Ive had my rotarola for over a year and its absolutely amazing ...ive added my toro striping kit and it got rid of all the wheel marks you mentioned . The cut is just as good as my old allett reel mower minus all the headaches ....reel mowing is great for RUclips but definitely not the average Joe ,waaay too much work involved just to cut grass .
One mower I would love to see you review is the new revolution from Reel rollers. It sounds like it address a few of the gripes you had with height of cut, and was designed for the recreational home owner
Great video! Golf courses also use rotary/reel mowers because you can mow in the wet. If I imagine my local Irish Golf Club to wait till it's dry they'd never get the course mowed
Although it looks like it does a nice job I am done spending anymore money on equipment. I will use my Liberty 43 until it dies. I already have the best lawn in the neighborhood lol and it doesn't need to be any better. Great video and appreciate you showing the pros and cons. Keep up the great work and your lawn looks great.
I totally understand that and plus this mower isn't cheap on top of it. Definitely not for everyone. I know some people are very scared of getting a reel mower just because of all the maintenance, so I thought I'd throw out another option. Thanks for the comment Keith
Great video mate! For now I'm using a Toro rotary mower with the Toro stripping kit. I've saved up enough for a second hand Toro Greensmaster master, just haven't found one yet. My best friend is a mechanic at the local golf club I'll just pay him for any maintenance I can't do myself 😉.
I've always wanted to try the Rotorola or Toro PS but the cost and need to have a pool table flat lawn has been prohibitive for me. Looks like it does a nice job on your lawn.
The cost is outrageous. Honestly should be priced around 1200 at max. Even that might be pushing it. You don't need a table top lawn per se, but any big undulations or bumps and it's definitely scalping under 1 inch. Other than that I've had zero issues and love the cut quality
I've been considering this mower. I am not crazy about bagging every time though. I understand it has a rear discharge option, but nobody talks much about it. Can you show how that works? Good, bad, feasible to use or not really? Do you lose suction or get clumping when rear discharging? I also wish it had something other than a Briggs engine, but that part is not a deal breaker to me.
It doesn't technically have a rear discharge option unless you rig the back door open somehow. And even then you don't want to open it all the way or you'll just have debris flying at your shins and feet the whole mow. It was only made to bag, which really doesn't bother me much, but I know for some people, especially with big lawns, that this would be preferred. If it's a deal breaker for you, I'd definitely skip it.
Thanks for doing this. I've had my eye on the toro pro-stripe, but last time i checked it was incredibly expensive and hard to find. I needed someone who's gone from reel to rotary to do this comparison. The company that sold me my JD220C decided that they were no longer going to do maintenance on homeowner-owned commercial equipment, and i hate calling around begging a golf course to grind my reel.
Yeah pro stripe is hard to find and they have a split back drum that has nothing but issues from what I've heard. I'm gonna be honest the front tire marks in the stripes are absolutely driving me insane though
@@LAWNLIFE yeah your point on that is giving me a bit of pause, so thanks for being honest. The one thing I don't like about push rotaries are the inverted railroad track look that the wheels give the turf.
This sounds great as an alternative, My honda gets down to 1 inch. I don't think I would ever go down past 3/4 so to me its not worth it for the price. I will continue to sand level my lawn because at the end of the day, that will make the biggest difference. Great video though like always.
Excellent video gives a good insight into reel mowing and the pros and cons,i currently have a rotary mower its the stihl rm655 rs real roller and its similar to the massport but it cuts as high as 4 inches and has great suction on wet grass and leaves a good stripe,i have been thinking about a cylinder mower to get that scissors like cut but this video has given me food for thought
I run a Toro Timemaster (30inch), love the machine. To get better strip pattern, I added weight to the rear flap. (2lbs?) This does prevent me from dropping the mower blade to the lowest 2 settings, but really improved the strips I get on the lawn. Cost was very cheap, because it only cost me some old copper cable and zip ties. Is it dumb if it works? - I am in the south metro of MN, it has been a good year. Water bills look great :-)
Could you pls help out? I would like to grow a grass lawn on concrete outside my kitchen. Unfortunately, I am not allowed to put too much soil on top of the concrete for various reasons. Could you suggest a grass lawn with short roots? What is the minimum soil depth required? Or is my dream lawn impossible ?
Hey lawn life, I just bought the "Blackout Series" perennial rye Grass and I need tips badly, because the lawn isn't performing at all. I've applied fungicide, propiconazole and Azoxystrobin. Watering it but it looks like it is still suffering from heat stress and dying off. I've done Renos on my lawn before and 1 Reno I had to do in the summer and the lawn has never suffered like this. So I just need to know what I am doing wrong or missing.
Where there any other models or brands you were considering purchasing before you bought this one? Do they have a dealer in Minneapolis metro area? Thank you!!
Hi bro iam from France my name is Yann I like very much your video! I see your video every day !! I have a probleme in my lawn I have very much plantin and clovers I use teenacity but on the plantin and the clovers he doesn’t work very mutch can you help my take my witch product if I use? Sorry for my English 🤘🏽
That's a great mower, but the Toro Pro stripe 560 is the mower to have to solve all of the negatives you mentioned. But buyers beware the mower runs about 3300.00.
Hello, I sprayed Herbicide (chlorimuron ethyl) on my turf last year. The grass has has grown nice and fine without any weeds this summer but the flowers in the beds aren't growing at all. I planted them twice but stunted growth. Can you help me please? Sad to see the garden with good grass and no flowers. Hope you will respond
I call it as I see it. Cut quality is definitely better. The lines in the stripes are starting to drive me insane though. As for a rider, you're best bet is a striper kit. You won't really get the golf course look though unless you lawn is very flat where you can mow low without scalping
I know it's what you do. But I wouldn't be complaining about worrying where my cameras are because of the lever cuts the motor off. Which by the way you can bypass Add a zip tie do the motor cut off. I have things to pick up while I'm mowing. Live under an oak tree in South Florida put grass that grows way too fast during the rainy season. Keep a pair of fingernail clippers in your back pocket, box cutter, Dykes whatever you're poison.
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Ive had my rotarola for over a year and its absolutely amazing ...ive added my toro striping kit and it got rid of all the wheel marks you mentioned . The cut is just as good as my old allett reel mower minus all the headaches ....reel mowing is great for RUclips but definitely not the average Joe ,waaay too much work involved just to cut grass .
You added a toro stripe kit to the rotarola?
One mower I would love to see you review is the new revolution from Reel rollers. It sounds like it address a few of the gripes you had with height of cut, and was designed for the recreational home owner
Great video!
Golf courses also use rotary/reel mowers because you can mow in the wet. If I imagine my local Irish Golf Club to wait till it's dry they'd never get the course mowed
Great stuff. Not easy to find a place to grind a reel mower
Definitely not. Plus hauling it back and forth is a PITA! Thanks for stopping by Ginja!
Good overview of this mower bud!
my simplicity rider stripes very good with high lift blades. Once you drop your deck the weight of deck is riding on roller
Although it looks like it does a nice job I am done spending anymore money on equipment. I will use my Liberty 43 until it dies. I already have the best lawn in the neighborhood lol and it doesn't need to be any better. Great video and appreciate you showing the pros and cons. Keep up the great work and your lawn looks great.
I totally understand that and plus this mower isn't cheap on top of it. Definitely not for everyone. I know some people are very scared of getting a reel mower just because of all the maintenance, so I thought I'd throw out another option. Thanks for the comment Keith
Great video mate! For now I'm using a Toro rotary mower with the Toro stripping kit. I've saved up enough for a second hand Toro Greensmaster master, just haven't found one yet. My best friend is a mechanic at the local golf club I'll just pay him for any maintenance I can't do myself 😉.
Awesome man. Reel mowing is definitely fun when everything is going right. When it's not, it's definitely not. 😂 Good luck on your search!
I have an electric rotary mower and I home built a roller that is roughly 30lbs and I couldn't be happier.
I've always wanted to try the Rotorola or Toro PS but the cost and need to have a pool table flat lawn has been prohibitive for me. Looks like it does a nice job on your lawn.
The cost is outrageous. Honestly should be priced around 1200 at max. Even that might be pushing it. You don't need a table top lawn per se, but any big undulations or bumps and it's definitely scalping under 1 inch. Other than that I've had zero issues and love the cut quality
Your lawn is looking great with all the rain we have had in MN
Thanks man! Rain is definitely helping. Probably too much to be honest haha
@@LAWNLIFE way too much rain! I can never get out to mow when I want!
How did you keep Fireball Rye grass green in the heat wave?
I've been considering this mower. I am not crazy about bagging every time though. I understand it has a rear discharge option, but nobody talks much about it. Can you show how that works? Good, bad, feasible to use or not really? Do you lose suction or get clumping when rear discharging?
I also wish it had something other than a Briggs engine, but that part is not a deal breaker to me.
Mulching would be preferred.
It doesn't technically have a rear discharge option unless you rig the back door open somehow. And even then you don't want to open it all the way or you'll just have debris flying at your shins and feet the whole mow. It was only made to bag, which really doesn't bother me much, but I know for some people, especially with big lawns, that this would be preferred. If it's a deal breaker for you, I'd definitely skip it.
Great review. Some of the bad are deal breakers for me so thanks for pointing them out. Your lawn does look amazing though.
May I ask what lawn seeds you have because the lawn thickness is just stunning?
Thanks for doing this. I've had my eye on the toro pro-stripe, but last time i checked it was incredibly expensive and hard to find.
I needed someone who's gone from reel to rotary to do this comparison. The company that sold me my JD220C decided that they were no longer going to do maintenance on homeowner-owned commercial equipment, and i hate calling around begging a golf course to grind my reel.
Yeah pro stripe is hard to find and they have a split back drum that has nothing but issues from what I've heard. I'm gonna be honest the front tire marks in the stripes are absolutely driving me insane though
@@LAWNLIFE yeah your point on that is giving me a bit of pause, so thanks for being honest. The one thing I don't like about push rotaries are the inverted railroad track look that the wheels give the turf.
Man I have seen these and I’m telling you EVERY TIME I look for them they are outing stock lol it cuts how I expect though!
Hit up Seago. They have them now. They were out of stock last fall!
Ryan Knorr and Pete from GCI have them on their site.
This sounds great as an alternative, My honda gets down to 1 inch. I don't think I would ever go down past 3/4 so to me its not worth it for the price. I will continue to sand level my lawn because at the end of the day, that will make the biggest difference. Great video though like always.
Hit it on the head man. If you don't plan on going under an inch definitely stick with what's working for you
Excellent video gives a good insight into reel mowing and the pros and cons,i currently have a rotary mower its the stihl rm655 rs real roller and its similar to the massport but it cuts as high as 4 inches and has great suction on wet grass and leaves a good stripe,i have been thinking about a cylinder mower to get that scissors like cut but this video has given me food for thought
I run a Toro Timemaster (30inch), love the machine. To get better strip pattern, I added weight to the rear flap. (2lbs?) This does prevent me from dropping the mower blade to the lowest 2 settings, but really improved the strips I get on the lawn. Cost was very cheap, because it only cost me some old copper cable and zip ties. Is it dumb if it works? - I am in the south metro of MN, it has been a good year. Water bills look great :-)
Do what you gotta do man. If it's working for you, don't change it. The water bill has definitely been nice! Almost non-existent!
Could you pls help out?
I would like to grow a grass lawn on concrete outside my kitchen. Unfortunately, I am not allowed to put too much soil on top of the concrete for various reasons. Could you suggest a grass lawn with short roots? What is the minimum soil depth required? Or is my dream lawn impossible ?
Hey lawn life, I just bought the "Blackout Series" perennial rye Grass and I need tips badly, because the lawn isn't performing at all. I've applied fungicide, propiconazole and Azoxystrobin. Watering it but it looks like it is still suffering from heat stress and dying off. I've done Renos on my lawn before and 1 Reno I had to do in the summer and the lawn has never suffered like this. So I just need to know what I am doing wrong or missing.
@@londonsmith6643 email me at jesse@thelawnlife.com I'll help you as much as I can. Phone call might be easier
@lawnlife do you use lime?
Where there any other models or brands you were considering purchasing before you bought this one? Do they have a dealer in Minneapolis metro area? Thank you!!
Any thoughts on Irrigreen sprinklers? Saw they are out of MN.
When is fireball two going to be for sale?
Hi bro iam from France my name is Yann I like very much your video!
I see your video every day !!
I have a probleme in my lawn I have very much plantin and clovers I use teenacity but on the plantin and the clovers he doesn’t work very mutch can you help my take my witch product if I use?
Sorry for my English 🤘🏽
A stripe is not what makes a golf course lawn. It is the quality of cut of the machine.
Have you ever used a product called Urban Farms Liquid Fertilizer? Has kelp, humic acid, bat guano, worm castings.
That's a great mower, but the Toro Pro stripe 560 is the mower to have to solve all of the negatives you mentioned. But buyers beware the mower runs about 3300.00.
Surprised you didn't get the Toro mower that is like this Mansport mower?? I think they are difficult to find .....??
Hello, I sprayed Herbicide (chlorimuron ethyl) on my turf last year. The grass has has grown nice and fine without any weeds this summer but the flowers in the beds aren't growing at all. I planted them twice but stunted growth. Can you help me please? Sad to see the garden with good grass and no flowers. Hope you will respond
Thank you for this video. I've been looking for a mower like this.
For sure! Thanks for watching!!
I’m still getting a Rolux
Do you man. This isn't for everyone. Let me know how you like it!
My rotary mower is not very heavy, and it has normal 4 wheels. Is there any type on striping kit you recommend?
Any striping kit with decent reviews should do the trick. Honestly I've never owned one. I should do some a striper kit stripe off.
@@LAWNLIFE that would be a great video
Damn, better than a reel mower? Lawn community gunna be rumbling 😂 any recommendations for something similar in a riding lawn mower?
I call it as I see it. Cut quality is definitely better. The lines in the stripes are starting to drive me insane though. As for a rider, you're best bet is a striper kit. You won't really get the golf course look though unless you lawn is very flat where you can mow low without scalping
I know it's what you do. But I wouldn't be complaining about worrying where my cameras are because of the lever cuts the motor off. Which by the way you can bypass
Add a zip tie do the motor cut off. I have things to pick up while I'm mowing. Live under an oak tree in South Florida put grass that grows way too fast during the rainy season. Keep a pair of fingernail clippers in your back pocket, box cutter, Dykes whatever you're poison.
I have the engage handle taped down so it never turns off
I was thinking about doing something similar to this.
I wish they had an electric version
That would be nice!
How much is it
😱$1650? That's a hell no from me, dawg. I'll keep my 21'' EGO dual blade with home made PVC striper for 1/4 the price but 98% of the look.
Hi !!! I have a greensmaster 1000 and a Mclane needs to be serviced, can you share the place that I can send them to get the reel grinding. Thanks!!!
Where are you located?
@@LAWNLIFE hi !!! I am in Lakeville Minnesota
Imagine mowing an entire 500 acre golf course with walk behind mowers.
Loved the video seeing the new rotary mower. Your lawn looks beautiful. What type and cultivar is it?
Add oil, gas, and a 30 pack of Busch Lite and your off and going!
For that price you might as well get a Rolux with a Honda engine for a couple hundred more.
I would buy one if they made it in a 30 inch
“She’s a beaut Clark!”
I love her for now. Give me two months and get back to me 😂
Hey 👋
Lost me at Briggs & Stratton
Not my favorite part of the mower either
Yeah that would be very hard for me. Wish Hayters were available in the US. Also have a B&S but have battery options as well.
If you keep up with the maintenance and don’t abuse it it should last
Lost me at $1650
Briggs and Scrap Iron
Why can't someone make a rotary mower with a front roller instead of wheels and a rear drum? Seems like it wouldn't be too hard.
$1600 for a push mower? 😲 Just a blue collar guy who wants nice grass....but damn!
Not for me, but good video
You lost me at the price 😂
I was expecting 700 bucks.
At $1600 I’m out 😅
Lost me at 1600$ price tag. Just get a 1 inch reel mower for 100 bucks from home depot.
plus shipping. i'll pass
Definitely spendy and not for everyone. Still cheaper than a new reel mower and less maintenance
Stripes does not make a golf course lawn..............
I have an electric rotary mower and I home built a roller that is roughly 30lbs and I couldn't be happier.