Grass clogging my deck! Arrrrrrgh

exeter_acres · Jun 16, 2003

spent most of the day Saturday and a bunch Sunday.....
power washed my mower deck.. HAND sanded it as smooth as I could.. a couple coats Slip Plate.... buffed it nicely ...

and after mowing my backyard I pulled out a PILE of grass that was stuck up in the deck

wasn't wet but grass was long....

oh yea..I had just sharpened the blades too..

Am I doing something wrong to have that much grass stuck up under the deck or is it just the design of my mower???

any ideas?

Sorry, this is a Craftsman Garden tractor with a Kohler 20hp moter and a 46" deck....... /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

PBMAX · Jun 16, 2003

upper side or underside? or YES?

my scott does the same darn thing ont the upper side around the belts and pulleys. I usually use the blower to blow most of it off and then finish with the air or water hose...

The belly I just clean at the end of the season and put er away...Got tired of laying on my belly and cleanning no matter what I slicked the under side with.

Anonymous Poster · Jun 16, 2003

Are you running the engine full throttle?? Is your ground speed to fast??

WVBill · Jun 17, 2003

I have the same tractor and deck and did the same thing with the slip plate. I was really impressed with the first couple of mowings because it looked like my clogging problems were solved. But the grass was dry and not too long. Then the rains came and the grass grew long and lush in between when I had a chance to mow and the old clogging problems are back.

I mow at top speed or it would take me forever! I guess if I mowed slower and more often I wouldn't get clogging - but then I'd never get off the mower either.

I'm seriously considering buying a Country Clipper ZTR with the flip-up easy clean deck.

wichiwichi · Jun 18, 2003

No you are doing nothing wrong. In my opinion craftsman probably has the poorest deck design on the market. The only thing that might help is mow more often to reduce the clipping size.

Mrwurm · Jun 18, 2003

Had the same kind of trouble with a Yardman tractor a few years back. I then learned the the front edge of the deck is supposed to be slightly lower than the back (about a 1/4 inch). This means that the plane of rotation of your blades will be tipped slightly forward. I checked mine and it was actually lower in the back than the front. I readjusted my four threaded rods that suspend the deck to correct the problem. The clogging issues went away. This made a BIG difference.

agcomike · Jun 18, 2003

my craftsmen has a shield to prevent grass from gobbing up on top side.. i also put some gator mulching blades on it and never had a problem puts my neighbors JD L-120 and Scotts G100 to shame /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

exeter_acres · Jun 22, 2003

( No you are doing nothing wrong. In my opinion craftsman probably has the poorest deck design on the market. The only thing that might help is mow more often to reduce the clipping size. )

I think you may be right...
Mowed a couple times since with much shorter clippings and no issues....
Oh well... guess I'll just start mowing twice a day until I can afford something else..... /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Thanks for all of the great feedback

WVBill · Jun 23, 2003

( I then learned the the front edge of the deck is supposed to be slightly lower than the back (about a 1/4 inch). This means that the plane of rotation of your blades will be tipped slightly forward. .... The clogging issues went away. This made a BIG difference. )

Thanks Jerry!!! I adjusted the deck on my Craftsman before I mowed this weekend and the clogging was virtually eliminated! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Mrwurm · Jun 23, 2003

Cool /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

From what I understand, the forward tipped configuration will allow the leading edge to cut and the trailing edge to expel clippings.