[thomamon]

I am quite annoyed, my mower is just over a year old and I've had it checked out 3 times since I got it, twice in the last month. I keep getting these lines in my grass, instead of it being smooth as I feel it should be. Everyone says the deck is even and the blades have been sharpened. I cut it at the highest setting which is 4 inches and use mulcher blades. I have tried setting it to mulch and also have tried having it blow the clippings out the side. I have attached a few pics to show what I am talking about. I have no clue what else it could be and I am very frustrated to pay so much for this machine and not get a perfect cut. Is it a user error? Could I be doing something wrong?

Here are a few pics with a close up of what I am talking about...

Any help would be really appreciated.

 

[jha4aamu]

I am quite annoyed, my mower is just over a year old and I've had it checked out 3 times since I got it, twice in the last month. I keep getting these lines in my grass, instead of it being smooth as I feel it should be. Everyone says the deck is even and the blades have been sharpened. I cut it at the highest setting which is 4 inches and use mulcher blades. I have tried setting it to mulch and also have tried having it blow the clippings out the side. I have attached a few pics to show what I am talking about. I have no clue what else it could be and I am very frustrated to pay so much for this machine and not get a perfect cut. Is it a user error? Could I be doing something wrong?

Here are a few pics with a close up of what I am talking about...

Any help would be really appreciated.

are you referring to the lines of grass clippings after a pass or something different? when i used to cut my yard above 3" the mower wheels would end up matting the grass down giving it an uneven appearance. what type of blades are you using and are you double cutting your yard in perpindicular passes?

 

[thomamon]

I am quite annoyed, my mower is just over a year old and I've had it checked out 3 times since I got it, twice in the last month. I keep getting these lines in my grass, instead of it being smooth as I feel it should be. Everyone says the deck is even and the blades have been sharpened. I cut it at the highest setting which is 4 inches and use mulcher blades. I have tried setting it to mulch and also have tried having it blow the clippings out the side. I have attached a few pics to show what I am talking about. I have no clue what else it could be and I am very frustrated to pay so much for this machine and not get a perfect cut. Is it a user error? Could I be doing something wrong?

Here are a few pics with a close up of what I am talking about...

Any help would be really appreciated.

are you referring to the lines of grass clippings after a pass or something different? when i used to cut my yard above 3" the mower wheels would end up matting the grass down giving it an uneven appearance. what type of blades are you using and are you double cutting your yard in perpindicular passes?

if you look at the third picture down I have a close up shot. The line where the grass looks taller than the other grass. I use mulched blades and cut it at 4 inches.

I do not double cut, I go over it once and then a different direction every time I cut

 

[craigdt]

Could it be "striping"?

The direction your mower runs bends the blades over, and when you alternate directions, it gives it a stripe pattern.

Your pictures are kind of hard to tell- I'd like to see straight down the rows or at "grass level", but I bet its either that, or just good 'ol fashioned wheel marks.

Your height of cut is nice and high, so you will be able to notice things like that more.

 

[thomamon]

Could it be "striping"?

The direction your mower runs bends the blades over, and when you alternate directions, it gives it a stripe pattern.

Your pictures are kind of hard to tell- I'd like to see straight down the rows or at "grass level", but I bet its either that, or just good 'ol fashioned wheel marks.

Your height of cut is nice and high, so you will be able to notice things like that more.

I will take more pictures tomorrow that you requested. Any suggestions on how to fix that?

 

[ABC123]

Is it leaving uncut stripes in the same area of the cut? If the blades are round on the end at all you can get streaks of uncut grass.

 

[thomamon]

Is it leaving uncut stripes in the same area of the cut? If the blades are round on the end at all you can get streaks of uncut grass.

I am getting stripes of uncut grass but I have no clue why. I know very little about this, I know I have mulcher blades so no clue what the shape is at the end, I just had them sharpened within the last couple of weeks.

 

[craigdt]

Are you certain the blades are on tight?

Not on upside down?

Silly questions, but an easy mistake to make

 

[MasterMech]

Look to see if your uncut strips line up with the front tires of your machine. With a 4" cut, mulching blades and cool season grass, it may not stand back up fast enough to get cut evenly with the surrounding grass.

 

[thomamon]

Are you certain the blades are on tight?

Not on upside down?

Silly questions, but an easy mistake to make

I can't answer that because I didn't do it or even know how to do that. I do know both places I brought it to did not mention they were, and it has done this since the beginning to me. Why I have always felt frustrated I spent so much for the machine and never get perfectly even grass.

Look to see if your uncut strips line up with the front tires of your machine. With a 4" cut, mulching blades and cool season grass, it may not stand back up fast enough to get cut evenly with the surrounding grass.

How can I tell if they line up with the tires? Any suggestions on how to fix this?

 

[Suburban Jungle Life]

Have you tried a double cut in an X pattern? Does it help if you go much slower and side discharge?

 

[ForsheeMS]

I would ditch the mulching blades and go with high lift blade and discharge the clippings. Running a mulching set up doesn't create enough vacuum to pull the grass up and give a clean cut, especially at a taller HOC.

 

[MasterMech]

Look to see if your uncut strips line up with the front tires of your machine. With a 4" cut, mulching blades and cool season grass, it may not stand back up fast enough to get cut evenly with the surrounding grass.

How can I tell if they line up with the tires? Any suggestions on how to fix this?

Park the machine in the stripe after you mow and take a look to see if the Mohawks line up with the tires. If it does, either ditch the mulching setup and go high-lift side-discharge or lower your HoC so the grass canopy isn't so ... floppy.

 

[thomamon]

Have you tried a double cut in an X pattern? Does it help if you go much slower and side discharge?

I don't even know how to do that? I went slower the last two times and noticed no difference.

 

[thomamon]

I would ditch the mulching blades and go with high lift blade and discharge the clippings. Running a mulching set up doesn't create enough vacuum to pull the grass up and give a clean cut, especially at a taller HOC.

Ok, how hard would it be for me to actually do this myself? I'll try anything at this point

 

[thomamon]

Look to see if your uncut strips line up with the front tires of your machine. With a 4" cut, mulching blades and cool season grass, it may not stand back up fast enough to get cut evenly with the surrounding grass.

How can I tell if they line up with the tires? Any suggestions on how to fix this?

Park the machine in the stripe after you mow and take a look to see if the Mohawks line up with the tires. If it does, either ditch the mulching setup and go high-lift side-discharge or lower your HoC so the grass canopy isn't so ... floppy.

Ok, I'll try this when I cut it Friday. What do you Mean by high-lift-side-discharge? Just set it to throw out the clippings?

 

[ForsheeMS]

Ok, how hard would it be for me to actually do this myself? I'll try anything at this point

It's really not hard. Remove the blade bolts and replace the mulching blades with high lift blade. Assuming you had a mulching kit installed that would need to be removed also. Typically that's just a few baffles under the deck and something to block the discharge chute.

I googled your mower but can't find any specs on blade tip speed. That along with deck design can affect the cut but looking at the photos you posted it seems that you just don't have enough vacuum to pull it up.

 

[jha4aamu]

Have you tried a double cut in an X pattern? Does it help if you go much slower and side discharge?

I don't even know how to do that? I went slower the last two times and noticed no difference.

cut the yard how you normally cut it first. then go over it again at a 90* angle to the first cut.

 

[thomamon]

cut the yard how you normally cut it first. then go over it again at a 90* angle to the first cut.

OK, I can try that. I thought you weren't supposed to go over it twice because it would press it down.

 

[thomamon]

It's really not hard. Remove the blade bolts and replace the mulching blades with high lift blade. Assuming you had a mulching kit installed that would need to be removed also. Typically that's just a few baffles under the deck and something to block the discharge chute.

I googled your mower but can't find any specs on blade tip speed. That along with deck design can affect the cut but looking at the photos you posted it seems that you just don't have enough vacuum to pull it up.

OK, this is way beyond my capability, lol