workinonit
Elite Member
I cut at 4 MPH.
Cut Quality
- Thread starter Richard
- Start date
- Views: 3485
LD1
Epic Contributor
When it comes to cut quality and comparing different mowers....there are TONS of variables.
First....you said it was 2-3 weeks because the 430 went down. So that tells me you were already behind schedule on mowing it, so it was probably alot taller and denser than you are used to mowing with the 430.
Second, as another poster already mentioned...you have ALOT more tractor and ALOT more weight smashing down the grass before it gets under the mower.
Other variables include grass type. Some grasses do better with a deck designed for more "suction" while others do better with a more open deck. A deck made for more suction is usually closed off more, especially in the front. Being closed off makes for better suction which cuts thinner grasses that like to lay down better because it pulls (sucks) the grass up. Stuff like bluegrass.
But having a deck more closed off in the front also lays grass down...and that in combination with speed sometimes dont do well on grasses like fescues. Especially after the tractor has already mashed it down.
Blade type is another variable. SO many different lift types. Low lift, med lift, high lift, super high lift, mulchers, etc.
Discharge and deck design with regards to airflow is another variable. I guessing the woods is a fabricated deck with lots of square edges and corners and the 430 is a stamped deck with rounded and sleek edges. Stamped decks get a bad rap as being cheap (and on most homeowner equipment they are cheap lightweight junk). But they do flow alot better and disperse clippings better.
I doubt woods gave much though to finished cut quality for a 72" RFM. Because anyone running a 2500+ pound tractor pulling a 6' RFM probably isnt going for that golf course striped lawn look.
And even purpose built mowing machines (ZTR's) arent always perfect. I mow bluegrass to fescues and everything in between. ANd my ZTR has an adjustable front baffle too to either create more suction or less. Setting the baffle to max suction and it does awesome on bluegrass....but cut quality sucks on fescues. It took alot of trial and error with baffle settings and blade type to find what I consider the ideal setup for this machine. And that took a super-high-lift blade on the left spindle (furthest from discharge) to create alot of airflow under the deck to keep it clean and discharge the clippings. Standard lift on middle spindle and a gator mulcher on the discharge spindle. Without that super high lift blade on the left spindle I was fighting the deck plugging up. I could mow 4 acres then go to the shop and I'd scrape 2 five gallon buckets full of grass off the underside of the deck. It would mow like crap and didnt disperse the clippings even. It would blow chunks and clumps.
So thats another thing.....is the underside of the deck clean? Airflow and turbulence under the deck with various deck designs and blade combinations can make or break cut quality.
First....you said it was 2-3 weeks because the 430 went down. So that tells me you were already behind schedule on mowing it, so it was probably alot taller and denser than you are used to mowing with the 430.
Second, as another poster already mentioned...you have ALOT more tractor and ALOT more weight smashing down the grass before it gets under the mower.
Other variables include grass type. Some grasses do better with a deck designed for more "suction" while others do better with a more open deck. A deck made for more suction is usually closed off more, especially in the front. Being closed off makes for better suction which cuts thinner grasses that like to lay down better because it pulls (sucks) the grass up. Stuff like bluegrass.
But having a deck more closed off in the front also lays grass down...and that in combination with speed sometimes dont do well on grasses like fescues. Especially after the tractor has already mashed it down.
Blade type is another variable. SO many different lift types. Low lift, med lift, high lift, super high lift, mulchers, etc.
Discharge and deck design with regards to airflow is another variable. I guessing the woods is a fabricated deck with lots of square edges and corners and the 430 is a stamped deck with rounded and sleek edges. Stamped decks get a bad rap as being cheap (and on most homeowner equipment they are cheap lightweight junk). But they do flow alot better and disperse clippings better.
I doubt woods gave much though to finished cut quality for a 72" RFM. Because anyone running a 2500+ pound tractor pulling a 6' RFM probably isnt going for that golf course striped lawn look.
And even purpose built mowing machines (ZTR's) arent always perfect. I mow bluegrass to fescues and everything in between. ANd my ZTR has an adjustable front baffle too to either create more suction or less. Setting the baffle to max suction and it does awesome on bluegrass....but cut quality sucks on fescues. It took alot of trial and error with baffle settings and blade type to find what I consider the ideal setup for this machine. And that took a super-high-lift blade on the left spindle (furthest from discharge) to create alot of airflow under the deck to keep it clean and discharge the clippings. Standard lift on middle spindle and a gator mulcher on the discharge spindle. Without that super high lift blade on the left spindle I was fighting the deck plugging up. I could mow 4 acres then go to the shop and I'd scrape 2 five gallon buckets full of grass off the underside of the deck. It would mow like crap and didnt disperse the clippings even. It would blow chunks and clumps.
So thats another thing.....is the underside of the deck clean? Airflow and turbulence under the deck with various deck designs and blade combinations can make or break cut quality.
