Tuomey Turfgrass Consulting, LLC
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My Blog
My Blog
Blog
Tools and Equipment – Mine and Yours
| Posted on January 29, 2016 at 2:13 PM |
comments (359)
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I’ve been wanting to do this for a
long time. I want to post some pictures
of my equipment, machines and tools I use for having the best lawn and
landscape in the world. And, maybe at
some point, you will post or send me pictures of your stuff. Do you have a special tool or piece of equipment
you want to show off? Email me at: Explain what it is. Get as detailed as you want. And, tell us why you love it so much…or maybe
why you hate it. My first love is my tractor. I have 4 implements I tow behind it (I will
get in to those later). Many of my friends
know the story behind my tractor. When I
first bought it, I told my wife it was a surprise birthday gift for her. I brought her out to the shed so she could see
what I got her. That joke did not go
over well. There was an actual gift so I
lived to tell about it. But, this
tractor has been a BIG help and is an awesome piece of equipment. In May of 2016 she will be 6 years old (the
tractor, not my wife). She has a little
over 200 hours on it (again, talking about the tractor). My wife now says that she is so nice because she
lets me ride “her tractor” to mow the lawn any time I like. The tractor is a John Deere, X300, with a 42inch/107cm
(“Edge Extra” Cutting System) mower deck.
She has a dry weight of 704 pounds and is powered by an 18.5 horsepower
iTorque Power System; V-Twin, air cooled engine, that is 36.8
cu in./603 cc. The transmission is a Twin Touch hydrostatic,
K-46. The electric system is 15 amps and
requires a battery with 340 cold crank amps.
The fuel tank holds 3.3 U.S. gal/12.5
L. And, she has an incredible, mind
blowing, top speed of 5.5 mph/8.9 km/h. Brand new, this
mower costs about $3,000.00 to $3,500.00.
I estimate the current value of my mower about $2,700.00. These mowers retain their value well. Here’s a few pics
of this work horse:    As you can see, I
added some features to this tractor.
Besides the flames, the hub caps, the camouflage seat cover and the
skull & crossbones; she has some additions that are quite important. The first addition you really cannot
see. It is the mulching kit. The kit comes with a plug or a block that
covers the side discharge chute. And it
comes with two mulching blades. So, every
time I switch out the blades, I use the “mulching” blades, not the “side
discharge” blades or the “rear discharge” blades. (Rear discharge blades are
for when you have one of those bagging devices mounted on the rear of the
tractor and the clippings are shot up a tube from the side of the deck into the
bags in the back.) The mulching
attachment was easy to install and cost a little over $100.00. Here’s a pic of what it looks like with the
mulching attachment installed, a view from the bottom of the deck:  Another good idea
was to install the “Front Brush Guard”.
This thing is pretty strong. It
has come in contact with my trees, my fence, my fence posts, my house –
everything. The hood of the tractor is
some fairly light weight plastic/fiberglass.
The first time the front of my tractor would have come in contact with
anything listed above, it would have destroyed the hood. A new hood costs @ $580.00. The brush guard costs @ $130.00. Here’s a picture of the front brush guard:  Safety dictates that you always
walk your turf area before you mow. You
want to make sure you identify and remove anything that you don’t want your mower
to hit or go over – sticks, stones; any sort of debris. Some things in the turf area can either cause
damage to the mower or be propelled some ways away – hitting a vehicle, a glass
window, of maybe even a person.
Sometimes I miss things in the turf area and I do not want to shut down
mowing operations by having to walk to the trash can with items all the time. So, if I see something, I just shut down the
moving blades, put the mower’s parking brake on, go fetch whatever I see in the
turf area, put it in the cargo bucket mounted on the rear of the tractor, and
then drive on with the mission. This
bucket is also good for holding shears, gloves, shovels – any other tools or
gear you may need while you are running around the property. Besides, it looks cool. That was @ $40.00. Here’s a picture of one up close:  My next topic was gonna be about
maintenance. But, before I get into
that, here’s a picture of one of my Turfgrass Warriors in Arlington, VA. This is Rick.
Rick is a very special TURFGRASS WARRIOR because he uses a self-propelled
(No Engine!), reel mower. Most of us are
familiar with a “rotary” mower that is powered by a gas engine (some are
electric). On a rotary mower, the blade
rotates parallel to the ground like a helicopter. It cuts the grass by impact. Sometimes (especially if your blade is not
real sharp) the grass can be torn or shredded.
With a reel mower, the bands of blades are rotated perpendicular to the
ground and the grass leaves are cut like using scissors. Reel mowers (powered ones) are what is used
on golf courses and other high quality sports turf areas. Reel mowers like Eric’s are quiet, cut very
well, and do not emit pollution. Reel
mowers are also cheap, easy to maintain and provide excellent PT (Physical
Training). Rick’s yard is maybe 4 to 5
thousand square feet. That’s real good
PT. (Maybe I should say “REEL” good
PT.) Rick, you are my hero.  Okay. Now back to maintenance. If you have spent any amount of money on your
tools and/or equipment, you need to keep those things maintained. Especially if you’ve gone out and spent a few
thousand dollars on a large mower. I
told you how much I paid for my tractor.
Some real high end mowers can be upwards to 8 or 10 thousand
dollars. The commercial mowers cost even
more. Even a pair of manual hedge
trimmers need to be serviced; sharpened, lubed, etc. My mower has a digital display
that shows the number of hours it has run.
Most equipment like this does not have an odometer. And, just like your automobile, there is a
service schedule. Always read the owner’s
manual! My X300 has lubrication
intervals every 50 hours – that’s basically injecting the grease fittings with
a grease gun. Those are around the
bigger moving parts – steering assemblies, mower spindles, foot pedals. Of course, I use authorized John Deere
grease. The tractor also has a service
every 100 hours or annually. That
service includes: change engine oil and filter, replace spark plugs, replace air filter
elements (it has 2 elements, a foam pre-filter and a paper cartridge primary
filter), replace fuel filter, clean
engine cooling fins, check mower belt, sharpen
/ replace blades, clean bottom side of deck, check tire pressure.
And then, there is a service every 200 hours. That’s when the valve clearance has to be
checked or adjusted. I do all my
annual/100 hour maintenance after my last cut of the season in the late fall,
before I store the tractor for the winter.
I’ve posted a picture here of the maintenance kit that I purchase every
year. It is the “LG256” kit and costs
about 48 dollars (without shipping). So,
every fall, I not only service the mower, I clean it real well, take the
battery out of it (bring that inside the house) and put a cover on it. Even though the tractor stays in a shed, I
still cover it. I’ve also got a picture
of my mower with the cover on.  This is the home maintenance kit. Here are some pics of the tractor cover I use in the winter.   There are two more
facets to my winter storage routine. I
put in the fuel tank a few ounces of fuel stabilizer, then I fill the fuel tank
as full as I can get it. I run that fuel
stabilizer through the engine for about 5 to 10 minutes. Also, when I pull the two mower blades off of
it, I keep those blades off during storage.
I put the sharp blades back on in the spring. So, in the
spring I’m fairly ready to go. Pull off
the cover. I put the battery back in,
install fresh (SHARP) blades and I’m ready to go. Let’s talk
about blades. I cannot stress enough the
importance of having sharp blades. And
replacing blades yourself is a critical operation. Whether you have a rotary mower or a reel
mower, sharp blades are very important.
Some turfgrass warriors sharpen their own blades, or they have the
blades sharpened by someone else.
Whether you sharpen them or someone else does, you or the other guy
really need to know how to do it properly.
If too much blade material is shaved off on one end, the blades can be
out of balance. Out of balance blades
can damage equipment or be a safety hazard to personnel. Balancing
mower blades on your own is not rocket science, but, again, you really need to
know what you are doing. To
balance the blade, sharpen it first. Many
turfgrass warriors have good luck just hanging the blade from a horizontal nail
sticking out of the wall of the shed or garage.
Put the blade on the nail through the center spindle hole and watch the
heavy end drop. Remove material from the
heavy end until the blade hangs level. For
5 bucks you can buy a blade balancer which consists of a vertical nail that a
cone rests on. Your blade sits on the
cone as you watch the heavy end drop.
Here’s a picture of a good 5 dollar balancer.  Here’s my solution: I buy new mower blades for each mowing season
(spring and fall in this region). I take
the old blades and throw them in the recycle bin. New blades (a set – my mower takes 2 blades)
cost about 48 bucks a piece (without shipping).
The set of new blades comes with fastener nuts and even some written
instructions. Here’s a picture of my blades when they come out of the box:  Some final “safety” thoughts on blade replacement. New or re-sharpened blades can be
dangerous. They can be VERY sharp. I always wear some good thick leather gloves
when handling the blades. Before you do
anything, disconnect the spark plugs!
Because while you are underneath, you don’t want the mower to
start! I can loosen the mounting hardware with a socket and a long “breaker
bar”. You will need leverage. You do not necessarily need an impact
wrench. Do not lube the spindle or the
nut. On my mower there are two “cupped”
washers. I put those back between the
blade and the nut – with the cupped side facing up. Here’s a “breaker bar”:  Another good tool to have is a “mower blade holder”. You have to get the mower blades to hold
still when you are installing or removing the blades. Some say shove a block of wood in there. That is a good “field expedient” method, but
it never worked well for me. A blade
holder costs about 10 bucks. Here’s 3 pictures of one:    Now, above, I
mentioned the valve clearance. That
maintenance activity is a little beyond my capability. So, I get the local dealer involved. There are two dealers in my vicinity. One in Maryland will come pick up your
tractor and take it back to their shop. Unfortunately, that takes a long time in my opinion – and you are without
your tractor for that period. A
different dealer in Virginia will come to your house and do the maintenance
right there, on the spot. It is not
cheap. But when you need an expert for
something, you sometimes gotta suck it up.
Here are some pics of the maintenance guy doing the maintenance on my tractor
in my front yard/driveway. They have
some real cool trucks, completely outfitted w/ welders, lifts, cranes,
generators, spare parts – everything.
These pictures are when he did the valve clearance about a year and a
half ago. I had him do all the fall
service I usually do myself. I figured –
why not – he’s here anyway. But, I did
hand him my LG256 kit I had. Saved some
money on parts. Afterward, I just drove
the tractor into the shed and got her ready for winter storage.    That's about it for now. I'm still waiting for you all to send me pictures of your stuff. |