mowers throwing rocks

[jackflash]

we looked at a homeowner's yard to give a quote. the front of the house is only 25' from the front sidewalk, 30' from the street, with a fairly large backyard. the owner said "the last 3 lawn service companies brought in these big commerical mowers and every one of them went very fast and sent rocks into my front window. there must be little rocks from the street in my yard. after breaking a window twice last year the last guy started putting up a cover over the window when he came. i haven't heard from him yet this year."
i suppose previous companies have given up on this customer. how do i keep from sending little rocks through the window? slowing down the throttle/blade speed to the minimum? higher or lower cutting height? something else?

[Jason Rose]

Is he on a dirt road or something? Normally unless you are cutting super low you aren't going to be throwing rocks with your mower. The trimmer, that's a different story... If it's such a problem i would think using a mulch kit or bagging would eliminate the thrown rocks from the chute. Most rocks hit with a mulch kit or catcher will just stay under the deck and get thrown back down into the turf. Or, if you are as lucky as me, somehow end up hitting me in the face... But at least they aren't being thrown thru a window!

[MMLawn]

OCDC engaged when you are cutting the part where the rocks are

[theturfsurfer]

The only time I have broken windows was during clean-ups. mower deck was set at about 2" and had high lift blades on. During weekly mowing never have had a problem. One customer accused me of breaking a window but was later discovered someone had been shooting at windows throughout neighborhood with gun or slingshot.

[bbritt]

Originally Posted by jackflash

we looked at a homeowner's yard to give a quote. the front of the house is only 25' from the front sidewalk, 30' from the street, with a fairly large backyard. the owner said "the last 3 lawn service companies brought in these big commerical mowers and every one of them went very fast and sent rocks into my front window. there must be little rocks from the street in my yard. after breaking a window twice last year the last guy started putting up a cover over the window when he came. i haven't heard from him yet this year."
i suppose previous companies have given up on this customer. how do i keep from sending little rocks through the window? slowing down the throttle/blade speed to the minimum? higher or lower cutting height? something else?

throw a rock at him probably higher your blade or bag it

[beransfixitinc]

umm.. this is an off the wall answer, but if the rocks are only coming from the discharge side.. mow the opposite direction to where the discharge is to the street instead of the house.

[stumper1620]

Originally Posted by jackflash

we looked at a homeowner's yard to give a quote. the front of the house is only 25' from the front sidewalk, 30' from the street, with a fairly large backyard. the owner said "the last 3 lawn service companies brought in these big commerical mowers and every one of them went very fast and sent rocks into my front window. there must be little rocks from the street in my yard. after breaking a window twice last year the last guy started putting up a cover over the window when he came. i haven't heard from him yet this year."
i suppose previous companies have given up on this customer. how do i keep from sending little rocks through the window? slowing down the throttle/blade speed to the minimum? higher or lower cutting height? something else?

inspect every window in the house and take pics. to protect yourself every time you mow. I would have this home on a tight watch.