8 | OHCC LIVING | JUNE 2020 |
Landscape Committee
The Green Machine and More
You may have seen someone riding atop a fast-moving lawn mower
on some of OHCC's larger areas. It's Lean Green, the recent addition
to OCLM's Battery Operated Fleet and made in Oregon. This riding
mower is used on the turf of the large Master Common areas as well
as parts of the outer areas of the golf course. This mower is too large
for front yards but its technology is promising.
Lean Green performed on par with the gas powered riding
mowers and does an excellent – actually better - job of mulching
the turf without leaving clumps. It met the threshold of six hours
before having to stop for recharging overnight; approximately eight
hours. It is much quieter while traveling from one place to the next
and lower decibels when mowing.
The smaller gas powered push mowers are still in use for small,
flat turf areas, such as Portofino Village front lawns. Recent test
use of battery operated from two other manufacturers proved too
inefficient still and feedback has been given to those companies.
Hopefully soon the smaller mowers will be viable for use in large
community housing areas.
The Stihl battery operated blower, hedge trimmer and string
trimmer continue to be used to maintain the shrubs and planters
surrounding the Clubhouse. However, when tested in Master
Common Areas with larger shrubs and longer distances to change
out batteries, it was not as practical or efficient to use.
For front yard maintenance, Makita battery operated blowers,
hedge trimmers and string trimmers are still being tested. Though
they work well, the performance duration is still inefficient for large
numbers of homes in a community like OHCC.
This area of work is under constant attention from the perspective
of the Landscape and Golf Committees.
