Signature Cut Decks? Not at all "Signature"

[cruzenmike]

Last year at the beginning of the mowing season I was using a 2009 LTX1050VT with the 50" Signature Cut deck and 24hp Briggs ELS engine. The first thing I did when I purchased it (used), besides replace a gazillion parts that failed, was clean the deck and sharpen the blades. That thing cut beautifully!!! This mower would not miss a single blade of grass and would leave a carpet like cut every time. I certainly do not let my grass get too long, I run at full throttle, I keep my deck clean and I drive slow.

Towards the end of summer, I purchased a XT1 GT50 as I was looking to replace the LTX with something new and with a more robust transmission. After the first cut I noticed that it certainly did not cut as well as my old mower.

I look at all of the Cub Cadet riders with stamped decks and they all have "Signature Cut" on them but it appears as if they are not at all as good as the ones to which they replaced. I do realize that the blades on the XT1 series mower are different, and that the engines are not the same, but I expected a cut quality no less than exceptional seeing as the old one did so well. Has anyone else upgraded into an XT from one of the older LT series and noticed a difference?

I appreciate your responses.

Mike

 

[Darryl G]

I don't have any experience with Cub mowers other than an old push mower I had. But I do have a lot of experience with quality of cut by mowers, so please excuse a reply which doesn't directly address your question.

In my experience, quality of cut from a mower deck has as much to do with the blades and the set-up of the deck as the deck itself. Is the deck set up properly as far as being level side-to-side and pitched properly front to back? What's the issue with the cut? Is it leaving uncut grass sporadically (stringers), leaving a shabby looking cut, leaving an uncut strip, not striping or what? You say they're different blades - the amount of lift a blade has can greatly affect the quality of cut.

 

[cruzenmike]

All of my mowers have the tire pressure set exactly to spec and decks adjusted to proper height, leveled side to side and front to back (1/8-1/4" higher in back). The main differences that I saw were:
- clipping dispersal was not as good; less velocity/force
- left no appearance of striping from alternating passes
- a day after cutting it didn't even look like the grass had been cut, as if the grass was all different lengths/lack of uniformity.

Both mowers had 50" decks, with sharp, high lift/2-1 blades, with 24 and 25hp engines running at full throttle. My biggest struggle was that they had fixed so many issues with the LTX like the spindle design, steering geometry and beefier trans (gt50 model), yet with "similar" decks it just didn't cut so well.

 

[Darryl G]

I see. Sounds like the symptoms of not enough of a "sail" on the blade or low blade speed. Or a highly baffled deck. Maybe they did screw the deck up. Engine RPMs are up to spec?

 

[BlazNT]

All of my mowers have the tire pressure set exactly to spec and decks adjusted to proper height, leveled side to side and front to back (1/8-1/4" higher in back). The main differences that I saw were:
- clipping dispersal was not as good; less velocity/force
- left no appearance of striping from alternating passes
- a day after cutting it didn't even look like the grass had been cut, as if the grass was all different lengths/lack of uniformity.

Both mowers had 50" decks, with sharp, high lift/2-1 blades, with 24 and 25hp engines running at full throttle. My biggest struggle was that they had fixed so many issues with the LTX like the spindle design, steering geometry and beefier trans (gt50 model), yet with "similar" decks it just didn't cut so well.

One more thing to consider. The deck height may not be the same on both mowers. Try mowing a little lower on the new mower and see if it makes a difference.

 

[BigKingClipper]

Cruzenmike,

Did you happen to note the moon phase during your cuts? The shift in gravitational pull on the earth during changes in the moon phase have been known to cause shifts in the trajectory/dispersal in grass clippings. Also, the uniformity of the cut can be affected based on the amount of gravity pushing down on the mower blades at max rpm. I noticed with my Kgro that during a full moon, my striping was far less pronounced then during the Waxing Crescent or Waning Crescent phases. I have even noticed that during certain astronomical events, such as meteor showers, my engine runs at higher rpms, giving a much better cut, but harder on the machine. It is important for your cuts to coincide with the astronomical conditions. It is a technique that is often overlooked, but unless you are on a tight schedule, then always cut based on the moon phases.

-BKC

 

[Darryl G]

Looks like Mike has his very own troll...

 

[cruzenmike]

Well,

I guess I can give the rest of the story as it may start to make more sense:

When I got rid of the LTX1050, I was looking to replace it with something that would work with all of my accessories, such as the blade and roller that I had already purchased and so on. I coincidentally "inherited" my Exmark from my parents which was 11 years old and had nearly 500 hours on it. Now, the Exmark gives a pretty good cut, but the cut that the LTX left still looked better than the Exmark. Then when I starting cutting with the GT50 I was quick to notice that it was the worst of the three mowers. I was certainly not expecting anything to cut better than the Exmark, but at the end of the day, I had three mowers at once, in which the newest one, which had cost me nearly $3,000 just didn't satisfy me and my desires. It's not to say that it didn't work, its just that it wasn't satisfactory in my eyes. As the end of the cutting season neared, I ended up selling the GT50 as I was unhappy with the cut quality and figured it was worth as much as it could be with only a few hours on it. Then I sold the LTX as I knew it wouldn't be up to the demands that I wanted to put on it in the coming years. During all of this time I dumped almost $800 into the Exmark fixing an oil leak and replacing the drive belt, caster bearing/races and tires. Also, the PTO clutch is going (bad bottom pulley) as well as the deck spindles. So, there goes another $400. I did not pay anything for the mower, but with nearly $1,200 invested in it, I believe it is finally running top notch. I am at a point where I would just like to have something new that has 0 hours, a couple of years of warranty, and that is where my original question stemmed from.

I loved the tight, responsive steering of the new Cub Cadets, I find the styling attractive and the price of any model in the XT1 and XT2 line is acceptable. I am just hesitant to purchasing another new Cub Cadet with the experience the GT50 gave me. If in fact the older LTX models cut better than the XT Enduro Series, than I don't think I would every be happy with one. It is certainly possible that there was something wrong with the one I purchased, but now I will never know. With mowing season starting up here in about 6 weeks, I am trying to decide if I am going to continue on with the Exmark that I have poured my heart, soul and wallet into, or if I am going to venture into a different piece of equipment.

So yes, I did everything right with the GT50, in fact I am OCD about everything when it comes to setup, maintenance, operation and so on. I only use OEM parts, including OEM oil from the engine manufacturer if made, and I can tell the difference when one machine cuts better than another. It isn't the moon phase, the height of the deck or the way in which I am using it. Not all mowers are created equal, and in this case, neither are decks which carry the same name on them!

I appreciate everyone's input but I am going to let this one go as I may be alone on this one.....

 

[cpurvis]

I certainly wouldn't have gotten rid of the one that cut the best until I found one that cut equally well.

Now, all you have is the memory of how well it cut, which may get better and better with time until nothing measures up to that old mower.

FWIW, no manufacturer of lawn equipment makes their own oil. They pay a company that does make oil to put their name on the bottle. If you check, you can find out who put the oil in the bottle and save yourself some money.

 

[Darryl G]

Personally, I would have played around with different blades and deck pitches before giving up on the cut quality of a mower. Not all decks perform best with the deck lower in the front and not all high lift blades gives equal lift. Too much lift can actually cause cut quality problems. Little things like whether the discharge chute is up or down can make a big difference too. I was a bit surprised to find that my Bob-Cat actually seems to cut and disperse clippings better with the chute down. Yes, it very well could be the deck, but not necessarily...