# Uneven Mow



## mantnyh (Aug 12, 2018)

Looking for a little help here. It seems I just cannot get my JD220b greensmower to mow even. I've leveled with sand this year to help but it just seems to mow a weird pattern. I know my lawn isn't perfectly flat but where it is flat it still does it. It like one direction is taller than the other. Have a look at the picture. I'm mowing at .75". Grass is 419 tifway. Anybody have this issue?


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## driver_7 (Jun 28, 2018)

I'm getting a similar pattern with my 220A, I'm in for answers too. Might try to post over in the John Deere greens mower thread in the equipment section with a link to this post, the folks in the know will see it better there, I think.


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## N LA Hacker (Aug 17, 2018)

Smooth roller on the front?


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## Two9tene (May 27, 2018)

It looks like your mower is catching every single dip and dive. When your are walking behind the mower are you compensating in any way for the undulations? I.e. are you self correcting the mower up or down by either pulling back or pushing up on the handles?

I also noticed a "repeated" pattern in the in the cut. How's the quality of your reel blades and or bedknife?



I can see this pattern throughout the photo it's not just the ones I pointed out. This would lead me to believe that there is an issue with the reel or bedknife, or a combination of both.

Any other ideas gents?


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## Austinite (Oct 4, 2018)

Interesting. Recently i switched to grooved roller snd started getting a similar pattern. Not as bad but still, not a carpet-like cut.

Im Not saying the grooved roller caused it but that was the only change i made. Had to leave town but get back tonight and I'm gonna put the smooth roller back on as an elimination process.


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## ABC123 (Jul 14, 2017)

Try to lift up on the handle, might be floating too much on the front roller.


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## crzipilot (Jul 4, 2018)

I had that or worse on a GM1000. Figured it was uneven grass. Went to back lap the reel, making adjustments etc...the bedknife seemed to be not even all the way across. Adjusted it by feel, back lapped it and the ridges have gone way down. So look at your bedknife to reel adjustment. It might be off on once side just enough to cause that ridge.


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## Kballen11 (Mar 26, 2018)

If you have a lot of thatch built up greens mowers tend to float, which will give you an uneven cut! Your grass will get spongy if you have a lot of thatch @J_nick want to add anything here?


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## J_nick (Jan 28, 2017)

Kballen11 said:


> If you have a lot of thatch built up greens mowers tend to float, which will give you an uneven cut! Your grass will get spongy if you have a lot of thatch @J_nick want to add anything here?


Sounds good to me.

I'm getting the same thing just not quite as bad. I plan to verticut next week.


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## Spammage (Apr 30, 2017)

J_nick said:


> Kballen11 said:
> 
> 
> > If you have a lot of thatch built up greens mowers tend to float, which will give you an uneven cut! Your grass will get spongy if you have a lot of thatch @J_nick want to add anything here?
> ...


Yep, I'm starting to get it as well. Already looking at the long range forecast to see if we're cooling off anytime soon to help both the grass and myself.


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## Keepin It Reel (Feb 20, 2019)

My GM1000 does this really bad in my backyard which has never been leveled but my Tru Cut is smooth as can be.


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## Necrosis (Jul 12, 2018)

Did you ever figure out how to remedy this?


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## Keepin It Reel (Feb 20, 2019)

Necrosis said:


> Did you ever figure out how to remedy this?


Having 2 reel mowers helps narrow it down for me because one does it while the other does not.

Many have agreed here that the weight of a greens mower will show imperfections more than a residential reel such as a Tru Cut or McLane.


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## mantnyh (Aug 12, 2018)

A lot of good feedback. Thanks everyone. I haven't had a chance to get back on here. I have backlapped and it cuts paper evenly all across. I have also checked with a thickness gage. reel to bedknife looks good. The other day I calibrated the HOC across the mower and all was OK. My yard is only a couple years old, so no real thatch build up yet. I lowered the HOC by .125" and semi scalped. I am going to raise it back up and mow again and see if that helps. These greensmowers are hefty and I am sure that does not help matters when the yard is slightly off. I tried to compensate by lifting up on the handle, but it seemed to make it dig in and scalp worse. My yard still looks better than any of my neighbors, but I am still looking for a better cut than I am getting.


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## Keepin It Reel (Feb 20, 2019)

mantnyh said:


> A lot of good feedback. Thanks everyone. I haven't had a chance to get back on here. I have backlapped and it cuts paper evenly all across. I have also checked with a thickness gage. reel to bedknife looks good. The other day I calibrated the HOC across the mower and all was OK. My yard is only a couple years old, so no real thatch build up yet. I lowered the HOC by .125" and semi scalped. I am going to raise it back up and mow again and see if that helps. These greensmowers are hefty and I am sure that does not help matters when the yard is slightly off. I tried to compensate by lifting up on the handle, but it seemed to make it dig in and scalp worse. My yard still looks better than any of my neighbors, but I am still looking for a better cut than I am getting.


Without doing anything else to my yard such as leveling with sand, I can honestly say the Tru Cut is superior compared to the Toro. The cut is night and day.

Owning a greens mower creates more work if you want the look these mowers are designed to provide. For the homeowner who wants the best look he can get with minimal work you can't beat a residential reel mower. I could continue using my Tru Cut without sanding and maintain my backyard at 3/4", no scalping, and a beautiful cut with no hard edges left behind.


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## LoCutt (Jul 29, 2019)

Perhaps the sod you bought wasn't from a very smooth field, or the dirt bed you placed the sod on wasn't level enough. In general, the lower you mow, the more any imperfection shows up. I don't know how effective rolling your lawn would be, but it needs to be smoother. You can topdress when the root system is solidly in place.


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## cglarsen (Dec 28, 2018)

@MeanDean Good to know the Tru-Cut is better for some situations. Do you have a photo of the back cut with the Tru-Cut for comparison? What do you attribute the better cut quality to?


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

Typically the residential mowers have fewer blades which allows you to mow higher or less frequently. While a greensmower will have more blades which will require more frequent mowing so you cut less off each mow but the quality of cut in those situations is way better.


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## Keepin It Reel (Feb 20, 2019)

cglarsen said:


> @MeanDean Good to know the Tru-Cut is better for some situations. Do you have a photo of the back cut with the Tru-Cut for comparison? What do you attribute the better cut quality to?


Yeah, it absolutely was. I did not enjoy using the Toro at all. It was way too cumbersome. I feel a greens mower on a residential lawn with your typical trees, flower beds, fences, patio's, etc...to navigate is like driving a manual in bumper to bumper traffic...stop and go, stop and go...

I tried to like it, I really did but today I sold it and do not regret it one bit.


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Late to the party, but I had quality of cut problems using a GM 1000 until 3 things were done to it.

1. 8 blade reel
2. Clip Kit. Slows down rotational speed of reel. This is important if the mower is used to mow grass higher than .25. 
3. Rear roller was leveled/made parallel with the bedknife. That did away with an obvious stepping to the cut.

I can get the type of stepping seen in your picture @MeanDean What that means to me is that the lawn needs to be cross mowed in several different directions until the grass is thinned out. It can be terrible on lawns that are over fed, over watered, and mowed often but not low enough.

Reason why a Tru-Cut works for you is because you are able to mow high enough to avoid scalping but the lower rotation speed/clip rate mows the high grass correctly. If I ever see that pattern appearing in a lawn I am mowing with the GM 1000, that lawn is mowed in several different directions to thin the lawn out.


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## ctrav (Aug 18, 2018)

Greendoc said:


> Late to the party, but I had quality of cut problems using a GM 1000 until 3 things were done to it.
> 
> 1. 8 blade reel
> 2. Clip Kit. Slows down rotational speed of reel. This is important if the mower is used to mow grass higher than .25.
> ...


What's a clip kit? Have a pic??


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

No Pic. A clip kit is a set of drive pulleys for the reel that slows down the rotational speed of the reel


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## ctrav (Aug 18, 2018)

Greendoc said:


> No Pic. A clip kit is a set of drive pulleys for the reel that slows down the rotational speed of the reel


Thanks...I will do some research as I plan to install an 8 blade over the winter and use it next year after I do some sand leveling!


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