Rear Finish Mower Finish Mower Problems

[TroySD]

This summer I bought an RDF72 Bushwacker rear discharge finish mower. When I first started it on the dealer's lot, it made a terrible knocking noise. Brought it to the salesman's attention and he had the service man adjust a guard on the middle blade to add clearance.

Problem starts with a lot of clumping and piles left after mowing as well as not cutting all the grass. My Cub Cadet 50" MMM does just fine in the same grass running side by side with the BushWacker. I've also noticed some noisy vibrations, occasional smoke (not the belts but under the deck). So today I finally power washed everything off and took some pics.

The website says there should be 2 1/16" over lap on the blades. Clearly this isn't the case. The mower has a 1 year warranty.

So the question is, what should be done about this. I ordered new blades before all of this, thinking that was the problem. The blades showed up and aren't the same length or the right hole size....what gives?

 

[TroySD]

Sorry forgot the pics

 

[PoorPlowboy]

If you can get a set of blades in the "high lift" style with a bit of an angle it will probably cut a lot better. What type of blades are on the mower that you're comparing to? Are they flat too?

 

[RoyJackson]

Did you buy this mower used (looks a bit beat for a relatively new one)?

As far as the overlap, I agree...you don't have anything near 2.06". I'm guessing the blades were replaced with non-OEM blades...maybe not the right ones either.
Can you get any up/down play in one or more of those blades? Are the bolts torqued to the correct torque value?

If you bought the mower used, you might have to bite the bullet and purchase new, OEM blades (like PoorPlowboy, I like the high lift blades).
Another thing to try is slowing your travel speed a bit. If your tractor is mashing down the grass and you're moving too fast, the grass doesn't have time to spring back up....so it doesn't get cut.

In my experience, clumping and discreet piles of grass results from mowing when it's too wet (even if the tops look dry, the lower parts of the grass stalks can be damp, and that's enough) or if the blades aren't as sharp as they should be.

 

[TroySD]

Believe it or not its a month and a half old...bought brand new in June. Lots of wet grass. When the humidity is 85%+ all summer, it never does dry out...

Thats what the bottom looked like after I power washed it. Spindles and bearings undercarriage is all good and tight. The blades in the picture are the originals that came with the mower. There is no primer under the paint, and it seems to be pitting pretty good under there. Thats the first time I've washed it. Definitely going to have to change that practice.

 

[TroySD]

As far as the blades go, they do have a bit of a lift on the back. I wouldn't necessarily say hi lift as compared to the blades on my Cub.

Can't say I'm too impressed with the mower so far.

I'm thinking it wasn't built correctly, but I wanted to know what the forum's thoughts were.

 

[whistlepig]

I have a Woods PRD7200 rear discharge mower. The only time it clumps the grass is when the deck starts getting grass built up in it or the rear safety chains get plugged with grass. These mowers have what is called a "wind tunnel" built in to them to distribute the clippings. If grass builds up on this wind tunnel or builds up on the safety chains it restricts the air to the mower. And it clumps.

 

[Haywire]

This is probably not the problem, but I've been told that the center blade should be 90 deg from the outside blades. Yours are all in line. Try clocking them and see if that makes a difference.

Ian

 

[TroySD]

I wasn't sure if the orientation of them mattered or not. I lined them up like that today to check the overlap. To me it doesn't seem that the right side of the pic over laps anything like the left side does. That seems to be leaving a mohawk in the lawn....

Do you guys have anti scalp roller in the center of your Finish mowers? My Cub does but this doesnt

 

[RoyJackson]

Do you guys have anti scalp roller in the center of your Finish mowers? My Cub does but this doesnt

I've had two Befco RFM's and currently own a Frontier (Woods built). All have had anti-scalp rollers.
The anti-scalp roller is normally an option and you should be able to add one to your mower.
I don't think the anti-scalp roller would be the answer to your mowing problems though...