Technical “
Another argument against cylinders is that they can struggle with tall spindly bent grasses and flower heads that are prevalent at certain times of the year
Clumped grass left by a poorly set rotary mower
number of blades will still create the space to allow a large volume of grass in to be cut. Not aiming to mislead, an incorrect mow speed with the wrong cylinder will leave a very poor result in long grass conditions. Another argument against cylinders is that
they can struggle with tall spindly bent grasses and flower heads that are prevalent at certain times of the year. Some cylinder mowers have the option to adjust the cylinder speed, independently of the engine speed. This means you can slow the reels to better cope with these plants but keep your mowing speed up, staying productive. Again, it just comes down to an appreciation of the fundamentals. With this, a trained operator can get great performance from a cylinder in a wide range of conditions.
Operator training and skill: getting the most from the mower
As previously mentioned, operator education and skill can have a larger bearing on the productivity when working with cylinder mowers. Deftly lifting and lowering individual units of a triplex around objects requires some practice. Getting it wrong can lead to repair bills and downtime. Further knowledge is also required to keep the cylinders cutting effectively.
“ Municipal cylinders have had their
adjustment mechanisms developed to be suitable for robust working environments, but an appreciation is still needed to keep it cutting effectively and wear of parts kept to a reasonable level. This additional attention inevitably takes more time. Out-front rotary and flail mowers have much less to consider, but still need to be handled with respect. Its physical size and toughness does mean that, in the wrong hands, it has the potential to increase damage to contoured ground, pavement edges and street furniture.
Maintenance and repair costs: uninvited bills
Despite being engineered for municipal applications; cylinder mowers have more parts that are vulnerable to damage, if misused or if they get tangled up with unseen manhole covers. A heavily damaged cutting cylinder will likely be hundreds of pounds to replace, compared to less than twenty for a rotary blade, and even less for flail blades. The complication of cylinder repair does also often require involving a workshop and the associated increased down time. Rotary and flail blades can usually be
replaced quickly by a trained operator following manufacturers’ guidelines. However, if left
unchecked, rotaries and flail mowers can run up large bills. Costs of replacing blade after blade because of a poorly set up mower can mount up. A triplex cylinder in considerate hands can have comparable repair costs to a rotary. Replacing a single set of bottom blades mid-season, plus a regrind at the end of season, would only come in around 15% more expensive than fitting a new set of rotary blades each month.
Hidden costs: those invisible bills
Whilst repair bills are bold and clear, many costs remain hidden. How much extra time is spent blowing away grass clippings spread from rotary mowers? Or running back over areas to break up clumps of grass? In addition to the potential fuel wasted by rotary and flails through inefficient cutting methods, all of the components up stream are under higher loads. Over time, all of this will increase the chances of a big repair bill and may reduce the life expectancy of the machine in the long run. As previously mentioned, cylinder mowers do take extra attention to operate. That extra attention may help to avoid accidents that would have happened if less notice was taken of the working environment.
Whilst repair bills are bold and clear, many costs remain hidden. How much extra time is spent blowing away grass clippings spread from rotary mowers?
Thrown clippings of a rotary mower 140 I PC AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017
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