Why Does My Mower Make Such a Ragged Cut?

[@swampwhiteoak1]

Even accepting this explanation, some operators and some mowers are far better than others. Me and my Scag zero turn do a beautiful job all year.

[@randthompson5716]

Hey Mike Often when my grass doesnt look good, I look out the window at my neighbors grass and stop looking at mine. Works everytime!

[@markniemann4493]

Another fun video. Really enjoy them. My favorite so far is your story of the huge AgCo farm exhibit and driving tractors in St. Louis at two in the morning.

[@jakeschisler7525]

I own a zero turn mower and I'm a stickler when I finish mowing. I pull the blades check to see if they need sharpened and clean underneath the deck everytime I mow. It's a pain in my neck. The last time I mowed i heard the noise you talked about and yes there was so much grass stuck to the bottom. I never hose it off because it can make it worse. I use an old hacksaw blade that I picked up at work, now it is about an inch and 3/4 inches wide and i put a padded piece on the end to protect my hands. It does a great job at taking off the stuck on grass. I have a bush hog that I run on my tractor and i don't drive real fast because of the terrain and it's new to me.

[@leecarroll1817]

I didn't know this for fact, I had suspicions but nothing factual. Thanks for the education.

[@tombarnes1871]

Very good information Mike, I appreciated the information!! Tom

[@wildbill23c]

Make sure the blades aren't on upside down...yep I've seen that several times...even on a brand new machine they were installed upside down. I run Gator G5 or G6 blades on my mowers, they work great not only for fall leaf cleanup, but they work great in hot weather as they don't create quite as much turbulence as a standard high-lift blade will do. I can mulch, or side discharge without changing blades, so now I just leave the Gator blades on all year. I'm running G6 blades on my lawn tractor, they're a bit heavier steel so they don't require sharpening as frequently. This year has been so bad I think between July and August I mowed three times. Its been way too hot...also, doesn't help that I don't have a sprinkler system so the yard only gets watered once a week.

[@clarkansas6590]

Good job

[@tombarnes1871]

Mike, This just my personal experience.!When you are cleaning/scraping the bottom side of the mower it pays to wear a disposable mask. Cut grasses decaying will produce mold spores so by scaling you are opening the mold spores making them accessible to your lungs….what often follows is a mold infection which Physicians often confuse for other illness. A disposable mask is much cheaper than a doctor’s visit, medication and feeling badly….

[@philiptinker1624]

Great advice as usual. But the lack of jack stands supporting the mower is unlike someone of your experience. I use the loader frame of my compact tractor with some big straps to lift the zero turn, support with stands, then clean out the grass gunk as needed. The finish mower guy, Reg, needs to be sure the blades are not on upside down. Maybe just one is on the deck wrong. It can make a difference - I know from experience!

[@TractorMike]

The Mo-Jack has both a hydraulic lift and a mechanical stop (like jack stands) so it can't let the mower down. Should have showed that in the video. I don't think there's any way the mower could come down.

[@philiptinker1624]

@@TractorMike I'm relieved to hear that. I thought it odd you would not be safety conscious over that kind of process. Thanks for the update.

[@mulepushermanigo9800]

Sometime mowing in reverse helps. It cuts before tractor compresses grasses.

[@brushymt1]

Hello Mike, what kind of jack is this, that you used for your Zero Turn?

[@mikepalucci1381]

I'm going to try this strategy on my Toro Zero-Turn which is leaving a pretty ragged cut lately. Thanks!

[@sarahandtim332]

All good comments, how ever brand of finish does matter I have both a frontier and box store finish mower.. type of blade for applications matter Most. Why I have kept both.

[@Raul28153]

you can pressure wash your deck scrub it Spic & Span and apply nano ceramic coating.

[@rfb7117]

Mike...great comments. I have two suggestions that help me immensely. First I jack the mower up and clean the deck after each mowing if possible, if not clean it as often as possible. (I know it is a difficult job, and I HATE doing it also) The best tool you can use is a "Mojack Deck Scraper" offered on Amazon for $17.99, instead of a putty knife. It is very flexible but strong, and I do not work for the company. The second thing I do is spray it with a Graphite spray to help coat the deck and reduce the grass from sticking...it seems to work better after numerous coatings. Finally i suggest to my wife in a VERY nice way not to mow when the grass is damp if possible. Just my thoughts, Bob

[@hoyks1]

If the grass is too long, then the mower skirt can lay the grass flat and the blades not cut it properly. I might take a few attempts a week apart to get it resembling some kind of lawn.

[@jamesmaddox1450]

Yep, most people's IQs aren't quite high enough to figure out the GRASS aspect of the equation. Found this out this summer with my new high dollar zero turn mower when this drought thinned out our grass, and after mowing, it cut all uneven. So then it started raining, revived the lawn, and now it cuts perfectly again.

[@tiedryflies]

If it wasn't for weeds there wouldn't be any green in and around my home. That's why I call my mower a riding weed wacker.

[@dennissholly1296]

I have a landpride 3pt finish mower rear discharge if you have your deck set high maybe 4" to 6" they don't cut as nice I think they don't have as turbulence to stand grass up and cut nicely

[@LedgemereHeritageFarm]

John Deere used to make a yellow side discharge rear finish mower. I haven’t seen them new in a long time though

[@donaldmckie5960]

Hey mike, really like your videos and have a question not related to this video . I have contacted four different equipment dealers and no answer to my question. Which is , on a ten foot brush hog or really any brush hog that has two gearboxes do the blades turn the same direction? Thanks

[@TractorMike]

Donald, that's a great question. I'm not sure all cutters are like this, but most that I've been around run in opposite directions. I have a Bush Hog 3008 with twin gearboxes and, looking from the bottom up, the left blades run clockwise, the right blades counterclockwise and they run at 90 degree angles to one another. If they get out of time it'll wake you up real quick :)!

[@rickywilson6214]

True my man

[@Slinky108]

Awesome info! Thank you so much! I am trying to find a "mojack??" now! I need that in my life!

[@MikeBrown-ii3pt]

I don't like MoJack for the simple reason that many of them use a crank winch (similar to what's on boat trailers) to raise and lower them. They're also expensive for what they are in my opinion. I bought my mower jack at Harbor Freight and it's hydraulic with a foot pump. They have 2 different models now but when I bought mine, they only had one. It's the less expensive (about $130 or so now) of the 2 offered now and I've had it for 3-4 years. It still works great.

[@wildbill23c]

I got mine from Harbor Freight several years ago, best investment for servicing lawn/garden tractors. Makes blade changes very easy.

[@Slinky108]

@@MikeBrown-ii3pt Thank you, I found online and they seem pretty expensive for what they are!

[@pondacres]

I got a stander with gators on there, and I do notice the cut isn't as nice as it was earlier in the season (and yes, I clean my deck and sharpen the blades). Oh wow, yeh I never considered lowering rpm's. Ok Mike, thx I'll try it that way!

[@realreviews9207]

Thank you, Mike. This video answered a few questions that I have wondered about for a couple of years. May I also add, the grapple I purchased from you works great and is a very well-made product that will last for decades and was worth every dime.

[@TractorMike]

Glad to hear the grapple is getting the job done, thank you for your business!

[@LedgemereHeritageFarm]

Great video Mike. I run my deck at 4” all year long and don’t usually have issues.

[@whome8192]

I don’t know, I have had multiple mowers and some do well, and some do poor. If love John Deere, great reliability, but their mowers never do as good as a cheap cub cadet, or Husqvarna. Some mowers just are a lot better than others. Biggest problem I have seen is decks not sloped down in front. Most mowers cut poorly if they are level, and real poor if the front is higher than the rear.

[@vietnamvet5826]

Great information, one thing I do is every 15 or so hours on the mower is change out the blades. I keep at least one extra set sharpened and ready to go. Have to try that slower revs and faster ground speed.

[@woodyholland9865]

Timely video. Seems like the wrong thing to do, less rpm's and higher ground speed, but will try it next week. Never too old to learn something new. Thanks, Mike.

[@RustyShacklefordlivefreeordie]

Great advice Mike! Thanks

[@lordchaa1598]

Great info, I love to learn new things and slowing the PTO speed down but your speed up goes against everything I’ve been taught and I can’t wait to give it a try tomorrow while I’m mowing my farm lanes. Thanks again for the helpful tips.

[@mikerequa820]

Great video as always Mike!! Guess I'm lucky I bought a used befco 6ft finish mower about 8 years ago after havin problems with a 5ft an 6ft woods mowers. Mowed yard with befco my wife came home said the yard looks beautiful this thing has never gave a bad cut but I very seldom run over 1500 rpms we bought this home 3 years ago with 4 acres I mow it all. We live in sw Missouri. Our grass went dormant also. Thanks for sharing be safe have fun enjoy ya'lls beautiful place

[@jamiepeeler9660]

Another thing or two to check. Are blades installed correctly? Does it have the correct blades? Thanks Mike.

[@wildbill23c]

When I was doing small engine services, I can't count the number of mowers of all types that came in that the owner was claiming had terrible cut quality, I'd look under the mower and find blades installed upside down...hmm, well there's your problem.

[@martyb3783]

Very informative video as always. When I had this problem, I found that the dealer that assembled my mower did not level the deck correctly. Lawn mowers often have a built in tilt to the spindles that will make the blades cut lower in the front and slightly higher in the back. This is by design. If you level your deck by leveling the blades, this will often cause problems and poor cut quality and poor ejection of the cut grass. Follow the instructions included with the mower.

[@smanjik]

Great info as usual. I suppose it is a matter of taste. Some folks (me) don't really care about how the cut looks. Don't get me wrong, I like my grass cut, I just don't worry too much about how it looks. That said, I really appreciate driving by properties that have golf course style cuts.

[@fondy44]

Wife and I usually tag team the yard with her on the ZT and me with the RFM. One thing we've both noticed is when life and weather force you to let the grass grow a little taller than normal, the parts of the yard cut with the RFM don't look quite as bad a few days after mowing as the parts that were cut with the ZT.

[@MusicandMachines]

I’d be checking blade rotation. I think some/most of those spin the blades in opposite directions. Would be an easy mistake to make if they just got them opposite of each other.

[@eddie8279]

Mike that is very good advice for a problem I have been having. I can't wait to try it next time I mow. Also when I clean the underside of my mowing deck, I apply Fluid Film,it helps control rust and grass doesn't stick to the deck as bad.

[@williamorton7600]

Great info Mike. Here in NE NC, we have to start cutting Fescue high by mid-June or it will go dormant with the first hot spell. I see cutting high on cool season grasses does give a better result, but I'm not sure it crowds any weeds out. Also, a few of the yard guys I follow on youtube swear that if fescue is the least bit wet, it will dull a mower blade faster...and I see that when I start getting grass that looks torn. But if you cut high, it takes longer to dry after morning dew. Like you said, some grasses are just harder to get a good cut. Great work! Bill

[@johnmedlin5894]

I feel your pain Mike, I have to clean out from under my Toro zero-turn mower about 3 to 4 times a season. The deck creates so much suction with the blades and deck design that if the grass has the slightest bit of moisture it will pack the grass under there over time, and if you leave it, that grass will get like concrete.

[@jeffvoermans8817]

I bought a 50" Toro zero turn with a mulch kit a couple of months ago. Dealer told me to hookup hose wash every time or not at all. Service delivery person said if you do rinse it, wait 20-30 minutes for seals or bearings to cool down. I've opted to cut grass when dry and not rinse (with no associated mess) with no issues so far.

[@williamgaines9784]

Cleaning the deck, top and bottom, will also make it last longer. All that moist grass will promote rust, especially if your mower is kept outdoors. Good video.

[@samengler539]

Very interesting mike thanks 🙏🏽

[@hughhead9079]

The "reduce RPM and increase ground speed" tip for late season mowing is interesting... Gonna try that bush hogging soon with irregular densities in the pasture. Wonder if it helps with leaf pickup with bagger mowers as well? Anyhoo, just did a complete fall prep on the old zero-turn with new blades, oil, all new air/fuel filters and greased all the maintenance points... Ready for battle!

[@adamm2716]

my finish mower cuts so clean its my jd with a 7 iron that can't make great cut

[@larrymoore6640]

Some of the new zero turns are equipped with a water hose attachment that allows you to clean the underneath of the deck. Still doesn't replace hand cleaning the deck.

[@hoyks1]

My ride on has that feature too. It sprays green water around, but lift the deck up and it has really done bugger all.

[@CamppattonFamilyCompound]

Good information video. Thank you for sharing.

[@superdave7355]

Good info.

[@reno4819]

My 2 cents: in the spring when cool weather grass is thick and strong I use high lift mulching mower blades. The grass is strong enough to withstand the strong wind caused by the high lift mower blades. In July when the grass is thin and weak, I change to low lift mower blades so the strong winds won't blow the weak grass over and the blades go over the grass and the grass doesn't get cut. After I pass over it the grass stands back up and the cut looks terrible. For what it's worth. Hope it helps.

[@michaelparker5814]

Diy tip for keeping grass from sticking to deck once u clean it spray it with cooking spray every 3 or 4 times you now

[@bobdavis6103]

This video is very timely in that I have been concerned that my ZT mower with 6 hrs on the new blades hasn't been cutting as it should leaving a streak of higher cut grass about 1/3 of the way in on the deck. In N FL we have Pensacola Bahia that I have had to mow while wet and high. Next time I am back up there I will check for matted grass under the deck.

[@Varietywork264.]

Hi Mike good presentation and content doing a wonderful job. If I can throw in my 2 cents when I was growing up i've been around compact tractors with finish mowers and every time dad would get done with the lawn he would wash it off every time that way it was ready to go for the next time. even the garden tractor he would wash the deck as well.

[@garywood8316]

I live in North Carolina I have a Land Pride 72 inch finish mower I love it we have Bermuda grass in our horse p a s t u r e

[@jbfreeman2762]

Great advice, Thanks Mike

[@larrypalmer2415]

Thanks, Mike! great info!!!!