World first emissions free grounds department at Ipswich Town Football Club
For the past year, the world’s first Jacobsen SLF1 ELiTE lithium five reel mower has been in use at Ipswich Town Football Club, and the near-silent vibration-free experience has been a game changer.
Head of Grounds Ben Connell and his team have put the machine to work at the club’s Playford Road training ground as part of the unit’s development phase. A 40% reduction in fuel and parts, an enhanced user experience, and the multiple benefits of silent operation have all been standout factors during the 200 hours of use.
The SLF1 in action
Ben explains: “Everyone wants to jump on the SLF1 and use it. The team enjoy using the machine because it’s less fatiguing when sitting there with no noise. It’s just a much more pleasurable experience.”
“We’ve had it out a lot of days to get the 200 plus hours, and some days we’ve had it going all day, and the battery was great. I’ve never had a problem where we’ve run out of battery anywhere on the grounds. The team brings it back at lunchtime, plugs it in for half an hour, and it keeps going for the rest of the day. Then we charge it overnight, and we’re good to go the next day.”
Benefits:
- 5.5 Hours Run Time on a Single Charge
- No Exposure to Hydraulic Oil
- Reduced Fuel and Part Spend by an estimated 40% -
While the user experience on the machine has been greatly enhanced, Ben has seen massive benefits off it as well. With no filters, oils or fuel to deal with, the maintenance time and associated costs have decreased.
“I’d have a guess that our maintenance costs have reduced by 40%,” Ben explained. “We don’t have the oil filters, so we’re saving on those and other parts, and you then don’t have the waste products you get from changing them.”
“We’ve also received fewer fuel deliveries because our consumption is lower, so it’s a win-win for us going forward.”
“Maintenance-wise, with the lithium batteries, it’s so much simpler because we’re using the computer system. Any faults are plugged in and solved without having to crawl underneath machines to try and find them, so we aren’t exposing ourselves to oils and all the dirt, grime and other carcinogenic materials that come with them.”
No longer the noisy neighbours
Like many sports facilities, houses surround Playford Road, and noise complaints are common. The low 72 Db noise output from the SLF1 ELiTE has meant the grounds team can cut early in the morning before training without causing any disruption.
“We’ve had issues in the past where we’ve wanted to cut early on Saturday or Sunday mornings, when the pressure is that we’ve got football training or a game, and we need to get out with the mowers, but we’ve caused a noise, and we’ve had a few phone calls,” Ben said.
“Now we’re going out at weekends, and the neighbours don’t even know we’ve cut. And I’ve asked them, ‘Did you hear us at the weekend?’ and they’ve said, ‘Oh, we didn’t realise that you’d come out.’ And that’s the answer you want.”
World first emissions free football grounds department
The SLF1 ELiTE is a long stride forward for Ben’s ambitions to be the world football first emissions-free grounds department. With Jacobsen, Cushman and E-Z-GO lithium technology already being utilised by the team, Ben has planned solar panels for a potential new grounds shed. These panels would recharge the batteries overnight, effectively making the next day’s operation cost-free.