First Impression - Cub Cadet SLT 1550

tillboy2001 · Jun 12, 2006

Someone in this forum asked me to post my impressions of this machine once I used it. I mowed the grass for the first time yesterday - about 1.5 hours of use. Grass was a little damp.

The machine is a Cub Cadet model SLT 1550. Has a 25 HP Kohler engine and 50" deck.

Positives:
- Cuts great. Nice and smooth/even clean cut.
- Grass is distributed evenly and far enough out so it doesn't clump.
- Engine and deck at full throttle are very quiet.
- Operator's position is comfortable.
- Tight turning radius - does what I need it to around shrubs, etc.
- Looks good
- Nice to finally have an automatic. Makes mowing quicker.
- Love the front opening hood automotive-style shocks to hold it open.
- Looks to have a fairly solid build.

Negatives?
- When going up hills/inclines (not even really steep), I lose at least half of my speed, maybe more than half. I assume this is normal with a Hydro? I don't expect it to be as strong as my old manual, but I did think it would pull a little harder/faster than it does. Going sideways on hills or on flat ground, it's nice and fast and quiet. Hills/inclines are the only issue. Makes me wonder how durable these types of trannys are if they must labor so hard to climb. Any information on this would be appreciated /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Other than that one 'negative', I can't think of anything else. I'm happy witht the mower. It's replacing my old Craftsman 20 HP (Briggs engine) mower with 46" deck that will be on ebay soon!

I was able to move over my Carlisle Super Lug rear tires to the Cub. They JUST did clear the deck. Perfect fit! Also, my Craftsman 55lb wheel weights fit too. Either there's an industry standard on mounting positions for wheel weights or I just lucked out.

Question. The engine doesn't run as fast in the full throttle position than other mowers I've used. It seems to get the job done, but I hear the governor kick up the engine when I get in thick grass and it seems like the engine at that point labors just slightly. Should I check into opening her up a little or do you think this is how it should be. Using my in-law's 2 year old Troy-Bilt (also in the MTD family and somewhat similar to my Cub) with 23HP Kohler engine and my old Craftsman, both of those seem to run faster than my Cub in full throttle. No biggie...just curious.

Oh...observation on the deck wash system. I'm not sure it's all that useful. Maybe a little, but it doesn't seem to clean it out all the way. I might start with that if I mow in damp grass and then finish off with spraying the underneath with the hose manually.

Here are the photos. Pardon the messy basement. Some of that stuff is garbage waiting to go.

tillboy2001 · Jun 12, 2006

Update on the hill climbing. I was curious so I called a local dealer and asked about this. When I told him I lost at least half my speed going up hills, he seemed surprised. He said it shouldn't lose that much speed and he suggested checking the drive belt to be sure it's on the idler pulley. He said if it jumps off the ilder pulley it still may have enough tension to pull, but it won't pull hard.

I'll check this out when I get home. If that's what the problem is, I'll let you all know. If it's still on the idler pulley like it should be, I guess I'll just have to live with it unless it becomes noticably worse.

bontai_Joe · Jun 13, 2006

You paid a pretty decent buck for this machine, so you shouldn't have to live with the slow down problem. Have you examined the belt yet/ Any news?

Fordlords · Jun 14, 2006

There have been some issues with the belt driven transaxles made by Hydro-Gear used in the CC 1000/1500 models, along with belt tensioner revisions. Check with the dealer to make sure the tensioner has the latest revisions. Some of the hill climbing/speed loss issues have been with the transaxle itself and they look to crop up early, so make sure you get it taken care of. It is normal for hydros to lose some speed when climbing hills, but if its excessive or the tractor is not capable of towing any weight behind it such as a loaded cart or dethatcher, etc, there can be a transaxle or tensioner issue.

-Fordlords-

gamble77 · Jun 14, 2006

Are you suggesting a hydrostatic transmission won't slow down on hills?!?!

tillboy2001 · Jun 14, 2006

I checked the belt and it appears to be routed around every pulley. Maybe I'll try towing a heavy load with my trailer and see if it pulls well. It could be that I'm just used to not losing any speed at all since I've used a manual all my life on riding mowers.

One thing that bugs me...at idle and a little above, there's a vibrating noise. I looked around and it seems to be coming from what I think is the tensioner or idler pulley. The belt looks to be making it shake a lot while at idle or a little above idle. Anyone ever notice that? It just looks like that pulley isn't very stable.

automech · Jun 16, 2006

I think I would take it back to the dealer and get it fixed, or better yet they would come and get it and go back over it. You shouldn't be losing all that much power uphill. The vibration noise should be fixed too. 25 horse is more than enough to cut at higher ground speeds. Hope you have success getting it right. Have them check the rpm if you feel it's too low. It's not that big a deal to check the spec. That thing should have power to spare.

bontai_Joe · Jun 16, 2006

Ahhhh, you mentioned running at idle or a little above. Air cooled engines should be run at or near full throttle so the fan can properly cool the motor AND the hydro's fan can cool it as well. Plus you don't have 25 HP at idle, more like 5 HP and that alone may be the reason it slows down, When cutting grass, you especially need to run at full throttle tfor the mower blades to have their designed speed to cut the grass.

Fordlords · Jun 17, 2006

The tensioner pulley noise has also been a common one seen on the CC forum with the belt drive hydros. I have gathered that the fix for the belt slipping with the tensioner also takes care of the rattle noise.

Some opinion varies between the full throttle all the time or not, but that is not a reason for there to be noise from the tensioner at idle if you desire to idle or run at low speeds when not mowing such as for puttering around the yard with the cart.

-Fordlords-

tillboy2001 · Jun 18, 2006

I mow in full throttle all the time. I just mentioned the pulley was vibrating badly while the mower is sitting still at idle.

I did some more testing for the lack of climbing issue. I tried to climb a steep piece in my yard, just to see what would happen. It's very steep and only one swipe gets the cutting done for that spot. Anyway, I'd say it was about as steep as if you laid boards on the bed of a full size pickup truck and tried to drive the mower up the boards/ramp into the bed of the truck. Here's what happened. It came to a complete stop, grunted and groaned and BARELY (finally) creeped up the hill. It sounded like it was straining so hard that it was going to break something.

So I guess the question is, SHOULD I be able to climb a steep incline like that without all that stress and groaning? Granted, I wouldn't do it all the time and in normal cutting, that section would be cut in one swipe and be done in 10 seconds. In the main part of my yard though, there's a fairly steep incline and it still loses at least half of it's speed.

From my description, is this normal for a belt driven hydro tranny or is there a problem???