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California Trimmer Reel Mower Questions

208K views 923 replies 158 participants last post by  JML 
#1 ·
http://caltrimmer.com



Do you have a California Trimmer reel mower and have a question about working on it? Do you have something to share? Ask or share here.
 
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#4 ·
Here's mine:


I have it serviced every spring at Peachtree Mowers but the cut starts to degrade by fall. I probably need to backlap throughout the season but not havent found the kit anywhere to do so. Any advice on what is required to backlap and keep the reel in shape?
 
#5 ·
trc said:
Here's mine:


I have it serviced every spring at Peachtree Mowers but the cut starts to degrade by fall. I probably need to backlap throughout the season but not havent found the kit anywhere to do so. Any advice on what is required to backlap and keep the reel in shape?
All you need is some backlapping compound and figure out how to turn the reel with a cordless drill. Can you take a picture of what's under that cover on the side of the mower.

It's real easy to do and once you do it once or twice you will kick yourself for paying someone else to do it :D
 
#7 ·
I've got a 20" and they are good mowers - just not heavy enough to cut my zoysia. Shoot, now the 27" TruCut has started trying to "float" a little. If you go to caltrimmer.com you can get a number for Evergreen turf equipment. They are nice guys and can hook you up with the backlapping tool. You will have to remove the reel chain and the tool fits over the sprocket.


 
#10 ·
Spammage said:
I've got a 20" and they are good mowers - just not heavy enough to cut my zoysia. Shoot, now the 27" TruCut has started trying to "float" a little. If you go to caltrimmer.com you can get a number for Evergreen turf equipment. They are nice guys and can hook you up with the backlapping tool. You will have to remove the reel chain and the tool fits over the sprocket.


Just called and ordered their backlapping kit which includes the adapter. Thanks Spammage!
 
#19 ·
Shindoman said:
I have a 25" commercial Trimmer. It's a beast for my lawn. It cut's great but where I live in the Pacific Northwest it rains A LOT! When you drop the drive roller it will rip up the lawn. well Annoy's me greatly.
Very nice! Where do you keep that beast in your new/clean garage?

One of the recommendations they have is to give it a push(freewheel) before dropping the drive wheel. I assume you've already tried that though. I often have issues with my TruCut spinning its wheels in the areas of my lawn that stay more wet than the others. Sometimes I just manually push the reel through those areas.

I'm a little late on this but welcome to the forum!
 
#20 ·
SGrabs33 said:
Shindoman said:
I have a 25" commercial Trimmer. It's a beast for my lawn. It cut's great but where I live in the Pacific Northwest it rains A LOT! When you drop the drive roller it will rip up the lawn. well Annoy's me greatly.
Very nice! Where do you keep that beast in your new/clean garage?

One of the recommendations they have is to give it a push(freewheel) before dropping the drive wheel. I assume you've already tried that though. I often have issues with my TruCut spinning its wheels in the areas of my lawn that stay more wet than the others. Sometimes I just manually push the reel through those areas.

I'm a little late on this but welcome to the forum!
I actually keep it in my Garden shed. It's pretty organized also but not as fancy as my garage.
I do always try and give it a bit of a push but at the end of a pass I'm back up against the garden beds and don't have enough room to give it a decent shove. Thanks for the welcome.
 
#21 ·
I just inherited (borrowed-ish) a Trimmer lawn mower 20" from my grandfather-in-law. It will probably end up being mine as I don't see him using it now that he's in a house that has fescue. At 90, he's still mowing his own lawn which is impressive on its own. It's a 1985 and we were able to get it up and going. I just sent it to the shop to have the reel sharpened and the engine looked over because it sat for some time (15 years) and has some parts that need to be replaced. The guy at the shop mentioned that I may at some point want to get a 7 blade for the mower. They run about $300. My question for you all is what is the benefit to a 7 blade vs a 5 blade? Also, is it worth the $300 to invest in a mower this old?
 
#22 ·
Bermuda_Newbie said:
I just inherited (borrowed-ish) a Trimmer lawn mower 20" from my grandfather-in-law. It will probably end up being mine as I don't see him using it now that he's in a house that has fescue. At 90, he's still mowing his own lawn which is impressive on its own. It's a 1985 and we were able to get it up and going. I just sent it to the shop to have the reel sharpened and the engine looked over because it sat for some time (15 years) and has some parts that need to be replaced. The guy at the shop mentioned that I may at some point want to get a 7 blade for the mower. They run about $300. My question for you all is what is the benefit to a 7 blade vs a 5 blade? Also, is it worth the $300 to invest in a mower this old?
Welcome to the forum!

I love the look of the old CalTrimmers. It's also great that they make replacement parts for them too!

The benefit of a 7 blade over a 5 deals with "Frequency of Cut" (FOC). Basically the lower you want to cut the more blades you should have. Most people on here with REELs and warm season grasses have 7 blades or more.

I am a CalTrimmer dealer and can check on the price I could get for you on a new REEL. If you were to replace the reel you should also replace the bearings while your at it. You right that 300 bucks would be quite a bit when a new one retails for around 1049.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

I would love to see some pics of the REEL if you have any!
 
#23 ·
SGrabs33 said:
I am a CalTrimmer dealer and can check on the price I could get for you on a new REEL. If you were to replace the reel you should also replace the bearings while your at it. You right that 300 bucks would be quite a bit when a new one retails for around 1049.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

I would love to see some pics of the REEL if you have any!
I just got it back today. I thought they spray painted it but they said they just cleaned it. Not in bad shape for being 33 years old. I'd love to know if your price is different than the shop for a 7 blade. I don't know that I could install it myself though. They said they tuned it up and it runs better than when it was new because they put some spring in the top part to regulate something. You can see it in the last picture a little bit. I don't know squat about motors so I'll take their word for it. Here's the pictures.









 
#26 ·
Here is what I made up after looking at YouTube videos(probably the same one SGrabs33 mentioned above). Simple and CHEAP. I got a 5/8 deep socket (12 pt., not 6 pt.), drilled and tapped a 1/4x20 hole. The smaller hole with cotter pin is not necessary (IIRC), I think I added it so I could backlap a little push reel mower. Use an extension on a drill (I prefer corded for this) with swivels before and after the extension - works like a dream.



Edit: turns out I had to back lap my McClane (tuning to sell), so I made up the same modified socket (11/16 in this case). In the following picture, strapping drill to long board makes it pretty safe (IMO). This particular drill is nice because it has a setting for 300 RPMs, and even when you add compound it keeps the RPMs consistent.



 
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