MMM blade lift?

[makemineorange]

It's been so wet that my grass has gotten too long (5-7") and lays over flat on the ground. Once it finally dried out, I fired up the 2370/60" deck and started to mow, thinking the stock blades (21.5" long, 7/8" bolt hole) had enough lift to pick it up and slice if off. I was mistaken. Bumping the throttle to 2,800 didn't help, neither did wide open. Faster/slower ground speed did not make a difference.
Mower height is set to 3", anti scalp wheels in the third hole from the top. Blades sharp, mower deck operating normally, side discharge, no mulching cover, flat ground. Been cutting with Kubotas for 6 years and never had this issue till now. My stock blades aren't cutting it, literally. Are there other factory or aftermarket blade sets out there that are better than the stock ones? Maybe some with more/better lift? Recommendations? Vendors? Or is this something else entirely, what am I missing here?

 

[85Hokie]

Since it is laying over, you might have to run a "rake" behind it to lift it - a piece of chainlink fence being pulled behind it might "lift" it enough to cut.

A rotary cutter will have problems lifting that much grass to a vertical position to cut it off at 3" or less inches.

YOU might have to lower the blade .....if that makes sense - to catch it and then go slow as turtle to though it out the chute.

Yes- there are "high" lift blades - gator blades are one company......they are made for the deck you have.

 

[hagrid]

Oregon G6.

I use them on my 60" deck with the mulching baffles. I've read they work great with the discharge chute open as well.

However, if'n yinz grass is laying flat then nothing is gonna fix that except sildenafil.

 

[D2Cat]

1. Make sure the cutting edge of your blades are on the bottom!

2. Get you a flail mower. 3. Cut more than once in different directions. 4. Get you a set of these blades for your machine. https://www.ebay.com/itm/6-USA-Mowe...:ShippingMethodStandard!66064!US!-1:rk:9:pf:0

 

[sheepfarmer]

Given the immediate problem is to get it cut, I would try the suggestion to lower the deck. I have been experimenting with trying to find a way to cut limp grass, and my deck did better when I lowered it. Kubota blades.

I wonder if taking the chute cover off decreases the suction. Mine is off.

 

[lugbolt]

Have used a ton of different brand blades.

Kubota blades work the best for most situations. Gator's were worthless but some people swear by them. I can't believe I wasted $50 on a set of them. They went in the scrap pile! Side discharge only (I don't mulch). Max RPM, which is what my particular mower is designed for-as are most of the smaller tractors and mowers.

Biggest thing I see is blade QUALITY. Meaning, are the tips rounded? The cutting edge should be a sharp corner not a rounded corner. If rounded, it'll affect cut quality.

Cutting too low also can cause exactly what you're describing. Affects the air flow under the deck.

Type of grass can have an effect too. We have this darn wire grass stuff that doesn't get cut with any mower that I have tried. Not a flail, not a rotary, and not a reel. Stuff just lays down and the next morning, it's 6" tall again. I've learned to quit worrying about it. I used to live in a neighborhood where the city would jump all over your backside if your grass was more than 4" tall, so usually had to mow twice a week from April through November. And even then, if they drove by and seen wire grass sticking up, they'd write you up. Moved out of the dad gum city and now have some acreage to cut, still have neighbors (unfortunately) but out in the county nobody says anything unless it's over 2 foot tall and they can't see the house anymore, then they ask if everything's ok. Once a week is plenty sufficient, though sometimes it's pretty thick and takes a little longer to cut.

Best cut quality? John Deere Pirahna 44" but they had to be clean underneath and all there (plastic baffles known to break), level, and have sharp blades. 6 blade design. Things were power hungry but I've never seen another mower that cuts nearly as good. Best stripes I've ever seen from a rotary or a flail. Only a reel mower cut better, IMO.

 

[SDT]

It's been so wet that my grass has gotten too long (5-7") and lays over flat on the ground. Once it finally dried out, I fired up the 2370/60" deck and started to mow, thinking the stock blades (21.5" long, 7/8" bolt hole) had enough lift to pick it up and slice if off. I was mistaken. Bumping the throttle to 2,800 didn't help, neither did wide open. Faster/slower ground speed did not make a difference.
Mower height is set to 3", anti scalp wheels in the third hole from the top. Blades sharp, mower deck operating normally, side discharge, no mulching cover, flat ground. Been cutting with Kubotas for 6 years and never had this issue till now. My stock blades aren't cutting it, literally. Are there other factory or aftermarket blade sets out there that are better than the stock ones? Maybe some with more/better lift? Recommendations? Vendors? Or is this something else entirely, what am I missing here?

Don't know about your deck but Kubota offers both "regular" and high lift blades for the 60" MMM on my B1750HSDT. Might want to check with your dealer.

Finish mowers are not designed to cut tall thick grass and it is not reasonable to expect one to cut such grass cleanly in one pass. When I must cut such grass, I usually go over it twice in opposite directions with a day or two delay between.

SDT

 

[DaddyFlip]

Finish mowers are not designed to cut tall thick grass and it is not reasonable to expect one to cut such grass cleanly in one pass. When I must cut such grass, I usually go over it twice in opposite directions with a day or two delay between.

SDT

This. I have bahia that gets 18 inches if I let it go too long (the stuff they bale for hay around here). Right now I'm cutting 3 acres with a Craftsman 42 inch riding mower. Takes a long time but I go slow and it gets the job done on the highest deck height. Usually only the tire tread areas suffer in cut quality, so I'll go slow and only cut to about half the deck width. Takes forever but looks good when I'm done. Using plain jane Chinese blades I got in a spindle kit. Of course, bahia isn't going to bow down for anyone, so it stands tall all the time.

For finish mowing, you need to keep it down all the time. If not you're hogging instead. Option is to go slower or cut more often. I want a tractor and wide deck so I can cut my time and improve quality.

 

[ipz2222]

I find it hard to believe that lugbolt had bad service with the gator blades. I run them on my 60 inch Kubota and my wifes 60 inch z turn. They work wonderful. Just ordered another set for a john Deere 54 inch deck. One of the things I do is place a washer above the blade to drop it down a little. Helps with tall grass that bends over. Some blade designs won't let you do that.

 

[RCW]

I find it hard to believe that lugbolt had bad service with the gator blades.

I put G6 Gators on mine this year.

They're okay. I'm not ecstatic, but not unhappy either. I may have had higher expectations after seeing some of the reviews here.

We've had a wet year. I mow a vacant house (~1 acre) and sometimes it does get tall. Probably doesn't help.....

I have been chopping leaves lately...do like them better than stock for that.

 

[Missouribound]

Any chance your deck needs cleaning? I have noticed that if there is a lot of grass accumulated the suction/lift just isn't there.
The grass needs a place to go and if there is a layer of debris it just can't get sucked up into the blade.

 

[makemineorange]

Problem solved thanks to your advice and comments. I cleaned the deck (it wasn't bad), installed a new set of Oregon G6 Gators (very timely, they chew through leaves) and lowered the deck an inch. I think what helped the most was reversing my mowing pattern, it seemed to lift the grass much better.

 

[lugbolt]

I think what helped the most was reversing my mowing pattern,

Excellent! Thanks for posting a solution-and I'll add. I had cut quality issues when I moved to this house and a tech at a different dealer said that if you mow the same direction all the time, the grass blades will develop a memory, and affects cut quality. So I make it a point to change directions on each mowing cycle. Criss cross one time, diagonal the next, opposite diagonal the next time, lengthwise the next, etc. It makes a big difference.