# Talk me out of this fairway mower



## PNWDad (Mar 25, 2021)

Long time lurker. First time poster. I live near Seattle, Washington state.

TLR. Am i making a big mistake by getting rid of my 54" rotary mower and buying a 5 gang fairway mower?

I have my eye on a John deere 3215A 5 gang reel fairway mower, 96" cutting swath, diesel, looks to be in good shape (pictures, not in person). 
I have 4 acres of grass that i am trying to convert to mowed landscaped lawn. I have a 54" John Deere 920a zero turn mower that i got last year but it is just not enough cutting swath to keep up with my desire. The lawn around the house which is around .75 acres is smooth and quickly mowed but the remaining 3.25 acres is so bumpy i cant mow more than 30 minutes before needing to call it quits due to the toll on my body. takes me 3-4 different mow sessions to mow the entire property in this way. I dont want to rototill and box blade because it will just give me a rock problem so overtopping with sand/topsoil to even the bumps is my desired method of gradually taking out the biggest bumps (I have a 3 yd dump truck and mini excavator that i can rather easily move material with). I also have a John Deere 220a greens mower i picked up a couple months ago (I swear i dont have a thing for John deere, it just worked out this way). I mowed a total of 50 hours last season.

I'm mechanically inclined and the maintenece of the reel mowers doesnt worry me too much other than the cost to have the reels sharpened which i know i will probably need a pro to do. 5 gangs is going to be spendy but with only mowing 50 hours a season i expect i wouldnt need to have them sharpened more than once every couple years.

to talk a little more about my vision (because this is what makes this so tricky)...Last fall i bulldozed a football field sized area to be flat with the intention of it to be a play field for my 4 kids (age 7 and under right now). We are a big sports family and am really looking forward to all the fun we will have on this huge flat area. At the end I have made an undulating area that will be a golf chipping green (LOVE GOLF including frisbee golf). I'm even working on plans for a grass tennis court.

So (is there a word limit here? ha), drawbacks. (1) Im probably going to wreck the reels starting out. Hitting hidden objects or user error. (2) There are some small areas 1500 sq ft tops that are wet being near a little pond and i would not be able to mow till early summer at the earliest so the grass will be very tall and I will not have a rotary mower to keep it under control or knock it down. weed eater would be my only tool. I can raise the ground up as it is caused by runoff but even then its likely to be soft for winter and spring. Maybe i make it into a corn field or something. (3) we have some fruit trees and the fairway mower will not fit under and allow a tight mow to the base. (4) we use our zero turn as our little property tractor to pull a small trailer which is super efficient. Unlikely the big 3215a will fit that role very well. (5) molehills are prevelent and I know i need to trap them. Thankfully i have been able to keep them away from my nicer lawn but how do fairway mowers do with molehills? Im assuming I cannot just plow them as the dirt will get into the reel and destroy it. (6) I would need to keep up on mowing so the grass doesnt get too high. I plan on cutting to around 1". (7) our summers are hot and dry and with keeping grass so short it will probably go brown pretty early. No sprinkler system (yet). Not a big deal right now to be honest.

And pros: (1) with machine weight, reel weight and finly mulched clippings, a lot of my small bumps will be evened. (2) the gass will be forced to fill in because it will be shorter and make my property more accessible to playing vs the 4" tall stuff im forced to live with now. (3) fuel savings will be substantial. I went through i think 40 gallons of gas last season. I can buy off road diesel for half the price of gasoline. (4) I know that the reel mower will mow my play field to my expectations vs the mower i have now. I dont like tall grass. (5) It will look amazing (6) i will admit im a vain person and neighbors will take notice.(7) with 8' cutting swath I will spend much less time on the mower. More time with maintenence but that is more kid friendly than dad being on the mower. (8) hydraulics are awesome compared to belts.

I guess im leaning towards going for it (yolo) because of my long term plans but worry that what i have right now is not ready for ditching rotary mowers and Im going to pay the price of my sweet sweet free time.

If you read all this i appreciate it!


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

If you have the time and the money - the fairway unit will cost many times more than what a bigger ZTR will to maintain, then my hats off to you. It sounds great. You are essentially turning yourself into a mostly full-time sports field superintendent.

Belts are cheap - hydraulics are not. When a belt fails, it generally doesn't destroy turf either. But, if you want ground hugging capability and big cut widths, maybe a Deere TerrainCut 8800 or a Toro 3500D are a better fit than a fairway unit? Far less maintenance work, even faster than a fairway unit, and much more tolerant of foreign objects in the field.


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## PNWDad (Mar 25, 2021)

MasterMech said:


> If you have the time and the money - the fairway unit will cost many times more than what a bigger ZTR will to maintain, then my hats off to you. It sounds great. You are essentially turning yourself into a mostly full-time sports field superintendent.
> 
> Belts are cheap - hydraulics are not. When a belt fails, it generally doesn't destroy turf either. But, if you want ground hugging capability and big cut widths, maybe a Deere TerrainCut 8800 or a Toro 3500D are a better fit than a fairway unit? Far less maintenance work, even faster than a fairway unit, and much more tolerant of foreign objects in the field.


Thank you so much for the reply.

Im fine with comitting 50 hours a season to the mowing. Im also fine with grass being scalped, discolored and with imperfections as long as it is firm and continuous (meaning without barespots and rocks). Im going for cheap muni golf course, not high end lush green golf course.

Budget is my limiting factor here. I have about $6k to invest in a new mower, including upfront maintenence. I can buy the fairway mower for about $5k and I think i can sell my ZTR with bagger for about $6k. That pretty much eleminates the mowers you kindly suggested since non are for sale in my local market in my price range. If i dont go for this mower i can always wait for something else to pop up i guess.


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## uts (Jul 8, 2019)

I will post a longer reply later but my advise would he to not sell your ztr till you spend a few months or a season with whatever new mower you get (reel mower I mean)


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

@PNWDad just so I'm clear, you have $6k in addition to the sale of your ZTR to go toward a new mower? Or $6k total, with $5k of that going to the purchase of the fairway mower?

If the latter, I would say a $5k fairway mower is going to swallow $1k of upfront maintenance costs _reel_ fast. Granted, I haven't seen it.


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## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

It sounds like you really should work on leveling out the area first and then re-evaluate your needs before getting sucked into such a specialized piece of equipment. I wouldn't be in a hurry to sell the rotary.


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## PNWDad (Mar 25, 2021)

Ware said:


> @PNWDad just so I'm clear, you have $6k in addition to the sale of your ZTR to go toward a new mower? Or $6k total, with $5k of that going to the purchase of the fairway mower?
> 
> If the latter, I would say a $5k fairway mower is going to swallow $1k of upfront maintenance costs _reel_ fast. Granted, I haven't seen it.


$6k total. Its my budget. I have strict orders (wife) that whatever new mower i purchase It must be for as much or less than what i sell my current mower.

I do my own work which has included engine rebuilds, transmission rebuilds, hydraulic cylinder replacking, engine swaps, hose replacements...today im drilling out a hydraulic pump and threading to 3/8npt for my dump truck. so Maintence costs would be limited to my time and parts (other than reel shapening which i would need to have a local shop do).


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## PNWDad (Mar 25, 2021)

ionicatoms said:


> It sounds like you really should work on leveling out the area first and then re-evaluate your needs before getting sucked into such a specialized piece of equipment. I wouldn't be in a hurry to sell the rotary.


Yeah. I think so too but with how tall the grass is, its really hard. Smoothing out tightly cut grass is so much more efficient. I feel like i can cover double the square footage with sand/top soil when the grass is freshly cut to less than an inch than when its over 2 inches.


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## PNWDad (Mar 25, 2021)

uts said:


> I will post a longer reply later but my advise would he to not sell your ztr till you spend a few months or a season with whatever new mower you get (reel mower I mean)


This resonates with me a lot. going to be a hard sell with the wife...I can try though!


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## Mdjamesd (Sep 5, 2019)

I'd say put money towards an Ecolawn or manure spreader. Then you could more easily spread the sand/soil/compost much more easily. If you level the ground, you might be pleasantly surprised by the cut quality of the ZTR and bagger.

A smoother yard will enable you to mow lower. Granted, it might not be the <1", nor will you have 8' stripes to show.off to the neighbors. But you would be able.to increase your ground speed on the ZTR without throwing out your back


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

PNWDad said:


> $6k total. Its my budget. I have strict orders (wife) that whatever new mower i purchase It must be for as much or less than what i sell my current mower.
> 
> I do my own work which has included engine rebuilds, transmission rebuilds, hydraulic cylinder replacking, engine swaps, hose replacements...today im drilling out a hydraulic pump and threading to 3/8npt for my dump truck. so Maintence costs would be limited to my time and parts (other than reel shapening which i would need to have a local shop do).


I'm not questioning your ability to do the work yourself. What I am saying is you need to consider things like a fluid and filter change is going to cost over $300 on a machine that size. That's what I spent on my JD 8800, anyway.

Roller overhaul kits are about $65 each (it has 10 rollers). Bedknives are $40 each. Replacement reels are $250 each. Bearing and seal kits for the cutting units are $50-60/set. Reworking a single cutting unit can cost upwards of $500 in parts alone. Working your way up front the cutting units, you have things like lift arm bushings and yokes to contend with.

I'm not trying to discourage you, but there are a lot of wear items to deal with on a fairway mower, and the 3215A is a pretty old machine. I would say there is a reason they're selling it for less than the price of a used commercial zero turn.



PNWDad said:


> ...the remaining 3.25 acres is so bumpy i cant mow more than 30 minutes before needing to call it quits due to the toll on my body. takes me 3-4 different mow sessions to mow the entire property in this way.


I would invest in a set of ZGlide suspension forks for your zero turn and/or mow slower. If the yard is really that rough, I would focus on fixing that first.


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## PNWDad (Mar 25, 2021)

Mdjamesd said:


> I'd say put money towards an Ecolawn or manure spreader. Then you could more easily spread the sand/soil/compost much more easily. If you level the ground, you might be pleasantly surprised by the cut quality of the ZTR and bagger.
> 
> A smoother yard will enable you to mow lower. Granted, it might not be the <1", nor will you have 8' stripes to show.off to the neighbors. But you would be able.to increase your ground speed on the ZTR without throwing out your back


I had not considered that. Now to price that equipment out...


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## PNWDad (Mar 25, 2021)

Ware said:


> PNWDad said:
> 
> 
> > $6k total. Its my budget. I have strict orders (wife) that whatever new mower i purchase It must be for as much or less than what i sell my current mower.
> ...


Thanks for putting the prices of the parts. I knew the reel price but bearings and bushings/rollers i had not really considered. It does get a little spendy on parts alone.

Im hearing a reoccuring theme about fixing the bumps now and that might be the right direction to go for now. Maybe if i can invest in a manuer spreader so that fixing the bumps is less labor intensive I might actually do it.


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

PNWDad said:


> Ware said:
> 
> 
> > PNWDad said:
> ...


Don't forget the hoses. Old hydraulic machines need hoses. And hoses are not cheap as I'm sure you're aware.

Top Dressers are usually available in all used turf equipment auctions. Many mount to utility vehicles, others are dedicated tow-behind units. You sound handy, I'm sure you could make many different units work for you. For an idea of how these units work, check out TurfCo's website.

https://www.turfco.com/store/c19/spinner-topdressers/p136011/widespin-1550-broadcast-topdresser/


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

A group of lawncare friends here went in on a used Turfco topdresser we found on Facebook Marketplace. Keep an eye out... they are around.


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## crussell (Mar 12, 2018)

My $0.02

I would hold off on reel mowing until the property is ready for it - The bumps, mole hills, and any hidden objects are going to be less friendly to your reel mower.

Consider scalping down the area as low as possible with your ZTR. Bring in some loads of sand, and rent the topdresser from Aaberg's Tool and Equipment Rental in Tacoma, you can easily load this with your Mini-Ex which is a nice luxury to have. https://www.aabergsequipment.com/equipment.asp?action=category&category=31&key=2700-2765

This should improve the levelness and mowing comfort on your ZTR. I'd also take the time to get your irrigation in, otherwise all of the effort and cost of a large reel mower will be lost when things dry out come summer.

Meanwhile - Keep looking for mowers. You may not need a 5 gang fairway mower, personally a three gang trims/surrounds mower might be a better fit. Look at a John Deere 2653A or B, or a Toro 3100D. These still have about a 7-1/2' cutting width, and only 3/5 of the reels to maintain, plus they are more adaptable to taller cutting heights, and have larger reels that would have more longevity. There are currently two JD 2653A's up for auction right now in Pasco that I am watching, and they frequently pop up on other local auction pages, craigslist, etc.

I bought a JD 2653A a few years ago for $500, and I was several grand into it by the time I rebuilt the cutting units and gave it a facelift. Would be much harder to stomach the rebuild of a 5 gang fairway unit.


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## Mdjamesd (Sep 5, 2019)

Don't forget that a narrower mower gives you more stripes!


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

@PNWDad when you do go to a reel, I would consider a trim mower with 3 cutting units instead of a fairway mower with 5.

I think they're better size machine for maintaining a few acres and mowing around obstacles. They also have 40% less parts to replace.


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

Ware said:


> @PNWDad when you do go to a reel, I would consider a trim mower with 3 cutting units instead of a fairway mower with 5.
> 
> I think they're better size machine for maintaining a few acres and mowing around obstacles. They also have 40% less parts to replace.


You're also guaranteed to get a unit with heavier 7" reels (better suited to home lawns) instead of 5" reels that are found on most fairway mowers. 7" reels on a fairway unit aren't rare but they aren't on every unit either.


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## Colinwjholding (Apr 6, 2020)

Not sure if anyone has mentioned yet or not but what about going to a contouring rotor mower as opposed to a reel mower. They can be had for around 4k and would be less overall maintenance then a reel mower. Not sure what your desired hoc is though.

I currently cut 1.25 acres and i have a jdz915 and recently rebuilt an older jacobsen greens king v tri plex which is perfect size.

If you have the budget buy em. But i would be inclined to keep a rotary around for early season or times when you need it to grow longer. Just my .02$


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

@Uk0724 has a fairway mower. His is a much newer model, but he probably has some insight that most of us don't.


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## Uk0724 (May 1, 2019)

Here are my thoughts. Take them with a grain of salt, I will never make lawn of the month...

I started with a newly seeded lawn in 2016. Bumpy as all get out and the rotary I was using scalped everything! I ran a roto tiller prior to seeding and that made the lawn lumpy. After finding this site (too late to get advice for seeding) I found a heavily used 2006 Toro 2000d. It changed everything! What was scalped by the rotary was perfectly cut with the reel mower at 1 inch. I dont have a sand leveled yard like most on here, but for its size it looks very good and smooth. After two summers, the injection pump starting having problems and I couldnt trust the mower. I wont ever go back to a rotary if I can help it. In 2020 I purchased a 2014 JD 8000 a e-cut hybrid from a Weeks Farm Machinery auction. Its a 5 gang with a Tier 4 JD diesel engine.

Pros- Its a dream to operate. The e cut means the reel motors are electrical. The onboard computer tells me everything I need to know. It has cruise control, 3 wheel drive and did I mention it all electric reel driven (no hydro mess) It has the QA 5 cutting units. Recently, I adjusted HOC and serviced all 5 units in 1 hour. My Toro took an hour per cutting unit!

Cons- I'm scared of it. There isnt a JD Turf dealer within 3 hours of me, so if I have a breakdown, I am unable to mow for a potentially long time. My maintenance costs so far (oil, filters) havent been bad at all, but I understand a reel motor is over $1000. For perspective, when it was being shipped, the hood blew off. The replacement hood was $4500! (freight insurance) Other than fear of it breaking down, I cannot come up with a con. Perhaps storage area. You need a good sized amount of free space in your shop if you want to keep it in there.

Conclusion- Your .75 acre piece will love it. However, you will cringe every time one of those reels bounces on your lumpy 3 acre parcel. Its a bad feeling knowing that much money is being abused like that. I wouldnt recommend reel mowing the lumpy piece of ground until you can smooth it out. FYI...it takes 45 minutes to mow my 2 acres, so you will want to get it smooth real quick in order to get some good use out of the machine. You seem to have access to the equipment it takes to get it smooth. I'd buy the mower and spend the summer learning it on the .75 acre piece, while improving your other at the same time.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Good stuff. Thanks @Uk0724.


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## PNWDad (Mar 25, 2021)

Thank you all for the replies. Things that i took away from this are, (1) yes reel mowers bring a lot of joy to those that use them but for my size and application there is a lot of sense in buying a 3 gang reel mower. (2) level the mowable areas regardless of mower and that is something i can do right now. I had not considered top dresser machines because manually spreading sand/topsoil is not appealing. (3) consider adding irrigation first.

Im going to pass on the mower and keep an eye out for a 3 gang. In the meantime my 220A greens mower is a joy to use on the grass near the house and is sufficiently scratching the "itch"


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## crussell (Mar 12, 2018)

PNWDad said:


> Thank you all for the replies. Things that i took away from this are, (1) yes reel mowers bring a lot of joy to those that use them but for my size and application there is a lot of sense in buying a 3 gang reel mower. (2) level the mowable areas regardless of mower and that is something i can do right now. I had not considered top dresser machines because manually spreading sand/topsoil is not appealing. (3) consider adding irrigation first.
> 
> Im going to pass on the mower and keep an eye out for a 3 gang. In the meantime my 220A greens mower is a joy to use on the grass near the house and is sufficiently scratching the "itch"


I like your plan! After all, you asked us to talk you out of the fairway mower :thumbup:


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## BBLOCK (Jun 8, 2020)

Good decision. Don't put the cart before the horse.

If you don't have a lawn striper for your zero turn that might also help you scratch that itch of making the lawn look better striped in the meantime.

I would work on getting the lawn to The level of needing a large reel mower first.


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## PNWDad (Mar 25, 2021)

BBLOCK said:


> Good decision. Don't put the cart before the horse.
> 
> If you don't have a lawn striper for your zero turn that might also help you scratch that itch of making the lawn look better striped in the meantime.
> 
> I would work on getting the lawn to The level of needing a large reel mower first.


Oddly, I dont care about stripes for my lawn. I only care about even, tight cut that shows the natural ground undulations...like a golf green. I dislike shaggy grass.


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## Jace (Feb 28, 2020)

I'm a mechanic for a golf course in north Georgia. I work on John Deere mowers just about every day. I would not want a fairway mower for a personal mower. There's a lot of maintenance that has to be done on the reels. I'm constantly checking, adjusting, grinding etc on the reels. We have new units too, 2019 John Deere 7005. I have all the tools and a lift in the shop so it's not too bad, but if you don't have that, it's a pain. We charge at least $100 a reel to grind, so you're looking at $500 just to have them sharpened.


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## PNWDad (Mar 25, 2021)

Jace said:


> I'm a mechanic for a golf course in north Georgia. I work on John Deere mowers just about every day. I would not want a fairway mower for a personal mower. There's a lot of maintenance that has to be done on the reels. I'm constantly checking, adjusting, grinding etc on the reels. We have new units too, 2019 John Deere 7005. I have all the tools and a lift in the shop so it's not too bad, but if you don't have that, it's a pain. We charge at least $100 a reel to grind, so you're looking at $500 just to have them sharpened.


Question for you about nicks in reels. Is it possible to use a welder to fill in small nicks on the reel and blend in with the rest of the blade? Since they would be small spot welds i dont see heating/warping being an issue. Obviously need to have the settings dialed in to not burn a bigger hole. I have done some searching but im not seeing any results.


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

PNWDad said:


> Jace said:
> 
> 
> > I'm a mechanic for a golf course in north Georgia. I work on John Deere mowers just about every day. I would not want a fairway mower for a personal mower. There's a lot of maintenance that has to be done on the reels. I'm constantly checking, adjusting, grinding etc on the reels. We have new units too, 2019 John Deere 7005. I have all the tools and a lift in the shop so it's not too bad, but if you don't have that, it's a pain. We charge at least $100 a reel to grind, so you're looking at $500 just to have them sharpened.
> ...


Unless you are seeing streaking issues, I wouldn't worry about them. The next blade on the reel will cut. If you are seeing streaking, it's usually due a matching nick in the bedknife, or in rare cases, most/all of the reel blades would have to have a defect in the same spot.


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## PNWDad (Mar 25, 2021)

MasterMech said:


> PNWDad said:
> 
> 
> > Jace said:
> ...


Cool. Thanks for the input. I have a 11 blade reel on my Deere 220A. Has just a couple small nicks but not seeing any streaks yet.


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## Jace (Feb 28, 2020)

PNWDad said:


> Jace said:
> 
> 
> > I'm a mechanic for a golf course in north Georgia. I work on John Deere mowers just about every day. I would not want a fairway mower for a personal mower. There's a lot of maintenance that has to be done on the reels. I'm constantly checking, adjusting, grinding etc on the reels. We have new units too, 2019 John Deere 7005. I have all the tools and a lift in the shop so it's not too bad, but if you don't have that, it's a pain. We charge at least $100 a reel to grind, so you're looking at $500 just to have them sharpened.
> ...


I wouldn't worry about them unless it's causing issues with the cut. We have some reels on our triplex mowers that have numerous nicks and even a blade here and there that has a small chunk missing. Next time you have the Rees sharpened, ask them if they had the ability to do a relief grind on them too. We have a Foley machine that we can do a relief grind and then a spin grind.


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## PNWDad (Mar 25, 2021)

crussell said:


> PNWDad said:
> 
> 
> > Thank you all for the replies. Things that i took away from this are, (1) yes reel mowers bring a lot of joy to those that use them but for my size and application there is a lot of sense in buying a 3 gang reel mower. (2) level the mowable areas regardless of mower and that is something i can do right now. I had not considered top dresser machines because manually spreading sand/topsoil is not appealing. (3) consider adding irrigation first.
> ...


Indeed. I knew it wasnt a good Idea but needed the extra help to 'see' it.


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