I'm a newbie still using a regular mower, when do you recommend switching over to the high level Toro Greensmaster, does my grass need to be nicely think like yours?
I just made the leap without any other preparations, you will prob want to sand level after you start reel mowing. Also just be prepared for the mowing commitment, most reelers are mowing every 2-3 days so that is very different from most rotary mower guys who just mow once per week. By nature of mowing low, your lawn will thicken quickly by using a reel mower, they are a game changer for sure!
I no longer have my JDs so I am not sure. Were they using this exact same light? I never had an issue but I don't think I owned it for 8 months after the install.
Yeah man I had the same issue. I adjusted the low idle screw and throttle cable down under the gas tank area. You want the throttle itself (near handle bar) to have a nice range of motion when moving it from low to high rpm. It might take some fiddling around or I know it took me a while to find the sweet spot. I didn't need a new cable though.
Thank you for this video if I could give you 10 thumbs up 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 finally a video on that wire. I been on here looking for 1.5 hrs today and came across your's great job.
@@U2GuitarTutorials Echo eForce56V power head with Idech power rotary scissors. The 2.5 battery doesn't last very long but for my small lawn it's fine. The scissors are pretty expensive so heads up :)
Thinking of switching to a JD260B (7 blade) from my TruCut 27”. Whats the max HOC on the 260? I want to maintain 0.75 to 1” max. Also, do you think the 260 would be good for 6500 sqft of turf, no obstacles to maneuver around, no fence, but somewhat wavy areas on the grade.
I would try to find a gm1600. Grade is a hard call without seeing anything. I have 5k I mow with a 1600 and my swale makes me only be able to mow in one direction or else it scalps. My gm1000 can do a little better but more passes. I have been preferring the 1600 lately but I do mow frequently so maybe that has something to influence it.
@@BermudaBossthanks man- Quick follow up question (really trying to decide on cutting width)- How much extra time on your 5000 sqft would you say it takes to mow if you use your 21” GM1000 vs the 26” JD260B? My thought is that if the narrower mower still doesn’t help a ton on wavey/undualtions/swales then might as well get the wider mower for quicker mow. Also really hard to find the JD220 and GM1000 in the 7 or 8 blade reel that I want
@@RussC123 it's not many more passes with the gm1000 but when it's 98 degrees outside I appreciate the fewer passes with the 26." I assume every lawn is a bit different but on mine I feel like the 26" just handles and cuts slightly better (except maybe in one area in my swale). The 260 can come with either an 11 blade or 7 blade. The 1600 can come with an 8 or 11. I have the 8 on mine currently, really like it. That being said, I've met some folks that hate the size and weight of the bigger machines. I don't think you can go wrong with either size if your lawn is open with not a lot of obstacles to mow around.
@@BermudaBoss super helpful - thanks man! I tend to like the larger machines too. Coming from my 27” TruCut it’s really hard to stomach moving down to a 21” machine.
@@RussC123 I can totally relate, my first greensmower was a JD260 for the same reasoning. I do tend to like the toros better but the JDs can still give a great cut quality.
They jacked the prices up so high in 2024 that it is now well beyond my means. ($6,139... JUST for the mower. This is for the Stirling. No battery and no cartridges. Insane).
@@BermudaBoss hopefully by the end of the year I'll have money to buy lawn equipment to start my lawn business. I'll definitely reachout for your advice concerning what brand of equipment to buy. I never heard of Toro till I seen your video, it's only Jonh Deer that's on TV commercials.
@@jamesiiireese to be honest you probably wouldn't want to run a commercial lawn business with these types of mowers. Mowing this low requires constant mowing just like a golf course, these machines are designed for golf courses and not home lawns. Toro does make some great equipment though for commercial use, good luck and lmk if I can help!
Thanks man!! Been working in the beds a good bit trying to get them ready. The edging tool is pretty good, I like the wide foot pegs! I think ones that have a longer pole (half moon tool) might be easier on the ole back if you are using it a lot. Maybe I'm just getting old though lol!
You are the first person that told me the static cable does not attach to anything inside the tube. I was trying to figure out if it did, apparently it dangles freely. Thanks for the valuable information!
@@LuisGonzalez-bi9px ahh i see. You would need something with shaft that spins counter clockwise. I have not done a full engine swap on those models before.
Thanks Tony! It's definitely not a must but I do feel like it helps a lot. I would still be running my greenworks dethatcher if I didn't have the Allett scarifier. The greenworks was a great little machine.
Thank you for the recommendation on the Allett! I had one question about my bermuda. I scalped at 0.5 and this year I will mainly cut at 0.75 in the summer. Should I scalp lower to not see the canopy?
You're welcome! You'll be fine, the main thing is to keep mowing frequently once it gets to your target height. PGR will be your friend especially the lower you go. Hope this helps!
Decided to sell her to pay for other things 😥 "It's always something" That was the best machine I've owned so far though, I'm hoping I can still dominate this season without it 🤣
Thanks 🙏 I usually just add a top layer but it was getting pretty thick in some areas so decided to remove a good bit of it this season before adding the new.
Excellent video! I’m hoping Reel Rollers or Rolux will come out with a cartridge based system. 😊 I’m trying to hold off until April to do my kickoff scalp. 😉
Thanks 🌞! I wanted to hold off as well but my weekends have gotten too busy 🤣. Tomorrow night is supposed to dip to freezing as well. I believe I saw the RR Revolution was going to have cartridges next year, I'm not positive though. I just sold my nice toro flex so hoping these old girls are good to me this season 😆
@@zachdailyfost4433 I saw that too! I had the regular style cali trimmer and out of the homeowner-type reels thought highly of it. It's great so many new models are coming out. I hope I can get my hands on one some day, they look pretty sweet.
@@zachdailyfost4433 can't go wrong with the Honda. I'm telling ya, Allett is going to have a dang hard time selling here if they don't change something. Remember when everyone was itching to pay top dollar for Swardman and what a piece of crap those turned out to be hahaha! Hopefully Cali will deliver something nice.
I think your "redneck engineering" gauge was just fine! Simple, inexpensive and robust. Accuracy to less than a thousandth of an inch can be handy in the workshop, but isn't really needed when you're trimming an plant that's so flexible, and continuously growing in any case. I just came to find out if I should be measuring the blade height of my reel mower, or the length of grass blades left behind. They tend to bend over before being cut, so the grass is longer than the blade height
@BermudaBoss I do have a dial gauge and digital calipers. But they stay in the workshop. Actually the calipers are great because they do fractional inches as well as thousandths. General Tools brand. Way cheaper than Mitutoyo, but nicer given the factional inches option. As for your gadget, a dial indicator can be useful for many things, so I hope you can unbolt it from this particular gauge
The number of times a homeowner is going to mow a lawn after dark is likely to be so small that it makes me think the lights on these greensmowers are sort of pointless for residential use. How many times do you actually mow in the dark before the neighbors complain?
I don't personally mow in the dark but I know several guys that get home later in the day from work and can't finish before sundown. I'm sure there's others out there that like early mornings as well. The engines are honda gx120 and if properly running they aren't very loud. Plus, this light just looks way better 😎
@@99ZebraCakes haha appreciate it man! My wife does most of it now and she is better than I am. I mostly do the heavy lifting lol. We are putting in a few new plants this year so kinda stoked to see how these turn out.
Appreciate your advice on getting into reel mowing. Do you think the 11 blade reel is ok mowing at 3/4”? I’ll be mowing every other day in the growing season. Can you change to a different reel on the 220?
Awesome! The 11 is fine at that height if you mow frequently. I've seen some folks run a 9 blade on the 220 but unless you need a new reel, it's prob not worth doing.
Nice! I want to say there are around 10 but not positive off the top of my head. If you have a groomer there should be 2 more. There is even one or two under the presence bail area (underneath the green front cover) if I recall correctly. If you download the service manual it will show you where they all are. I do use the JD polyurea grease.
I start out pretty low scalping around .25 then maintain up to .5 then usually finish season around .75. I think when I first started reeling I stayed around .75 though, still looked great👍
@LawnmowerMaster the one thing I hate about allett is the parts and pricing. You have to go through allett and they don't post any prices, you have to ask about every part which annoys me to no end. As for the RR 26, it's pretty much a rebranded mower but we shall see how they hold up with time. I usually don't buy first gen anything but would like to get my hands on one. 🙌
@@BermudaBoss I ended up buying the Kensington 20 with a Honda motor and a scarifier for my Tiffway 419. Any suggestions or tips before mowing with it for the first time?
Thinking about getting a new Cali early next year. testing one out and i like it. Ideally the Reels Revolution, but cost is too high for me. McLane's have also gotten too high also. The fertilizing, irrigation, and some of my landscaping company will service.
You were right about me not needing another mower. I scarified today and the quality of cut from my Stirling 51 improved dramatically. I also got the big 12AH battery which adds more weight than the standard EGO 5AH batteries. Still might look into a JD 180SL. 😅 Mowing Tifway 419, Texas Gulf Coast.
