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riding mower cutting very poor. Why?

15 years ago

My 42" twin blade lawn tractor runs like a champ, but cuts like a chump. The left blade seems to cut ok, but the right blade (discharge side) just won't. I have replaced the blades and the belt. I have sharpened the new blades, cleaned out debis in the housing, tightened the pulleys etc... What am i missng? I do have a muching kit, but i put that on the when i bought it 5 years ago so i don't think that is the problem. it used to cut great until this summer.

Comments (6)

canguy
15 years ago
Is a key on either the blade adapter or the pulley sheared?
maternut
15 years ago
My brother in law put his blades on upside down. Did not cut worth a hoot.
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Colorblind - If your husband owned a lawn service, he must know that a residential unit cannot compete with commercial. Residential units have lower blade speed for safety reasons. I have a Massey Ferguson (aka Simplicity) with a 50" deck and a turbo bagger. It also has a 20HP mower. It has plenty of power and cuts well, but the commercial units cut better. I used to have a Deere LT150 with a bagger that cut very well. My neighbors' landscaper uses an Exmark with a 60" deck. He does bag it and it looks AWESOME when he is done. Much better than mine :(. My other neighbor has a Toro spin steer (possibly residential cost about 3 grand). Cuts very well and he mows once a week with NO BAGGING. That appears to be a great model. I drove it once and did not feel comfortable, so I bought another tractor. Even a used commercial unit might be a good option. I swear the higher blade speed makes even a crappy lawn look better. My next unit will be a commercial or I will pay a service.
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rcmoser
15 years ago
Could be the design of the deck, the blades you put on, or as suggested above human error. Now other things that effects cut, you could be mowing too fast, have too many weeds, or letting the grass get too high, or not running the engine at full throttle?????.
johntommybob
15 years ago
It doesn't seem like rocket science. One day your mower is cutting just fine, and the next day it's not, so obviously something has happened that caused the change, but how to find out what it was, or is? I think you need a check list.
What was wrong with the old blades?

Did you hit something?

Did you replace the old mulching blades with blades that were just like the old ones, or did you change brands?

Did you change the blades because it was cutting poorly hoping that would help? And why would you sharpen new blades?

Are the blades installed upside down? Secured tightly? Missing a washer?

Is the right pulley key sheared?

Is the deck level at the cutting height you use?

Is the belt threaded on right?

Are you certain the new belt was the right one for your deck?

And so forth -
It cannot be one of those mysterious things nobody can figure out. It has to be something simple, because a mowing deck is really a simple mechanism.
cjett
15 years ago
Have you made sure you have the proper tire pressure in each one? That would be the first and easiest thing to check.
metal
15 years ago
Switch the blades side-to-side to see if they are the problem.

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