb 3, 2019)

OFace12 said:


> quadmasta said:
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> > Get masonry sand. It's super fine and won't have any larger bits in it.
> ...


a 21 inch reel mower will cut your yard in about 35 to 40 minutes. I can't believe you were using a 50" on this.

Electric! Only one part for maintenance. A belt.


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## OFace12 (Jun 9, 2020)

Wfrobinette said:


> OFace12 said:
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It was my old mower from my last house where I had a little more than an acre. Just couldn't bring myself to sell it.


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## Wfrobinette (Feb 3, 2019)

OFace12 said:


> Wfrobinette said:
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> > OFace12 said:
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Well then!


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