Author Topic: Dumb mower  (Read 10765 times)

M4wdFab

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Re: Dumb mower
« Reply #15 on: May 22, 2020, 09:18:20 PM »
hmm HP was first thing i thought of when i read that add. 

i would take a look at the blades- a new set of blades or a quick sharpen with a flap wheel will do wonders for the mower. 

M4wdFab

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Re: Dumb mower
« Reply #16 on: May 22, 2020, 09:20:55 PM »
the hill is pretty good.  i couldnt side hill it, had to go up and over and only about 3' to spare from the pond when trying to slow down lol

how did it do out front with all the trees behind the pond?

mr.mindless

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Re: Dumb mower
« Reply #17 on: May 22, 2020, 10:19:49 PM »
I didn’t duck between every tree. Too damn many.

That’s like an every third mow thing.

It retards downhill no problem! Not scared of the pond, it slows well.

Came with spare blades, just mowed with whatever is on it.

Highest deck setting diagramed on the deck is 4 or 4.5, i forget. I set it there. I think there are more holes and it may go higher if I read the manual. Far more complex to adjust height than my mid mount or your zero.

Got it for 1800, doesn’t need tires or a seat. Well cared for. Most of a tank of diesel too. I do need to fill that already though. Burned well over 1/2 tank.
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mr.mindless

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Re: Dumb mower
« Reply #18 on: May 22, 2020, 10:23:07 PM »
And yes it’s rear discharge. I don’t think deck motor steals much from wheel motors. Just wish for more hp to keep deck speed up on taller grass. I think 72” really needs more like 30hp to mow at 5+mph
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mr.mindless

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Re: Dumb mower
« Reply #19 on: May 31, 2020, 06:32:45 PM »
Put half a turn, then another quarter turn on the “smoke screw”. I may not need a turbo. Found another 5hp I bet. Whether that makes it 20 or 25hp now I don’t care. I think it might be enough.

If I get dissatisfied, I’ll put 2 more turns on it and make sure it’s thick black smoky enough to support more air. Then install a rotary muffler.

Got it stuck testing. Put my spare set of mowzer chains on it and rocked it out. Fun to do that in the mud. Mower a bit with chains on. Not bad. One got crooked so I took them off but they may make future appearances. I’m confident I’d have not gotten stuck in the first place if I were chained up.
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TrailTamer

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Re: Dumb mower
« Reply #20 on: June 01, 2020, 09:02:06 AM »
Put half a turn, then another quarter turn on the “smoke screw”. I may not need a turbo. Found another 5hp I bet. Whether that makes it 20 or 25hp now I don’t care. I think it might be enough.
Excellent  8)

Got it stuck testing. Put my spare set of mowzer chains on it and rocked it out. Fun to do that in the mud. Mower a bit with chains on. Not bad. One got crooked so I took them off but they may make future appearances. I’m confident I’d have not gotten stuck in the first place if I were chained up.

how exactly the 'traction assist pedal' work? did chains chew up your lawn on turns, though?

mr.mindless

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Re: Dumb mower
« Reply #21 on: June 01, 2020, 09:29:40 AM »
it's a 3' turning radius or so, didn't do bad things when steering as tight as possible. reduced spin when turning increased speed when turning tight. inside tire clearly slips a fair bit. Clearance to the deck and to traction pedal linkage is an issue when chained up.

I'm curious what ag tires would be like. spare wheels would be nice. Shame the bolt patterns between the deere and jacobsen don't match, since drive tire size does match. Steer tire size might even match, didn't check.

traction pedal is a left tire brake, and that's it. It's not a locker engage that I'd hoped for. a right side brake with matching pedal was an option.
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mr.mindless

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Re: Dumb mower
« Reply #22 on: June 01, 2020, 09:36:42 AM »
no complaints at all after I finished mowing. If I see/hear my neighbor Mike go mow the vacant house I may join him, looks like that's a good 6-8" tall and would be a good test.
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etk300ex

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Re: Dumb mower
« Reply #23 on: June 01, 2020, 09:54:45 AM »
Thats great!   

TrailTamer

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Re: Dumb mower
« Reply #24 on: June 03, 2020, 02:38:05 PM »
my big girl is rear. It's not even though and that makes me not like it. It leaves cuttings in 2 stripes, where the three blades overlap. I think it's worse than side discharge for leaving clippings piles, and I think it's a big source of my bogging in tall grass, since it just fills up inside the deck. I do love it for edging though.

what type blades you're running now? and is the deck clean underneath? packed deck (less space for grass to fly around & re-cut and bog down also) and low lift dull blades tend to do that.

I get "Gator" blades whenever I need to buy a blade. worth the money, better mulching and for some reason they're much more resist to bending when hitting foreign objects.

mr.mindless

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Re: Dumb mower
« Reply #25 on: June 03, 2020, 04:50:45 PM »
read around on frustration with similar issues briefly earlier in the week - many said that low lift blades made their mowers suffer more from similar bogging, while others disagreed. I think what works best has more to do with deck design than anything else. I have not had a close look at the bottom of the deck, since I couldn't pick it up on a 2 post lift and haven't removed the deck. It doesn't pick it up very high. Car ramps plus deck at max height should give me OK access.

I have rubber edging around the deck front and rear, I wonder about adjusting that so it can puke more grass - hopefully without covering the operator or hucking rocks.
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mr.mindless

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Re: Dumb mower
« Reply #26 on: June 08, 2020, 03:49:54 PM »
I just had a thought - I think backspacing may be an issue, but I almost bet my rear tires on the brolite could be a fit for a more aggressive drive tire on the Jacobsen. That'd be a funny swap back n forth. I think they're a 26x12.50r14, and they are certainly 5x4.5 which I bet is right. Not sure about that diameter clearing.
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M4wdFab

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Re: Dumb mower
« Reply #27 on: June 08, 2020, 04:51:08 PM »
my ferris is 5x4.5 lug  (jeep/ranger) too

mr.mindless

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Re: Dumb mower
« Reply #28 on: June 19, 2020, 09:00:37 AM »
Had to rinse off the radiator last night 3/4 done. Lots of crap on it, just I can hear the high temp alarm at 225-230, over hearing protection.

Have all new filters, probably flush coolant too. So much maint to do!
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mr.mindless

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Re: Dumb mower
« Reply #29 on: June 19, 2020, 09:03:35 AM »
Fan blows towards the front, with rear radiator. Probably crapped up when I ran it without the hood for a couple mows while tuning.
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