X570 Cut Quality Issue

[mercdv]

I'll stop back into the dealer and show them the pictures and see what they say. I mentioned this to them when I was in getting oil for the 8hr oil change and his response at the time was to just keep tweaking the settings a little. I wasn't thrilled about that answer but at the time I didn't have pictures to show him.

Good luck...let us know how it turns out. If you are still within the JD Promise time limit, you can always threaten to return the unit and that should get his attention.

Also, if he doesn't jump on this one then try another dealer if you have one close to you.

 

[hawkeye08]

I don't use a mulch kit, but do use high lift blades on my mower. If the grass is growing fast, I mow more often so I don't have any clippings really. There is a few weeks in spring when I should mow every 3 days to keep the grass clippings minimum, but have let it go and then mowed a second time the next day to cut the clippings again.. My thinking is that mulch kits can be a bit touchy if the grass is a bit taller or you are cutting real close. We have not even used the lawn sweeper since we got the new mower.. Best wishes on getting this resolved..

 

[66cuda]

Thanks Everyone. I didn't push too hard the first time I went to the dealer. I'm the one who installed the mulching kit so I thought since I did it myself they would say it's my problem. There is another Deere dealer near by so if the place I bought my from can't help I'll follow up with them.

 

[66cuda]

I haven't had time to get the to the dealer or get the gauge but I was able to pull the deck and I was amazed at what I found. The grass was caked up underneath. The mulching kit has only been on for 10 hours of run time! I don't think this is what is causing my issue, but i'm sure it isn't helping. I'm also outside of the John Deere Promise now as well.





And after about 30 minutes of cleaning and scraping.

 

[beenthere]

Yuck!

Choked it down to where the poor thing couldn't swallow any more wet grass.. but then early season grass is very juicy and sticky even when not wet.

Suggestion that works for me.. get a compressor with a good air blow gun (mine is about $3 at HF) with 2' wand and after EVERY mowing the tractor, deck and underside get blown off clean. It can then be dry when the next mowing takes place with very little clogging under the deck. Limits possibility of rusting the steel deck too.
I think it would do wonders for you too.

 

[66cuda]

Yuck!

Choked it down to where the poor thing couldn't swallow any more wet grass.. but then early season grass is very juicy and sticky even when not wet.

Suggestion that works for me.. get a compressor with a good air blow gun (mine is about $3 at HF) with 2' wand and after EVERY mowing the tractor, deck and underside get blown off clean. It can then be dry when the next mowing takes place with very little clogging under the deck. Limits possibility of rusting the steel deck too.
I think it would do wonders for you too.

I've been using my leaf blower and trying to blow into/under the deck after every mow, but it's clearly not working. I have the air compressor but I'll have to get a wand and give this a try.

 

[crazyal]

My x500 came with mulching blades but not the kit for the deck. When I switched to the high lift blades it cut down on the amount of grass getting stuck to the inside of the deck but didn't stop it. Now I have two ramps I drive up and just use the hose after each time when the grass is wet. By summer it's not an issue like spring grass. I wouldn't worry about being outside of the grace period. My x500 cuts just fine so it's most likely an adjustment that's needed. Over all I've very happy with mine.

 

[Richard001]

Are those rings of metal that almost encircle the blades part of the mulching kit or is that the standard deck configuration?

Richard

 

[66cuda]

Are those rings of metal that almost encircle the blades part of the mulching kit or is that the standard deck configuration?

Richard

Those Rings are part of the mulching kit.

 

[Richard001]

Those Rings are part of the mulching kit.

Well I don't have experience with that deck, but just looking at it, my intuition tells me that the grass does not have a very good chance of seeing the blades.

Have you always used the mulching kit? If so, try taking it off and see if your cut quality gets better.

Richard

 

[Rock Crawler]

(I did not read 3 pages of responses, I looked at the original photos attached.)

My opinion is that the deck is leaning/sloped down in the front center creating the lower cut path from that center of the finish mower 3 blades.

Looking at your original post, I see the one narrow path that is cut low, and a double width boarder cut high, as if the outer blades are higher than the center, and you cut back and forth meaning that the outer blades make a double width high cut path compared to that low cut center strip.

Adjust the deck to raise the front and remove that mulch kit. Try mowing it again. It appears that your side to side deck adjustment is pretty much spot on. Just give it a try. I am thinking that this is the problem.

 

[bob3275]

I bought a new X590 about 5 months ago. John Deere was running a "special" on the price if you got the mulch kit so I got it. The deal must have been so popular that they were out of them for about 6 weeks. I also have an X530 now for about 4 years. The cut quality between the two is entirely different. The X530 cut quality is excellent but the cut quality on the X590 WITH the mulch kit is not even close to being as good as it is on the X530. This is with running it in full mulching mode or opening the "door" and side discharging. Over the last few months I have spent countless hours trying to figure out why there was such a big difference. Both mower decks were setup exactly the same with regard to leveling side to side and the same measurement of "difference" between the front and back of the blade tips was identical. What I would see with the X590 was quite simply a fair amount of grass that appeared to have been never touched by the blades, right next to grass the that was actually cut off half decent. I tried to convince myself over and over that it wasn't that bad and that I was over-reacting. I mowed part of my lawn yesterday with the X590 and I thought it looked awful..........trust me everything was right including perfectly sharp blades, etc. I had a flat strip of lawn left about 50 feet by 250 feet. I mowed 4 passes with the X590, and then 4 passes with the X530. There was a BIG DIFFERENCE in the cut quality.............had my wife come out and look at it and she noticed it right away without being "coached". Basically, I had had enough of this. I mow 9 other properties and my standards have always been high. I took the mulch kit totally off, put on standard blades and the mower cut perfectly, just like my X530. I have several ideas why the cut is not good with the mulch kit but the bottom line is that I will NEVER put it back on again. Glad to discuss my findings with anyone interested.

 

[beenthere]

:welcome: to TBN

But pls don't do the duplicate posts in different threads. tks

 

[bob3275]

:welcome: to TBN

But pls don't do the duplicate posts in different threads. tks

I'm sorry, I won't.

 

[66cuda]

I worked on and off all summer with my dealer and the end result was pulling the mulching. even after that, I've still not been happy with the cut quality. some areas of the yard look fine and other areas i'm not thrilled about. pretty much any area where there is the slightest change in grade, or if I turn to any degree other than perfectly straight, I get a crappy cut. I brought this up several times with the dealer and they tell me the mower is perfectly level and the blades are good. They tried to blame the issue on the grass. that it's too wet and causes issues. I only cut in the late afternoon. We had some drought conditions in Michigan in August and even then I wasn't happy with the cut quality. Talked to the dealer and again its the grass condition. I guess JD mowers can only cut specific grass and it has to be dried out?

I contacted JD directly but their only responses was to keep working with the dealer... Can't say I'm overly happy about the whole situation.

 

[ruffdog]

Many of these Deere decks offer different leading edge plate kits for different purposes like mulching or dry conditions. I just installed the anti blow out kit (dry conditions kit) on my x744 and I see there is one for the x570 mowers too. Does the OP have the wrong kit installed for his type of mowing?

 

[tomplum]

These things can sure be frustrating. Grass certainly can be an issue. Take grass that is less robust as it came through a dry spell and it is whole lot less volume under the deck than that thick , juicy early summer grass. Sometimes slowing the engine speed down can help as well as dropping the height of cut a notch. Sometimes it comes down to what works on one lawn doesn't perform as well on the next. Are you mulching to reap the benefits of mulching or just not wanting to deal with the discharge?

 

[bigjer]

Yep, running at full throttle, i.e. 3600 RPM. Almost guaranteed to wear out the engine in short order. Good for business.

Shortly after the warranty expires, so will the engine.

There is no reason to operate a mower at full throttle, well unless you are cutting hay. With the HP and torque of these new engines, cutting 3" high grass should be a walk in the park. If blade speed is an issue, they should just change the engine to blade ratio.

Let me ask a question, has anyone had an issue with power when cutting grass? I doubt it. You got to remember, the tractor manufactures make money selling new tractors. If you can make a tractor last 20 years, what's in it for the manufacture?

Richard

Yes...there is a very good reason to cut at high RPMs.........The engine is AIR COOLED!!!