Overview Of Cylinder Lawn Mowers

Cylinder lawn mowers are often called Reel Lawn Lawnmowers, named after the multi blade cutting reel, or Roller Lawnmowers, named after the rollers at the front and rear of the machine.

The cylinder lawnmower operates with a spinning reel of six to twelve blades which are welded into a single reel configuration, the spinning reel spins across the top of the grass trapping the leaves between it and the stationary bottom blade.

The effect is exactly like that of a pair of scissors whose blades swish past each other to perform the clean cutting action, like that seen on a bowling green. Both reel blades and bottom blades need to be kept sharp to ensure the maximum quality of cut.

Weight and Flat Rollers

The flat, wide roller on the back of the mower, combine with the heavy weight of the machine to slowly flatten the soil underneath lawns, when further combined with the flat, wide bottom blade, the machine works to produce and maintain a flat finish to lawns that are cut using a cylinder mower. This is often called the bowling green effect. It can take time for a quality effect to occur, especially for new lawns.

There are limitations however, and heavily uneven lawns cannot be repaired or possibly even mowed with a cylinder lawn mower.

Can All Lawns Be Cut With A Cylinder Lawn Mower

The short answer is No. So here are the limitations:

• Long grass cannot be cut with a cylinder lawn mower. Due to its design, cylinder mowers can only be used for frequent lawn mowing.
• Weedy lawns will always be left with the long stalks of the weeds remaining after lawn mowing, this is due to the restrictions of how long grass can be to be cut with a cylinder mower.
• Uneven lawns The flat wide blade system will scalp any high spots, and sink into low spots on uneven lawns, as the machine does what it was designed to do, leave the lawn with a flattened finish. Lawn repairs may need to be carried out first, in order to use a cylinder lawn mower on uneven lawns.
• Sandy lawns cannot be cut with a cylinder lawn mower, because the sand goes through the blade system causing it to become blunt almost instantly. Mowing sandy lawns generally require the blades to be sharpened afterward. The bearings and other moving parts on this machine are also susceptible to damage from sand.

Cylinder Lawn Mower Cutting Heights

Typically, cylinder lawn mowers are used at very low heights on Warm Season C4 grasses, to achieve these safe low cutting heights, it is very important to mow the lawn at the correct frequency so the lawn can train its crowns and runners to live at this lower height without ever damaging the lawn plant.