Finish Mower Bogging Down with Low HP CUT's

[rhett]

Hi,
A problem I have dealt with for too dang long. Busted belts and bogging down every time I hit thick field grasses. This problem evolves from even to the smallest push mower. First I tried removing baffles and adding clipping exhaust openings to the cutting deck, Not the answer I needed. Today's lawn mowers are not efficient by any means. The idea of High Lift or Mulching Blades is a tremendous waste of energy. Example, 1 inch of lift means the resistance is as if the blade is 1 inch thick.

For my finish mower I made some Straight (flat) blades seeings how they are no longer sold. Well doggone, finally, I hit thick Clover and no problems, just tapped on my throttle and cruised right through. With the High Lift I would have bogged down within 15 feet of travel.

If the blades are kept sharp, the finish cut is no different from the High Lift blades.

For the Safety Police:
Mower blades are made from "Mild or Tool Steel". Tool Steel does cost more, but stays sharp longer.

I really anticipate a debate. My result here, for me, means commercial blades will never be considered again for use, period.

Thank You for reading and your evaluation!
Rhett

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

What lifts the grass up that got pushed down by the front tires if have no lift. I hope you used some quality steel for the blades. Cheap mild steel will break from vibration and stress. The life you save could be one of your loved ones. I am not a safety notzie. I do unsafe things every day but I always worry about what I do injuring others.
Bill

 

[LD1]

I personally buy the highest lift blades I can.

But I have overkill on HP with my 5' RFM behind my L3400.

But I agree with hooked_on_HP, in that lift is needed to stand the grass up that got laid over by the tires and the anti-scalp rollers.

If the "field grass" is that thick that you are bogging down, have you tried a rotary cutter or a flail mower?? If you are constantly bogging down, it seems you are either trying a finish mower in too thick of stuff, or are short on HP.

 

[Dargo]

My push mower has 8 hp, my zero turn mowers are around 30 hp diesel powered, my tractor I mow with has just over 80 PTO hp. I have no clue what you're talking about. I never have a bogging down issue. Well, once when the mower deck dropped off into water it really made me chug some black smoke, but that's a bit different.

 

[oliver28472]

I tried low suction blades on my Woods rear mount. The high lift works much better for me, especially after the grass is mashed down by the front and rear tires before the mower gets to it. I actually have had two sets on mine for the past two years. If I go too fast in the thick stuff there will be grass that did not get cut but that's just my mower. Not the best design but pretty tough.

 

[Dargo]

I tried low suction blades on my Woods rear mount. The high lift works much better for me, especially after the grass is mashed down by the front and rear tires before the mower gets to it. I actually have had two sets on mine for the past two years. If I go too fast in the thick stuff there will be grass that did not get cut but that's just my mower. Not the best design but pretty tough.

You are correct. For brush hogging with a rotary cutter, lift isn't important; the lift 'wings' will just get broken off if you chop small trees or hit other debris anyway. If you don't have high lift blades, you'll have tall stripes of grass the next day after your grass stands back up that was pushed down by the wheels and not cut because it wasn't stood back up by the lift of the blades. That's the entire reason to have lift to any blades. The only time you'll get a good cut without lift is if you have an old walk behind mower with an out front deck without leading wheels. Otherwise, without debate, you'll not cut the grass your tires push down if you don't have lift to your blades.

 

[lostcause]

i have a similar issue with my rotary mower. i have a woods 5 ft rotary behind my jd770 (20~ish hp at the pto). it has no issue at all with mowing fields, and i've had no trouble running down massive clumps of 1" alders and other brush. the one thing it can't do is cut a field with the morning dew still on it. at 9am i can't make it 50ft into the field, but after lunch it is no trouble. certainly i'm at the far end of the spectrum as far as my mower to hp ratio, but for what i do it will suffice.i'm sure more power would bull through. i have no knowledge of blade design, so i can't say what a rotary mower uses.

 

[boggen]

you know you are in trouble with a finishing mower, if you have deck set as high as possible, and taking 1/3 the deck per pass.

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wet grass *ughs*

if i do not get to the grass in time. mow high then second time low. or half passes....

if it is tall stuff over 1 foot tall. i will mow high. and i will wait till next day to mow it.

if it just a little to high for speed i want to go at to stay cool (via wind) i will go from full deck to 1/3 per pass.