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How far from the bottom of the deck should the blades be located? Should they be in about the middle of the deck or closer to the bottom. How much does that effect the cut. (I was thinking it would effect it a lot). Whisch is better? thanks for the answers.

guest2 said:

How far from the bottom of the deck should the blades be located? Should they be in about the middle of the deck or closer to the bottom. How much does that effect the cut. (I was thinking it would effect it a lot). Whisch is better? thanks for the answers.

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Your query seems odd, because on the majority of the mowers (or ALL of them) I have seen, there is no way to adjust the blade/deck bottom relationship...are you thinking about making a custom deck, or perhaps thinking of using spacers to change the position of the blades in relation to the deck bottom? IMO having the blades within 2-3 inches of the lower edge of the deck works best as far as airflow is concerned...and that is probably where the makers design them.

Want to tell us why you are asking? I am in the mechanical trades and love to learn new ideas !!

Nothing sounds like a safe idea, spacers sound dangerous and pretty much anything changing the position is asking for trouble. And the blade is where it is, most mowers you can change the position of the wheels to adjust the cut height. I want to know too, what are you doing? :biggrin:

Basically the lower in the deck the blade is the better the airflow is above it creating suction which will lift the grass for a better cut and will aid in moving the cuttings to the discharge area, This is the design of Snapper mowers and it works very well.

TradesmanGuy said:

Your query seems odd, because on the majority of the mowers (or ALL of them) I have seen, there is no way to adjust the blade/deck bottom relationship...are you thinking about making a custom deck, or perhaps thinking of using spacers to change the position of the blades in relation to the deck bottom? IMO having the blades within 2-3 inches of the lower edge of the deck works best as far as airflow is concerned...and that is probably where the makers design them.

Want to tell us why you are asking? I am in the mechanical trades and love to learn new ideas !!

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Yes my old mower (ZTR) not that it makes any difference what type of mower it is, was about two inches up from the bottom of the deck and when shopping for new mowers it appears that the blades are very close to the bottom of the deck and I was wondering if that would cut as well. My thinking was that it would not be far enough up in the deck to creat a suction to help pull the grass up for a clean smooth cut.
The old mower worked great and I was just wondering if that was a new deck design.

guest2 said:

Yes my old mower (ZTR) not that it makes any difference what type of mower it is, was about two inches up from the bottom of the deck and when shopping for new mowers it appears that the blades are very close to the bottom of the deck and I was wondering if that would cut as well. My thinking was that it would not be far enough up in the deck to creat a suction to help pull the grass up for a clean smooth cut.
The old mower worked great and I was just wondering if that was a new deck design.

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Thanks for clarification, excellent post, made me think, hopefully made others think....:thumbsup::thumbsup:

I have always felt there are no stupid questions, only stupid answers.

Duffer72 said:

Basically the lower in the deck the blade is the better the airflow is above it creating suction which will lift the grass for a better cut and will aid in moving the cuttings to the discharge area, This is the design of Snapper mowers and it works very well.

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Very good response.

Thanks i am just wondering.

As I stated earlier the more space above the blade the more area for air circulation which creates more suction therefore it lifts the grass and will give you a better cut, any landscaper that wants to cut higher I always raise the deck on the frame (when possible) and then lower the blades in the deck by moving the spacers from top to bottom. Any one with a snapper walk mower or rider would be able to attest to this as that is how thier decks are designed and they work better,

Also remember longer blades also help give a better cut as the blade tip speed is faster, always sold a 36" or 52" over a 32" or 48" cut mower. Had many guys tell me they couldn't use a 48 next to a 36 or 52 as you could see the difference in cut.