Mowing out in the open (part 5)

publication date: Jun 6, 2008

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author/source: David Harris

Richard Ruston points out, “You cannot expect to cut areas such as sports fields as well as rougher areas with longer grass, banks and ditch sides using just one mower.

“Flails have a place on longer grass, and the Ferri ZMTE and ZL bank mowers offer an excellent solution to the more testing areas.”
Bomford Turner’s Chris Tucker comments: “In our view in-line flail mowers can that cut in variable heights, mulch in variable degrees and roll as they cut are the best solution for park managers.

“For 2008 we have introduced the Turbo-Euro 280, a robust inline flail mower with hydraulic side shift of up to half a metre. Driven through five pre-tensioned fan cooled belts from a 1000rpm gearbox, the 32 whale tails flails make easy work of even heavy materials. With adjustable cutting height and a flap to mulch materials right down, this 850kg flail mower is the perfect choice for sports fields.

Bomford Turner also offers the Turbomower Elite range of flail mowers, designed for mulching on all amenity areas and with a sliding headstock allowing the machine to be semi offset. The range can also be front or rear mounted with left or right cut. For tougher conditions, Chris recommends the heavy duty Bomford Bandit range.

Tractor power
An important local authority customer using Massey Ferguson’s GC2300 as a grass-cutting machine throughout the season is Norfolk County Services, the in-house contract division of Norfolk County Council which runs 10 GC2300s dedicated primarily to maintaining smaller amenity and verge-type grass areas, many with awkward or restricted access. The majority of the GC2300s have a 1.22m rotary deck with rearmounted grass collector and there are a couple with mulching mid decks.

Steve Finch, Commercial Services Manager for the grounds maintenance arm of Norfolk County Services, commented: “Having looked at various tractor-mower-collector combinations, we decided that the GC2300 met all of our requirements. The unit is well built, operator-friendly and can be used with or without the collector to suit differing grass lengths and conditions. We like the fact also that the GC2300 has a three-point linkage, mid and rear power take-offs and can be fitted with a front loader, enabling it to be used out-of-season for other jobs, extending its versatility and cost-effectiveness." Major have just installed & delivered two Major TDR16000 Rotary Rollermowers to Oxford City Council. There was tough competition for this tender.

“We liked the strength of the machine, the gearbox drive, the remote control decks and the ability to use the rear deck and wings independently,” explained Andy Harvey, operator & driver for Oxford City Council.

Operator focused design
The first new Ransomes Jacobsen HR 3300T was purchased by Ian White, proprietor of Whitehall Landscapes, the landscaping and grounds care contractor based at Ansley near Nuneaton in Warwickshire. This first machine will be used on golf courses for maintaining rough and semi-rough as well as working on local authority contracts maintaining verges and other green spaces.

He said, “The HR 3300T is a superb machine and it is obvious that it has been built with considerable input by people who operate and maintain this type of out front rotary,” he said.

“I immediately knew that this machine was absolutely right for our business,” he added. “The quality of finish is excellent and that’s attributable to the direct hydraulic drive to the three blades in the deck. It’s also very quiet compared to other similar machines. The control pod with its joystick control for deck lift and lower and momentary weight transfer button is user-friendly and the fact that the deck lifts vertically to almost 90 degrees for blade changing and routine maintenance is a real bonus. Finally, the issue of storage, which has long been a gripe with operators, has been resolved with the addition of carrying racks over the fuel and hydraulic tanks. Altogether, a thoughtful piece of design packaged with some very good features to produce an excellent mower.”

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