Buying advice

Q: Why use a tractor-mounted mower?

A: Whether it is a golf course, playing field, park or turf farm, the grass needs cutting. And as it is the most frequent grounds maintenance operation, it makes sense to undertake it as efficiently as possible. That means covering the ground in quick time, with few turns. Tractor-mounted and trailed mowers have the ability to cut vast swathes and will produce by far the lowest mowing costs per square metre per year. The variety of cutting mechanisms means there will be something available to match the type of vegetation, the frequency of cut and other conditions. As they take power from the tractor, these mowers are cheaper to buy than equivalent ride-ons. But, of course, you do need a tractor of suitable size, weight and power.

Q: What type is best?

A: The selection of tractor-mounted or trailed mowers will involve factors such as topography, access to the sites and the required standard of finish. Running costs and reliability should also be investigated. Undulating ground will require floating heads or articulating units to minimise scalping.

Cylinder mowers are renowned for their quality finish - assuming the reels have been properly maintained, are in good condition and are correctly set. There are also rotaries and flail mowers that give very acceptable cuts where a quality finish is required. Many are now offered with collection facilities to give a well-manicured after-cut appearance. For heavy-duty applications choose a slasher-type rotary or a flail.

Q: What features should be considered on cylinder gang mowers?

A: Although they use the same cutting mechanism as pedestrian and ride-on cylinder mowers, the reels on a gang mower tend to be of larger diameter. The cylinder blades and the bedknife are also tougher so they can cope with the work involved. Gangs of three, five and seven are common for grounds maintenance and they may be direct-mounted or trailed. Gangs with a greater number of units are used by turf growers.

Trailed gangs that work off a land wheel are the cheapest to buy. They are simple to hitch and use, and have a lever-operated clutch to engage and disengage the drive from the wheel to the cutting unit. For transport, cutting units must be hitched into the transport position and locked in place.

Other trailed gang mowers are driven by the tractor's PTO and through a gearbox or hydraulic pump and motor on each cylinder. Direct-mounted gang mowers also feature a hydraulic motor drive on each reel, so reel speed can be set to suit the conditions.

Hydraulic gang mowers have units that can be raised and lowered while mowing, making the machine more manoeuvrable and enabling it to operate in areas that would be impossible using the full cutting width.

Q: What considerations are important for rotaries and flail mowers?

A: Both types can be found in gang formation these days - useful where the area is large or where the ground is undulating - but more commonly these mowers are of single-deck format. It is usual for rotaries and flail mowers to be PTO-driven through a gearbox and V belts, although there are engine-powered versions for use behind small tractors and all-terrain vehicles.

Flails are particularly useful for cutting coarse or long grass and rough vegetation where the cut is undertaken annually but, in recent years, improvements to flail mowers mean many are now suitable for use on playing fields.

Rotary and flail mowers tend to be supported on castor wheels and it is here that the adjustment is made to cutting height. Some flail mowers have hoppers to collect clippings and these models tend to be capable of tackling other tasks such as scarification.

Q: What's new?

A: Trimax's third-generation Pegasus replaces the flagship Series 2 and offers features to reduce downtime and optimise cutting performance. The roller bearings have been enhanced and changes to mower-deck construction have improved cut-height accuracy, the latter being supplemented by new easy-to-read height indicators.

Suitable for parks, golf courses and sports grounds, Major Equipment's new 3.2m 11000 and 4.6m 15000 roller-mowers have a four-point pivot system to ensure constant contact with undulating ground. The machines offer the option of front- or rear-mounted operation and cut height is adjustable down to 12mm. Tractor requirement is 35hp.

Described as setting a new standard in roller-mower design, the Wessex ProLine from Broadwood International will cut down to 10mm. Adjustment is on the full-width front and rear rollers. It has been engineered for faster cutting and reduced downtime for sports grounds, golf courses and municipal areas, and has domed roller ends to eliminate turf scuffing. Cutting widths of 1.8m, 2.4m and 3m are provided by rigid mowers, while a 3.7m cut can be achieved by the folding-wing model.

Campey Turf Care's flail collector Crosmec TER 190, aimed at local authorities, contractors and golf courses, combines a heavy-duty cutting rotor with a high-capacity hopper for direct-tipping into a truck or trailer. It comes in widths of 1.4m, 1.6m and 1.9m for tractors of 50hp or more. Clippings are blown, via a broad chute, into the 6.9cu m collector.

New products from McConnel include the 5.0 Flex folding flail mower for a fine finish, the Magnum Euro in 2.3m, 2.5m and 2.8m widths and the 6m-wide Flex Wing 6000 rotary for large applications.