Finish mower advice needed

[bones1]

Just used my 6 ft finish mower today for the first time and I am not sure if I am using it properly.The book says to let it rest on all 4 wheels, 3 pt all the way down? but I ended up with the impressions of all 4 mower wheels all over the yard. Is this normal with a finish mower?.Should I take some weight off it with some lift?.

 

[radman1]

Yes, all 4 wheels should be on the ground and carry the weight of the mower. This allows the mower to follow the contours of the ground. However, I usually don't put the 3 pt down all the way. Instead, I use the depth stop to on the lift to keep it slightly raised so the weight of the lift is not also on the mower. If the wheel impressions are just from bent over grass, this should not be of concern and probably won't be noticed a few days after mowing. If the impressions are from the wheels indenting the soil, then maybe the ground is too soft or wet to mow.

 

[EddieWalker]

On my finish mower, the parts that attach to the lift arms move up and down. I set my lift so it's in the middle, which allows the most movement over the ground that I'm mowing.

How wide are your tires? I've seen some models with very thing tires, which would mean that the weight of the mower would be causeing it to sink into the ground. Mine are 3 inches wide, and pretty much float over everything I go through, including mud and sand.

Eddie

 

[Runner]

Bones,

As others have said, it is supposed to ride on the wheels. However, a 6 foot finish mower can be pretty heavy (mine is over 600 lbs) so they will leave tracks if your yard is muddy. Mine has hard rubber tires about 3 inches wide, and will leave ruts 4 inches deep if I take it next to the ditch after a rain.

Mine will also take divots out of the grass when changing from forward to reverse as the wheels spin on the vertical axis. This can be somewhat relieved by keeping up with greasing the shafts and changing direction slowly (or by picking the unit up with the three-point hitch).

So, it sounds normal to me.

 

[daBear]

Finish mowers must be used on dry ground to avoid the tracks and streaks you are talking about. My Bush Hog RDTH 60 has solid tires and will certainly rut the place up and in fact yesterday afternoon I had to leave part of my back yard uncut because my sewer treatment plant spray system had wet it down enough to cause rutting. The models with slightly wider balloon tires cause different problems as the tires tend to fall off the rims and most prefer the solid tires on finish mowers for durability.

 

[RobJ]

Bones,

As others have said, it is supposed to ride on the wheels. However, a 6 foot finish mower can be pretty heavy (mine is over 600 lbs) so they will leave tracks if your yard is muddy. Mine has hard rubber tires about 3 inches wide, and will leave ruts 4 inches deep if I take it next to the ditch after a rain.

Mine will also take divots out of the grass when changing from forward to reverse as the wheels spin on the vertical axis. This can be somewhat relieved by keeping up with greasing the shafts and changing direction slowly (or by picking the unit up with the three-point hitch).

So, it sounds normal to me.

Same here, my 1999 Woods RM360 (5') weighs 535#. Even when dry I have a few problems in the sandy areas.

 

[bones1]

Thanks for all the replies.Looks like it's not just me making marks in the yard. The mower is a Bush Hog FTH72 and is near 600lbs so I suppose it's gonna leave something behind. That was the first time I have used it and just wanted to make sure it wasn't operator error.

 

[mwb]

I don't have a FM (yet) but couldn't you add some springs to the lift to remove some of the weight from the FM wheels?

 

[RobJ]

I don't have a FM (yet) but couldn't you add some springs to the lift to remove some of the weight from the FM wheels?

The FM needs to roll on the ground. one reason the 4 wheel fm (IMO) outperforms the 2 wheel version. And probably why the 2 wheel version isn't made anymore...as far as I know.