Deck holding grass

[MParr]

I love Gator blades and run them all year.
3” is very short, try at least 3.5” and preferably 4”.
If you have an exit chute, bungee cord it up at a 45 degree angle and throw the grass out as far as it will go.

I hate Gator style blades. I don’t have the time to clean my deck after every 1/2 acre. I don’t have time to go over areas where big clumps havefallen from under the deck.

Questioning high lift blades to discharge better. I have personal experience that they can actually cause deck clogging. Sold a set of extra high lift to a customer years ago, and he ran them about 10 minutes before putting his old blades back on because they turned his deck into a mulcher and clogging and clumping within feet of turning on the deck..

That’s a big no to extra high lift blades.
Gator G6 blades my a mess on my Gravely. The OEM blades do a fair job. However, they don’t have enough lift to get all of the Dandelion flowers or Bahai grass seed stalks. I went to a notched high lift blade that works on Bad Boy, Dixie Chopper, and Exmark mowers and they give me a good balance of lift and discharge. The underside of the deck stays cleaner and I get zero clumping.

 

[wekjo]

I've got a 2014 FasTrack 54 with 330 hrs. It has always packed the deck with grass when mowing and when it gets enough, it pukes it out in one big wad. I've always heard this was due to a poor deck/baffle design. Are there any fixes for this? I'm tired of having mounds of clippings all over my yard. Did the newer decks address this issue? Would a new deck of any manufacture fit my mower? Thanks for any advice in advance.

In the spring and on July 4th I clean my mower decks and spray with Fluid Film. The grass then does not hold long to the deck, it falls to the garage floor over the week and when I get the mowers out on the next weekend I sweep the fallen grass off floor which is easier than cleaning the deck.

 

[bkeller500]

I have tried fluid Film on a couple of occasions in the past but it never seems to last very long. I have scraped the deck spotless, applied multiple coats giving it overnight to dry before applying additional coats and it still comes off after 2 or 3 mowings. MowDeck had the same results. The deck still gets loaded but it comes off more easily.

 

[MParr]

Just to add to my earlier post.
My mower is Gravely Pro Turn 260. It has the X-Factor 2 deck and is powered by a Kohler ZT740.
Yesterday, I mowed my three acres. When I started, there was still dew on the ground. The dew was gone before I finished. There were no clumps left on the lawn. There wasn’t a Bahia grass seed stalk standing and no dandelion flowers. On top of that, the underside of the deck was clean.
Tires: 12 psi all around.
Deck: Level side to side. The rear of the deck is 1/8” higher than the front.
Blades: Rotary 6083 with a 1/4” spacers between the blades and spindles. This allows for the offset on the OEM blades.

 

[Gord Baker]

I've got a 2014 FasTrack 54 with 330 hrs. It has always packed the deck with grass when mowing and when it gets enough, it pukes it out in one big wad. I've always heard this was due to a poor deck/baffle design. Are there any fixes for this? I'm tired of having mounds of clippings all over my yard. Did the newer decks address this issue? Would a new deck of any manufacture fit my mower? Thanks for any advice in advance.

If there is a Cover over the side Discharge Chute, ("mulcher") Remove it and try mowing without it.
Plastic chutes are available for most mower owners who don't like the 'mulch' feature.

 

[davis2]

I have tried fluid Film on a couple of occasions in the past but it never seems to last very long. I have scraped the deck spotless, applied multiple coats giving it overnight to dry before applying additional coats and it still comes off after 2 or 3 mowings. MowDeck had the same results. The deck still gets loaded but it comes off more easily.

It's kind of like blowing snow. You may have to spray every time.

 

[jviews12]

I cannot assume you clean the deck and let it dry before re0use. After doing the above boys, clean under deck, let dry, and only cut when dry. Are blades wrong or dull?

 

[MParr]

I cannot assume you clean the deck and let it dry before re0use. After doing the above boys, clean under deck, let dry, and only cut when dry. Are blades wrong or dull?

That’s all fine and well for a residential owner. A commercial owner doesn’t have time to clean the deck after each customer.

 

[Gord Baker]

Remove the 'mulch cover' if your mower has one. Work at keeping the underside clean. Dry Grass is key.

 

[DeanP1962]

You missed a couple.
Deck leveled properly.
Use high lift blades. Gator style blades will make a mess.

Why do you say that gator blades make a mess?? I mowed a cemetery for 30 years and gator blades are all I ever used when mowing it and I never had a problem using them. Mowed grass at 3&1/2 inches because that is what the board members wanted. To this day gator blades are all I ever use I’ve never had a problem with grass clumping up unlesss grass was too tall 4 inches or more then grass's would clump up in places .