Deck pitch

[rixtag]

I have searched the (lawnsite) world over and I have given up on this one. Could someone explain this to me, just a dumb old lawn mowin' fool. How does a correctly set up deck need to be pitch wise. I do not fully understand why the blades are not supposed to be parallel? Please , oh please help it's gettin close to cuttin' time

Rick

[JOshua Gallerick]

you don't want the blades to parallel because they will double cut the grass. Double cut grass does not look good. A 1/4" pitch is what I use.

[rixtag]

ok so do you "pitch" the front up or down?

[JOshua Gallerick]

the back of the deck is 1/4" higher than the front

[FastEddie]

It takes more horsepower when level because the mower blades contact or drag (not cut unless you have a negative pitch) through the grass on the rear 180 degrees and cut on the front 180 degrees. You want the pitch so that the front 180 cuts and the back 180 misses completly.

[rixtag]

Ok so I know understand the whole pitch thing. I must ask though, how do I set it up that way. I have a 36 belt drive eXmark. I know how to level the deck but my spacers are 1/2 in thick?

[FastEddie]

Tires air pressure- more in rear and less in front

[rixtag]

I am not sure about that with the temperature raising the pressure. hotter temps = higher pressure? or is it not a big deal? so you level the deck the normal way and adjust tire pressure? any thing else or is it really that simple?

Rick

[Eric ELM]

Rick:

Before doing this, make sure you have all your tires aired up to the proper amount. Make sure you are on a level flat surface such as a garage floor. Also check for level, left to right and make sure the deck is set correctly.

[rixtag]

I had it set previously to be level, using a level. but stone let me in on a little secret about getting bigger tires and that got me thinking about the deck pitch thing. I appreciate all of you help with this little dilemma. Thanks again, Fast Eddie, Joshua and Eric.

Rick

[rixtag]

PS. Eric on a little side note. Would my 11hp honda be enough to turn double blades? Also I like the double blade dude, it rocks.

Rick

[TLS]

You cant use a bubble level to level or pitch a deck! You need to measure from the bottom of the blade to the floor. There are tools for this, but a ruler works just fine. Check front to back, side to side, then turn mower 180 degrees around and do again to see if floor may be off. Then set a slight positive pitch of about 1/4", no more than that! Most fixied deck WB machines are factory set to produce a slight positive pitch. If not, then this is where tire pressure comes in. This isn't rocket science, lets not make it sound harder than it is.

[Grassman]

Rixtag, you may have to raise the rear axle. Both of my 36' Bobcats had to be raised because when the front casters where on full height the rear of the deck was 1 1/2" lower than the front! Unbelievably they came this way from the factory. I don't know about the Exmark, but the Bobcats have another hole in the frame to raise them. Good luck, Russ

[Richard Martin]

Unless you are cutting grass at a very low level (1 to 1-1/2 inches) the deck on an Exmark 36 would not need to be adjusted even if there was a way to do it. As long as your blades are sharp or something close to sharp the pitch is satisfactory as the unit comes from the factory.

[FastEddie]

Rixtag- one more thing - you said you had 1/2" spacers.

a 1/2" spacer change on the front caster translates into a lesser amount of change at the blade tip... maybe about 3/8" at the blade tip depending on the mowers geometry.

[beck]

There are either 3 or 5 different settings on the exmark, depending on the model. Look underneath the engine platform. If you have your owners manual there is a whole page on it, page 36-37 in my manual. (This is for adjusting the rear axle.)