OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Walk Behind Lawn Mower Frames Reel Lawn Mowers, Atco & Villiers etc. What are Cylinder / Reel Mowers Used For?

hey everyone.

i want to ask the basic question of what these are used for. a particular type of grass? golf greens?

because im thinking of geting one for the heck of it

cheers

jam2727,

Cylinder mowers can be used on just about any lawn but the best results are on couch and buffalo lawns as you can see the striping (one dark and one light).

You can also get like a checker board affect if you cross cut.

Hope that this is of some help.

okay thanks bruce.

Cylinder mowers have one big advantage, you don't have to push them



cheers gmax

Hi Jam,
Any professional groundsman will tell you that a quality lawn with a velvety close cut pile can only be achieved with regular mowing with a cylinder mower. The grass leaf is cut with a clean scissor like action between the precision ground cutting blades of the cylinder and the fixed bottom blade.

The speed of the blades throws the grass clippings into the grassbox (catcher). It is the rear roller that helps to create the striping effect on the lawn. As Bruce has said, couch and buffalo is preferred, I actually have a kikuyu lawn and my Model 45 Scott Bonnar handles it perfectly. As gmax has commented, they are self propelled which means that little effort is needed for a very large lawn, or extremely easy on a sloping lawn!

By contrast, rotary mowers cut grass by slashing, which tears and induces bruising of the leaf. Cylinder mowers also cut lower than rotaries hence their use on bowling & golf greens and tennis & croquet courts,not forgetting cricket pitches!

Regular cutting using a quality cylinder mower reduces the invasion of coarse grasses and weeds leading to a strong and healthy dense grass sward.
Jam,I hope this helps!
Here endeth the lesson!!