The Lesco 52" cuts like S**t

[Jason_S]

Our company has a 52 inch Lesco WB that always rolls over grass, but no cutting it! (no matter what speed!) Anyway, we put hi lift gators on it recently, and STILL no improvement! Just curious if anyone has solved this problem yet or may have some insight on where to look, thanks in advance!


By the way, the blades are sharp!

[linky]

What type of grass are cutting and at what height? My Scags will not cut tall grass/weeds worth a darn when they are set at 3.5 in.
If you set them at 2.5 in. they do much better.

[awm]

JUST A SUGGESTION , try no lift blades or standard

[dlandscaping]

i have a 48 lesco with the same problem the damm thing dont cut. i sharpened the blades and it was the same i went in first gear nuthing ,high rpm lower rpm nothing i use my toro 36 fixed and it cuts the grass that my lesco jsut went over i was like wtf i got a piece of crap mower thats why i am parting with it after only 20 hrs i dont use it bcz of the cut sucks

[Jason_S]

We used to have standard blades, and hoped that the gators would do more for it, NO!


the new 48" we have cuts a lot better than that 52", but the 52" also has the big roller on the front. The strips of grass are not in line with the roller though!


Told my boss to sell this mower, and get a used ZTR, he laughed! I think 1 WB and 1 ZTR would be the ultimate for the company! The ZTR would save A LOT of time not having to double cut to make anything look half way decent.

[dlandscaping]

i agree with getting a used or new ztr thats what i am planning on doing, it wil take me less time to mow and no double cutting or triple with the lesco haha and no hard controls to squeeze it will make mowing fun with a ztr with the levers for forward revrse and so on good luck in dealing with you boss mayb someday you will have one of your own to mow and give a cheap kid employ the lescos ha

[Jason_S]

It is a posibility, but I'd need to change my direction in a quick hurry! College starts Tuesday! But the Landscape Company has crossed my mind once or twice!

[Got Grass?]

How old is your Lesco 52? Got mine this spring and I love the thing.
Standards cut great. but with the Hi lifts I can get all the weeds and lay down some of the best stripes arround, even in brown grass. Given the perfect flat lawn I could go full speed an not miss anything. But lawns are never that perfect.

The gators dont seem to work that well tho.

[geogunn]

jason--thats funny your lesco 52 cuts like.... well, you made it plain what you think of it.

my lesco 48 does a great job. I prefer high lift blades year round. unfortunately, during dry spells the blamed things will stir enough dust to make you sick if you breath it!

I wonder if you problem could be operator error?

GEO

[KirbysLawn]

How many spacers do you have above the blade?

[kutnkru]

Also check to make sure that the jabrone who set it up at the Lesco Svc. Ctr. didnt install them upside down.

Did it myself one time, so just take a gander. Amazing how well they cut when you put the sharp side down-LOL!!!

Kris :laugh:

[edward hedrick]

I ve owned my 52 lesco since 96. I three spacers on the bottom
on the castor. keeps the front roller off the ground, check the belts. I use std bldes most. two spacers on top three on the bottom. Will put 4on the bottom next week grass not growing.
If you have a belt drive how fast are you mowing? The 52 has a short wheel base only 36". The 48 is 44".Sometimes have to mow in second. I also put weights between the castor and the center
to help keep the front down. Is it a belt or hydro??

[CLARKE]

About 2 years ago had me a Lesco ZTR and this mower was nothing but trouble, It cut like S%*# it left high grass between
blades 2&3 And in the 6 months i had it, It kept going thur wheel motors 3 to be extackly. each time they would tell
me that i must be doing something wrong cause this had not happin to any one else just me finally after 7 months of me whining Bi%*# they bought it back from me $4,900,00 just
1,600 less that i payed for it, Now i have two DIXIE CHOPPERS.
BEST MONEY I EVER INVESTED ..:blob1: :blob3:

[hustlers]

can i say generic and homeowner
they are made by mtd and
they are crap and rid
themselves of commercial mowers

[Runner]

It sounds to me like you may need to look into the rake of your deck. It sounds alot like you have a level deck or perhaps even a negative rake. These are two things you DON'T want to have. Let me ask you this. Place the mower on a smooth LEVEL surface. Rotate the blades (or atleast one,) preferably the discharge side blade, so it is pointing straight from the front of the mower to the back. Now, whip out your tape measure and measure the front tip of the blade to the ground, then measure the back tip of the blade to the ground. Is the front tip of the blade about a 1/4 in. lower than the back tip? If it's not, it should be! (atLEAST 1/8 in. but not more than around 1/2 of an in..)This is called "positive rake" and is necessary for the proper cutting of the blades. See, the front tip is essentially the only thing that cuts the grass off. Many people believe that the blades are suposed to ride level. This is NOT true. Now, to adjust this, you can probably do some resetting of your spacers for your front casters. It is also possible to reset the rear wheel adjustment if necessary. I hope this helps. As far as using Gators (and just Gators) for just normal grass cutting, it has been my experience and the experience of many others on here that the Gators just leave too many stragglers and do not get a good clean cut. That is why I always use a solid foil highlift. Gators are sometimes run with doubles in the heavy growing season, and ALWAYS run for Fall cleanup.;)

[fireball]

I fully agree with Runner. Also check the belts for tightness. Also check idler pulley sintar bushings(if they are worn, it causes the belts to wobble) Also depending on the year of your machine(the very first year of the joint venture with MTD), there was a problem with the deck being weak in the area of the idler pulley which they fixed with an additional plate.

Bottom line, you got em by the balls. Take the mower back and tell them to fix it. Their corporate motto is they want you to be a customer for life. The question is who's life are they talking about. If they don't do what you want them to do, ask to fill out a customer complaint form(watch the smile disappear from their faces when you ask for that), and ask to speak to the CEO(his name is Foley)on their phone bill. In short, if you push, they will stand behind their product, but you have to ask for it. Good Luck

[Jason_S]

Here's the story

We installed the gators (sharp size down!)

It is a 17 hp Hydro, and is getting older now (not as pretty as the new 48")

At both high speed, and low speed, it won't cut too well.


After reading this, I think that the problem may be in the spacers above the blade (or lack there of) What we have is all spacers on bottom, and a thin washer above the blade! I didn't change the configuration because that's what the boss wanted (even deck heights/ cut height) and I didn't mess with it!


The new 48" can cut everything at full speed PERFECT! The 52 is not doing anything!

I will give the Lesco's credit, when the cut is good, the stripes are really good for a WB!



ANOTHER QUICK QUESTION!

The 48" (hydro) kind of lags in speed when it encounters hills, I'm not sure what causes this, but I figure it has to be with the flow of hydrostatic fluid some how??????

[geogunn]

Originally posted by Jason_S
Here's the story.

After reading this, I think that the problem may be in the spacers above the blade (or lack there of) What we have is all spacers on bottom, and a thin washer above the blade! I didn't change the configuration because that's what the boss wanted (even deck heights/ cut height) and I didn't mess with it!

JASON!!!--you ought to know what you are posting about before you post to the world that a mower cuts like crap, and I am paraphrasing!:angry:

with all the spacers under the blade whatinthehell doyou expect?

I like lesco and have had great results with mine. you caused me to wonder what was going on! I'll bet that if I stuck 4 spacers under my blade that it would cut as you describe also! DAMN!

I run mine with one spindle spacer down and it cuts great.

what you have done her is not good!

GEO

[KirbysLawn]

Just as I figured in my first post, spacers. Now get working on the apology letter to Lesco for bashing them.

[Jason_S]

Well I must say that I am EXREMELY NOT IMPRESSED!

You (GEOGUN) so quickly jump on my problems and act like pompous jack a$$e$!

For your information, I am 18, employed for a landscaping company, and am always concerned of the welfare of my bosses company!!!!!!!!!!! I try to find things out through you people, and all I get are bad, SNOBBY remarks!

"I wonder if you problem could be operator error?

GEO"


"what you have done her is not good!

GEO"


Wait a minute, its's JUST GEOGUN!!!!!!!! I am sorry to the rest!

GEOGUN, Just hope one day you could be fortunate enough to have a dedicated employee like myself!

[lakegastonla]

Allright, Jason then I assume it would be fair to say that your problem stemmed from a lack of experience. At 18, I can only assume that you do NOT HAVE YEARS OF EXPERIENCE ON THE JOB. So, at what point does that qualify you as an expert to come on a forum of professionals and bash a complete line of equipment? Don't mean to be ugly, but I always find that having some knowledge of the topic at hand ....helps.

[Michael Fronczak]

Jason S,
I run all Lesco mowers 36" fixed walk behind, 48" fixed/hydro,2 60" vipers one old style, one new style. They all cut good, only one we have problems with is old viper, in heavy grass, you have to slow or cut gets scraggly & clumpy. I think any mowers cut can severly influnced by the operator (or operator error)/ how operator sets up mower.
Bashing how a mower cuts, isn't right. Did you/ or your boss go to service center and ask them how the mower should be set, there are alot of height settings that severly affect how air flow through the deck/ affecting quality of cut.
Good luck with your problem mower, BTW on my WB I have rear deck adjustment at higest setting, front casters have 1 spacer under arm, and three blade spacers under deck, all run high lift blades.
Mike

[point]

You go Jason_S , you are totally in the right on this one.

If it cuts like crap and you don't know why and come to this site for help you should get it.
If it cuts like crap say so, how else is anyone
going to know what the problem might be.

I wish I had dedicated employees like yourself!

mark

[Eric ELM]

Well said Point. :)

This forum is to get answers about problems.

It was not set up to bash or attack members. I think it's time for some to re-read the Posting Guidelines.

[Jason_S]

Thanks for the backup guys, I really am good at landscaping and mowing, but with only 3 years of experience..... I don't know it all, and don't intend to act like some people here with their high levels of arrogance, just look a few posts back, and you'll see!

I just wish we had a ZTR, it would make our busy mowing days SO much easier!


Just wanted to thank those who can put my situation in perspective!

[geogunn]

Originally posted by Jason_S
Well I must say that I am EXREMELY NOT IMPRESSED!

You (GEOGUN) so quickly jump on my problems and act like pompous jack a$$e$!



thank you jason for the personal attack.

I will show you respect, and respect to the administrator and moderators as well as all other members, by not responding in kind to you.

I am glad that you are a super employee and your boss is lucky to have all 18 years of your life experience on his job.

GEO