January 18, 2019 - Turf Matters

Efficiency A Priority For Foley Grinders

January 18, 2019/in Machinery, News, Press Release/by CharmianRobson

Efficiency A Priority For Foley Grinders: A vital question for a workshop manager is how to maximise efficiency and minimise labour and maintenance equipment costs. One area to achieve excellent savings is to look at how you maintain the sharpness of your cutting units.

As an illustration of this, Foley and UK distributor ProSport UK Ltd are delighted to acknowledge St Andrews Links Trust for choosing Foley Grinders as part of its maintenance programme for its complete range of professional TORO cylinder mowers.

Foley United’s grinders are designed to be ergonomic and deliver on performance and reliability every time. St Andrews Links Trust like so many other clubs large and small are always looking for the latest techniques and will implement new ideas to deliver best practise, but it’s all about having the information to make that judgement. Which is why Foley United is so consistent in getting over the message about the benefits of relief grinding back to OEM specifications; it is a vital tool in achieving best practise in professional mower grinding.

Ian Robson ProSport UK Ltd the UK & Ireland Importer/Distributor for Foley United explains why relief grinding maximises the performance of reels by giving a factory finish every time.

Firstly, why is having sharp cylinders (reels) that are the correct shape so important anyway? The answer is obvious – unhealthy turf brings a whole host of other issues which are costly to correct. Therefore, prevention is a far more economic approach than a cure.

A huge amount of research and development has gone into designing a cutting unit to produce the cleanest cut possible with the least amount of fraying and tissue damage to the plant. The result is that all manufacturers of grass cutting equipment supply new units with relief ground edges.

Why relief grind?

Tests carried out by leading manufacturers have established that relief ground cylinders stay on cut up to 3 times longer than spun ground ones and require less horse power to drive the unit, resulting in greater fuel efficiency and less stress on the hydraulic power systems. In addition, a relief ground cylinder will withstand the abrasive effects of top dressing far better than one spun ground because the relief edge on both the bed-knife and the cylinder allows the top dressing to clear the cutting blades easily, helping to prevent the dulling effect seen on spun only units.

Continual relief grinding also decreases the squeezing and tearing of the grass as the units get dull, and most importantly it allows the cylinder to be returned to a factory specification perfect cylinder as quickly as possible.

The overall cleaner cut achieved by relief grinding gives a better after-cut appearance, increased recovery rate due to the clean cut of the grass and reduces the stress on components because less horsepower is needed to drive the cylinder.

Horse Power Study

As a reel wears flat and loses shape (becomes coned), more stress and strain is put on the cutting systems.

Using the figures from the above study a 5-gang cutting unit with relief can require up to 4.5 HP (5 x 0.88HP = 4.5HP) to drive the cutting units therefore a 35HP engine has 30.5HP remaining to drive the rest of the traction system. A 5-gang unit which has been spun ground only, can require up to 13Hp (5 x 2.59HP = 13HP) leaving only 22HP to drive the rest of the traction system.

So, it has been established that relief grinding your cutting units saves you money not only by reducing workshop maintenance time with far fewer grinds but also through a reduction in fuel costs and replacement parts.

It is also important to acknowledge what relief grinding does for a reel. By removing metal from the trailing edge of the blade it forms a relief angle, which reduces the contact area of the cutting edges, resulting in less friction, longer wear life.

Typically, when a new mower is delivered the reels will be a perfect cylindrical shape. Over time the blade naturally loses shape, and the sharp edge it arrives with becomes flat and dull, often meaning the reel is no longer a perfect cylinder from end to end. This is referred to as ‘coning’ and a natural point for grinding to take place. The decision then sits between touch-up and spin grinding, or relief grinding. If there is sufficient relief still on the reel then a quick touch-up is fine but once more than 50% of the relief has gone my advice would be to relief grind again and remove any coning. Failure to remove the coning will eventually be seen in an uneven cut appearance of your turf.

But, the main question mentioned at the beginning comes back; how to get the most out of your workshop resources by choosing the most effective method to sharpen your cutting units. The answer is to trust the manufacturers judgement and return the reels as close to the original factory standard as possible, and for that, relief grinding is the best option. The bonus is this method also maximises performance and gives the best cut. www.prosportukltd.com

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Tackle Spring Pests With Nemaslug and Nemasys

January 18, 2019/in Parks and Gardens, Press Release/by Puja Kotecha

Tackle Spring Pests With Nemaslug And Nemasys: As spring edges closer, now is the time of year dedicated to patrolling your garden to make sure no pests take over. If steps are not taken to tackle your pests now, they can become damaging to plants and vegetables as we move into the warmer months. Taking action now will ensure your time and hard effort is not lost.

But as the weather starts to warm up, which pests do I need to tackle first? Over the autumn and winter months, vine weevil larvae stay beneath the soil and feed on roots, causing plants to wilt and die, and if they survive, the grown adult weevils then eat plant leaves during spring and summer, resulting in irregular-shaped notches on the leaves. Also, slugs begin to make an appearance from March as the British climate makes the perfect breeding ground for them.

Nemasys and Nemaslug offer the perfect solutions to pest control, and the various species grown by BASF, in the only specialist nematode production facility in Britain, can protect your plants from a variety of pests. BASF grow six different nematodes, all of which are simply mixed with water and either applied from a watering can with a coarse rose or sprayed onto the foliage and soil, depending on the variety. There is no need to keep children or pets away from treated areas and the whole programme is entirely biological so that all the Nemasys products can be used by organic gardeners.

Nemasys Vine Weevil Killer: apply from March to October

Vine weevils are beetles with a long, thin snout. It is actually the larvae of the weevil that causes the main damage to plants, as they remain in the soil and eat the roots. Nemasys Vine Weevil Killer targets the larvae while they are still in the soil and kills them before they have a chance to cause damage.

A regular regime of using Nemasys Vine Weevil Killer every four weeks throughout the growing season is the best way to control the pets.

Nemaslug: apply from March to October

With each slug laying up to 300 eggs, in up to 50 separate batches during a season – that’s a lot of slugs! It is estimated that each cubic metre of soil can contain around 200 grown slugs. The best time to target slugs is when they are newly hatched, so the period between March – October is ideal. As nematodes are able to travel through the soil, to where the newly hatched and young slugs’ dwell, they are able to attack them before they are even in sight, unlike slug pellets.

A regular regime of using Nemaslug every six weeks throughout this period, from March to October, is the most effective way to keep slugs controlled throughout the growing season which will help keep your plants safe.

Busy Show Season For EcoBunker

January 18, 2019/in Events, Press Release/by Adam Lawrence

Busy Show Season For EcoBunker: Leading synthetic bunker edging solutions provider EcoBunker is getting ready for a busy few weeks as the winter trade show season approaches.

EcoBunker will be exhibiting at the BTME show in Harrogate, England, next week, and then, two weeks later, at the Golf Industry Show in San Diego, California. Chief executive Richard Allen and global construction specialist (and former Walker Cup golfer) Llewelyn Matthews will attend both events, along with a selection of EcoBunker’s global distribution network, and several high-profile clients.

At BTME, EcoBunker was instrumental in creating a new feature for the show –an eighteen-exhibitor ‘scorecard challenge’. All attendees who interact with the eighteen participating exhibitors – and get a stamp on their ‘scorecard’ to illustrate the fact – will be entered into a draw to win £1,000. Find the EcoBunker team on stand 210. Two weeks later, at GIS in San Diego, EcoBunker can be found at booth 2762.

Richard Allen said: “Because of the proximity of the two big trade shows, this is always a busy, but exhilarating part of the year. It’s an opportunity to catch up with old friends and make new ones. Llew and I are especially looking forward to talking to prospective clients about our increasing capacity on the contracting side of the business – he spent much of last year on site at Dumbarnie Links in Scotland, our largest contracting project to date, with Llew and his team building seventy bunkers on the course.”

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

The New Shelton 6 Tonne Universal Sand and Gravel Hopper

January 18, 2019/in Machinery, Press Release/by Admin

The New Shelton 6 Tonne Universal Sand and Gravel Hopper: “Back-fill drainage trenches with both sand and gravel at the flick of switch!”

“One machine multiple capabilities”

Lincolnshire sportsturf drainage experts Shelton are launching their latest machine at the BTME: The 6 Tonne Universal Sand and Gravel Hopper has been designed to fulfil a combination of different tasks associated with backfilling and sand spreading on sportsturf after drainage has been carried out. Its unique design means that customers can choose from a number of different combinations: The Universal base unit is available as standalone unit or is available with the addition of any or all of the following options:

Gravel Cart (Side Discharge Unit)
Sand Spreader
6 Tonne Fast Flow (Centre Fill Unit)

The Universal differs from other hoppers in that it contains a moving floor in the main hopper in the form of a conveyor, which can feed a centre fill to place gravel or sand into the trench after drainage pipes have been installed. The hopper is longer and lower for easier loading and the conveyor can move material forwards or backwards depending on the job required; it will move forward for either a Side Discharge Unit (Gravel Cart) or in reverse to fill a Sand Spreader. The Universal comes complete with electro hydraulic controls including hydraulic motor speed control giving the option to speed up or slow down, depending on the material which is being used. This can all be operated from the tractor cab and the addition of a hydraulic block, rather than valves means that one operation will not affect another, giving optimum control and performance. The ability to backfill both gravel and sand at the flick of a switch gives the added advantage that the backfilling operation is much quicker and can keep up with the trencher, reducing downtime.

Shelton Sportsturtf Drainage will be on stand 281 in the Red Zone at the BTME and The 6 Tonne Universal Sand and Gravel Hopper will be on display at the entrance to the show.