# Tough decision!!!



## Talental (Jun 29, 2018)

Tough dilemma here...
I recently built a house and have about 20k square feet of Meyers zosyia. This will be the 2nd growing season. Currently mowing with a 21"Honda rotary at about 1.25-1.5"(Which takes forever).

Thinking of getting the 30" Toro Timemaster with the stripping kit. Keeping it mowed at 1.5"

After following this forum for a while I am now thinking I should get a 27"Tru-Cut reel and keeping it about 0.75-1".

My dilemma here is that I am in a small city in Alabama and nobody cuts with a reel, much less services them. Hence why I am leaning towards the Timemaster.

Any help on this dilemma would be greatly appreciated.


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## Duplex Dave (Jul 14, 2018)

Once you see the results of a reel mower you will wonder why you waited so long, and probably never go back to rotary. I have a very old and tired McLane that was free and I figured out how to service it myself. You'll find someone to service it or figure it out, if there are any golf courses in your town, someone works on reel mowers. Just don't hit any rocks, even small ones.


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## ram82 (Dec 19, 2018)

had a tru cut reel mower and faced a similar dilemma.no one really uses reel mowers around here so only had two shops within 30 miles that sharpen blades.they took 5 months! to sharpen it and it was a crappy job.i said to hell with it and sold it.use an hrx on my lawn and enjoy the mower.live in California with a million landscapers so of course the shops are busy and a customer with a reel is low priority.have a timemaster i use on a family members lawn and love it.mow his tall fescue at 3-4 1/4 i believe is the heighest setting.cuts great and saves time and less tiring than a heavy mower.good luck on your descision


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## high leverage (Jun 11, 2017)

No to the Timemaster. I own the commercial version the Turfmaster and wouldn't wish it upon my enemies. If you so choose a rotary I'd take a look at the new Ferris FW15.

But reel mower over anything.


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## dfw_pilot (Jan 28, 2017)

Backlapping a reel to sharpen it is easy to do yourself, so don't let that be the reason to skip buying a reel.


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## thesouthernreelmower (Aug 28, 2018)

The time master will not cut your grass good. Get a reel and learn to service it


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

I would go around to the local course and talk to the superintendents or head maintenance techs and see what your options are first. With 20K of lawn you most likely would want a triplex greens mower unless you have the time and energy to mow at least twice a week with a push mower. I do agree that once you see the quality of cut from a reel mower that it is hard to go back to a rotary.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

There are a few triplex here and a lot of greensmower. @Greendoc says that zoysia needs the harder steel of a greensmower.

https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=7586


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

Solutions:

-Learn how to work on them yourself
-Mail reels out for service
-Contact a greensmaster locally

20k square feet is quite a bit. A triplex would be really nice. I don't know what your budget is, so it's easy for me to spend your money... if you said it's one big square with no obstacles you could do it with a Toro GM1600 like I have, and it would probably take 1-1.5 hours if I had to guess.

Do you have more time or money? That will answer allnof the questions above basically.

More time:
GM1600 or similar
Backlap yourself

More money:
Buy a spare reel and swap out when it's timr to sharpen
Triplex mower


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## thesouthernreelmower (Aug 28, 2018)

Is the landscape laid out in a way to where you could reel mow a smaller area and rotary mow the other areas?


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## Tellycoleman (May 10, 2017)

I have around 22k of lawn so right at your size. Isnt a timemaster a push mower as well? Either way your pushing it. It takes me 1.5 hours to mow my lawn with a toro 1600. If its your first reel and your not mechanically inclined i do not know if i would go straight to a triplex.
What other lawn equipment do you have?
with a triplex you need a push reel to get the corners and areas that the triplex cant reach. You can get a cheep manuel mower but with thick zoysia you will die.
I agree with @SCGrassMan


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## Talental (Jun 29, 2018)

Thank you all for the comments. I am not all that mechanically inclined.

So, sharpening and backlapping isn't that hard?

A triplex will not work. Due to lot shape/pool/landscape

Haven't looked much into the greens mower. I was under the assumption that zosyia needs to be a little longer, like 1-1.5". What is the optimal height for Meyer zosyia?

And I bet they are pretty pricey. 
Really like to keep the price at or under $2k


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## The Anti-Rebel (Feb 16, 2019)

Backlapping is fairly straight forward and not all that difficult for the average homeowner. Sharpening, however, requires a far larger investment in time, energy and money.


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

I have Zeon Zoysia and I cut it at 0.5". For a reel mower I would suggest 7/8" or less for Zoysia. Also check out the threads about Plant Growth Regulator (PGR) - it will make the blades smaller and slower growing and encourage lateral growth. It will look better and take less mowing.


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

I want to say I paid something like $1600 delivered for my GM1600. It's a little big for my small yard, but it's a fantastic unit.


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## jonthepain (May 5, 2018)

Meyer is quite different from zeon.

I've managed many meyers that were maintained at 2" with rotary that looked great.

I can't imagine pushing a mower over 20k sf of meyer twice a week


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## Bermuda_Newbie (Jun 15, 2018)

ram82 said:


> had a tru cut reel mower and faced a similar dilemma.no one really uses reel mowers around here so only had two shops within 30 miles that sharpen blades.they took 5 months! to sharpen it and it was a crappy job.i said to hell with it and sold it.use an hrx on my lawn and enjoy the mower.live in California with a million landscapers so of course the shops are busy and a customer with a reel is low priority.have a timemaster i use on a family members lawn and love it.mow his tall fescue at 3-4 1/4 i believe is the heighest setting.cuts great and saves time and less tiring than a heavy mower.good luck on your descision


There's plenty of shops in Fresno that took 4 days to get my reel mower back to me. It would have been worth the drive. There's one right off of 99 that did a great job rehabbing my 30 year old Trimmer.


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## Talental (Jun 29, 2018)

I am very new to all of this. I am unsure of the differences in the zosyia types. I am in Northern Alabama and my landscaper highly recommended Meyer. So not sure of the proper height of cut.

I like the toro Timemaster because it's 30" and it seems to get great reviews. But if you guys think a reel is THAT MUCH better I am all-in.

If that is the case, what reel mower would be ideal for Meyer zosyia? And at what height of cut?


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## Spammage (Apr 30, 2017)

@Talental Meyer isn't one of the faster growing zoysias, responds well to pgr, and should be fine at 1" while being cut twice a week. If you have the budget, then a GM1600 is what you need.


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## Talental (Jun 29, 2018)

Thanks for all the comments. I will be looking for a good used, well kept Toro GM1600.


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## Duplex Dave (Jul 14, 2018)

Back lapping is easy, You pull off the chain with pliers at the little link, put an attachment on your electric drill and run the reel backwards while you paint this gel with grit on the turning reel. It's a little messy but you rinse it all off with the hose. I like to work upright so the hardest part is lifting my mower up onto my outdoor workbench.


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## Talental (Jun 29, 2018)

I have been looking at used toro gm1600 on the net and they are all over the place price wise. 
What should I expect for around $1500 Willing to spend a little more if there is a big difference.


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## Talental (Jun 29, 2018)

Going to go look at this over the weekend. 
Toro gm1000. What do y'all think based on these two pics?


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## dfw_pilot (Jan 28, 2017)

Glad to see the catcher, the transport wheels, the grooved front roller and the groomer. The only negative would be the width of cut. Overall the unit looks nice.


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Nice mower. Reel is near the end of its service life. Fortunately they are not expensive or hard to replace on these mowers.


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## Talental (Jun 29, 2018)

That's great to hear. Since the reel will need to be replaced, what's a fair price for this mower? Looks like a reel will cost me about $250ish.

Would an 8 blade reel be better for me since I will cut my zosyia closer to the max height of 1".


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

The worn reel and bedknife might be a blessing. You want the 8 blade reel for mowing above 3/8. You will also want the thicker profiled bedknife as well. Several members have discussed/documented their reel/bedknife replacements. not hard to do. Only special tool needed is the driver socket for the bedknife screws. 
$1000. Takes it. I see the mower also has the groomer. That adds a lot of value to the mower.


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## Talental (Jun 29, 2018)

Pulled the trigger on the above reel mower yesterday. Got it for $600 
Can I get through this season with this reel and bedknife? 
Do I really need an 8 blade reel? 
Been reading some threads about changing them myself but it seems real intimidating.


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## dfw_pilot (Jan 28, 2017)

Congrats!

Yes, reel has life for this season, probably more.

No, 8 blade is not required.

Put another way, just mowing more frequently, watering properly, and getting some N down will make infinitely more difference than an 8 vs 11 blade reel. Enjoy your new reel and sweat the minutia next year.


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## Talental (Jun 29, 2018)

Thank you guys so much. This forum is such a wonderful resource. Can wait to #enjoythemow


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