On the subject of mower decks, I really like the way the older three-bladed decks cut...the longer blade in the center accounts for most of the cutting swath and results in a beautiful manicured look to the yard when finished. I find it interesting those decks were designed that way and I've often wondered if the rationale for it had something to do with the quality of cut.
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Archive through November 09, 2014
- Thread starter dlbarnett
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STEVE - The center blade may cut O-K, but the tiny outer blades sure don't, even when they speeded them up so much. Which just makes the whole deck pull harder. I've had a 44A & 50C deck and they pull much easier when you spin the blades by hand. The three 38 inch decks I've had turn much harder.
I'm sure IH was trying to design a deck that cut well when making tight turns without leaving strips of uncut grass. In my opinion, they were only moderately successful. Takes a LOT of work to make an IH deck cut decent, and ANY Simplicity deck mows really well.
Engineer I used to work with worked at a company that did R&D work for manufacturers. A garden tractor company brought them a Cub Cadet, think it was a 70 or 100. And a 36 inch mower deck off a Simplicity tractor and told the guys, "Make this deck work on THIS tractor." Just not enough room under the transmission for that deep of mower deck. They couldn't get the range of mowing heights the company wanted. The back center of the deck housing would hit the brake linkage.
I'm sure IH was trying to design a deck that cut well when making tight turns without leaving strips of uncut grass. In my opinion, they were only moderately successful. Takes a LOT of work to make an IH deck cut decent, and ANY Simplicity deck mows really well.
Engineer I used to work with worked at a company that did R&D work for manufacturers. A garden tractor company brought them a Cub Cadet, think it was a 70 or 100. And a 36 inch mower deck off a Simplicity tractor and told the guys, "Make this deck work on THIS tractor." Just not enough room under the transmission for that deep of mower deck. They couldn't get the range of mowing heights the company wanted. The back center of the deck housing would hit the brake linkage.
Dennis--Those older decks may pull harder, yes, but keep those outer blades sharp and they'll cut, too. Together, they account for about 18 inches of the swath width (9 inches on each side)on a 38 inch deck. Although trimming works best from the left side I've found I can also get quite close to trees on the right side, also, as there's no discharge chute in the way. I prefer the left side though, because it's safer.
nbextermueller
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- Nic Bextermueller
What are you guys mowing? The greens at the local golf course? I have a 42 w/ cast bits, a 44c, 2-50c, and a 60H and you know what my grass looks like after I mow with them? CUT GRASS! Maybe I'm just not that particular. The only things that mess up a good cut are and unlevel deck or the front tires matting down the grass. Yes I know a high tunnel deck lifts better, but in 3 days I won't notice and in 5 I have to cut it again...
Put a simplicity deck on there, geez
let's toss a WH hood, JD fenders and a Tecumseh in there for good measure. it's just grass, or in my case, mostly clover, weeds and grass in between.
Yeah, you caught me in a mood.
Put a simplicity deck on there, geez
Yeah, you caught me in a mood.
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I think Nik gets "post of the year" award. LOL
Nic B-- Something tells me you're one of those guys who mows at 7 am (when the grass is still soaked with dew) just to get it done -- the more clumping the better, right? You and my uncle would get along well...he can easily mow the yard in one third the time with the JD 430 and manages to make a big mess every time. I guess some of us are just more particular
. My take on it: If it requires 4 hours of seat time on my Cub 100, it better look GREAT when it's finished!
jlspicer
Well-known member
Steve S., I totally agree.........
All this talk of mowing grass and as I looked out the window today, I saw snow flurries. Got mower decks off my cubs and the front blade/snowblower on. I'll worry about the grass next spring............
All this talk of mowing grass and as I looked out the window today, I saw snow flurries. Got mower decks off my cubs and the front blade/snowblower on. I'll worry about the grass next spring............
Hello I'm looking for some help, I'm trying to get a 149 cub cadet running. I'm wondering if I need a condenser if it has a motor generator with a voltage regulator? I bought the cub and it does not have one.
Thank you for your time
Thank you for your time
STEVE S. - I've sharpened my blades till they were sharp enough to shave with, and it's just not in the geometry of a NINE inch long blade to mow well. Best shortest description I can make is the cutting edge makes a "glancing blow" to the blades of grass. Which really doesn't help with the outer blades trying to cut the grass the front wheels just ran over.
My 38" deck is not the cast end version, it's the bottom version in the post Charlie made at 9:19 PM Monday. I've made modifications to my 38 inch deck, to make it mow/trim closer on the left end, and trimmed the discharge end off an inch or two, but still not enough to trim with IMO. The mower lifts the grass to cut better, plus distributes the clippings as well as my 50C. Plus it has the spherical gauge wheels the newer decks use on it. Almost impossible to make it scalp.
Depending where I'm at in my yard, I spend as much time looking behind me to make sure the mower is doing a nice job as I do looking ahead. And changing mowing patterns every time I mow makes a HUGE difference in the way the yard looks when I'm done mowing.
I've got my mowing time down to about four hours with the 982 & 50C, been making some trimming nightmares go away. With the 72 & 38 inch deck it still takes over 5, normally six hours. The 72 & 38" deck fit some places I don't even try to go with the 982 & 50C.
I had ONE mowing this whole past summer where I had to start mowing with wet grass from heavy dew. The weather-guesser said we'd get rain at 2 PM, so I started mowing around 10:30 AM. It was about NOON before the grass was dry enough to mow decent, and of course the rain NEVER came till well after dark.
I read a lawn care article years ago that mowing in the afternoon, or after dark is less stressful on the grass plants. Mowing wet grass in the early part of the day is about the worst thing you can do to the grass, with the possible exception of mowing WAY too short during a drought. I do cheat a little on the recommendation to only cut the top 1/3rd of the grass off. Some of my yard grows really fast, other parts barely grow at all, so I may cut half the length of the grass in some areas, but by the time I get to the back yard, I can hardly tell where I've mowed and where I haven't.
My 38" deck is not the cast end version, it's the bottom version in the post Charlie made at 9:19 PM Monday. I've made modifications to my 38 inch deck, to make it mow/trim closer on the left end, and trimmed the discharge end off an inch or two, but still not enough to trim with IMO. The mower lifts the grass to cut better, plus distributes the clippings as well as my 50C. Plus it has the spherical gauge wheels the newer decks use on it. Almost impossible to make it scalp.
Depending where I'm at in my yard, I spend as much time looking behind me to make sure the mower is doing a nice job as I do looking ahead. And changing mowing patterns every time I mow makes a HUGE difference in the way the yard looks when I'm done mowing.
I've got my mowing time down to about four hours with the 982 & 50C, been making some trimming nightmares go away. With the 72 & 38 inch deck it still takes over 5, normally six hours. The 72 & 38" deck fit some places I don't even try to go with the 982 & 50C.
I had ONE mowing this whole past summer where I had to start mowing with wet grass from heavy dew. The weather-guesser said we'd get rain at 2 PM, so I started mowing around 10:30 AM. It was about NOON before the grass was dry enough to mow decent, and of course the rain NEVER came till well after dark.
I read a lawn care article years ago that mowing in the afternoon, or after dark is less stressful on the grass plants. Mowing wet grass in the early part of the day is about the worst thing you can do to the grass, with the possible exception of mowing WAY too short during a drought. I do cheat a little on the recommendation to only cut the top 1/3rd of the grass off. Some of my yard grows really fast, other parts barely grow at all, so I may cut half the length of the grass in some areas, but by the time I get to the back yard, I can hardly tell where I've mowed and where I haven't.
