The Blec Combinator, developed by GKB Machines, is a turf care machine designed for fraize mowing or verti-cutting a sports turf surface. It is commonly used for sports pitch renovation on football and rugby pitches, cricket wickets and outfields and golf courses.
Machine Operation
The machine contains 76 blades, in sets of 4, which remove the existing surface up to a depth of 40mm. The depth of material to be removed is controlled by the front roller which can be accurately set using two handles. The excavated material is transported directly into a trailer using a conveyor belt system in a similar manner to the GKB Drainmaster. The height and angle of the conveyor belt is adjustable from within the tractor to ensure each trailer is loaded to capacity. The adjustable conveyor system folds fully back onto the machine for transport between contracts. The Blec Combinator is available in four working widths of 1.2m, 1.6m, 2.0m and 2.4m.
Benefits of the Blec Combinator
The Blec Combinator has a number of uses and provides various benefits during the removal of an existing sports turf surface:
- By setting the fraize mowing blades to the correct depth it is possible to remove shallow rooted weed grasses like poa annua. This leaves the stronger stalks and roots of the ryegrasses intact. Following this process, reseeding of the area coupled with a fertiliser program will result in a strong sward and playable surface in approximately 8-10 weeks.
- Adjusting the blade depths also means that thatch layers and contaminated soil can be accurately removed. Soil stability below the damaged layer will not be disturbed.
- The stripped surface is left extremely clean and free of debris, ready for reseeding or light cultivation prior to turfing.
- As the machine passes over the surface the blades remove any surface irregularities resulting in a more level, smoother surface.
- The dual purpose machine also allows verti-cutting blades to be attached.
