Mid-Mount Mower side discharge to rear discharge

[acny]

Hi, I'm a newbie with a mid mount 60" Allis/Simplicity deck which mounts on the front axle and has a center cable to hold up the rear if not resting on the rollers.

I would like to remove the rollers and interior baffles, and open the rear of the deck to make it a rear discharge. I pull two swisher T60 mowers behind the tractor which works great except for the windrow which the left Swisher has to mulch and sometimes bogs it down till it quits. Previously I pulled the Swishers behind a Woods rear discharge without any baffles and it worked fine.

My concern here is that by removing the rear skirt and baffles of the Allis am I destroying a deck? I'm cutting close to 20 acres and at a height (around 4") where the rollers never hit the ground. Would it be necessary to reposition the baffles or should I just use it like the Woods?

I guess the main question is will I be destroying a deck? Part of the rear shroud is rusted out anyway so it can't be doing too much structurally.

Thanks,
WM

 

[jimgerken]

Establish a prairie, or get some animals, or start a tree farm, but for God's sake man, stop mowing so darn much grass. And Welcome!

 

[acny]

Hi Jim,

I'm sure you're not gerken me around, but thanks for the welcome::thumbsup: you've made me feel right at home. Looks like a nice forum and I've learned quite a bit already. I really could use some advice on modifying my deck though.

Thanks,
acny

 

[Treemonkey1000]

Here is the modification I think you should try. :thumbsup:

 

[easygo]

Welcome to the forum.
Twenty acres is a lot of grass cutting. You must have a good tolerance for noise with three engines running for hours. I don't know much about mowing deck design but I don't see why you could not remove at least portion of the rear skirt.
Two things that come to mind
1. Don't compromise the structural integrity of the mower. I'm sure the skirt serves that purpose as well as directing the grass outward.

2. If you remove the skirt it will blow the grass back right onto the tractor and the whole underside of the rear end could be coated with fresh good smelling grass clippings.

Just my thoughts

ps. Treemonkey has the best idea so far.

 

[acny]

Hi All,

Tree monkey's suggestion is for sure the best. I've watched the Befco video several times and wishing I could rig my tow mowers up like that. Mine are working well but pulling the Befco is like a zero turn.

I guess that if my deck weakens I could reinforce it from the top with an angle iron and extend one edge to make a down chute like the Befco.

What do you think about simply removing the baffles?

 

[easygo]

May be you could look into removing the baffle around the center blade (assuming it has three blades) and open the skirt just in the middle. That way the grass would be discharged both to the side and to the back between the rear wheels. It could cure the problem of bogging down that Swisher with excess clippings. I would guess you want to figure out how you would reinforce the deck first before start cutting things off. It would be a real downer if it got twisted in some way and misallign rollers and blades and other fun stuff. The down chute should solve the problem of flying grass for the most part.
If you have a chance post some pictures of your setup and the underside of the mower. That could generate more interest from people who actually have a well reasoned suggestion.

 

[acny]

Here's the pictures. Not sure how to load them but here is my attempt
Allis 5020 and Swisher T60's - TractorByNet.com Photo Gallery,
Allis 5020 and Swisher T60's - TractorByNet.com Photo Gallery

It looks like a major reduction in baffles and the roller assemblies. Then cutting and bending the trailing edge up to form the rear chute. I would leave about 1" of the original edge intact for strength. I just tried mowing and burned out the belt on the mower that was picking up the discharge from the belly mower. This is a must do modification.

Your guidance is very much appreciated.

Thanks

 

[jdgreg]

I have a simplicity legacy mower, and the inside of your deck looks a lot like mine. I would expect if you did mod it as you were thinking, you probably would not be happy with the result. The deck is designed for air flow (to blow the clippings) out the left side. If you did cut up the deck and were not happy with the result, a new deck is several hundred dollars. If you do, make sure you can put it back to the way it was.

Another thought, if you take the deflector off the deck, clippings will be more widely dispersed and wont wind up on a defined windrow. Maybe this is all that's needed?

 

[acny]

Follow up to side discharge vs. Rear discharge:
.
I cut out the baffles of the 5' deck, opened up the rear, eliminated the rollers, and closed up the side discharge flush to the deck. It works fine now. drops the grass without windrows. My tow mowers are not laboring now. Cutting speed is up, no more slow slow laboring. Also cleaned out the tow mower decks but they are still side discharges.
Glad I did this. Well worth the effort.

Thanks for your help on this.