Signature Cut Decks? Not at all "Signature"

[cruzenmike]

Darryl,

I completely get what you are saying about trying to figure out what was going on. I was just at a point of frustration when it all went down. After spending as much money as I did on a brand new mower to begin with, I was not going to fiddle with it. I would also assume that setting up and operating a mower in the exact manner to which the manufacturer suggests should yield you the best possible experience. This means the best cut quality. In my case, an 8 year old mower, that I purchased used with 250 hours, was out-cutting a brand new one.

I noticed that the LT50/GT50 deck is slightly different than the LTX1050 deck. While both carry the same name on them (marketing terms), the LTX1050 has a different shape above each blade (more domed than flat) as well as a larger discharge opening (side discharge vs top discharge on the GT50). These differences alone may have helped the LTX1050 create more lift and air velocity creating a more uniform and clear cut. I was just hoping to find others than may have shared my experience when upgrading from an older model to one of the newer one.

 

[tspell]

Just ran across this thread ..... had a similar experience also going from an LTX1050 (2011) to a XT1-GT50 (2017). The LTX1050 definitely has a much better cut, did not scalp as much as the GT50 on the uneven areas of yard, and thus could cut lower. This newer LT/GT50 mower deck is an MTD design and is identical to the one on the Troy-Bilt Super Bronco 50XP.

On the GT50, if you look at the mower belt coming off the PTO is goes off to the left spindle (instead of down the center like the LTX1050). This puts a constant tension on that side. Try to lift the mower deck by hand near the anti-scalp wheels on both the left and right sides. The right side is much easier to lift than the left (left feels heavier because you are also stretching the belt). This is part of the problem, the mower deck is supposed to "float" with equal weight distribution, but since it is essentially heavier on the left side (due to the off center belt) it will tend to scalp or cut lower on that side when the yard is uneven and the deck wheels touch.

I think you are also correct on the aerodynamics of the LTX1050 deck, it has more volume over the blades, and this deck was marketed as being designed by aerospace engineers to get better lift for a cleaner cut. Most likely a different engineering team designed this newer GT50 deck, unfortunately did not build on the previous successful design.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Just ran across this thread ..... had a similar experience also going from an LTX1050 (2011) to a XT1-GT50 (2017). The LTX1050 definitely has a much better cut, did not scalp as much as the GT50 on the uneven areas of yard, and thus could cut lower. This newer LT/GT50 mower deck is an MTD design and is identical to the one on the Troy-Bilt Super Bronco 50XP.

On the GT50, if you look at the mower belt coming off the PTO is goes off to the left spindle (instead of down the center like the LTX1050). This puts a constant tension on that side. Try to lift the mower deck by hand near the anti-scalp wheels on both the left and right sides. The right side is much easier to lift than the left (left feels heavier because you are also stretching the belt). This is part of the problem, the mower deck is supposed to "float" with equal weight distribution, but since it is essentially heavier on the left side (due to the off center belt) it will tend to scalp or cut lower on that side when the yard is uneven and the deck wheels touch.

I think you are also correct on the aerodynamics of the LTX1050 deck, it has more volume over the blades, and this deck was marketed as being designed by aerospace engineers to get better lift for a cleaner cut. Most likely a different engineering team designed this newer GT50 deck, unfortunately did not build on the previous successful design.

Your investigation and deductions are mostly correct.
It is all about making the mowers cheaper every year because the market want cheap, not good, so who ever makes the cheapest mower in any class any year will make the most sales.
Most sales = most profit so in the long run it is a problem caused by the consumers failing to recognise quality and purchasing solely on price.

However also note that belt tension changes with the position of the deck as the effective distance between pulley centres changes, there were deck runs that prevented this happening but again no one wanted to pay the extra for it.
Next a side discharge deck is neither symetrical nor balanced and most are heavier on the discharge side than the non discharge side.
The greater volume of grass on the discharge side also makes that side heavier and the torque reaction of tossing the grass to the right will make the deck skew to the left in use.
The decks do not float as such, they hang and in use the blades creating an updraught pull the deck down harder , that Newton bloke again.

If you want a fine finish you need to go to a rear discharge deck, and most mowers with that type of decks are known for producing a fine finish, much of which comes down to having counter rotating blades.
Down side is these mowers are near twice the price so only sell to people where the finish on the lawn is more important than the price of the mower.

 

[cruzenmike]

I know it's been awhile but I thought I would mention that aside from the fabricated decks that are on the XT1/2 models, the Cub Cadet XT3 still uses the old style of stamped deck found on my previous LTX1050. The only modification was adding a double pulley to connect the PTO clutch to the deck (two belt design). I am sure this solves many of the issues that LTX owners had with burning up belts and grenade-ing decks (like I had happen). Again this is all must be about cost savings and the continued cheapening of consumer mowers because the 50" stamped deck alone costs around $700.