This document is an operator's manual for Toro 5, 7, and 11 Blade Reels designed for Reelmaster® 5500 & 6000 Series. The manual provides detailed instructions for setup, operation, and maintenance of these cutting units.
Function Description
The Toro 5, 7, and 11 Blade Reels are fairway cutting units designed to be attached to Toro Reelmaster® 5500 and 6000 Series traction units. Their primary function is to precisely cut grass on fairways, with adjustable height-of-cut and attitude settings to achieve desired turf conditions. The cutting units are driven by reel motors that feature quick disconnects for easy installation and removal.
Important Technical Specifications
- Reel Construction: Fairway reels, all welded, available with 5, 7, or 11 blades.
- Recommended Height Of Cut Range:
- 5 Blade: 1" to 1-3/4" (25–44 mm)
- 7 Blade: 1/2" to 1" (13–25 mm)
- 11 Blade: 3/8" to 3/4" (10–19 mm)
- Note: For heights-of-cut below 1/2" (13 mm), use bedknife Part No. 93-9774.
- Reel Diameter: 7 in. (178 mm)
- Power Attachment: Reel motors with quick disconnect for easy removal/installation. Cutting units can be driven from either end.
- Height-of-cut & Roller Adjustment: Height-of-cut is adjusted at the rear roller using a quick locating pin and/or threaded micro-adjustment. Front roller position is adjustable to set cutting unit attitude.
- Bedknife And Bedbar Adjustment: Single point adjustment (SPA) mechanism.
- Rollers:
- Front roller: 3” (76 mm) diameter cast Wiehle roller.
- Rear roller: 3” (76 mm) diameter steel full roller.
- Both rollers use heavy-duty ball bearings with two conventional single lip seals and a Toro labyrinth seal for four sealing surfaces to protect bearings.
Optional Equipment
- Dethatching Cutting Unit: Model No. 03871
- Grass Basket Kit: Model No. 03882
- High Torque Reel Motor: Part No. 98-2448
- Wiehle Roller Scraper: Part No. 100-9908
- Rear Roller Scraper Kit: Part No. 100-9920
- RM6000 Shoulder Wiehle Roller: Part No. 99-8675
- RM5500 Shoulder Wiehle Roller: Part No. 100-9911
- RM6000 Shoulder Wiehle Scraper: Part No. 99-8670
- RM5500 Shoulder Wiehle Scraper: Part No. 100-9913
- Low Height-of-Cut Bedknife: Part No. 93-9774 (for HOC below 1/2" (13 mm))
- Gauge Bar Assembly: Part No. 98-1852 (supplied with tractor)
- Angle Indicator: Part No. 99-3503
- Backlapping Brush Assembly: Part No. TOR299100
- Bedknife Screw Tool: Part No. TOR51080
- Cutting Unit Tool Kit: Part No. TOR4070
- Reel Drive Tool: Part No. TOR4074
Usage Features
- Selected Clip Control (Reelmaster 5500): Manually adjustable reel speeds to control selected clip.
- Automatic Clip Control (Reelmaster 6000 Series): Electronic controller automatically adjusts hydraulic flow to reel motors to vary reel speed and maintain proper clip based on traction unit speed and installed cutting unit type (5, 7, or 11 blade) and height-of-cut.
- Adjusting Front Shield: Allows adjustment for desired grass clippings dispersion.
- Adjusting Rear Shield: Can be opened for heavy or wet conditions (front discharge) or closed for best dispersion.
- Adjusting Turf Compensation Spring: Controls fore-aft rotation, ground clearance in transport, and transfers weight from front to rear roller to reduce wave patterns (bobbing) in turf. Adjustments should be made with the cutting unit mounted to the traction unit and lowered to the shop floor.
- Setting Height-of-Cut (HOC): A multi-step procedure ensuring consistent HOC, attitude, and bedknife/reel wear across all cutting units. This involves:
- Adjusting (Parallel) Bedknife to Reel: Ensures light contact between reel and bedknife for even cutting and wear. Toro recommends light contact, but a 0.001-0.002" (0.03-0.05 mm) clearance may be needed for dry/sparse conditions to prevent heat buildup.
- Setting Cutting Unit Attitude: Refers to the angle of the bedknife relative to the ground. Adjustable front and rear brackets allow for variable adjustment. Less aggressive attitudes (e.g., 2 degrees) are for warm season grasses, while more aggressive attitudes (e.g., 6 degrees) are for cool season grasses. Minimum recommended attitude is 1 degree. A two-screw gauge bar (Toro part no. 98-1852) is recommended for consistent attitude setting.
- Leveling Front Roller: Ensures both ends of the front roller are in contact with a level surface, using a leveling plate for accuracy.
- Finalizing Height-of-Cut: Adjusting the rear roller to contact the gauge bar on both sides.
Maintenance Features
- Backlapping: Detailed procedures for both Reelmaster 5500 and 6000 Traction Units.
- Safety Precautions: Emphasizes never placing hands or feet in the reel area, not changing engine speed, and only backlapping at idle speed to prevent serious injury from rotating reels.
- Procedure: Involves positioning the machine, lowering cutting units, stopping the engine, engaging the parking brake, disabling the Enable/Disable switch, and using reel speed selector knobs and backlap knobs to initiate the backlapping process.
- Speed Adjustment: Backlapping speed can be increased by moving the reel speed selector knob (Reelmaster 5500) or H.O.C. selection knob (Reelmaster 6000) towards higher settings.
- Compound Application: Lapping compound is applied with a long-handle brush (Toro Part No. 29–9100).
- Burr Removal: After sharpening, a burr will form on the front edge of the knife, which should be carefully removed with a file without dulling the cutting edge.
- Post-Backlapping: Return backlap knobs to forward flow position, wash off compound, and adjust reel to bedknife as needed.
- Lubrication: Each cutting unit has seven grease fittings that require regular lubrication with No. 2 General Purpose Lithium Base Grease. Lubrication points include the front roller (2), rear roller (2), reel bearings (2), and bedknife adjuster. Lubricating immediately after washing helps purge water from bearings and extends bearing life.
- Reel Bearing Adjustment: Periodically check for reel end play. If end play exists, loosen the set screw, slowly tighten the reel bearing adjustment nut with a spanner wrench until no end play exists, then retighten the set screw. Over-tightening can damage bearings.
- SPA (Single Point Adjustment) Spring Adjustment: If the SPA assembly is removed for servicing, ensure the spring is compressed to a length of 1.25" (32 mm) by tightening the nut on the SPA knob shaft. Note that the SPA assembly has left-handed threads.
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