uncut grass strip......

[nightskyisme]

I am going out of my mind...why does my deck leave a 4" strip of uncut grass between the middle and right blade?? The deck is adjusted according to specs, blades are new and spinning the right way, didn't do it when it was new, any ideas?? Thanks

Blolens st140 hydro and 42" deck

 

[Dusty]

Check for a loose spindle nut, or possibly the blade was improperly installed? If the problem started with the install of the new blades, then something had to happen during that install to have caused the problem. Are you certain that you have the correct blades?

 

[nightskyisme]

It did it with the old blades as well. Spindles are tight....double checked the blades, they are the ones listed. I will have to look closer I guess....how frustrating

 

[workinallthetime]

how tall is the grass? i know a bent blade will do that and i crooked spindle will to.

 

[EddieWalker]

I just sharpened the blades on my craftsman ridealong mower and it's doing the same thing. It didn't do it before, but it does it now, so I'm sure it's something that I did wrong. I'm gonna re-sharpen them and see if it changes.

Eddie

 

[MJPetersen]

If you are sure that you have the correct blades, then also make sure the correct blade is on the correct spindle. Sometimes the center blade is longer/shorter than the others. Even a little bit will sometimes make a BIG difference.

Mike in Warsaw

 

[Soundguy]

Get the mower on good secure cribbing get under there and spin it by hand.. observe the area where the stripe is occouring.. see what kind of blade to blade clearance you have.. and check for bent blades / spindles.

Soundguy

 

[nightskyisme]

Thanks guys, I have it in my garage on a nice level floor and Ill check all that out.

 

[thunderworks]

I think there are two possible causes:

1. bent blade
2. bent spindle

As Soundguy suggests, get the mower up on cribbing and rotate the blades checking to see that the blade tips are rotating at the same height. If either blade or spindle are bent, one blade will be higher than the other.

 

[EquipmentJunkie]

Another thought, is the blade installed upside-down? The blade may be trying to blow the grass flat, instead of lifting it. Depending on the blade design, installing the blades upside-down may be very easy to do.

 

[nightskyisme]

Actually, when I sharpened my old set of blades last summer, I actually DID install them upside down....grass still cut, although roughly....funny thing though, there wasn't a grass strip left back then...go figure

 

[heymack]

I just replaced the blades on my rider and it'll do the same thing when mowing through very high grass. If the grass is just a few inches high, it works fine....I'll be interested to see what others think.

 

[heymack]

This thread got me thinking so yesterday evening I hoisted the mower up in the air and checked the new blades....both have writing on the bottom that say "grass side." So, thankfully I got that right. I spun them around and they nearly touch each other as they should. The bottom of the deck had large accumulations of dirt and debris that has probably collected for a couple years. I thought to myself, this stuff probably isn't the problem, but I decided to scrape the underside clean anyway as that mess couldn't be good for the deck metal....wow what a difference it made in cut quality.

 

[john_bud]

Look at this post for a solution to the grass build up....

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/customization/100608-i-want-clean-mower-deck.html

 

[Ford850]

Mine leaves a strip if there is grass buildup as well. I'm assuming it's due to the poor vaccum created, and the strip is actually the rolled down grass from one of the deck rollers on the front.

 

[EddieWalker]

Thanks for the tip, I'm gonna check my deck to see what it looks like!!!


Eddie