SO I bought this YTS 3000 46" mower / Tractor new from Sears and after about maybe one season it seemed to be cutting uneven.
I had changed the blades from the stock blades to the mulching blades and it still cut uneven, I tried leveling the deck and still nothing, I went through at least 4 or five sets of blades in the last 4 years I have owned it and its still cutting wrong. I tried even installing the mulching kit and that didn't help and I didn't really think it did all that good a job!
anyhow, one of my thoughts is, the blades aren't spinning fast enough to pick up the grass that gets pushed down by my front tires so when I cut, all the grass that the tires ran over is not being cut and after a few minutes it stands back up and is taller than what did get cut. does anyone else notice this? also, I have never changed my cutting belt, could it be worn or stretched out and not turning the blades fast enough to pull the grass up and cut it? it takes me twice the time to cut my 3 acres because I have to go over these areas again. is there a way to make the blades spin faster like getting smaller sized pulleys for the Spindles? I think they are 5" now or 6" I was wondering if I put 4" pulleys on them (if they can be found that is) if it would help?
You get what you pay for, as far as I know Craftsman decks are not adjustable. If you are mowing three acres I would be looking for a new mower at a dealer, research online & give them a try. You can cut your mowing time in half with a ZTR mower.
#3
Carscw
What height are you cutting at?
If to high then the front wheels will lay the grass down.
You can cut more often or cut it shorter.
Use high lift blades and slow down.
You can use 4 inch pulleys to speed up the blades. I do not recommend it.
You will burn the spindle bearings up faster.
With more blade speeds comes less torque. Means when you get into thick grass the blades will slow way down. And the blade belt will slip.
1) belts do not stretch, they wear thin , sit deeper in the pulleys thus become loose.
2) a slightly loose belt will generally scream as it slips
3) a very loose belt will just plain stop at the slightest provocation.
4) make sure you have the 1/4" drop at the front of the deck, this is very important
5) check the tyre pressures, one slightly low tyre can make a drastic difference.
6) the YTH series are pathetic at mulching if fitted with the fabricated deck
7) there is a definate relationship between ground speed and cutting speeds if exceeded you will get a poor quality cut
8) the fabricated 3 blade deck has insufficant blade overlap and is very sensative to blade wear & length.
There are a lot of blades that will go on but only a few that actually fit & mow properly
The pressed 3 blade deck is a little better but neither give as good a cut as the 2 blade decks which give a good cut and cut faster than the bigger 3 blade deck.
Now,
What exactly do you mean by poor quality cut ?
What type of grass do you have ?
how long is it when you cut ?
how much are you tying to remove?
How high are you cutting ?
There are a lot of grasses which really can not be cut cleanly with rotaries which is why they make wide drum mowers.
