School me on the function of anti-scalp wheels?

[svejkovat]

I, of course, thought I knew everything.

I'm the proud owner of an ancient 111h. Given to me 5 years ago. I've kept it serviceable. One thing I've done, which I tend to do with most of my older stuff, is simplify it. Gutted the wiring and rewired ONLY essentials. Removed all unnecessary levers and adjustments. Set the height of the deck with the black plastic deck wheels. It seemed reasonable since there is such a large range of adjustment, like 5 holes. Been happily mowing for years with it.

So I'm looking at new mowers on the floor of Home Depot the other day, not to buy, just to browse. I notice that these mowers do not have adjustable "anti-scalp" wheels. Also they are permanently welded to ride less than an inch below the deck.

So I start scratching my head. Are these really not designed to roll continuously then? Of course, on this new mower that appears to be the case. It looks like their sole function is to hang there off the deck just in case they are needed to keep the deck edge from scalping a rise in the turf. The deck-height lever is the only control over the deck height. The black plastic wheels are supposed to just hang there, not touching the turf, until needed.

So my ancient 111H came with a deck height lever. I removed it. I've been relying on the "bogey" wheels to maintain height. Have I been doing this *** backwards all along? Is it possible to set the deck height on this old thing to one setting and leave it there permanently while the deck anti-scalp wheels hover over the grass without contact? Is this actually the correct way to set this up?

Thanks for advice!

 

[aczlan]

That is how it is intended to be set up for suspended decks, our Kubota BX2660 has a sticker with a chart on it showing which hole anti scalp wheel should be set to for each mower height position. Generally speaking they are supposed to end up about 2 inches above the ground.
If you don't do that, you'll end up with scalp wheels wearing out as a plastic isn't intended to spin continuously while carrying the weight of the deck.

Aaron Z

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

They should not run continuously. They should ride off the ground, only contacting when a mound is ran over.

 

[aczlan]

Some older ones are intended to have the wheels on the ground (the deck on our B7500 is that way which is why I specified suspended decks), but in those cases there will usually be a metal rim and a rubber wheel.

Aaron Z