Fine turf mowers are put through their paces at Donnington Wood Bowling Club in Telford, Shropshire
• Protea 510G • Ransomes Jacobsen Superbowl 51 • Toro Greensmaster 1000
Each mower was assessed on set criteria with a score of 1-10 awarded for each category.
1. Was a manual supplied and was it easy to understand?
2. Ease of daily maintenance checks? 3. Setting up the cutting unit? 4. Height of cut adjustment?
5. Access to fuel tank, oil filler cap, grease nipples etc.?
6. Was the machine easy to transport?
7. Clipping collection and grass box removal?
8. Front and rear roller clogging?
9. Quality of cut and appearance of turf after cutting?
10. Weight, balance and manoeuvrability?
11. Were the controls easy to use?
12. How quiet was the machine during operation?
13 Were the vibration levels acceptable?
14.Cleaning down?
In addition Kevin gave his own comments on any extras such as groomers, combs and cassettes, what he felt were the pros of the machine and what, if any, were the cons. Finally, he gave his overall assessment of the machine.
A total of 140 points was available (14 questions). All the mowers were set at a mowing height of 4mm and used to cut the greens every other day. All the machines scored well with the majority being awarded 8 points or above in each category.
The machine with the highest total of points was the Baroness LM56GM (131), dropping just nine points, with the John Deere 220C running it a close second (126). Propping up the table, and by no
means a reflection of poor quality, was the Protea 510G, which is what you might expect from an entry level model.
Please remember that these tests
were conducted on bowls greens. Whilst some of the disciplines will be similar to golf, the requirements of football, rugby, tennis, cricket and others will be considerably different. Whilst comparison tests can offer helpful tips and counterpoints Pitchcare always recommend that users demo the machines they are interested in to be absolutely sure that they will serve their intended purpose. Pitchcare are grateful to the manufacturers for their assistance in conducting these tests and to Kevin Moult for his not inconsiderable time and effort.
The full article will appear on the
Pitchcare website at
www.pitchcare.com during July.
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