Finish mower leaving a strip of Grass.

[tdw230]

I have a woods rm306 finish mower that I purchased used a few months ago. I have cut my lawn with it two times now and this time I noticed that it is leaving a strip of grass uncut on the discharge side of the mower. I am new to the use of finish mowers and was wondering if this is a problem indicative of this particular finish mower. Any help would be great!

TD

 

[bczoom]

TD,

First, welcome to TBN.

I don't have that particular mower but have encountered a similar situation.

Mine was caused by the accumulation of wet grass clippings near the chute side of the deck. Where they were caked up, it pushed/held the grass down so it wasn't getting cut.

Is your mower deck clear/clean of debris and clippings?

Brian

 

[tdw230]

Brian,
Thanks for responding. I will check under the deck tomorrow and see if that is the problem. Thanks again for the imput.

Best Regards,
TD

 

[beenthere]

I've had it happen where a stick gets caught under the front edge of the deck, and bends the grass flat as the blade whizzes by over the top of the stick. Pretty obvious strip of unmown grass, and the stick is hidden from easy view.

I am assuming this is not a wide strip such as might happen if one blade is on upside down. It happens. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[tdw230]

No. It is not a very wide strip. Just about 4 inches or so. I will keep my fingers crossed that is is as simple as cleaning out the mower deck.

TD

If the blade is upside down then the Wife has been tinkering with my toy!

/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[deere755]

There are two things you could check one is if there is a build up of grass under the mower like what was said earlier, also you might check to see if the blades are worn off at the edges. If they are you might just need to put on new blades. I had a mower that would leave a stripe of grass when I turned and new blades fixed it.

 

[djradz]

I have an RM 306 also and have been very pleased with it's performance. However, I do not have a side discharge. The discharge chute has been replaced with a cover plate, so I guess it's sort of a "rear discharge" mower. You may want to look at doing the same. Also, I believe Woods' instruction say, when mowing, to have the uncut grass always to the right. Apparently, that way, you run over the little windrow and hit it again.

Not that it will help with the windrow, but have you used the "check chains" setup Woods shows in their manual for the RM 306? See attached.

 

[bczoom]

djradz,

I don't have a mower like yours but looking at the pic you attached, the section of mower belt visible is making me scratch my head.
I see a full 1/2 twist just in the section of pic provided. Out of curiosity, why?
Does that small steel guide (looks like a backwards "C") on the frame rub against the belt?

Brian

 

[EastTexFrank]

Is the 4" strip totally uncut or is it not cut to the same level as the rest of the grass? It could just be that your tires are flattening the grass and it's not springing back up fast enough to be cut or being held down by the grass trying to exit the chute.

 

[tdw230]

djradz and EastTexFrank,

dj- My RM306 has front wheels, I am not sure that the check chains would help would they?

EastTexFrank- the grass that is left behind is not cut at all, But I am starting to suspect a different problem. I have been hearing a noise from that side of the mower and noticed that the blade on that side is loose compared to the others. I guess this means that I may need the spindle rebuilt or new bearings?

To all that have replied! Thanks so much. This is a great place to get info!.

Best Regards,
TD