# Reel Mower



## Scarscity (Jul 12, 2017)

So I live in Oklahoma. I do not know what type of Bermuda i have but the house was built in 2005 and i am almost positive it was sodded. I have told a couple friends including my father who used to work in landscaping that I was thinking about buying a reel mower and cutting my grass low. I currently use a rotary troy built and cut at 1 1/2 - 2 inches.

Can anyone comment on this topic?


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Sounds a lot like where most of us started! You won't be disappointed with the cut quality you get from a reel mower. :thumbup:


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## Scarscity (Jul 12, 2017)

Ware said:


> Sounds a lot like where most of us started! You won't be disappointed with the cut quality you get from a reel mower. :thumbup:


sorry i forgot to include this in the original post. But they all said that I didnt have the right type of Bermuda to cut really low. So I wanted to get the opinion of the lawn forum


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

I think you could prove them wrong. :nod:


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## J_nick (Jan 28, 2017)

Ware said:


> I think you could prove them wrong. :nod:


+1. I maintained some common Bermuda last year under 1". With your yard most likely being sodded it is probably U3 (most popular sod cultivar sold in Oklahoma) and look what Redtenchu has done with his U3


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## MarkV (Mar 22, 2017)

I was told the exact same thing you were told last year when I said I was going to go low with my common bermuda (U3). I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

This pic was taken 8/19/16. HOC (height of cut) is ~3"










This one is almost the same angle and was taken on 7/8/17. HOC is 5/8"










I don't have any decent back yard pics when it was tall. Here is my back yard on 7/25/17. HOC is 5/8"


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Very nice MarkV! Those photos pretty much tell the story. :thumbup:


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## Redtenchu (Jan 28, 2017)

Good example MarkV!


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## MarkV (Mar 22, 2017)

Thank you, thank you.

Is my yard a putting green? If you look from space yes. Will it be a putting green? Probably not. Am I in the 1% of lawns of my 450+ home neighborhood? Yes.

Go low, you won't regret how your yard looks.

Where in OK are you located?


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

Is there any guidance on how flat the yard needs to be in order to be successful with a reel mower?

Can I get a way with a less flat yard if the HOC is higher? I am currently cutting at 1.25" with a rotary mower and am looking to get to 1", preferably with a reel mower.


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## MarkV (Mar 22, 2017)

The flatter the better.

My yard is *NOT* flat/smooth at all. See pics above.


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## Jericho574 (May 24, 2017)

You can go lower with a reel than rotary. Look at this pic (prepping to be sanded)- the horizontal pass above the sidewalk is 1" with a rotary. The rest is 1" with a reel. The rotary scalped badly and the reel did not


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## Scarscity (Jul 12, 2017)

MarkV said:


> Thank you, thank you.
> 
> Is my yard a putting green? If you look from space yes. Will it be a putting green? Probably not. Am I in the 1% of lawns of my 450+ home neighborhood? Yes.
> 
> ...


i am living in Jenks. I will start doing my research for the perfect used reel


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## Jericho574 (May 24, 2017)

Movingshrub said:


> Is there any guidance on how flat the yard needs to be in order to be successful with a reel mower?
> 
> Can I get a way with a less flat yard if the HOC is higher? I am currently cutting at 1.25" with a rotary mower and am looking to get to 1", preferably with a reel mower.


It doesnt need to be flat...it needs to be smooth. Think about rolling undulations on a putting green. The ground isn't flat but the surface is smooth. That being said, a roller on the reel will greatly solve your problems. It will keep the wheels from finding low points, thus creating a flat surface for you. Before sanding a few times, my lawn was very bumpy and I only had a manual reel, and @ 1-1.5" it worked quite well (1" and below it's just too thick for anything thats not gas powered).


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## Llano Estacado (Jul 18, 2017)

Movingshrub said:


> Is there any guidance on how flat the yard needs to be in order to be successful with a reel mower?
> 
> Can I get a way with a less flat yard if the HOC is higher? I am currently cutting at 1.25" with a rotary mower and am looking to get to 1", preferably with a reel mower.


Like others have said you can usually cut lower with a reel without scalping than you can with a rotary. I went from 1.5"+ with my rotary to less than 1" with my reel. I need to do some smoothing/levelling work on my yard but it still cuts better with my reel than it did with a rotary.


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## dpainter68 (Apr 26, 2017)

Movingshrub said:


> Is there any guidance on how flat the yard needs to be in order to be successful with a reel mower?
> 
> Can I get a way with a less flat yard if the HOC is higher? I am currently cutting at 1.25" with a rotary mower and am looking to get to 1", preferably with a reel mower.


After seeing your post about everything you've done to your yard, I don't see how it couldn't be level enough to cut below 1" with a reel mower if you're able to mow at 1.25" with a rotary. Before I started leveling my yard I could go down to 3/4" before it started to scalp. I then brought in 9 tons of sand to spread over 4500 sqft and it's still not completely smooth. My leveling plans have been put on hold due to Hsv Utilities screwing up my yard while putting in natural gas lines, but that's a whole other story...


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## vanawesome (Jul 17, 2017)

MarkV said:


> I was told the exact same thing you were told last year when I said I was going to go low with my common bermuda (U3). I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
> 
> This pic was taken 8/19/16. HOC (height of cut) is ~3"
> 
> ...


man that is so nice!! Do you have any pictures of the line between your grass and your neighbors? Looks kinda cool from the angle shown here the different HOC between the yards.


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## MarkV (Mar 22, 2017)

vanawesome said:


> man that is so nice!! Do you have any pictures of the line between your grass and your neighbors? Looks kinda cool from the angle shown here the different HOC between the yards.


Since I feel this is relative to the topic of reel vs rotary mowing I'll post.

Do I have a *DOMINATION* picture? Ummm, yes I do.  I'm not trying to neighbor bash at all. Everyone has their own priorities, lawn budget, and time. You do your thing and I'll do mine.

Here is the line. My grass looked exactly like my neighbors last year.


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## Txmx583 (Jun 8, 2017)

Looks great!!!! I'm enjoying the same results with mine!!!


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## ajmikola (Feb 18, 2017)

MarkV said:


> vanawesome said:
> 
> 
> > man that is so nice!! Do you have any pictures of the line between your grass and your neighbors? Looks kinda cool from the angle shown here the different HOC between the yards.
> ...


Love a good domination line!


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