What size lawn roller?

[Bulldog26]

I have several res. accounts asking for lawn rolling. What size/lbs. should I use to get the best results? I would have to use my cub to pull it or is thier somthing else I should rent? Thanks
bt

[grandview]

Best thing to use is a 1 ton roller fits on the trailer, if you line up a few got and rent one.

[TRANSMAN]

Sounds like that's the use in this case

okokoko,first why would you roll a lawn??? is it unevern my bumps low areas??? talk to me

Iv seen people roll out the mole and ant hills very prevalent in F.L , but think one of the main uses is for prepping a yard for seeding or "sod laying" after spreading a fresh load of topsoil...

Roll over the topsoil and fill in the low spots etc, until everything is nice and level...

Also seen my neighbor roll after spreading his "grass" seed into soft tilled dirt , and the grass did come up pretty good...

I'm no expert on this for sure , so i`ll be interested to hear some other replies from the guys who use a roller on a more regular basis then i do....

Good question , TRANNY D.

[TRANSMAN]

Just got a e-mail from member on this

we have cool season grass we aerate the lawn the complete opisite if this,you want air to get to the soil not compact it

And heres what i was sent with info suggesting to point to step 2 PREP

From what i read if you have the proper mix of organic soil this "shouldn't" be a problem , and they do use a roller on the mix...

Somthing about "not leaving" large air pockets

https://www.landscapeusa.com/tips/turf.htm

Are these guys writing the steps stupid , unaware or what???? It does say role the area and I'm assuming its the newly spread dirt mix ,/ topsoil ..

I don't personally know because this is not an area that i would claim to be an expert !!!!

OH well , to each their own i guess and everyone has a different approach ...

Sincerely TRANNY D.

[Bulldog26]

Sorrry for the delay guys, bad week. Ok, I have three clients that have called to roll their lawns. Each is a bit different. First one, moles, damage from plowing and four wheeler on soft turf. Second, lots of moles (not a weekly happy to do it while I have the roller rented) third a back braker on me. Very ruff turf, I want to help myself and he is willing to pay for it. All advice welcome.
bt

[TRANSMAN]

Aerating lawns that are mowed and walked on also important every time

I pull a 48 inch roller behind a agco allis 22 hp. It has no trouble at all on flat areas, BUT, on inclines or wet turf you will need turf tires to get good traction and the turf tires save the turf. My roller was purchased at Rural King. It is 38 inches as stated above, weighs 1200 pounds.

You should always aerate after rolling. Rolling compacts soil and will not allow it to breath. The reason we roll here in Indiana is due to the ground heave from winter, plus it presses down any mole excavations. Aerate after rolling, seed, fert, and the lawn will be fine.

Ron

Isn't that a little oversimplified thinking that your compacting all the soil to the point that it must be aerated????

The high spots like the mole tunnels get the brunt of the full weight of lawn roller because that area is raised and the load is applied to a small sq inch area thus squashing it back down into place...

The other areas of the lawn where the roller rides evenly on the surface of the lawn probably sees no more compaction then what the soil sees during the normal cutting buy the weight of the heavy ZTR or large deck walk behind mower....

The way i view this is if the roller weighs 1000 pounds and is 4 feet wide the soil is only seeing 1000pounds / 4 feet or 250 pounds or so per sq foot , or the same as a fat guy just walking across the lawn....

With a heavy 500 + pound walk behind mower the total weight of the mower is compacting the soil under the 2 tires with probably the same , or more weight per sq inch , or foot every time the grass is cut...

If the soil was so fragile to the few added pounds , every time a truck , or car were pulled up on a lawn ,the soil would really be much more heavily compacted per sq foot , and should probably die within a few weeks if not days after said vehicles that may weigh 5000 + pounds move off of said lawns i use as an example ...

A 5000 pound vehicle supported by 4 tires / wheels would be subjected to much more compaction then a silly lawn roller and be equal to over 1250 pounds pr sq foot ...

Maybe the biz to get into is to drive into areas looking for cars parked on their lawns and tell potential customers that the lawn will definitely die because the vehicles squashed all the available air from the soil , and worst thing yet is the air will never be able to get back in until holes are poked in to dirt , and their lawns can be saved ....

I`m probably thinking about this all wrong , as I'm pretty tired and spent, but the roller did work good for me on the mole hills sticking high above the surrounding lawn area , and i didn't aerate the lawn and was lucky it didn't die....

I didn't even kill the mole in the tunnel after running him over with the heavy 1000 pound roller so he was very lucky supermole that laughed at me as he ran out of tunnel just to the left of the roller...

I pull with piddly 17 hp B & S powered John Deere lawn tractor , and its like it aint there woopdee - doooo...

Thank god for small favors , and i hope you guys at least are getting paid for aerating these lawns after the simple rolling which i never bothered to do , as i was silly and ignorant !!!!

GOD BLESS GUYS , TRANNY D.

[Mr Vern]

[QUOTE=TRANSMAN]
The way i view this is if the roller weighs 1000 pounds and is 4 feet wide the soil is only seeing 1000pounds / 4 feet or 250 pounds or so per sq foot , or the same as a fat guy just walking across the lawn....

Although I agree with your premise in all but heavy clay soils, I think your math may be off a bit. If the roller is 4 ft wide, then to have 4sqft of patch or surface area, it would have to also be contacting the ground for a distance of 1 ft from to back. Since this measurement is a component of the diameter of the drum, and your premise is based on the assumption that the ground does not compress significantly, I haven't done the math, but I would guess that your roller would have to have a diameter of somewhere 10-20 ft. Since I doubt that it is that large, I would guess that it is exerting far greater than 2500lbs/sqft. It is late and I am too tired to attempt to do the calculations, especially since I more or less agree with your conclusion, but I do believe your math may be off a bit.

[TRANSMAN]

Fiqure it out Vern

[QUOTE=Mr Vern]

The way i view this is if the roller weighs 1000 pounds and is 4 feet wide the soil is only seeing 1000pounds / 4 feet or 250 pounds or so per sq foot , or the same as a fat guy just walking across the lawn....

Although I agree with your premise in all but heavy clay soils, I think your math may be off a bit. If the roller is 4 ft wide, then to have 4sqft of patch or surface area, it would have to also be contacting the ground for a distance of 1 ft from to back. Since this measurement is a component of the diameter of the drum, and your premise is based on the assumption that the ground does not compress significantly, I haven't done the math, but I would guess that your roller would have to have a diameter of somewhere 10-20 ft. Since I doubt that it is that large, I would guess that it is exerting far greater than 2500lbs/sqft. It is late and I am too tired to attempt to do the calculations, especially since I more or less agree with your conclusion, but I do believe your math may be off a bit.

and let me know...

Yes Vernster i agree the front to back contact print is not going to be a foot
, but i`m trying to make a simple point that the roller is in no way pressing on the soil as some may believe they want to believe ,only to make work that does not have to be done...

As i said and will continue to believe through experience rolling my own lawn "just rolling it is not going to cause it / "the grass" to die from the lack of air" and to believe that a 1000 pound roller is pushing the same pressure at every point equally is not true unless you want it to be true to waste time and make the excuse to charge money that needn't be charged...

I thought the concept was simple enough that nobody would take the math to the extremes of an exact figure because i think one would have to know there are too many variables that are not available to me....

Please feel free to examine whatever formula you have to get the contact pressure exact for each and every soil type and i`ll just work on the basic premise that the roller is still not pressing out any more air then the mower that people cut their lawn does every week ...

I will await your math formula along with your explanation showing that for each 1000 pound whatever diameter roller you choose the ratio of the actual weight of the roller to the pounds per sq whatever you choose to use is "whatever" and not just the weight of the roller...

Just a ratio will do vern as you do agree with the premise...

I`m back to bed and look forward to the formula Vernster...

GOD BLESS , TRANNY D.

[Mr Vern]

[QUOTE=TRANSMAN]

and let me know...

Yes Vernster i agree the front to back contact print is not going to be a foot
, but i`m trying to make a simple point that the roller is in no way pressing on the soil as some may believe they want to believe ,only to make work that does not have to be done...

As i said and will continue to believe through experience rolling my own lawn "just rolling it is not going to cause it / "the grass" to die from the lack of air" and to believe that a 1000 pound roller is pushing the same pressure at every point equally is not true unless you want it to be true to waste time and make the excuse to charge money that needn't be charged...

I thought the concept was simple enough that nobody would take the math to the extremes of an exact figure because i think one would have to know there are too many variables that are not available to me....

Please feel free to examine whatever formula you have to get the contact pressure exact for each and every soil type and i`ll just work on the basic premise that the roller is still not pressing out any more air then the mower that people cut their lawn does every week ...

I will await your math formula along with your explanation showing that for each 1000 pound whatever diameter roller you choose the ratio of the actual weight of the roller to the pounds per sq whatever you choose to use is "whatever" and not just the weight of the roller...

Just a ratio will do vern as you do agree with the premise...

I`m back to bed and look forward to the formula Vernster...

GOD BLESS , TRANNY D.

Tranny Dster, I was not trying to get into a pissing contest with you. I just noticed that you used math and numbers to add credibilty to your (what I agreed was sound) argument. I was simply pointing out that the numbers you used were actually reducing your credibility, not adding to it. I am not at all interested in taking the time to do the math, in fact I am not even sure why I bothered to reply to this thread at all. However, if my questioning of your numbers has offended you, then I aplogize.
Take Care,

Mr. Vern

[TRANSMAN]

No offence was taken or meant Vernsterman

[QUOTE=Mr Vern]

Tranny Dster, I was not trying to get into a pissing contest with you. I just noticed that you used math and numbers to add credibilty to your (what I agreed was sound) argument. I was simply pointing out that the numbers you used were actually reducing your credibility, not adding to it. I am not at all interested in taking the time to do the math, in fact I am not even sure why I bothered to reply to this thread at all. However, if my questioning of your numbers has offended you, then I aplogize.
Take Care,

Mr. Vern

No vern i should apologize to you 1st my friend as :

My post came out a little condescending that night , and in no way did i intend it to come across that way...

Also accept my apologies if you thought i was trying to be a smartazz....

That's just my goofy sense of humor that comes out the wrong way most of the time , and i mix in with posts without even realizing it...

I also dropped the .D from my user name , so for future reference you can just call me the TRANSTER or "whatever" you please including the azzster if i come across offensive in any way , in the future.

Sincerest apology to Vernster , TRANSTERMAN.......

[Sammy]

..... I always get paid for both roll and aerate and fert application, then why not roll if it makes the property look better and the home owner wants it and is happy.

Ron

Yup, make 'em happy and take the $$$.