New GC1715 - Its fine . . . and its mine.

[AxleHub]

This picture shows the unique mulching deck. Note: one side looks EXACTLY like the other side . . no grass exhaust area on side.

 

[zudnik]

Nice mowing stripes. Congrats.

 

[AxleHub]

I thought it would have been a different blade design as well. The smaller blades actually never lose their edge, so not sure how effective they are. Athough unless you are cutting very tall grass, there is next to zero grass left behind. I have been looking for years for the blades, Gater does not make blades for Massey's standard deck, let a lone the mulch deck so I don't think it will happen as there are very very few of these decks around. As far as spraying the underside, I never bothered. If you try let it, let me know, maybe I will someday.

Hey madhatter,

I got my 2315 mulching deck off today even though the mower manual they supplued me with is for a 60 inch ride on deck lol.

Anyway . . . Now I see the blades and the baffling. I'm really surprised that the blades are right at the bottom of the deck. What you see on the outside is going to be the grass height . . No need to guess.

Anyway . . In just 5 hours of cutting I already had some grass buildup starting to form . . So I flupped the deck over and cleaned the bottom all up and then coated it with that grass repeling spray to keep it cleaner (blades and rollers/wheels too).

Its very slick and dries to an almost slippery smoothness. I was also very surprised to ser this deck has 2 substatial hidden rear rollers and a total of 11 grease zerks if you count the pto coupler.

 

[madhatter]

Yes it is very well built for sure. I could never figure out why they have that setup for blades. I tried reversing the blades ( short on the bottom ) but it made no difference. You will find the long blade gets dull, but the shirt blade never loses it's edge, so not sure if it does much. I may have to try the spray. Over all I love the deck, just have to go over the grass a couple times if it is taller as it leaves a grass trail at times....

 

[AxleHub]

Yes it is very well built for sure. I could never figure out why they have that setup for blades. I tried reversing the blades ( short on the bottom ) but it made no difference. You will find the long blade gets dull, but the shirt blade never loses it's edge, so not sure if it does much. I may have to try the spray. Over all I love the deck, just have to go over the grass a couple times if it is taller as it leaves a grass trail at times....

Greetings madhatter

Well one thing for sure . . I'm going to make a couple jig n fixture items to make taking the deck on and off alot easier.

I believe the small blade concept is to accomplish 2 things:

1. re-cut the already cut blades that lift and are funneled inward by deck design and then drop to the center. It makes perfect sense they stay sharp because the larger blades are lower and doing the bulk of the original cutting plus hitting any branches/dirt/objects.

2. There is less surface speed in the small blades but they serve to balance the whole deck like a gyro and give a smoother level platform for the cut. Note those hidden rollers not seen from the outside do not alter the deck baffling as is true of no outlet for cut grass other than being forced downward. Unlike any normal deck this one is like 3 totally separated decks running in parallel.

Each sepatate deck channel lifts everything it comes over . . Then forces it "centered" and downward for recut in that same separate channel.

At first I thought it would be a low blade then a couple inches up a second blade. But now I realize that would create "twist " pattern movement and the deck would not be so smooth, highly balanced and stable as it is.

Seeing how well it works . . I'm really surprised more people don't want that specific design. Its not for the person who wants to cut the grass once every 15 or 20 days . . . but for normal lawns . . Its dual direction cutting with no chutes and no grass collection or vibration issues.

 

[OvRnOuT]

I really like your machine Axle. Congrats on the purchase.

What did you do to the seat to gain another two inches?

 

[AxleHub]

I really like your machine Axle. Congrats on the purchase.

What did you do to the seat to gain another two inches?

The seat on a GC1715 has a series of notch catches . . Lift the lever and slide the seat forward or reverse to a notch catch. Pretty typical design for cars or riders and tractors. But I looked at the setup because I wanted to straighten my leg further and nake it easier on my knee.

There is a stop bracket that securely keeps the seat from running off the track or getting out of alignment with the sensors. I took it off and reversed it which gave me another notch catch distance back. I then secured the stop bracket in the reversed position. All the parts still there . . Alignment is perfect and seat is notch catched and solid but with almost 2 more inches of leg room.

Next up is installing some additional led low wattage high lumen lighting. I also plan to build a couple jig n fixture items to make removing and installing the mmm deck much easier and faster. Then some wheel spacers. Then the list gets several items longer with some inventing or repurposing ideas.

 

[OvRnOuT]

I flipped the stop bracket around yesterday and it worked like a charm. Thanks again Axle.

 

[AxleHub]

I flipped the stop bracket around yesterday and it worked like a charm. Thanks again Axle.

Glad to hear you now have more legroom choices. It sure made a difference for me

 

[AxleHub]

I just finished mowing a few ttl acres fron 2 yards. I realize all equipment has breakdowns . . but currently mine has none and I enjoy the few hours I get to have running it till fall arrives.

I'm particularly impressed with several things in my last 5 hours of cutting during heat conditions:

1. My radiator temp gauge never moves above 1/4 on the temp scale. Given the temperatures outside and the continuous hours of operation . . . I'm surprised.

2. The Massey front flow air design keeps the heated engine air off me as well as the dust/dirt.

3. The "diff" control. You get stuck in a washout area etc. Step down on the control and roll right on out . . No strain . . No rocking. Used it several times today and each time it was flawless.

4. The engine and mmm deck just do not bog down. Not even on 8 to 10 inch grass areas.

5. The hidden deck rollers along with the 5 viewable deck rollers keep the deck from scalping even on very uneven and crown areas.

A lot of good specs and fancy brochures is fine. . . but its the things you didn't plan would be so useful and so operationally pleasing . . That makes the difference.

Some day . . there WILL be a problem . .
but once again today . . . Its not a today problem.