PT 422 finish mower rear wheels damage turf

[BobRip]

I mowed again and got more clumps. My neighbor suggested I need a discharge chute. Any thoughts.

I just realized one of my rear wheels is damaged. Maybe that is the problem.

Here is a picture of a grass clump.

 

[ponytug]

You have a different mower than I do, but FWIW, I personally associate clumps with dull blades.

Then there is always the usual culprits of wet grass, long grass, and slow blade speeds, but I doubt that's an issue for you Bob.

All the best,

Peter

 

[agjones]

You have a different mower than I do, but FWIW, I personally associate clumps with dull blades.

Then there is always the usual culprits of wet grass, long grass, and slow blade speeds, but I doubt that's an issue for you Bob.

All the best,

Peter

If you slow down and it helps, sharper blades and a higher cut should also help .

 

[MossRoad]

If my grass is thick and wet, I get clumps.
When I get clumps, I then run over the clumps with the tractor.
When I run clumps over with the tractor, they are harder to blow away on the next pass because they're pressed into the lawn.

I try to mow in the evenings when the grass is dry. And I try to mow once a week to avoid letting it get too long.

The way I see it, the problem with the PT rear discharge, is that it shoots the clippings more towards the right side of the deck and any windrow coming out of the rear-right side gets run over by the front right tractor tire.

I've noticed that if I see a strip of clumps, I can back over it and it goes away mostly. That would indicate that a front discharge might work better than a rear discharge, as anything blown out the front would get immediately run over again.

I've thought about reversing my mower deck on more than one occasion.

 

[johara1]

Maybe cut a discharge hole on the right side of the deck and frame it in for strength.... then put a roller in the back....... jim

 

[MossRoad]

Maybe cut a discharge hole on the right side of the deck and frame it in for strength.... then put a roller in the back....... jim

I think a full-width roller would tear some stuff up. Take a look at Simplicity decks for ideas. They stripe the lawn very nicely.

As for cutting a hole and framing it in; I think you'd need to add some sort of baffles under the deck to direct the clippings to the side, and also box in the back of the deck in order for it to be effective.

 

[BobRip]

I just remembered that one of the rear wheels has a broken flange on several inches of the perimeter. Maybe that is causing the problem. I have ordered two new rear tires. Thanks for everyone’s comments.

 

[johara1]

I think a full-width roller would tear some stuff up. Take a look at Simplicity decks for ideas. They stripe the lawn very nicely.

As for cutting a hole and framing it in; I think you'd need to add some sort of baffles under the deck to direct the clippings to the side, and also box in the back of the deck in order for it to be effective.

It doesn't on a Ventrac mower deck, that is why I said it and the roller would block the rear discharge. They flat throw it under the right front wheel on the tractor, anything would help..... jim