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dgjks6

blade height

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dgjks6

OK - after messing with my deck for days I finally got it adjusted fairly level. But the max cut height in only 3 inches. Is this normal. Seems a little short. I did a test mow with it and it is kinda short. Would like another half inch.

It is a 37 inch deck.

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Duff

OK - after messing with my deck for days I finally got it adjusted fairly level. But the max cut height in only 3 inches. Is this normal. Seems a little short. I did a test mow with it and it is kinda short. Would like another half inch.

It is a 37 inch deck.

You're ahead of me on this one - I just got mine back together last night and haven't mounted it yet. I'll be watching for replies, too!

Deereman :whistle:

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DMESS

Welcome to the biggest issue I have with Wheel Horse cutting decks. Quite frankly, the 37" SD is better than most of the others! Set it level per manual specs, make sure your gauge wheels are new, and use the highest position. Don't be clever and think about cutting in the travel position as these decks are all meant to be ground supported and doing so really doesn't result in favorable results. Who ever devised the "height of cut" on these decks must have had a putting green for a yard. I CANNOT imagine using the lowest setting on ANY Wheel Horse deck without tragic results!

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Rollerman

Who ever devised the "height of cut" on these decks must have had a putting green for a yard. I CANNOT imagine using the lowest setting on ANY Wheel Horse deck without tragic results!

I don't know about tragic....but it may look like one of TT's Hippo's had been grazeing. :whistle:

I currently have a 48" side discharge from a 418C on my 520H & am haveing the low cutting blues with it. :WRS:

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Jim_M

Just remember to use the threaded rod at the rear of the deck to set the rear of the blades 1/4" higher than the front. Once you've done that you might gain a little cutting height too. Make sure all 4 tires are properly inflated too. You would be surprised at how much difference a couple psi can make in the front tires.

The 48" side discharge deck on my 416-H cuts at about 3 1/2" on the highest setting, the deck on one D-160 cuts about 3 1/4" and the other cuts at about 3". When I measure the difference in height of the front tires on the D's, it corresponds with the difference in cutting height.

The 60" deck on my 520-H will only cut at about 2 7/8" no matter what I do to it.

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Teddy da Bear

You guys are not going to want to hear this.

I normally mow on position 3 (roughly in the middle) on

the height adjustment. This height matches my height

on my reel mower best. But in the heat of summer......

I mow on position 2......and let the grass burn!!!!

It seems like that is all I do is mow grass....and I am

happy to keep it short.

I know this is not typical.... But it has worked best

for me.

And guys.....I have mowed on the first position....

And it was to make a green of sorts for chipping :whistle:

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baerpath

The 60" deck on my 520-H will only cut at about 2 7/8" no matter what I do to it.

Jim I was wondering is that with the front casters all the way down ? If I don't sell it at the show I'm going to put a 60 on a 520. To see if it will mow as good as a D250 60inch

Duane

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Jim_M

Duane,

Yes that's with the front casters all the way down. It really mows nice, and the height is about right for me, but it just seems like I should be able to get it higher than that, the lower positions are just wasted, I'll never use them. I like to keep my grass at 2 1/2 to 3" tall.

One of those lawn fertilizer guys told me once that the perfect height to cut your grass is 2 1/2", it lets the roots strengthen and the grass gets thick enough to shade out most weeds. He said mowing it shorter will only get you more weeds. It makes sense to me, and I have healthy looking grass. He told me the last time you mow in the fall you should mow it down to about 1 1/2" tall so you don't encourage mold and fungus to grow in the early spring. I mow it down to 1 1/2" in the late fall so the leaves will blow across the road. :whistle:

I'm just guessing but I'll bet a 60" deck on a 520 will mow better than one on a D-250 because the 20 horse Onan turns more rpms and really spins the blades fast.

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linen beige

Would like another half inch.

How did we get back to the Snow White jokes? :whistle:

The 32 in RD on my 702 will cut from scalp to "Honey did you even mow the grass?" The 48 incher on my D-160 will also cut at a decent height. NONE of my other decks will go above 2 1/4 inches.

Last summer the (gasp) Craftsman with 42 inch mulching deck I normally mow with (It does have Kohler power.) went on strike and I shaved the yard twice in two consecutive weeks with my 1054a. The crabgrass took over despite treatments. This year, and a new spark plug later, I'm cutting at FIVE inches and the fescue has choked the crabgrass out.

I do remember that in the sixties people seemed to cut their grass a lot shorter than they do now, and some communities had laws limiting grass heights to no more than 2 1/2 inches. One trailer park here in town still has that requirement. It was very rare to see a lush lawn.

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dgjks6

sorry to beat this into the ground, but my tractor comes with 22x9x12 rears

There is a set of 23X9.5x12's on ebay for $50 with rims.

Would these fit and would they increase the balde height?

Greg

sorry 1989 312-8 with 37 inch deck

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WheelHorse_of_course

Inflating or changing tires won't make a difference on a ground following deck like most WH decks. Misinflated tires *might* make a difference with regards to leveling though.

All WH decks I have used have been on the low side - but then again I follow the theory that cutting it on the long side helps the grass out grow the weeds.

About the only thing I know to do is to replace the gauge wheels with larger ones. This will gain you 1/2 to 3/4" inch or so easily.

Good luck

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dgjks6

You know what, that makes sense.

I did replace the rear wheels on the deck. This helped a lot, but the limiting factor on adjusting the height is that the left deck wheel hits the deck. I can not adjust it up anymore.

Greg

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Jim_M

Inflating or changing tires won't make a difference on a ground following deck like most WH decks.

Steve,

The front of the deck hangs from the frame of the tractor, and if your front tires are low, the deck will hang lower. Park a tractor on concrete, let the deck down and measure your blade height, then let 5 psi out of the front tires and measure it again. You'll see a difference in height.

Jim

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Ken in Iowa

Hi All,

I've been following this group for probably a year now, and have learned a lot. I found this thread so interesting that I thought I would add my two cents. The same as the rest, I thougt the deck height was just a little to short at 3", and spent a lot of time ajusting, leveling, and even bought new wheels, which helped some.

I had a guy tell me to add three shims under the plate, bolted to the deck, with the height adjusting holes in it. He said us the square fender washers, like they use to aline car fenders. Add one on the lower bolt and two under the top bolt, and this would tip the adjustment block back just enough to give me, about, another half inch of grass height.

I haven't done it yet, but I thought it was a good idea, and am going to try it. I can see how it would work. I don't think the deck raises very much, from the mowing height now, when I raise it, but there should be another half inch. With the rains and floods we have been having here, I have just enough time to mow in between.

I have a 1989, 312-8 with a 42" side discharge deck, and a snow blower, which I feel, is one of the best combo's for taking care of my home. I'm a stickler for maintenance, and this tractor has never let me down. What a work horse.

Just a suggestion, see what you think.

Ken In Flooded Central Iowa.

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Duff

I have a 1989, 312-8 with a 42" side discharge deck......I'm a stickler for maintenance, and this tractor has never let me down. What a work horse.

Ken In Flooded Central Iowa.

Hi, Ken,

Boy, from what I'm seeing on the news and the Weather Channel, you poor folks are takin' it hard! :WRS: I hope you haven't lost any family or property in this deluge!

Anyway, I'm finding an awful bunch of us are very fond of our 312-8's.....or maybe I've just gotten sensitive to looking for that model number!

Glad to hear from you, and best wishes!

Deereman :whistle:

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T-Mo

Ken,

:WRS: I have been seeing your name lurking here, I'm glad to see your first post. I hope that, at least, your house and equipment is high and dry. The water is heading down my way, but I'm too far from the Mississippi to worry about it. But, I cross the Meramac River, which flows into the Mississippi. It will definitely be getting close to overflowing I-55 at Arnold, Missouri. At least they got all the homes out of the flood plain and replaced them with soccer fields.

Again, welcome to the site. :whistle:

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Curmudgeon

As was mentioned earlier, these decks were designed when everybody scalped their yards. Everyone wanted golf greens for a yard. Only people found out that grass was never meant to be cut that short and are now raising their decks.

I can't fault a deck designed to the "correct" standard at the time, for not meeting the standards of today.

Now I have no idea about the new decks, are they keeping up with the times or not?

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dgjks6

Hope all is dry at your home and the wheel horse is dry.

I think the 3 inch deck height seems about right.

I like the idea of putting shims in, that makes sense

I may try it, but I am wondering if it would change the height on the left wheel also?

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MaineDad

Ken - Welcome. I like that idea too of adding shims. I will give it a try. I'd much rather cut at 3.5 or 4 inches to keep the weeds down. Thanks for the idea and best of luck out there.

I was just commenting to my wife last night that you really do not hear people in your flooded areas complaining or asking the government for help. Sounds like you are very proud self sufficient people who are all pitching in to help.

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linen beige

Now I have no idea about the new decks, are they keeping up with the times or not?

The '98 Craftsman ( It may be ten years old, but I still call it my new one) I normally mow with has six height settings numbered, curiously 1 thru 6. 1 is about 1 1/2 inches!, 2 about 2 inches, 3 about 2 3/4 inches, 4 about 4 inches, 5 about 5 inches, and 6 about 6 1/2 inches.

I normally cut my front yard on "4", and this summer have started cutting my back yard on "5". I don't have the crabgrass I did last year after a couple of scalpings.

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Ken in Iowa

Thanks for all the kind comments about the flooding, but I'm one of the lucky ones, although we do have friends living with us that lost everything. You might find it interesting to look at the following web site. It's our local Newspaper. you just can't believe it can happened, but it did, and what a mess.

http://www.gazetteonline.com/

I hope the shim idea works out for someone. On my deck, the gage wheels are on a shaft, so when you shim or tip the height adjustment block up and back, both the wheels can move down further. It looks like the shaft would have to be bent or twisted, before the deck could be out of level from left to right. You still have to relevel the deck, front to back, after raising it. I don't know how high you could raise the deck, before it hits the limit. Mine don't raise much now when I lift it.

I worry about using the tractor to pull something with the deck mounted on it. I'm afraid of hanging it up and twisting the deck on something. I don't know what I would do if I lost it for a while. Still have a walk behind mower but OMG. I can understand a lot of you having some kind of backup.

You guys be careful down river because it's coming your way, and thanks again for the comments.

Ken

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