any pics of how a 60" deck cuts?

[bigblue12v 1]

I'm hoping someone has or can post pics of how a 60" deck cuts, preferably on the highest setting. I mow my 2 acres every week with the 520 and 48" deck, it takes too long... I used to have a landscaping business and after using 60" zero turns for years, anything less seems incredibly slow. I'm looking to trade for a 60" deck for it and am curious how the cut quality is. We have a little bit of everything in the yard grass-wise (and weeds) and I don't particularly think the 48" cuts that great but again coming from a commercial machine bias. If the 60 cuts at least as good as the 48, then that's acceptable. Hopefully it cuts even better but if someone has some pics that would be awesome.

I've even given thought to fitting a deck from a commercial mower under it so I can get better cut quality and changing pulleys for more blade speed. The stamped 48" deck has none of the qualities I look for in a deck and the 60 being a fabricated deck is more to my liking, if it doesn't cut like I want I know I can change some stuff around and likely get it cutting real sweet. The stamped decks have no potential for improvement IMO.

Anyway anyone got some pics they can post up?

Thanks in advance!!!

[Shuboxlover 482]

I should have some....let me do some digging.

Just so you know....the two that I have (would get rid of one ) cut GREAT. I am VEEEEERY picky when it comes to my yard and I could not be any happier!!! :ychain:

[Shuboxlover 482]

I thought I had more, but I guess not....I have a ton of what my yard looked like after I used my 42", but I guess i don't have that many of the finished product of the 60". This picture was taken in very early April, so the grass wasn't completely out of dormancy yet. But you get the idea. I bet someone else will have a better picture.

[bigblue12v 1]

Thanks for the pic. Looks pretty good. How high do you cut your grass? I run the 48 on the highest setting it seems to be around 3" but I prefer 3.5" if I can get it. If the yard is tall I use hydro lift and raise deck all the way and knock it down then a few days later let it float on highest setting and cut again... Raised all the way with the lift doesn't cut too good, not enough vacuum and the pitch and level gets all screwed up...

One thing that bugs me is the tire marks where they lay the grass down. I rather it be laid down the whole width of the deck so it "stripes" if you know what I mean. You can kinda see your stripes there. On the commercial mowers I installed full width rollers on the back of the deck so they would lay a nice stripe, beautiful results with a good operator... I get pretty obsessed with my stripes and usually get very ornate patterns going... get compliments all over town... Ok not trying to pay myself on the back just saying thats a big deal to me. I want my yard to look like I had used a 60" Exmark zero turn not a lawn tractor. If 3" is the highest a 60" will go I can probably live with it, but probably will put a roller on the back in place of or in between the gauge wheels. If you wanted to make one, a conveyor roller works well, pretty similar to the very expensive pre fab roller kits you buy, won't last quite as long as the bearings aren't quite as beefy but its a TON cheaper and the kits you buy will break sooner or later anyway, just ask me haha....

Bought a conveyor roller from McMaster Carr for I think around $65 and made brackets for it to go on a 52" Exmark I used to have. Worked great for years.

Those decks are suspended from the mower and the roller doesn't support the deck weight. On a Wheel Horse, the roller could support the deck weight which would do a few things, one would help distribute weight and reduce impact the tractor tires or deck wheels leave, two, would help keep lawn smoother, three, would help the deck follow ground contours and not scalp as easily as would with standard gauge wheels, works great on berms and such. Didn't bother doing this to the 48" deck, I did add some boat roller wheels on the back between the anti scalp rollers but they don't sit low enough to help stripe or spread weight. I think if I got a 60" deck after I get it cutting nice I would make a striping roller for it..

Sorry to get kind of off topic long winded, but maybe you got something useful out of that bit of info...

[zieg72 209]

I have a couple of comments... If your grass is thick, you will have to slow way down compared to the 48" deck... If it isn't perfectly flat you will scalp spots... Also you need two men and a small boy to remove and install it, it weighs a bunch.

I had one that I didn't really like for the above reasons. I have a plush lawn and the 60" didn't throw the grass like the 48" does. I also timed how long it took and I actually finished faster with the 48" deck and it looked better... My $.02

I did have the newer deck with anti-scalp wheels and it had a brand new set of blades

[zieg72 209]

One more comment, my son borrowed a 60" Z-mark Toro from a Landscaping outfit he used to work with, which had a 23 hp Kawasaki engine on it. That cut it fast and did a great job. IMO the 60" deck is a bit to much for a 520, now I am done...

[stevebo-(Moderator) 8,590]

I have both the 60 and 48. There is no comparing the two. THe 60 is the way to go for sure. I would suggest you try and find a newer style that has the anti scalp casters on the front vs the older style with the skids. I am fabricating casters for my older deck to stop it from scalping the grass. The cut is awesome !!

[Nick 13]

You can scalp at the edge of hills or in a fairly rough lawn, and some have clumping problems in wet grass but the cut quality of the 60 is really hard to beat. I never had trouble with running 3/4 speed or better unless the grass had been let go to long and was really to tall or wet to be cut.

This grass was thin but also was 8" or taller and he is running full speed no problem.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVWyHR9rE3E

[Shuboxlover 482]

If there is one thing I don't like about the 60".....it does NOT cut as high as my 42"...If it's all the way up, I would say 3" is pushing it pretty hard. probably more like 2.75" Later in the growing season, it left WAAAAY better stripes in my yard, probably not to your satisfaction from what it sounds, but I can see the stripes from 3/4 of a mile away when I pop over the hill on the highway and see my yard.

My 520 has absolutely NO problem handling the 60"er...I can go as fast as I want and it just keeps on chuggin.

The 60" is VERY heavy, but once you take it of and put it on a couple time, you learn quickly what is the easiest way to do it.

[Shuboxlover 482]

You can scalp at the edge of hills or in a fairly rough lawn, and some have clumping problems in wet grass but the cut quality of the 60 is really hard to beat. I never had trouble with running 3/4 speed or better unless the grass had been let go to long and was really to tall or wet to be cut.

This grass was thin but also was 8" or taller and he is running full speed no problem.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVWyHR9rE3E

I second everything you say here

Nick, I hope you cleaned your air filter after you mowed that!!!! :D

[bigblue12v 1]

I can see your points... 20hp for 60" isn't a lot, but many commercial mowers used to have that power and cut setup, including one my old boss has that I used everyday. It was a 800# dual hydro drive walk behind, with a sulky dragging my 220# butt on it, all over hills... Granted I normally didn't run it much over 5mph due to the hills, but it had the power, just rough terrain. My yard is very hilly also and I already am down to 4 or 5 mph just so the 48" deck can handle the job. Its not a power issue its just that the deck can't handle it. It won't cut clean enough for my liking. The stamped deck design is lousy after you've ran fabricated decks. If I could run the 48 at a faster speed I would understand the 60 may not help me on time, but right now the issue is that due to terrain or obstacles or the 48's inabilities, I can't go very fast as it is. So if I can widen the path at the same speed I will be ahead. Plus I'm hoping the 60 can provide better quality cut even if it takes just as long to mow i'd be happy if the quality was better... I've done everything you can imagine to make the 48 cut as good as possible (adjust deck pitch/ level, style of blades, keep blade spotless, etc etc) and it just doesn't cut nice at all to me. The way the 60" is designed it SHOULD cut differently. It may not be better but I think I could work with it and fine tune it better. Call me crazy but I want to try it.

The 60" may disappoint me, I won't know til i try it. I am sure the guy will let me try it before committing to anything. I hope so anyway. If not maybe I will have to research it a little more. My philosophy is it can't be any worse than the 48".... We've talked about getting a commercial mower but hate to shell out the money when there is already a machine here... If I can't get a Wheel Horse deck to do what I want then maybe I'll try to find a used deck like a 52" Exmark deck to throw under it that would be a good match for the tractor and I promise the cut quality is best there is! And a little wider than 48" too. The reason the 48" deck uses so much power or seems like that's as big as you can use with the 20hp is because it's inefficient. But thats a whole 'nother can of worms...

[Nick 13]

Found my picture. Used the brothers 520 for a year mowing about 10 acres a week.

[bigblue12v 1]

Ha the one in that vid is bush hogging cleaner than my 48" cuts my decently kept lawn... the 48 streaks horrible that's my number one complaint with it... cannot do anything to get rid of the streaking. Again have ran new blades, deck adjusted per manual and also tried tuning it a little more based on my experience with decks on commercial mowers, RPM at 3800 RPM, ground speed 3-5 mph cutting at highest setting taking off 3-4", just lousy results. Maybe I expect too much but an old Simplicity will cut just about as nice as the commercial mowers so I don't think I expect too much. I've seen 1980's Craftsman lawn tractors cut better than this Wheel Horse. My grandma had a C101 with a 42" it cut pretty good if you went too fast or cut off too much it would streak but normal conditions it was OK, not perfect but not too bad for what it was... I'm not dogging Wheel Horses please don't take this the wrong way. I just feel that for the most part their decks suck compared to a lot of other options you could buy.

[bigblue12v 1]

Found my picture. Used the brothers 520 for a year mowing about 10 acres a week.

Looks great. I'm sold on the 60.... those look a lot better than my 48 will cut. It has cut that nice but only if you were taking off an inch! LOL

[zieg72 209]

It should work great for you then. I can go full speed and get a very nice cut with the 48", didn't like 60", maybe because the highest setting wasn't high enough, I only ran it one whole season.

[bigblue12v 1]

Well I may hafta work on the height setting deal then... I ain't afraid to fabricate... The deck I'm lookin at is the old style without front casters... I will fix that too...

[Nick 13]

Well I may hafta work on the height setting deal then... I ain't afraid to fabricate... The deck I'm lookin at is the old style without front casters... I will fix that too...

The deck itself is taller than other decks. I dont believe you can squeeze much more height.

[bigblue12v 1]

That's a good thing, that's why it cuts better. There's always a way to go higher... Might take some 26's in the rear and 18's up front to do it hahaha......