New X749 with 54C deck has terrible cut quality

[BBO]

I'd try it without before going to all that trouble.

Might be good advice but I was looking forward to a picture of this fabricated hydraulic flapper:cool2:

 

[bubbacuse77]

Even without the deflector my 425 doesn't throw thing up. It throws down and not very far. I actually clean my stone road of leaves in the fall by going over it with the tractor. It really doesn't pick up stones hardly at all. Might be different with your deck and mowing situation, but I'd try it without before going to all that trouble.

I did, once I put the stock blades back on there was so much lift that I was vacuuming every stone off the driveway when I passed over it.

 

[bubbacuse77]

Might be good advice but I was looking forward to a picture of this fabricated hydraulic flapper:cool2:

I think it will be one of my next projects and there will be pictures. I know pictures are like "crack" on TBN

 

[Red Bull]

I stopped at the dealer for some other stuff today and he told me that is a common problem that more than one person has complained about.

That was nice of him to sell you a mulching kit then.

 

[DGeorge747]

bubbacuse77:

I will be looking forward to seeing what you fabricate for a discharge chute blocker. I do some fabricating myself and your idea of a "mulch on demand" set-up makes a lot of sense to me, rather than the JD mulch kit.

Dave

I probably mow every 5 days with the amount of rain we are having and by then I end up cutting 5inch grass down to 3.5 inches. The main issue is that I have found the mulching kit doesn't produce enough lift to do a good job pulling up the grass ran over by the front tires. I stopped at the dealer for some other stuff today and he told me that is a common problem that more than one person has complained about. I am going to run the stock blades for now and order a set of G6 Gator blades with a side discharge. I also plan to fabricate some kind of discharge blocker for the end and take off that big plastic chute. I want the blocker for when I am around the house and run the risk of throwing a stone into a window or want to edge on that side of the deck. I plan on using a small hydraulic cylinder in stead of the electric motor pictured since I have an unused hydraulic hook up only 8 inches away on the X749. I'm sure i will get some side blow out when it is down but the pros really like these things. I guess sort of a poor mans "mulch on demand" set up.

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[bubbacuse77]

bubbacuse77:

I will be looking forward to seeing what you fabricate for a discharge chute blocker. I do some fabricating myself and your idea of a "mulch on demand" set-up makes a lot of sense to me, rather than the JD mulch kit.

Dave

Dave,
This project is been put off until next season. I did put the stock blades back on and I was amazed how much more lift I got out of the deck. I was just throwing large clippings so I bought some gator blades and they don't quit provide the same lift but they seem to really reduce the size of the clippings.

 

[eagle107]

Unfortunately, I would have to agree that the cut quality on the JD X7xx series does suck compared to other mowers I had. The Scag Tiger Cat I had put the JD X748 w/the 60" 7-iron deck to shame. I think it is mainly because the deck on my JD X748 is rigid and does not float like the Scag's Velocity Plus deck, which the Scag used chain links to make the Velocity Plus deck float across bumps and etc. The JD cuts well on the flat areas of the lawn, but when you hit bumps, hills, banks and etc., the mower digs in as shown in the picture I attached. Unfortunately, my X748 has been back to dealer to check this issue and they said it was the tire pressure, but when I got it back, the tractor mowed the same way. Heck my Woods PRD8400 mower on my JD 4520 put the X748's deck's cut quality to shame when cutting the same area, but again the Woods deck floats. I think if JD would make the deck float on the X7xx tractors and put an anti-scalping roller in the middle of the decks, it would improve the cut quality of their deck.

 

[Dashe]

That is a terrible cut in the pictures. I have a x720 with a 54" cut with gator blades and my cut isn't like that. I can't understand what the difference could be.

 

[Jimh4662]

Eagle 107: I swear you copied my pictures from Lawnmowerforum. Dealer picked mine up, returned it 7 days later. Replaced drop link. Said Deere had a trouble call or something their blog issue report. Didn't fix my problem. I have 54HC, 22 hours on it. The best cut I get is when you let the deck ride on the anti - scalp wheels. Manual says no to this. Anyhow, every time I check my
Blade/deck depth measurement. It is off by at least 1/2 inch. Now trouble is when Dealer returned it the adjustment hex bolt was at the end of threads. I placed 5 washers on the head side to gain adjustments. I also greased all draft, drop link, Mower connection points with molly lube. Now My Dealer is saying it wants it for a short time to have a factory rep see it. Bad thing is I think it is a flaw in the construction of the draft/tractor assembly. It rides nice nice. It flexes and dips from tires, center of gravity high, rocks and rolls enough to dip one way or the other cutting a deeper profile on the leaning side. It is a simple connection so very little else could be at fault. I think next step I am writing Deere headquarters. My tractor is X758. Had a JD 445, JD 4110, L135. All provided smooth cuts. Now I dump 13k in a Flag Ship model X758 and it cuts terrible.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Unfortunately, I would have to agree that the cut quality on the JD X7xx series does suck compared to other mowers I had. The Scag Tiger Cat I had put the JD X748 w/the 60" 7-iron deck to shame. I think it is mainly because the deck on my JD X748 is rigid and does not float like the Scag's Velocity Plus deck, which the Scag used chain links to make the Velocity Plus deck float across bumps and etc. The JD cuts well on the flat areas of the lawn, but when you hit bumps, hills, banks and etc., the mower digs in as shown in the picture I attached. Unfortunately, my X748 has been back to dealer to check this issue and they said it was the tire pressure, but when I got it back, the tractor mowed the same way. Heck my Woods PRD8400 mower on my JD 4520 put the X748's deck's cut quality to shame when cutting the same area, but again the Woods deck floats. I think if JD would make the deck float on the X7xx tractors and put an anti-scalping roller in the middle of the decks, it would improve the cut quality of their deck.

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Man that is absolutely terrible. My Ferris will scalp a little on the low side like that when mowing on a slope, but never on flat ground. I have some pretty good slopes and no matter which direction I go, I either get the ledge cut like in the photo if going parallel with the slope or scalp the top of the hill when the mower breaks over the top and leave it a bit long when leaving the slope at the bottom. If I raise it to 3" height, it isn't as noticeable but its still there. Yours seems to be doing it all the time. Have you put the mower on a flat concrete slab and checked the side to side level? Tires exactly the same pressure?