deck weight

[mrc 724]

hello men, i was moving around some decks for winter storage. i have what i call a light duty 42 inch RD deck and a heavy duty 42 inch RD deck.  the difference is on the heavy duty deck there is a reinforcement bar welded around the lower edge of the deck.  this combined with the  mulch baffle makes this particularly heavy.  i hear that the 60 inch deck can stress the frame enough to crack it and/or wear out the mid tach-a-matic.  any issues with the mulch baffle/heavy duty 42 inch RD deck?  thank you mike in mass.

[ericj 1,576]

On 10/5/2018 at 10:50 PM, mrc said:

hello men, i was moving around some decks for winter storage. i have what i call a light duty 42 inch RD deck and a heavy duty 42 inch RD deck.  the difference is on the heavy duty deck there is a reinforcement bar welded around the lower edge of the deck.  this combined with the  mulch baffle makes this particularly heavy.  i hear that the 60 inch deck can stress the frame enough to crack it and/or wear out the mid tach-a-matic.  any issues with the mulch baffle/heavy duty 42 inch RD deck?  thank you mike in mass.

part of the problem with the 60" deck is not only the weight but also the width. the width gets you when you bump into something and twist the deck against the tractor, that is what wears out the center quick attach. On the other hand the 42" RD mulching deck fits pretty much between the tires so there's not as much room for twist to wear on the quick attach. I have both decks and both are heavy, but in my opinion it's more the width when it comes to the quick attach wear.

 

now on the other hand the weigh is what will break the frame of the tractor. I heard of a story of a guy that was mowing a pasture with a 416 and a 48" deck in high gear and all of the bouncing of the deck broke the frame.

 

so wight bouncing from almost anysize off lager decks can break the frame and hitting things with the side of the decks can wear the center quick attach

 

The real weight in the 42" rear discharge deck is the mulching baffles, there is some difference in the weight of the 2 rear discharge deck themselves with the additional bracing , but  the mulching baffle is a ton of weight 

 

disclaimer, of course all stated above is my personal opinion and that and a buck will buy you a cup of coffee     

 

 

 

 

eric j

[Tankman 3,515]

I use 48" SD decks but often thought, "A 60" SD deck would be nice."

 

My '90 520-8 has the swept axle and the 20 hp Onan could handle the larger deck.

Still as ericj notes, bouncing, frame damage.

I dismiss the thought (dreamin' on) due to weight. And, "Honest Hon, I'll clean my chow call mess soon as I'm done mowing "your" lawns."