# Gardena 380c - inherited



## prestoforresto (Jul 8, 2018)

Hi. I have a scotts classic 20" and inherited a Gardena 380c that isn't working the best. I am really looking forward to getting to use it because it is a no touch blade.

The height adjustment fastener was missing so it was probably used a bit without it but I doesn't look like that would damage the assembly.

It pushes without blade noise on the sidewalk and does so easily. On the grass it starts to bog down and make about the same amount of noise as my blade touch mower (scott). Is this normal?

I also did a minor adjustment to the cylinders proximity to the blade, I did not have a feel gauge. It is not making contact with the blade. Cuts a little better but still I can't help but feel the blade is dull. Gardena manual says the blade cannot be sharpened at home.

What should be my next steps in getting this mower in working order?

thanks for reading


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

prestoforresto said:


> Hi. I have a scotts classic 20" and inherited a Gardena 380c that isn't working the best...


Welcome to TLF! I moved this over here to the Equipment subforum. :thumbsup:


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## gene_stl (Oct 29, 2017)

Welcome to the forum!
The Gardena 380c is a push reel mower. It looks to be a very nicely made one , but the "no contact" aspect of their propaganda seems to me to be little more than a bit of sales gimmickry. All reels work pretty much the same and Gardena does not appear to have invented anything particularly new here.

Depending on how handy you are you may resharpen the cylinder and bed knife by back lapping. You probably should see if you can obtain a feeler gauge for setting the bed knife to reel contact. There are many videos demonstrating back lapping. You have to partially disassemble the wheels and attach a power drill to spin the reel backwards after painting the reel blades and bed knife with silicon carbide slurry from 80 to 180 grit.

As you may have noticed there are a lot of people here cutting with reel mowers including triplexes and greens mowers. The companies that build these for golf courses have published a great deal of information on how to sharpen and set them up.One of the consistent themes appears to be that it is better to have a very gentle contact than to have no contact which bends the grass rather than snipping it. Google backlapping reel mowers and you will find lots of you tube videos that demonstrate the process.

Here is one from a company that builds tow behind gang mowers that are based on push mower reels:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI_9k86A3ag


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

The imported reels with no relief angle and zero contact work much better after a substantial relief angle is ground into them.


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## gene_stl (Oct 29, 2017)

Relief angle as well as grinding out nicks too big for back lapping can not be done at home. You may be able to find a lawn care equipment place to do that or failing that try to find a golf course with a friendly mechanic who will relief grind the reel for you and also regrind and reset the bed knife.


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## prestoforresto (Jul 8, 2018)

thanks for those informative responses. I did not know about relief angle before or anything more than backlapping for a home push mower. I am going to have to look around for shop that knows what they are doing (as opposed to one that says "sure we can do that").
The unit is a bit tough to push once it is in the grass.


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