I just purchased this walkbehind this week and I have a couple of tuning questions. I would like to cut approx 3"-3 1/2" With all the spacers under the front wheel and four spacers above the cutting blade it's cutting less than 3". I haven't checked the tires yet, the dealer says they are at 12psi? The manual says the rear deck bolt holes in the center are good to 3"+. The deck rake is tilted back for sure. The manual says the best cut is from a 1/4" forward rake? I was going to check the tires and raise the rear of the deck to the top holes. I hope that would get me to 3" and allow me to get some forward rake. Any comments and or suggestions? would be a great help. Setup from dealer was bad, I had to go through the steering and brake levers. With the dealer setup I had to use both hands to apply and release the neutral latch. Favorite striping Kit?? Thanks, Eddie
I've had the best results by doing what I think you're saying you're going to do. The 3 sets of 3 vertical holes located on the mounting flanges on rear of mowing deck, use the 3 lowest holes. I've found this gives more adjustability than any other deck bolt set up. Don't take any dealer settings for granted, as you've already found out. Drive tires should be at 12psi. Caster tires at 25psi. I've found the following to be helpful also. If you have a floor jack, position it under frame lip on rear of mower. Use jack to help steady mower while moving deck. Can also use to raise and lower mower to help align deck mounting holes. When adjusting deck height/bolts. Remove the top, forward bolt last. Install same bolt first when putting back together. The lowest bolt can be a pain to get in and out because of lack of clearance. Put bolt inside of frame and nut on outside, much easier to put in/ take out. WATCH YOUR FINGERS AND FEET.
Also; Get some 5/8" flat washers, can be used with or instead of thick blade bolt washers for added adjustability. On top of the caster arm where the caster wheel spindle comes through, you'll find a bushing on each caster arm. The bushings are fond of working up, to as much as a half inch. This can play heck with deck pitch and cause entire mower not to be level when one bushing works up and the other doesn't. Resulting in poor cutting quality. Get some 3/4" flat washers, put one on each caster spindle at the very bottom of spindle, this will prevent bushings from riding up. I've found that the original blades aren't worth much. I use a double blade set up. Either one high lift and one gator max, or two gator max. This does take same HP to run, but it hasn't effected the operation a bit, and it does result in an excellent cut quality. A plus is never having any under deck build up to scrape, the lift caused by the blades keeps all cuttings blown clear. This is more answer than question, hope it helps.
^Rustic, I was running the Gator high lifts as doubles and had a problem with build up. I was having to scrape out the deck 3 times a day. Do you spray under the deck with veg. oil or anything? I've heard it mentioned but was wondering how well it works.
work_it, I've treated underside of decks on other mowers in the past, (with mixed results) but no, not on the Scag 36". You are using gator max, with the separated 'fins' in the foil? If yes, might try going with one gator max (on top) and one high lift on bottom, this combo still works very well. I've so little build up it isn't worth the bother of scraping. Other possible difference, I'm running unit with mulching kit. With this blade set up and kit, really creates a LOT of lift. Cutting almost all St. Aug, rest is Bermuda, grass height doesn't matter, wet or dry, all equal no scraping.
Rustic, thanks. I'll try running the gator max on top, but don't have a mulching kit. I'm also running an older Bunton that does a great job striping, but doesn't get the lift when I run singles. Real problem when cutting sparse grass. Hopefully can sell those customers aerating, overseeding and starter fert. within the next week or two.
