Roller mower

Roller mower, or rollermower, is a term generally applied to tractor-powered multi-spindled rotary mowers that have full width rollers front and rear. Most rollermowers attach to a four-wheeled tractor via the three-point linkage and are powered by the tractor’s power take-off (PTO), though larger models connect three or more complete mowing decks to a separate chassis that is towed behind the tractor. Good rollermowers can produce a finish rivalling that of reel (cylinder) mowers while generally being far more robust and requiring considerably less maintenance. [http://www.trimaxmowers.com/default.htm?http://www.trimaxmowers.com/mower-type.htm~homeFrame. Retrieved April 30, 2008.] Modern machines can also cope efficiently with a wider range of grass lengths and densities than cylinder mowers.

The original developer of the rollermower is uncertain, but Howard Rotavator Pty Ltd manufactured and sold the 72RLM (later the HS20RLM/180) Rollamowa in Australia from the early 1970s [http://www.howard-australia.com, 2008.] . These were linkage-mounted three-spindled rotary mowers with a cutting width of 1.8m (72”). A larger version (HS20RLM/300) was also produced before manufacturing ceased in about 1984. The company was absorbed by Howard Australia Pty Ltd and from 1985 sourced its rollermowers from Trimax Industries Ltd (later Trimax Mowing Systems) in New Zealand.

Trimax sold the same machines under the Trimax brand around the world, with the first Californian turf farm purchasing in May 1995. The third generation range of Trimax rollermowers currently includes models with cutting widths from 1.8 to 6.1 m (6 to 20 feet). Trimax Pegasus tri-deck rollermowers are extensively used on turf or sod farms in California and the south-eastern United States. Several UK companies have also manufactured a variety of rollermowers.

Canadian company Progressive Turf Equipment recently claimed to have introduced rollermowers to the turf industry [(Florida Sod Growers Co-operative magazine “"Florida Lawn"”, January 2008)] but this is unlikely as they publicly exhibited their first prototype at the "Turf Producers International" (TPI) show in Memphis in July 2006.

See also: Rotary tiller

References