The Reel Story: Turf Equipment Maintenance Tips

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Toro_LogoIn the second installment of our series on the importance of using genuine Toro parts when maintaining your turf equipment, we take a look at reels.  Here’s a few tips about reel maintenance and upkeep.

Maintaining Your Reel

In order to keep your reel in good condition there are several things that you will need to keep an eye out for. These things include:

  • The bed knife to reel contact. Where the bed knife and reel make contact, it is important that these are checked each day in order to assure that they are still sharp.
  • Edge Condition- The edges of the reel need to be checked as well. Watch out for places where these are nicked or bent or if they look like they are beginning to dull.
  • Regular Back Lapping – Back lapping of your Toro reels is also necessary. To do this back the bed knife away from the reel to assure that the metals are not touching one another. When the reel is grasped and pulled up and down and from side to side, it should not be able to move. By taking care of this task, you can keep your bedknives sharper between grindings.

Why Maintain Reel Edges?

When the reel edges of your equipment are not properly kept up, your grass can suffer. The grass will not look clean after it is cut, and is more likely to have brown tips that detract from the overall appearance of your lawn. Often there are pieces of grass that simply do not cut, and the equipment itself will be loud and show signs of wear by running louder than it should.

When the edges are sharp, the grass remains much healthier, and the equipment lasts longer. Throughout the life of the mower, it will be much easier to use and will take less time overall to use. The overall task of mowing becomes more pleasurable, and the overall appearance of the lawn will look much better when it is taken care of with a mower that uses reels that have been properly maintained.