Mowing Should know better about mowing with BX2350, but...

[c-and-a]

I have had my BX2350 for over 100hrs, mostly mowing, some FEL and some plowing - but I continue to play with the mowing settings and can't seem to get them right!

I am curious for those that mow with the 2350 what height setting you mow at - and more importantly, what hole setting do you place each scalp wheel.

I have followed the manual and I am not convinced, it is optimal...

I fear this might be "operator error", but curious how others have their height and wheels set...

feedback of all kinds - welcome!

Thx!!

 

[LBrown59]

1* for those that mow with the 2350 what height setting do you mow at -
2*I have followed the manual and I am not convinced, it is optimal...
3*what hole setting do you place each scalp wheel.

1*I mow at 4 inches high.
Most people mow to short which makes the grass turn brown.
Then too scalping is much less of a problem mowing at 4'' than it is at 1 or 2 inches no matter where the gage wheels are set.
My neighbors on each side mow to low.
I like it; their brown lawns make my nice green grass really stand out.
2*Manual says scalp wheel should be 1/4 to 1/2 inch above the ground.
If you set the scalp wheel as per the manual it will only work at or above the cutting height you had the knob set for when you set the scalp wheel.
If you happen to want to mow a spot/place any lower than that yer screwed cause the scalp wheels will prevent the mower from lowering any further than that.
3*Third hole down.

There you have it-My take on it; but don't pay any attention to me.
I've only been mowing this place for 42 years so what do I know about it?

 

[LBrown59]

Last day i mowed /7/10/8.
Been so dry grass has hardly grown.

 

[AceDeuce]

Set the anti-scalp wheels up high. If you set them too low the wheel will act like a lever arm and fatigue the metal around the mount. Eventually you'll snap the mount off. Don't ask me how I know...

The best way to make sure your deck is level is to use a 6" steel rule. Measure from a flat surface, like a garage floor, up to the cutting edge of the blade. Rotate the blade so the tip faces the outer edge of the deck, measure, then rotate the blade 90 degress such that it is inline with the tractor and measure at both the front and the back of the deck. These measurements should be taken at both outboard spindles. Unfortunately, there's really no good way to do this other than on your belly. Make the necessary adjustments using the drag link to level front-to-back and the lift links to level sid-to-side. Re-measure and re-adjust until level. Don't expect it to get any better than 1/8". Of course, make sure the tires are properly inflated first or all your time will be wasted.

I perform this routine once a year at the beginning of the mowing season. It takes a little patience but I know I'm getting the most even cut I can get. My property is very hilly and rough, so I don't expect miracles. On flat, smooth ground with good turf you ought to get a beautiful cut that way.

 

[rpoage]

I mow 3 1/2" during mild weather and in the hot weather I mow 4" (man this is hard to say) just as Mr. LBrown59. I find the A-E setting on my 60mmm deck to be off and I raise them one hole from what the MMM manual states for the cutting height I'm using.

 

[mjarrels]

I mow at 4"... fewer weeds!

mark

 

[blackmajicwoman]

After mowing with my BX1500 for over three years, I fianlly measured the height of the blades on the MMM during my spring time prep. To my surprise, with the dial set to 3.5", the blade height measured 3 1/4" on the right side , 3 1/8" on the middle blade and 3" on the left side!!! So by setting my two (front) anti-scalp wheels to the specified heights indicated by the user manual, I would scalp my lawn in a few "low" spot in my yard and also produce an uneven cut (by about 1/4"). I leveled the deck and set to the correct height (which now correctly corresponds to the dial setting) and the anti-scalp wheel specified heights indicated by the user manual now correctly match up to the dial settings. Now the cut made by the MMM is perfect. I typically mow at 3 1/2", but in this hot weather, I too mow at 4". One last note, IMO the user manual is horrible at explaining how to level the deck and adjuct the height. Took me about 1.5 hours to completed the adjuctment. Just an FYI!

 

[marvindmartien]

Do you remoove your fel, I have noticed a rougher cut when I dont take it off. I set my hight to 3 3/4 and the wheels at 1/2 to 3/4 from the ground, on the shat I have 1 1/2 hole exposed. I have the 54" fine cut deck on a BX24.

 

[BrianW]

As to setting the mower height, I rip cut a piece of wood 3" in width. I then set the mower height to an indicated 3" and then just slide the wood under the mower checking for proper height. I have marked this wood and set it asside so as a setup gauge. Works much better than trying to read a ruler under the mower.

AceDeuce, which mower do you have on your BX? The 60" mower has a leveling bar and springs to absorb some of the rocking and I noticed the 54" does not.

 

[Volfandt]

I mow w/a BX23 w/a 60" MMM and with both the FEL & BH removed and I get a very nice finish cut. When I mow each row in opposite diections I even get the taletale "stripeing" so coveted by many mowers. Course it's too a lesser extend than a mower setup with rollers but it does provide a clearly visable stripeing effect. Even tho I got a pretty good cut w/the OEM std blades, I get better lift and disbursion w/the gatorblades I adapted two seasons ago and I mow the front lawn @ 3" and the back field @ 3.5".
From what I've read here and on other sites, if one wants very visable stripes it's best to cut @ 4".
I post this just to indicate that the BX can & will give a great cut when set up correctly.

A couple of easy checks to make sure you're setup correctly.

Air pressure HAS to be equal. The two backs have to be the same and the two fronts have to be the same. If not the tractor will lean and this will show in the cut.

The side to side measurement on the mower has to be the same. You have to measure at the blade tips and not at the MMM frame.
You adjust the side to side via the down links where they clamp into the MMM. On my 60" MMM you un-pin the link from the MMM and turn it up to raise or down to lower.

The front to back measurement should have the front blade tip approx 1/4" lower than the back. Basically the MMM cuts on the front swing and re-cuts the cut clippings on the back swing. The adjustment for this is via turning in the adjustment nut(s) to raise and/or out to lower, on the MMM's front link where it attached to the quick connect on the front of the tractor.

I find that I've had to readjust my MMM's side to side after each season from the wear and tear of finish mowing upto 4 acres once a week (sometimes every other week deoending on rainfall).

Engine RPM. Blade tip speed is the key to a good cut and the higher the blade tip speed the better. Inorder to get the best and optimum blade tip speed one needs to run the engine at it's rated PTO speed which for the BX is approx 3000 rpm. On my BX23 this is a hair or two under WOT.
Some claim to get a great mow at less than PTO rated speed and if so good for them but, both the engine and MMM are designed to run at PTO rated rpm and I'm sure Kubota designed it this way on purpose ;D
Traveling speed has alot to do with the finish cut also.
Since our BX's don't produce the same blade tip speeds as the commercial mowers get we can't expect to mow at the same spped as they do and still get an excellent finish cut. For most if not all non-commercial mowers, the slower the better and the taller the grass the slower we should go conversely the shorter the grass the faster we can go

Lastly I've seen it documented that one will get the best cut and finish if one doesn't take more than 1/2" off on the cut. I normally cut @ 1/2" to 1" and get pretty good results.

Good luck