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I just purchased a new Snapper 11.5 hp rear engine rider. Model number: 2811524BV. I am not very experienced with mowers or anything mechanical, for that matter, so I wanted to ask a few questions of you guys to help me keep this mower in good condition and working for the 20+ years that I hear Snappers will run. Some of these questions may seem petty, but please bear with me. I'd appreciate all the help I can get.

First, I have a question about the blade. I bought my snapper from mowersdirect.com. It was shipped to me, and I put it together using the instructions in the manual sent with the mower. There were no specific instructions regarding the blade. I looked at it, and couldn't tell if it was sharpened or not. The blade that came on it was red, which took me back because most mower blades that I have seen or dealt with were black. It has an angle on it, but it wasn't razor sharp or anything. I cut my yard with this blade, and found the cut to be uneven and not quite what I was accustomed to. I still question whether it was shipped with a ready to cut blade. I cannot seem to find anyone who can answer this for me. Maybe someone here can. I tried to take it off and take it to someone who might be able to look at it for me and tell me, but I couldn't break the bolts holding it on without some type of air ratchet, which I do not have access to. I figured before I went as far as to try to find an air ratchet, I'd ask here.

Second, I noticed that the exhaust on the mower got very hot very fast when the mower was running. Is this normal? I expected it to get hot, but I was floored at how hot it became. If you can shed some light on this for me, I'd appreciate it.

Once again, I know that these may seem like elementary issues, but I have no mechanical knowledge and just want to make sure that I can make my mower last. I am very proud of it, and would like to maximize it's life span. Thanks alot guys!!

yes the muffler gets very hot... I really believe its a function of the thinner steel used to make it. Did you put the blade on or was it already on it? if you put it on are you sure you put it on correctly. If it was already there, how tall was the grass? what height was the deck set at. What engine speed? Engine speed should have been at max to allow maximum blade speed. Trying to cut a too slow an engine speed might produce the result you had. The deck used on the mower should have been similiar to my deck on my old 33 inch yard cruiser. And yes it was painted red as well. And no they are not razor sharp. I never had any issues with cut quality on that mower.

txzrider said:

yes the muffler gets very hot... I really believe its a function of the thinner steel used to make it. Did you put the blade on or was it already on it? if you put it on are you sure you put it on correctly. If it was already there, how tall was the grass? what height was the deck set at. What engine speed? Engine speed should have been at max to allow maximum blade speed. Trying to cut a too slow an engine speed might produce the result you had. The deck used on the mower should have been similiar to my deck on my old 33 inch yard cruiser. And yes it was painted red as well. And no they are not razor sharp. I never had any issues with cut quality on that mower.

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Make sure to answer txzrider's questions and I'll add that the red blade is Snapper's color and they paint everything red on their machines, as you can tell. Also, if the blade is mounted properly, you may need to level the deck and the owner's manual will have instructions.

Just an FYI, an air ratchet would not be the best tool to remove the bolts that hold the blade on the blade adapter but a 1/2" impact would do the job just fine.

txzrider said:

yes the muffler gets very hot... I really believe its a function of the thinner steel used to make it. Did you put the blade on or was it already on it? if you put it on are you sure you put it on correctly. If it was already there, how tall was the grass? what height was the deck set at. What engine speed? Engine speed should have been at max to allow maximum blade speed. Trying to cut a too slow an engine speed might produce the result you had. The deck used on the mower should have been similiar to my deck on my old 33 inch yard cruiser. And yes it was painted red as well. And no they are not razor sharp. I never had any issues with cut quality on that mower.

Click to expand...

The blade was on the mower when I recieved it. The grass was not too terribly tall, nothing that wasn't manageable. I had the deck set at "3", and the engine speed was set at its highest setting (the rabbit). I'm going to lower the deck a little more next time and see if that helps. I am glad to hear the muffler is supposed to be that hot and that the blade is ok. I'm thinking of investing in one of the ninja blade kits. Any suggestions?