mowing quality and ground speed

[nh_bota]

I was wondering about the relationship between ground speed and the overall quality of the cut. I have a Kubota BX2350 with a 60" MMM, bagger, and R4 tires. Overall, it cuts quite nicely, but I do spot the random strands of grass that don't seem to get cut. What causes this? I thought it might be that I'm going to slow or fast, but changing speed doesn't seem to make much difference. Could the weight of the tractor be pushing the grass down enough such that it doesn't get sucked up by the blades? Hmmm...

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Could the weight of the tractor be pushing the grass down enough such that it doesn't get sucked up by the blades? )</font>

Seems to me it would have to be either that, or extra tough blades of some kinds of grasses and/or dull blades on the mower. I'll occasionally notice a few stems like that, usually crabgrass or dallis grass, and go back over them from another angle and cut them.

 

[Soundguy]

In general.. the slower you go.. the higher the quality of the cut.. untill you reach max quality for your equipment.. Also.. blade design ( lift / suction / mulching ) will effect cut.. and discharge chute location will affect 'look' due to clippings.. or windrowing... Height of grass.. and composition of grass will affect it as well as blade sharpness.

No matter what ya do.. sometimes a blade lays over under a tier and stays there.. and then pops back up 5 minutes later... that's just the nature of the beast /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Soundguy

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Some mower decks are just flat better than others about "lifting" grass after it's been run over. That applies to finish mowers as well as rough cut bush hog type cutters.

I've got 2 mowers. One's a Woods BB840, and the other is a Bush Hog 286. ON THE SAME TRACTOR, the Woods ALWAYS leaves tire tracks. Weeds and grass stand back up a couple hours after I cut, leaving stubble about 6" to 8" taller than it's supposed to be. Put the Bush Hog mower on that same tractor, and it cuts clean. Both have blades sharpened alike. Both are run at the same PTO speed. Both are run at the same ground speed (Same gear, same engine RPM) (Blades are farther below the deck on the Woods than on the Bush Hog for whatever that matters)

In general though, the slower you go (to a point) the better cut you'll get.

 

[Dex]

I agree with Farm. It is all about the speed, the equipment and the maintenance on the equipment. Dull blades will leave streakes.

 

[flusher]

I brush hogged my 7+ acres of weeds on 1May (B7510HST with 4-ft KK hog). This was the first cut of the year after 4 months of rain. The grass was green, 3-4 ft tall. I mowed slow in low range and got a so-so cut. Lotsa grass laying down uncut.

Today I spent 7 hours recutting the same 7 acres. Grass wasabout 1-2 ft tall, dry and nearly completely browned out. Mowed in low range and moved considerably faster than the previous cut. Result: perfect cut.

Looks to me like my hog does better on dry weeds than on the green stuff.

 

[neverenough]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( but I do spot the random strands of grass that don't seem to get cut. What causes this? )</font>

These strands/blades are what's called "smart grass". They see the mower coming.....and they duck.

Seriously though, the factors that cause this have already been listed by others. The main ones would be blade sharpness and lift/suction. Having a bagger will effect the cut a lot too. As the bagger fills, you lose cutting efficiency. Like the old vacuums with bags, as they start to fill the bags with dirt, they lose suction. Covering the discharge chute with the bagger attachment makes the quality of the cut as good as the suction of the bagger, and not how well the deck lifts and discharges the cuttings. When I used to run a bagger, I would cut without it, then go back and pick the cuttings up with the bagger afterwards. It took more time and fuel, but I was much happier with the end results.

 

[Theowegian]

Factors that seem to affect my lawn cut quality:
1.Deck design - deep or shallow deck
2.Blade design/sharpness - 30 deg is what I like
3.Ground speed - typically 3-6 mph
4.Grass type - fescues or buffalo grass
5.Grass height - finish cut is about 3-1/4" measured on level concrete with a genuine plastic JD blade height tool... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
6. I find that identical blade height, front to back works best for me on my RFM. Your MMM might be the same. In a sense, the grass has a chance of getting cut twice, once in the front and once on the back. (FWIW, on my the Bush Hog rotary mower, the front is about one inch lower than the back...just cuts faster, but not cleaner, but that is cutting 2-3 ft prairie grass/brome).

Lastly, I find that the best combination is to use OEM blades on an OEM deck. For example, with my Landpride rear finish mower, I always use a Landpride blade. Anything else is awful. And my JD lawn tractor has the BEST cut with NEW JD blades.

Are you using kubota blades on that MMM? Are they new or old? Try a set of brand new blades and I bet you'll be pleasantly surprised at what a terrific cut you'll get!

Best of luck!

 

[Billy_S]

Many commercial lawn mowing types use double blades. Yes, two blades on each spindle. Just put them in the shape of + and bolt them down.

Some guys use a combination of high lifts and perhaps, gator blades on each spindle. For additional info, do a search on "doubles" or "double blades" here http://www.lawnsite.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1

I have never run doubles, but many commercial lawn care guys swear by them.

 

[twodogs]

I agree with what I have seen posted. I would also make sure the deck is clean. I think it has a big impact as to how well the grass is lifted & cut.