9 blade reels for tees? Cancel The title field is required!

1. Fauble Christopher

   
   1/18/2012 2:01 PM

   We moved our tri-plex greens mower to tees and approaches after purchasing a new tri-plex for greens. The quality of cut with our "new" tee mower was awful compared to our old (really old) tri-plex tee mowers. During winter maintenance and sharpening we noticed a difference in the amount of blades on the reels from the old tee mowers and the "new" one. The old ones have 6 or 7 blades and the "new" one has 9. Are fewer blades better at the higher mowing heights?

   
   
   
   
2. Henry Heinz

   

   0 posts
   
   1/19/2012 5:01 AM

   I have mowed tees and approaches before using 11 blades @ .400 and .450 with great results. Are you cutting a lot more grass now with newer units that have more blades? What brand are you running, and do you have adjustable bedknife attitude? There could be a huge difference in the reel setup if the old ones were really worn. Try cutting a half a dozen times or so and see if it cleans up. Give a little more info and I am positive someone on here will get you an answer.
   
   Regards.

   
   
   
   
3. Fauble Christopher

   
   1/19/2012 6:01 AM

   We are running Jacobsen. We are mowing at .500 on bent/rye/poa tees and approaches. It is possible we are cutting more grass with the "new" as the guys always seem to have a problem with the reels getting clogged up with clippings. I am not familiar with the term adjustable bed knife attitude.

   
   
   
   
4. Ashton Alan W

   
   1/19/2012 7:01 AM

   Christopher,
   
   All the items mentioned have a bearing on the quality of cut... and yes, typically, the higher your cutting height is means you need less blades on the reel. All things being equal, if you're trying to mow your tees at the same ground speed with the 11 blade that you used to with the 7 blade you will have trouble with the quality of cut. The first thing you could try to see where you're at is to slow the mowing speed by a third, which will give the reels more time to cut a given area.

   
   
   
   
5. Henry Heinz

   

   0 posts
   
   1/19/2012 7:01 AM

   If your running Jac then you don't have the option of adjusting your knife attitude. You can soften it up by using an extended knife or using different size rollers. At .500 going from a 7 to 9 may make a little difference but still should work good. After all I was mowing bent/poa with 11 @ 400 & 450 and did not see any issues. If the older units were worn badly this can be part of your trouble. With the rye and new reels, make sure your cutting units are very sharp. Also adjust your grass shield, open it up a bit and try it, then if needed close it some. It is possible that the shield setting could be causing you to clog up. And as mentioned in above post, try slowing your speed down just a bit and see what happens.

   
   
   
   
6. Fauble Christopher

   
   1/20/2012 6:01 AM

   Thanks for the input. We are going to try and slow the machine down.

   
   
   
   
7. Dennis Cook

   

   1 posts
   
   1/23/2012 8:01 AM

   Also with your 5 or 6 blade unit, they were probably substantially heavier than the standard jac unit. Jac sells lead bars that go thru the tube in the cutting unit frame that will will add some weight to the units and keep the mowers from bouncing so much and we have found a much more uniform cut using them

   
   
   
   
8. James Smith

   

   112 posts
   
   1/23/2012 9:01 AM

   All great answers.
   
   The issue is not necessarily the height you are cutting but rather the amount you are removing when you cut. When we cut greens we are cutting at .125" 6-7 days a week when we cut tees we are cutting .500" 2-3 days a week. the less mowing you are doing the longer the grass has to grow. 11 bladed reels do not have the area between the blades to pull the grass into for cutting and the speed is not allowing all of the grass needing to be cut the chance to get into the reel. I have cut tees with 11 blade reels but you almost have to cut every day or use a growth regulator to limit the height to be removed during the cut. It is far better and cheaper to cut less days a week with 7 bladed reels (labor, fuel and wear and tear on the machine). the advantage of the 7 bladed reels is that they are also built beefier which helps limit the nicks you may get from tees, rocks and spikes. It is also better to use the thicker bed-knives to help limit the nicks and so forth.
   
   You may try double cutting your tees to see if that will help clean them up.

   
   
   
   
9. Fauble Christopher

   
   1/24/2012 7:01 AM

   Thanks for the additional info.
   
   Chris