Befco Mowers

[Bob_Skurka]

Seems like many people, with many brands of REAR DISCHARGE mowers have the clumping problem. My thought on removing every-other link was that some of the grass would fly out and others would be held back and forced to drop. I have also tried every combination of tilting the deck. Some on the NH board have suggested that tilting the back of the deck up very slightly solves the clumping problem. I tried it tilted forward, backward and level. It seems to me that if I mow the lawn more often then I don't get clumps but if I let it go a bit I get clumps. Ditto when it is wet, the moisture seems to make it clump more than when it is dry.

What I know is that the wife likes the grass SHORT so I suppose I should just mow more often. But mowing my yard requires a minimum of two tractors (big & small) plus a push mower because of steep hills, lots of trees and tight spaces. So I don't usually get the job done in one day. Most often the fields get done one day, then around the house another day. And the area done with the Cub Cadet has a side discharge deck so that doesn't suffer the clumping problems because it blows the grass all over the place ever since the rubber deflector fell off.

 

[shady1701]

clumping is one of 2 things eather wet which is a no no..
or
Too fast or too much at one time.

No mower will unclump unless it's mowed right at right speed at right height. 33% at time.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Re: Befco Mowers - RESTORED

Well I had some time on my hands over the weekend so now I have a BLUE Befco finish mower.

My Befco Cyclone 25 (60" deck that is now being sold by Befco as the C-30 model) rear discharge finish mower was starting to show a bit too much rust from being stored outside a couple of winters, and under the belt covers there was quite a bit of rust where water had pooled and sat. The mowers are so heavily built that the rust didn't affect anything structurally. The bright orange Befco paint had faded so badly it was a dull orange with a chalky overtone. Most of the stickers were still on the unit, but every one was frayed at the edges and most were half-gone.

So Saturday I got out the grinder wheels, paint stripper wheels, steel brushes and pretty much had a day taking much of the unit apart and grinding the rust off of it. Lots of primer and 6 spray cans of Krylon Rust Guard have the deck looking reasonably close to new.

I contacted Befco a few months ago, because this was going to be a "winter" project. I wanted to see if I could get new stickers for the deck for after the paint job was completed. I have to say, I was impressed with their reply. They sent a full packet of stickers FREE OF CHARGE so now the newly painted deck looks pretty darn good and has Befco brand name on, the proper warning stickers, and even the wife was pretty impressed.

When I assembled it I did make ONE MODIFICATION to the deck. The rear chain guard had probably 50 or 60 pieces of chain hanging over the discharge area. And the deck leaves clumps of grass when I mow when the grass is too tall. I only reinstalled every-other-chain leaving gaps of about 1" between the installed links. My logic is that some grass will fly out of the back of the deck and some will be trapped by the chains and there MIGHT be LESS clumping if I wait too long between mowings? It is just my theory. Now all I have to do is wait a while for the grass to get too long and try it out! Worst case, my theory is wrong and I can easily reinstall the remaining pieces of chain.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Re: Befco Mowers (partial chainectomy)

Well I have been mowing with my modified Befco mower. A couple weeks ago I took out EVERY OTHER chain off the rear discharge guard.

The verdict is that you get LESS clumping with dry long grass, NO clumping with dry short grass, and LOTS of clumping with WET grass of any lenght.

So, I would say, at least for me, with minimal worries about throwing rocks out the back end or anything else when anyone is around, I believe that it was worth the effort to remove every OTHER chain. I believe that I should simply mow more often and that would eliminate any chance of clumping, but my life simply does not permit that. So, a partial chainectomy reduces some clumping and that makes it worth it for me. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[TractorTeen]

Befco makes a fine product. This is my second one. I owned a 72" Befco Finish Mower and have just bought a 60" C50 Befco Finish Mower. Very happy with it. I perfer it over woods because it looks heavier. The wheels look beefed up more. I would highly recommend Befco products. A friend of mine also has the 60" C50 Befco Finish mower and he loves it. He just bought a 4' Befco Rotary Cutter. He says there is nothing that it won't cut (within reason). Befco has come along way with their products over the years.

David