Proper mowing deck angle?

I have a 48&quot; Toro and it's driving me crazy!! <br>Unless I creep along at a snails pace, it leaves a strip of uncut grass (particularly between the left and middle blades) I'm not cutting heavy, wet, or uncommonly tall grass (I cut at 3 - 3 1/2&quot; and the grass is typically no longer than 4 1/2 - 5&quot; when I cut) I cut with the engine on full and the blades sharp (sharpened every morning). Is this something I have to live with? Or do I have something on the deck set up wrong? Help!! If I have to go over another lawn twice I'm gonna scream!!<br>Thanks, Jeff

 

I had the same problem with my Toro 266H with a 48&quot; deck. I didn't have a deck alignment problem but started to notice the same trend in the same spot you wrote about. My simple solution was to remove the deck and scrape the dried crud from the bottom of the deck. I bet that I had 2 bussel baskets of dried grass and crud. Cleaning the deck cured my problem. I hope this helps!!!

 

I'm no expert, but I'll give you 2 suggestions. If I were you I'd check the left and middle blade and make sure they are not bent. I'd also check for chiped corner on the blades. And like DHICKS said, I guess if there is a big clump of crap under your deck it could be pushing a strip of grass down to the ground before the blades have a chance to cut it properly. Good Luck and let us know when you figure it out!<p>----------<br>&quot;guido&quot;<br>David M. Famiglietti

 

If the blades are old they may be getting too short from grinding. If you hit something with the spindle you may have bent the deck where the spindle mounts to the deck.The underdeck should be cleaned every time the blades are changed,(6 to 8 hours for me).On my 48&quot; Bobcat the clearence between points of new blades is 1/8 to 1/4&quot;,depends if they are OEM or after market blades.<br><p><font size="1">Edited by: gene gls

 

I had (have)the same problem with my mower, 54&quot; Bunton. I believe that I have a slightly bent spindle. For me the problem is worse when using double blades on each spindle. When I went back to 1 blade each, the strip disappeared somewhat.

 

check the blade belt tension. when cutting heavy grass the belts may slip (slow down) and leave strips. The belts could also be worn out

 

i had the same problem with my 48 inch toro walk behind first dirty deck keep it clean and use gator blades. second my 48 deck was a recycle deck i removed the inside baffles so it wasn't a recyle deck and i have not had that problem any more...my deck is about 6-7 years old and it was toro's answer to a recyle deck I believe it was a after thought by them and didn't work well for me Couldn't tell you if a new deck is better

 

coldbrook wrote:<p>&gt;second my 48 deck was a recycle deck i removed the inside baffles so it wasn't a recyle deck and i have not had that problem any more...<p>I have the same deck but it is not in use at<br>this time.<p>So by removing the plastic recycler stuff<br>underneath and adding gator blades the deck<br>performs better?

 

As Gene said, try using a new set of blades. Sharpening every day will wear them down. <p>----------<br>Dave in S.Ontario<br>www.cutntrim.com