Blade Pitch Used By Professionals??????

[djdicetn]

While prepping my new Gravely for the season this past weekend I read through the Owner's Manual thoroughly. While reading the section regarding "Leveling The Mower Deck" I discovered some information that was new to me(as is a lot about mowing:0)
In the section for checking the blade level and pitch, the recommendation was to ensure that the blade tips were the same distance from the ground with all blades aiming side-to-side. Then the recommendation with the blades aiming front-to-back was for the front tip to be 1/8 inch lower than the rear. That is the deck leveling as I had always understood it.
But.......the instructions had a NOTE: that stated "Pitching the front of the blades lower than the rear provides a balance between cut quality and the power needed to cut the grass. Certain cutting conditions require the deck to be pitched with the rear of the blades lower than the front. Heeling the deck this way requires more engine power but can provide better cut quality.". Sooooooooooo, what do some of you guys that mow for a living do regarding the pitch of your blades? Since you are always wanting the customer to be impressed with the cut quality, do you "heel the deck blade pitch" or is there more to this to determine if your engine has "the power" to mow that way??????

 

[djdicetn]

91 views and no advice/opinions???????

 

[greasemonkeyok]

Since I'm not a lawn Nazi, I don't even check the pitch side to side, much less front to back. It adds a little character to an otherwise monotonous patch of grass.

 

[Scooby074]

My deck is pitched tip down.

The reasion is it allows the deck to clear the clippings faster (less recutting) and the rear blade section wont drag over the cut grass tips.

A rear pitch does the opposite. The forward tip cuts most of the grass off while the rear section (probably the remaining 2/3rds of the blade) cuts and recuts down to the proper set height. More drag and recutting, but it should give a more even end result. This will take more power obviously.

Thats just my take on it. My brother is a greenskeeper.. I could ask him, but he thinks all rotary mowers are pretty crude:laughing: and really doesnt care one way or another.. Now his reel mowers.. He keeps them tuned to thousandths of an inch!

 

[djdicetn]

My deck is pitched tip down.

The reasion is it allows the deck to clear the clippings faster (less recutting) and the rear blade section wont drag over the cut grass tips.

A rear pitch does the opposite. The forward tip cuts most of the grass off while the rear section (probably the remaining 2/3rds of the blade) cuts and recuts down to the proper set height. More drag and recutting, but it should give a more even end result. This will take more power obviously.

Thats just my take on it. My brother is a greenskeeper.. I could ask him, but he thinks all rotary mowers are pretty crude:laughing: and really doesnt care one way or another.. Now his reel mowers.. He keeps them tuned to thousandths of an inch!

Scooby074,
Next time you talk to your brother ask him. As I understand it even those huge reel-type mowers that are used for golf courses, footbal fields and such(that cost tens of thousands of dollars) can also have the reel blades set to a "front-lower" or "back-lower" pitch. If the "real pros"/"reel pros" on these(that cut NFL football fields and such) use the heel pitch(back lower than the front) that may help confirm it gives the best cut quality.

 

[Scooby074]

Scooby074,
Next time you talk to your brother ask him. As I understand it even those huge reel-type mowers that are used for golf courses, footbal fields and such(that cost tens of thousands of dollars) can also have the reel blades set to a "front-lower" or "back-lower" pitch. If the "real pros"/"reel pros" on these(that cut NFL football fields and such) use the heel pitch(back lower than the front) that may help confirm it gives the best cut quality.

I'll ask him next time we talk.

As I understand it though, the bed knife is straight horizontal. I'll confirm .

 

[94BULLITT]

I have my deck set a 1/8 lower in the front because that is what the owners manual says.

You may get some better replies here:

http://www.lawnsite.com/

 

[Scooby074]

Scooby074,
Next time you talk to your brother ask him. As I understand it even those huge reel-type mowers that are used for golf courses, footbal fields and such(that cost tens of thousands of dollars) can also have the reel blades set to a "front-lower" or "back-lower" pitch. If the "real pros"/"reel pros" on these(that cut NFL football fields and such) use the heel pitch(back lower than the front) that may help confirm it gives the best cut quality.

Ok, I talked to my brother tonite...

And wow.. I got an earfull!! A whole bunch of technical mumbo jumbo lol. Needless to say there are a lot of things that come into play when your mowing grass at 0.120" high!

Basically he said there is an angle to the bedknife. Its called "bed knife attitude" and plays a critical part in quality of cut. There is alot to it, things like "clip","shear point" and lots more measurements. He sent me a link which explains everything you ever wanted to know about reel mowers, their setup and their terminology. Its quite a read and might give you some insight in to what a greenskeeper goes through in the run of a day when it comes to mowing and why they tend to drink a bit . http://www.toro.ca/customercare/commercial/education/pdf/98008sl.pdf

Generally, he said, the tip of the bed knife is tipped down relative to the heel of the blade.

Oh and rotary mowers.. He uses rotaries on his rough, but has no opinion on deck pitch. he just laughed and asked why it mattered to me. He said "its just a house lawn not like it matters".:laughing: