2005 GT2544 Cut Problems

[aaabelha]

Thanks to everyone that responded.

I do have the deck slightly lower up front than the rear.

I prefer not to discharge because I have way too large a yard and would have to go around to rake it all. I like to mulch to return the nutrients to the soil. I bag only in early spring, late fall (leaves) and just before fertilizing.

I will try to cut on 4 next time but I am disappointed that using level 5 or 6 would inherently be considered a setting to NOT use. Why have it then? 5 or 6 prevents it from scorching in the hot months. I don't have an irrigation system and the yard is too big to be dragging around a sprinkler on a hose during the drought months.

All the experts say to leave the lawn longer in summer. I used to be able to do this with my old Husqvarna YT-145 and I never had these rows. It had what I thought was an inferior 2 blade 42 inch deck. It mulched just fine with high cutting in summer and never left any strips uncut. If it wasn't for a tranny failure last year, I'd still be mulching along with that thing.

I will try position 4 later this week. I'll let you all know how well it works out!

I luv my Cub. It's like a bulldog! I recently used it to pull a full dump cart full of rose stone (9 tons total) and it never skipped a beat. But I am dissapointed in the cut. Should I have gone with a Simplicity for it's stellar rep for cut quality? I guess I'll never know. I hope it works out as I do really like my Cub for it's beef!

 

[aaabelha]

Well once again this forum proves it worth!

Cut (mulched) on position 4 today and it made a huge difference. I had no evidence of uncut rows. I'm NOW wondering, since I really want to leave the grass higher in summer to protect from drought if I will have to bag it instead? I am going to BAG next cut at position 5 again to see if I get the rows. It is a PITA to pull the deck again and switch the outermost blade to the hi-lift one but it will have to be done so I can test this all the way through.

Thanks to everyone for their input, especially MRWilgges2 as his insight proved to be correct!

 

[EuropaChris]

Well once again this forum proves it worth!

Cut (mulched) on position 4 today and it made a huge difference. I had no evidence of uncut rows. I'm NOW wondering, since I really want to leave the grass higher in summer to protect from drought if I will have to bag it instead? I am going to BAG next cut at position 5 again to see if I get the rows. It is a PITA to pull the deck again and switch the outermost blade to the hi-lift one but it will have to be done so I can test this all the way through.

Thanks to everyone for their input, especially MRWilgges2 as his insight proved to be correct!

Why must you bag or mulch? I run on position 5 most of the time, and 4 in the spring/fall. Our yard is quite thick due to all the fertilizer, but yet unless I REALLY let it go a long time, I don't have really any grass buildup that would necessitate raking (unless I was REALLY **** about it).

I would prefer to mulch, but I find (like you) that it hinders the operation of every mower I've used it on, unless the grass is very dry or very thin (like the heat/dryness of mid summer).

I also wonder if that one high lift blade is screwing up the airflow under the deck and causing the problem that the three regular blades don't have????


Chris

 

[aaabelha]

That single hi-lift blade only goes on when bagging (at the chute end). I use the original 3 mulch blades when mulching.

My thoughts are that if I bag in summer (on 5) I might be able to avoid the rows I was getting when mulching on 5. I'm thinking I might get better airflow. My grass way really thick in the spring when I was bagging so I am thinking I will try again now that it is summer (grass has thinned) to see what happens

I bag in spring to clean up and before fertilizing, laying grub preventer down, etc. I also bag in fall and for leaf pickup.

I am a firm believer in the health benefits of mulching. I don't worry about thatch as I run my dethatcher once each year.

There is no way I would ever side discharge. It leaves a mess of clippings everywhere and my yard is too big to ever consider raking. I tried it a few times with my old Husqvarna and my yard looked like **** with the clippings turning brown all over the place..........not to mention that my wife would really be wild about tracking the clippings into the house. I don't feel like vacuuming the house for days on end after mowing. Plus I bought a tractor to cut down on my time devoted to yard work and breaking out the rake would just add to it.

 

[ducati996]

aaabelha,

I assume you have a 44" deck on your 2500 series machine correct? I pretty sure the deck shells are very similar on the 3000 series, so the cut should be the same. I find my 44" giving an excellent cut and by keeping the mulch plug off, dispersing the clippings very effectively. The conditions included the worst wet, moist fertized lawn. You sometimes have to cut a little high, and hit it again if the grass height gets away from you. The only time I use the mulch plug is for the fall leaves - and its the best at that!!! it makes those leaves disapear with no problem....its a great vacuum deck and the works the best without the mulch plug...

 

[EuropaChris]

There is no way I would ever side discharge. It leaves a mess of clippings everywhere and my yard is too big to ever consider raking. I tried it a few times with my old Husqvarna and my yard looked like **** with the clippings turning brown all over the place..........not to mention that my wife would really be wild about tracking the clippings into the house. I don't feel like vacuuming the house for days on end after mowing. Plus I bought a tractor to cut down on my time devoted to yard work and breaking out the rake would just add to it.

Agreed! We have dogs and they do sometimes track some grass into the house when it's wet out. Nothing a quick Swiffer or vacuum can't fix.

However, I've NEVER had an issue with dead grass turning brown on the yard after mowing. The 44" deck disperses the clippings so well, they just go away after a day or so. Only if I let it go too long does it have a problem.

With careful planning on how I cut, blowing grass all over isn't a problem, either. Just run enough laps with the grass blowing inside before turning around to blow the grass to the outside of the cut fixes that issue. I find mulching makes a worse mess as you are blowing and/or tracking all that mushy green goo all over the place. I had more problems tracking in that grass pate' vs. a full size clipping.

That said, I would actually prefer to bag, as I prefer that super neat look that it gives. But, it's much better for the yard to either leave the clippings or mulch, and I don't want the hassle of disposing of an acres worth of clippings twice a week.

Keep up the experiments and let us know. I'm sure you'll nail it down to where you like it. I love the way my 2544 cuts.

Chris