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I currently experiencing experiencing tracks being left between blades. Running a 48in 7 iron jd deck with 3 blades. The blade cut is fine and even but I'm getting 2 tracks left between the outter and inner blades, running out of ideas where to look. Yep, tire pressure is correct and the deck settings correct.
Any suggestions welcome.

Welcome Aboard-

Is the deck clean ? & are you possibly mowing TOO fast for conditions ?

7394 thanks for the reply. No its clean underneith an if I reduced my speed any further i be in reverse.tried attaching a pic but it keeps vanishing

Are you mowing in damp conditions?
Are your deck wheels in contact with the ground? The deck should not be supported by the deck wheels.
Do you have the correct blades?
Is your deck leveled and pitched correctly? Check level and pitch as described in your manual.

This site requires images and files to be under a certain size. Try posting an image under 1000 x 1000 pixels. Most modern smart phones just stores image in way too large of a format. Here I use an image hosting site and reduce to acceptable size. The forum I manage the image restriction is 600 x 600 and no files are allowed upload mainly to keep costs down.

A lot of the times here I simply bring the image up on my computer, use the snipping program, and post a copy of the snipped image.

As for the tracks are these wheel or gauge wheel tracks? Or are they narrower like the blade tip not cutting? Two different problems.

The first ones can be caused by the type grass being and its length. Here I have crabgrass [I hate it btw] and the direction of cut causes problems with left side of the deck and wheels pressing it down. The last one can be cause by dull blades, worn out blades, or blades shorter than needed to cut an overlap.

Ips said:

I currently experiencing experiencing tracks being left between blades. Running a 48in 7 iron jd deck with 3 blades. The blade cut is fine and even but I'm getting 2 tracks left between the outter and inner blades, running out of ideas where to look. Yep, tire pressure is correct and the deck settings correct.
Any suggestions welcome.

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I would ask what changed? I assume this has not always been an issue.r

I would also suggest you verify the deck pitch and level is correct. If you have the correct blades, and the correct tire pressure, then the only thing left is air flow. Air flow is controlled by the deck being level and the front to back pitch is correct.

bkeller500 said:

I would also suggest you verify the deck pitch and level is correct. If you have the correct blades, and the correct tire pressure, then the only thing left is air flow. Air flow is controlled by the deck being level and the front to back pitch is correct.

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And, the deck not riding on the anti-scalp wheels.

I don't know these mowers but here is a question. Can one misroute a belt so that a blade direction is accidentally reversed, so that the grass still gets cut but the design changes? Are the blades such that the leading edge can face different directions so that if a blade is swapped but put on upside down, it doesn't cut right and leaves a pattern?

sgkent said:

I don't know these mowers but here is a question. Can one misroute a belt so that a blade direction is accidentally reversed, so that the grass still gets cut but the design changes? Are the blades such that the leading edge can face different directions so that if a blade is swapped but put on upside down, it doesn't cut right and leaves a pattern?

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The tracks are left between the blades. All specs are correct and checked again every 2 has but not change. The deck is level as per john deere instructions, I've tried the anti scalp wheels both clear of the ground and on the ground no difference, in fact off the ground causes an other problem in thick grass by tilting the deck. My cut height is generally at an 1.75in

blades rotate so they can not leave strait lines
Those troughs are your gauge / deck / anti scalp wheels running on the ground because they are set too low for the cut height.
Mparr suggested that way back in post #4

I can't tell you how to fix or what causes it but my eyes see scalp marks on the outside blades where they are lower than the center, and the center row has edges between blades. One can see each cut of the outer blades where it scalped. How worn are the blades? What are the outside cutting edges like on the center blade?

MParr said:

Are you mowing in damp conditions?
Are your deck wheels in contact with the ground? The deck should not be supported by the deck wheels.
Do you have the correct blades?
Is your deck leveled and pitched correctly? Check level and pitch as described in your manual.

Click to expand...

Yes the grass is damp, its autumn going on winter downunder, but this was not a problem last winter. The blades are new and supplied by the JD dealer.

sgkent said:

I can't tell you how to fix or what causes it but my eyes see scalp marks on the outside blades where they are lower than the center, and the center row has edges between blades. One can see each cut of the outer blades where it scalped. How worn are the blades? What are the outside cutting edges like on the center blade?

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Three brand new blades previous cut all in good condition and level.

So are you on the East Coast where we have had 1.5 to 4 years annual rainfall in the first 4 months of this year ?
Those look like wheel ruts to me caused by he gauge wheels

The ground right now is really soft & springy so the mower itself sits lower in the grass
Thus the deck wheels that used to ne 1/2" above ground level are now 1/2 below grounfd level.

Before the rains came , even if the wheels were running along the ground the ground would have been hard enough for the wheels not to be rutting the lawn
However now the ground is very soft so they leave ruts in the lawn
1) move the deck wheels to their highest position & see if it leaves the ruts in the grass
or
Cut with thee deck in the highest position and see if they vanish
2) measure the height of the deck & the gauge wheels from the ground
In all height settings the gauge wheels must he 1/2" minimum above the ground

Do a single cut
Get off & measure the distance between the lines
Then measure the distance between the wheels .

Right now my 24" Victa push mower leaves tracks in the grass
The landlord is leaving his car in the street because it gets bogged if he tries to go up his drive
We have a mower stuck in the creek , again bogged and the tractor started to slide when we tried to recover it .
Some of my commercial customers are cutting the residential with line trimmers because their mowers are chewing up the ground

Also would help to check the spindle themselves for bearing wear. This can cause the blades to tilt causing a cut like this from belt tension. It does look like the two outer blades have their tips meeting the center blade lower. Just a thought.

But as said by Bert wet soggy lawn can be a problem to at any time.

You may have solved the prob. I'm actually in SA. The area that this is a problem is primay school ovals with sprinkler systems that aren't manged properly. This seems to be most noticeable where the sprinklers overwater areas and the ground is soft. Ill recheck the widths when I'm back there next time and let you know.
The scalp wheels are set to the height specified on the deck but may not be high enough on soft ground.
Thanks to all for your help
Cj

Yep, wet lawn, mowing too low and deck wheels set too low.
Raise the deck wheels. Set the deck wheels according to the manual. You may have to experiment with those settings. Many times, you will have to be one notch higher than what’s called for in the manual.
Raise the deck. Make sure the actual cutting height matches your deck selector height. A lot of times the two do not match. For example, putting the deck at the selected height will actually have you mowing lower than you should be. Once you determine that, you can put the height selector exactly where you want it.

I think I may have mislead people calling them tram tracks but it was the best way I could think of to descibe, the lines they are not depressions they are uncut lines between the blades.
Sorry for the confusion

Ips said:

I think I may have mislead people calling them tram tracks but it was the best way I could think of to descibe, the lines they are not depressions they are uncut lines between the blades.
Sorry for the confusion

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Then more likely to be blade tip wear.

Ips said:

I think I may have mislead people calling them tram tracks but it was the best way I could think of to descibe, the lines they are not depressions they are uncut lines between the blades.
Sorry for the confusion

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If it’s too wet and the deck wheels are too low, the deck wheels can push the grass down and does not rebound before it can be cut. Mowing too low in wet conditions will slow the blade speed. When the engine is bogging down, everything powered by the engine slows too. Optimally, only 1/3 of the grass length should be removed during your mow.

If those stripes of taller grass are left from you coming back in the opposite direction from the previous pass, it would seem to be a tilted deck and a level issue. If they are all from going in the same direction it could still be a level issue. Are you measuring the deck or the blade tips when you level the deck? Set your deck at 4". then use a 4" spacer to measure the blade tips at the extreme right and left positions. Adjust the deck level so that the blade tips just clear the 4" spacer. You can make a spacer from a piece of wood or plastic pipe cut to 4". Then cut your lawn at that 4" setting and post results.

uncut grass between the blade overlaps is blade wear, wrong blades for the deck, mowing too fast and around this time of year down here the grass itself as it will be seeding and seed stalks do not cut well with rotary mowers
The photos do really look like wheel ruts
Also the front deck wheels can push the grass down so that the blades do not cut it at some times of the year

As previously mentioned: Cut higher & see if it does the same.. 1.75" is scalping, especially in wet conditions..

7394 said:

As previously mentioned: Cut higher & see if it does the same.. 1.75" is scalping, especially in wet conditions..

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Yeah, not good.

Thanks all, pulled the deck off today for really good look. Blades ok but resharpened them any way, blade tips less than a finger between them and even.
Two things I did note
The belt had developed a twist and had a split that probably let go next operation.
The deck had 2 fractures either side of the front centre skid wheels (now welded back into place) and the right front wall seemed to be bent in, which prevented the R H front skid wheel from maintaining the correct spacing. A big 1m shifter and sledge hammer I thing has brought it back into line. I hope.
I'm away for a few weeks so I'll see what happens when I get back and let you know the outcome
Cj

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