Striping Problem ?

[Ron Shirey]

I recently purchased a new 52" Lazer CT with a dealer
installed striping roller. I had in the past used a Metro 48"
walk behind with an after market striper. My first
cutting with the Lazer resulted in what I would call a bad
striping job. The strip was not even noticed. My question
is what could or should I do to get better results? My cutting height was around 3-3 1/2". My reason for ungrading to the Lazer was to speed up my mowing and to hopefully get a better strip. Any advise would be
great. Thanks

[eXmark]

I recently purchased a new 52" Lazer CT with a dealer
installed striping roller. I had in the past used a Metro 48"
walk behind with an after market striper. My first
cutting with the Lazer resulted in what I would call a bad
striping job. The strip was not even noticed. My question
is what could or should I do to get better results? My cutting height was around 3-3 1/2". My reason for ungrading to the Lazer was to speed up my mowing and to hopefully get a better strip. Any advise would be
great. Thanks
Hello Ron,
You are correct that you should be able to make the eXmark deck stripe, even without the addition of a striping roller, however the striping roller takes all of the 'work' out of it, and will typically give you a much deeper, longer lasting stripe.

First, depending on the size of your deck, you've got to have the appropriate rake. Rake is measured off of the blades; positive rake is when the front blade tip is lower than the rear blade tip. The following are good starting positive rakes.

72: 1/4"+
60: 1/4"
52" 3/16"
48" 1/8"
44" 1/8"-

You'll also want to run the standard blades (Notched-High lift), for typically the best results.

Some other things to consider are the turf itself. Southern grasses don't typically stripe well. Northern grasses will usually stripe well if the turf is healthy and properly fertilized. If you don't have a healthy well fertilized turf, it may not even stripe with a roller, or at least won't hold the stripe very long.

I hope this helps. Let us know if you have any questions.
Thanks,
Brian

[prostriper]

See if I am on AIM next time your on. I'll help you tune it in.

[Myk]

On mine you can change the roller height. I would set the height lower on the roller to get a better contact to the lawn.