John Deere rotaries keep on running
Glendale’s fleet of John Deere out-front rotaries based at Leeds could well be the hardest working mowers in the business. The national grounds management company is currently running eighteen 1445 (27hp) and 1545 (31hp) front mowers on a complex and highly intensive grass cutting contract with Leeds City Council Services, which covers a staggering 7.2 million square metres (nearly 1800 acres), cut once a fortnight from March to October.
Glendale was one of the first UK customers to buy the new 1400 Series mowers when they were launched in 2001, and has been using John Deere mowers in its fleet since the early 1990s.
All the Leeds based machines were delivered, by local dealer Bob Wild Grass Machinery, with Trimax flail decks and John Deere’s commercial 157cm (62in) Fastback rear discharge rotary decks. Throughout the season the mowers are serviced monthly; each deck receives a full blade change after every two cuts, and only genuine replacement parts from the dealer are used.
“The first two or three cuts of the year can be difficult, so we find it’s better to put the flails through first and then change to the rotary decks,” explains Glendale’s supervisor Lenny Greenwood. “This gives a more even quality finish across the season, as well as flexibility should weather conditions set off flushes in grass growth.”
With each machine working up to 1000 hours a year, a significant percentage of which is spent on the road, the mowers have understandably suffered a number of mechanical and structural problems. John Deere and Glendale have worked together to overcome these inherent difficulties, with a view to improving the product through ‘sharp-end’ customer feedback. This has involved changes to the oil cooler configuration and strengthening of the chassis, to cope with the arduous demands of modern day commercial grass cutting operations.
Glendale’s company engineer Angus Lindsay adds: “We have tried all the major makes of front rotary mower over the years, and have stuck with John Deere because they take a proactive and realistic approach to addressing product issues. We’re pleased with the response from the company and local dealer when we do experience a problem, as a realistic understanding of the demands placed on equipment in today’s environment benefits all parties in the development of future machinery.”
Just think Charlie, 1800ac once a week... globally... what is the C02 released from mowing all this grass!
How many millions of acres do we mow each week? and people complain about cow farts?
THis global warming thing... would we limit and reduce air travel, mowing our lawns... are we actually serious about this?
Time to go cut some Canola... Cheers!
Glendale’s fleet of John Deere out-front rotaries based at Leeds could well be the hardest working mowers in the business. The national grounds management company is currently running eighteen 1445 (27hp) and 1545 (31hp) front mowers on a complex and highly intensive grass cutting contract with Leeds City Council Services, which covers a staggering 7.2 million square metres (nearly 1800 acres), cut once a fortnight from March to October.
Glendale was one of the first UK customers to buy the new 1400 Series mowers when they were launched in 2001, and has been using John Deere mowers in its fleet since the early 1990s.
All the Leeds based machines were delivered, by local dealer Bob Wild Grass Machinery, with Trimax flail decks and John Deere’s commercial 157cm (62in) Fastback rear discharge rotary decks. Throughout the season the mowers are serviced monthly; each deck receives a full blade change after every two cuts, and only genuine replacement parts from the dealer are used.
“The first two or three cuts of the year can be difficult, so we find it’s better to put the flails through first and then change to the rotary decks,” explains Glendale’s supervisor Lenny Greenwood. “This gives a more even quality finish across the season, as well as flexibility should weather conditions set off flushes in grass growth.”
With each machine working up to 1000 hours a year, a significant percentage of which is spent on the road, the mowers have understandably suffered a number of mechanical and structural problems. John Deere and Glendale have worked together to overcome these inherent difficulties, with a view to improving the product through ‘sharp-end’ customer feedback. This has involved changes to the oil cooler configuration and strengthening of the chassis, to cope with the arduous demands of modern day commercial grass cutting operations.
Glendale’s company engineer Angus Lindsay adds: “We have tried all the major makes of front rotary mower over the years, and have stuck with John Deere because they take a proactive and realistic approach to addressing product issues. We’re pleased with the response from the company and local dealer when we do experience a problem, as a realistic understanding of the demands placed on equipment in today’s environment benefits all parties in the development of future machinery.”
Just think Charlie, 1800ac once a week... globally... what is the C02 released from mowing all this grass!
How many millions of acres do we mow each week? and people complain about cow farts?
THis global warming thing... would we limit and reduce air travel, mowing our lawns... are we actually serious about this?
Time to go cut some Canola... Cheers!
Comment