Toro 03171 Service Bulletin

Customer Bulletin

Commercial Products

Large Reels #14-31

EdgeSeries Reel & EdgeMax Bedknife Damage

Product: Reelmaster® Cutting Units

Affected Units:

®

Reelmaster

Fairway Cutting Units

Models:

03606, 03607,
03608, 03609,
03675, 03676,
03677, 03678,
03679, 03170,
03171, 03910,
03820, 03821,
03780, 03781,
03485, 03486,
03487, 03488,
03621, 03623,
03639, 03641,
03188, 03189,
03190, 03721,
03722, 03727

Serial Numbers:

316000101 - 499999999

October 16, 2018

Situation:

Some customers may experience broken or damaged reels or bedknives on EdgeSeries
Reelmaster cutting units. After investigating various failures, we have identified two main
symptoms:

• EdgeSeries reel damage to the reel blade(s)

• EdgeMax inserts coming loose

EdgeSeries Reels: Our investigation revealed that Forward Swept Reels (FSR) are
more susceptible to damage when contacting foreign objects. Contact will create a
condition where the bedknife is forced into the reel while turning, causing damage to the
reel blades, weldments and bedknife. The EdgeSeries FSRs have a more aggressive
blade angle, which provides better edge retention but also makes it more likely that the
reel could catch on the bedknife if there is contact with foreign objects.

EdgeMax Bedknives: Bedknife inserts can become damaged for a variety of reasons as
well. The most common reasons are contacting foreign objects (or impacts), excessive
bedknife grinding and general wear or worn past the service limit.

Toro Customer Bulletin LR #14-31 Page 1 of 6

EdgeSeries Reel & EdgeMax Bedknife Damage Reelmaster October 16, 2018

Action Required:

Review and understand the content in this bulletin

EdgeSeries Reels:

1. Verify proper reel and bedknife maintenance as outlined in the Operator’s
Manual

2. A lead-in chamfer is required to help prevent damage to bedknife and/or reel.
Refer to the Operator’s Manual and Figure 5 for more details.

3. The FSR design is more prone to damage since the reel outside diameter
“grows” during impact conditions versus the radial reel design, and thus having a
lead-in chamfer is more important. See Figure 3

4. The operator must understand where the reel damage occurred on the golf
course (steel drainage grates or yardage marker, sprinkler heads, tree roots,
loose bolts, angle of mowing, etc..), and try to reduce the chances for impact.
For instance, lower the sprinkler head, cut tree root out, or change approach
angle to mitigate contact, etc.

5. Continue both machine maintenance and turf maintenance. Some of the items
listed above become exposed over time (erosion, lowering height-of-cut, tree
root growth, etc.).

EdgeMax Bedknives:

For EdgeMax bedknife damage, inspect for proper cutting unit maintenance and
adjustment. If the bedknife is bent at all, the insert will fracture because the tool steel
insert does not bend. Additional considerations:

1. Inspect for signs of impact and address impact conditions as listed above

2. Foreign material such as debris, golf balls, machine hardware, etc. should
always be cleared before mowing

3. Ensure proper grind angles are being used. Refer to the grind angle chart on

Bedknives Reference Chart

4. Worn bedknives will eventually weaken the insert joint. Measure the bedknife wear
per Toro | Reel Mower Sharpening Guidelines and Bedknives Reference Chart

See

Figure 4

Toro Customer Bulletin LR #14-31 Page 2 of 6

EdgeSeries Reel & EdgeMax Bedknife Damage Reelmaster October 16, 2018