Ga. Grizz 6 #1 Posted June 29, 2017 I have a 520H with a 46 inch side discharge deck. The tractor was my father's before he passed away, while digging thru a storage building I see what appears to be a rear discharge deck. My question is what are the advantages, if any other than the obvious one of cutting closer to things on your right side. Also would any of the parts be interchangeable, blades, spindles etc ? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sparky-(Admin) 19,563 #2 Posted June 29, 2017 One advantage, the rear discharge works great with a tow-behind lawn sweeper. The deck puts the clippings right in front of the sweeper. Mike..... 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Uncle Buck 246 #3 Posted June 29, 2017 (edited) If you have a side discharge deck I would encourage you to keep that. I have cut many acres of grass with a rear discharge deck and I am not a fan of rear discharge decks. The only good results you will ever get cutting with a rear discharge deck is if you only cut grass at fairly short heights. Once grass gets tall a rear discharge deck will give you very disappointing results. I mean results so bad that not all of the grass will even get cut leaving stray blades and clumps of grass sticking up all over! Ya, that bad! The taller the grass the worse it will be too. Too me there are more minuses to a rear discharge deck than there are plusses. But, that is just my opinion. Edited June 29, 2017 by Uncle Buck Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doc724 924 #4 Posted June 29, 2017 Use a side discharge deck with an Onan and grass clippings will cover the inlet screen (unless you are very careful of your mowing directions). Never a problem with a RD deck. However, Uncle Buck is correct, you have to be diligent with how long you let the grass get with a RD deck. More frequent mowing is a must or else the Mrs will be on your case to sweep up the hay. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
953 nut 51,737 #5 Posted June 29, 2017 I changed to a rear discharge deck a couple of years back and have no intention of ever going back. It is a good deal quieter, grass clippings on the engine screen are a thing of the past and like Sparky said, in the fall I pull a lawn sweeper and chop up the leaves and collect them in one pass. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EricF 589 #6 Posted June 29, 2017 3 hours ago, doc724 said: Use a side discharge deck with an Onan and grass clippings will cover the inlet screen (unless you are very careful of your mowing directions). To be honest, any horizontal-shaft engine with the intake on the side will pick up clippings in the screen, and a side discharge deck just has a lot of clippings circulating on the left side waiting to be ejected that can escape more easily out from under the front on some turns or on uneven ground. The Wheel Horse decks are no different; had the same effect on an old John Deere 112. You just need to stop and brush off the screen once in a while if there's a lot being kicked up. The 112 was easy to deal with since it had a fixed screen as opposed to the rotating one typical on the older Kohlers; the Onans are the same way with a fixed screen. People tend to want to be a bit more cautious of the Onans because of concerns about heat and the valve seats. The most important thing to remember on the Onans is to keep clippings and dirt from building up in between the tins and the heads -- which is best done by blasting some compressed air in there now and then. If you have then available time to stay on top of frequent mowings, a rear-discharge deck has some great advantages. Seat time being one of them! For overall utility, big side-discharge decks are great and the proven workhorses of the groundskeeping business, so you really can't go wrong. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slammer302 2,154 #7 Posted June 30, 2017 If you have a small yard RD is great. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elcamino/wheelhorse 9,054 #8 Posted June 30, 2017 I prefer the RD decks, I have 2 (a 36 " and a 42" ) . They eliminate a lot of trimming , the chute does not clog up and in my case ( cut the grass once at week ) they don't leave clumps of cut grass everywhere . They don't leave as much old dead grass under the deck which has to be scraped off. One disadvantage is they don't do the best job on cutting up leaves, unless you are in reverse. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
953 nut 51,737 #9 Posted June 30, 2017 8 hours ago, elcamino/wheelhorse said: disadvantage is they don't do the best job on cutting up leaves, I have a rather large wooded lawn with several species of trees, as each deposits it's leaves I cut and collect, as long as they don't get too thick the RD will grind them well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ga. Grizz 6 #10 Posted June 30, 2017 Thanks for all the information. I have no plans to sell either deck, and would like to add to the implements for the tractor. Have sorted a few issues by searching the forums already. Lots of info to be found here, thanks again. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites