Mowing Problems with Bx "Fine Cut" rck54p23bx deck cut

[Scooby074]

I have a rck54p23bx deck on my BX and the cut is aweful! I have the factory mulch kit with the factory mulch blades installed.

The cut is Uneven and Leaves stragglers particularly on the outside edges of the deck. The tire tracks are visible until next cut.

Dealer suggestion was to cut at WOT and lower the deck height. I dropped the deck from 3.5" to 3" and increased the engine speed to max with little improvment.

Im going to cut and paste my post from the Gator blade thread so as not to derail that topic:\

I had some time to kill so i mowed part of the lawn.

Done at Wide open throttle (34xx RPM) cut at 3", low range 4 wd. driving very slow

heres a couple pics. notice the uneven cut particularly on the corners. This same lawn was cut with my x540 at a much faster pace with no issues. it came out nice and flat.

Hopefully the pictures will show the problems im having with my cut. I might create a thread just to detail my issues so as not to sidetrack the discussion on gator blades.





In the following picture it looks nice and flat with decent striping, however looking carefully you can see the grooves where the tire tracks are.
















Anybody have a solution? This cut is completely unacceptable on a 18K machine!!! a $1800 yard man would cut better.

[keyman1808]

I would check to make sure the blades are 1. on the right way. 2. Tight and not slipping.

I have the 60" deck without the mulch kit and mine works awsome. Great cut. Seems like something is wrong here

[Cooldmax]

I actually started out with a 54 fine cut and wasn't happy with the quality of cut. I traded the 54 in for a new 60 after a year and after several hours of leveling it cuts great. You might want to make sure the front blade tip is around 1/8 to 1/4 lower than the back. This made a big difference in the quality of cut. I also switched to a different blade similar to gator blades. This also helped considerably.

[keyman1808]

Good point Cooldmax. I assumed that this was a new machine and deck and that the dealer would have done the leveling already. I guess we know what happens when one assumes

[Cooldmax]

Did you purchase your tractor with a loader? I did and the dealer leveled the deck with the loader on so when I took it off to mow the front of the tractor had less weight on it and threw the deck adjustment way off. Might be worth a shot.

[dodge man]

When I bought my Bx I expected it to not cut as good as a dedicated lawn mower. I was pretty pleased with the cut and it suprised me how well it does, but I still don't think it does as good as a dedicated lawn mower. They are heavier and are going to mash the grass down a little bit more. I also notice you have to slow down for the turns, or it will leave grass standing. All and all I'm pretty happy with it, it saves me time, and I was cutting with a JD riding mower with a 54" deck before. I hung onto the JD for a couple of years and realized I was never going to use it again, so I sold it.

I'd just like to add if you bought a BX to use as a great mower, that might have been a mistake. I bought mine mainly for the 4x4 on my hills for mowing, but also to use as a end loader, and a rear blade. Its all the other stuff a BX does besides mowing that make it a great machine. Check some of the things others have mentioned on your deck. When mine started cutting bad is was a loose blade.

[MessickFarmEqu]

the problem there is pretty clear... your grass is too long. The fine cut is basicly half a mulch kit. It holds the clipings under the deck longer and cuts down on the volume of grass you can mow. The goal is to make the clippings smaller, which it does when your keeping after your grass. In that senerio, the standard deck would work better.

[kcender]

I have a BX2360 with a 54 inch fine cut deck.I bought the mulching kit with it but have never used it.I tried the deck with standard blades and side discharge when I first got it and liked the cut so I left it that way.I mow one notch under 3 and run around 2800 to 2900 RPM.As for tire tracks,I think all mowers will leave some marks and it doesn't bother me.They usually go away after a day or so.

[Scooby074]

I would check to make sure the blades are 1. on the right way. 2. Tight and not slipping.

I have the 60" deck without the mulch kit and mine works awsome. Great cut. Seems like something is wrong here

The blades are on correct and torqued to specs. I installed both the deck and mulch kit myself.

I actually started out with a 54 fine cut and wasn't happy with the quality of cut. I traded the 54 in for a new 60 after a year and after several hours of leveling it cuts great. You might want to make sure the front blade tip is around 1/8 to 1/4 lower than the back. This made a big difference in the quality of cut. I also switched to a different blade similar to gator blades. This also helped considerably.

Havent had a chance to do an accurate setup on the height as i have no accurate surface to base off, hopefully ill have it in my barn where i can level off the concrete. . Dealer delivered me the deck still in a crate! Ive leveled it as best as i could on a gravel surface. Ill try lowering the leading edge a bit more.

I'd just like to add if you bought a BX to use as a great mower, that might have been a mistake. I bought mine mainly for the 4x4 on my hills for mowing, but also to use as a end loader, and a rear blade. Its all the other stuff a BX does besides mowing that make it a great machine. Check some of the things others have mentioned on your deck. When mine started cutting bad is was a loose blade.

Same reason i traded in my x540. The reason i spent the cash for the 540 was for the diff lock. It worked great on my hills, but i figured the 4x4 would be better, diesel would be cheaper to run, and i could use it for other "tractor" tings like landscaping. As a pure mower its much slower on my property than the deere, probably 25%.

the problem there is pretty clear... your grass is too long. The fine cut is basicly half a mulch kit. It holds the clipings under the deck longer and cuts down on the volume of grass you can mow. The goal is to make the clippings smaller, which it does when your keeping after your grass. In that senerio, the standard deck would work better.

The grass today was a bit high, approx 6-8",with a cut height of 3, ill give you that (lots of rain lately).. HOWEVER even when i mow frequently the problem remains. Dry or wet, Ive even double cut before to try and eliminate the problem to no success.

I have a BX2360 with a 54 inch fine cut deck.I bought the mulching kit with it but have never used it.I tried the deck with standard blades and side discharge when I first got it and liked the cut so I left it that way.I mow one notch under 3 and run around 2800 to 2900 RPM.As for tire tracks,I think all mowers will leave some marks and it doesn't bother me.They usually go away after a day or so.

Tire tracks are one thing, these are much worse. The pictures dont really show how bad it is. id say the crushed areas are ~3" below the height of the surrounding cut grass. Very noticeable. I wouldnt go much under 3" for cut height, or you can injure the grass. 3.5 is ideal. Sure i could drop the deck right down to the turf to have a flat cut, but that not really good for the grass, but great for a putting green

[638]

As tall as that pasture is, you should be using a bush hog. That's not a lawn.