Question about setting the anti-scalp rollers. Think the manual is wrong.

[Snatchface]

In the manual it says to raise the deck to the highest point with hydro, then set the wheels to 1/4 inch off the ground, then set the cutting height dial, then lower the deck. That just doesnt seem to work. When the deck is at its highest setting the wheels are a good 2 inches off the ground, even with the pins set to the lowest setting.

I am guessin that you have to dial in your height, lower the deck to that height, then adjust the wheels. Is that correct? The manual tells you to do the opposite.

Oh one other thing. Should both of the front rollers be set to the same height? And the same for the rear rollers? For some reason when my tractor was on a level surface I needed to make the front left roller lower than the front right. Is that right?

 

[Volfandt]

I don't know about the BX24 MMM but if it's similar to the BX23 MMM the manual indicates to adjust the anti scalp wheels to where they are 1/4" to 1/2" off the ground at the mowing height selected. If you change your mowing height the anti scalp wheels will then need adjusting again.

I've found that on my rough former pasture (that passes for my lawn) that raising the anti scalp wheels higher than the factory specs is easier on both the mower and anti scalp wheels. I generally run mine a setting higher, at least 1.5 - 2" off the ground and the cut is still very good.

One thing to keep in mind as the anti scalp wheels aren't supposed to be in contact with the ground at all times, they are to lift the mower over obstructions to keep the blades from scalping the lawn.

 

[MOPAULY]

As Volfant says, they are not to contact the ground except to avoid scalping. I have my all adjusted equally on my MMM. If you have to adjust in that fashion I would think something else is out of whack.

 

[SkunkWerX]

I agree there is a discrepancy in the manual.

My dealer gave me a hint, he said to make the adjustment on my lawn, not on driveway, as the machine tends to "sink" a little, depending on the soil and grass type.

It's mostly a common sense adjustment.

My seat-of-pants instructions:
-Set your cutting height using your Dial.
-Lower your deck on flat spot on your lawn.
-Set your anti-scalp wheels so they are about a half-inch from engaging/rolling when moving. (Setting may differ slightly based on how many dips and whoops in your lawn).
-Mow the lawn noting any places that may cause the the wheels to roll more often, adjust slightly, only if needed, it will depend on terrain.

As my dealer said, "You can set them even lower, they will roll a lot more, and you will replace them every so often, OR, you can set them higher, so they never roll, you'll scalp some places, but you'll never replace those plastic rollers."
His point was to set it somewhere in between those two extremes.

Hope this helps.

 

[rdsaustintx]

Adjusting scalp wheels is easy. Adjusting the mower linkage is HARD.

I swear I went through the manual procedure for adjusting the deck links three times, results were never repeatable.

To **** with it, deck cuts fine.

 

[SkunkWerX]

Adjusting scalp wheels is easy. Adjusting the mower linkage is HARD.

I swear I went through the manual procedure for adjusting the deck links three times, results were never repeatable.

To **** with it, deck cuts fine.

Amen to that!! I read those instructions about linkage adjustment, just to familiarize myslef, wow, made my head hurt. IF it's cutting fine, I'm not messing with it.
If I had to, I could take a Satruday morning and figure it out, but, unless it goes out of adjustment, those links will be fine!

 

[Snatchface]

Good, glad I'm not the only one who could not make any sense out of those directions. I read it a few times, had no idea what or where they were talking about. I thought about trying to adjust anyway but laid down until the feeling went away.