10 Reel Maintenance Tips and Tricks

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This summer, keep your reels in good condition and your cut looking professional with these maintenance items.

  1. Keep reels clean and free of debris and grass build up. The more build up the harder the hydraulics have to work to turn them.
  2. Proper reel to bedknife adjustment is key to keeping a sharp edge on the reels. Reels should run with no contact to the bedknife. The use of a score card or business card works best for setting a proper clearance. Proper adjustment will cut the card without pinching it.
  3. Backlapping reels may be needed more often with the healthy turf. Maintaining the sharp edge on both the reel and the bedknife will ensure a proper cut.
  4. Check HOC often to ensure that nothing has come out of adjustment. Reels have a tendancy to come out of adjustment after several mowings. This is a simple check that can save you from a poor cutting due to different HOC.
  5. Grease reels after you mowed and washed them off to push out any moisture that may have entered during the mowing and washing. Moisture can be drawn into the bearing due to heat so we want to push any of that out with new grease.
  6. Check rollers regularly to ensure there is no play in the bearings. Just a little bit of play in a roller can cause a change in the HOC.
  7. Make sure to check the reels for any twine or long stem plants that may get caught up in the reel. This needs to be removed. These things can damage the seals and cause debris to enter into the bearing housing.
  8. Make sure lift yokes are greased and free moving to ensure proper pivoting of the reels as they mow.
  9. Check reel bearings often for any free play or flat spots. Bad bearings can cause the reel to rifle and you will not be able to maintain your reel to bedknife adjustments.
  10. On fairway reels, you may need to adjust the down pressure of the front roller. Different conditions call for different amounts of down pressure. Remember that no spring pressure means full down pressure of the front roller to the ground. Every move up on the spring pressure will take some weight off of the front roller. Normal conditions the down pressure springs are usually set in the 3rd to 4th hole.