48" DECK ON A 310-8

[ELMWOOD310-8 0]

Hello all,

found a 48" deck on craig's list, wanted to see if anyone knows if the old kohler mag 10 has enough guts to turn a 48".

sure would be a more usable mower as the 36" is too small ....

thanks!

[WHC-125 4]

I think it should. I had a 48 inch deck on a C-81 with a 8 horse, and it spun it no problem, I just went a little slower.

And I run a 48 inch deck on my C-125

[Don1977 604]

I think it's to much deck for 10 HP. I wore out a 12 Hp Kohler in 14 years pulling a

48 " deck. I should have bought a 16, but the dealer didn't have any and sold me a 12.

The 32 cu. ft. trailer and the 4 HP Kohler Blower hanging on the back didn't help.

[bitten 133]

I would'nt let the grass get out of control, and like what was said Take yor time.

[Sodaking27 579]

I had a 310-8 with the 42" deck and mowed for years without any problems. :thumbs2:

[travisg84 1]

My dad and my brother are both pushing 48's with their 310's, and my dad refuses to mow at full throttle. Neither one of them have had any problems.

[whfan74 2,015]

Dad uses a 48" from time to time on his C-85. Just like everyone else said, take your time. His old 8 horse didn't have any problems but he never let his lawn get out of control either.

[jtmoyer 1]

i had a 42 on the 312-8 with the vac bagger and i could tell it was a lot smaller motor then the 16 with just the 48 on it. i think you would have to go slow with the 48 and you would not make up the time, i would just mow with the 36 or try try find a 42. but that is just me

[can whlvr 991]

I wooould have to agree that a 48 is a little large for a 10 hp,i think that a 42 would be more suitable size for a 10hp,i wore out a 8 hp with a 42 and upgraded to a 14 hp and if my grass gets long it can work the 14 kohler just my 2 cents.

[stevebo-(Moderator) 8,040]

Hills ??? If you are mowing up and down hills like mine then stay with a 42 or smaller. If you are on flat land and cut high you should be okay. Good luck-

[Rollerman 290]

Granted with ten horsepower you are not going to fly through shin deep grass pulling a 48" deck like a bigger 520H would do....it will do it though at a more conservative speed.

The 310-8 is probably better suited to the 36",37" or 42" decks, but will handle a 48" deck if you mow weekly & don't ruff cut once a month.

Keep in mind your 310-8 has a solid ten horsepower...the newer tractors are marketed any more with lot's of big numbers.

I think this confuses some people into thinking that these smaller single cylinder Horses are less capeable when you see the new Craftman,Huskee,etc,etc with a 20+HP vertical shaft twinn & a turbo cyclone action mega mulcher deck.

I have a neighbor with a 50" deck on a newer Sears machine with 20 some horsepower & it struggles sometimes.

He even comes over with it like I'm impressed ...it doesn't even have lug nuts!

Just another thought...in 1963 Wheel Horse brought out there large frame tractors "the 953" with 9 horsepower & 48" decks. :thumbs2:

[Mattbg79 1]

I run a 48 on my 310 on about 4 acres with plenty of hills. i mow in 2nd gear at about 3/4 throtttle and it dosent lug down at all. I keep the blades sharp and I mow about every 5-6 days unless it rains alot. Never any issues.

These things are tough and torqey, not like the junk mowers sold nowadays (with the exception of commercial mowers) I was watching a guy repetedly kill his Husqrvarna ztr in some thick but not tall grass a few weeks ago. that thing had a 21.5hp vert shaft and a 37" deck on it, probably never sharpened the blades etc. It just made me laugh because my little 310 with a 4' deck would have rolled right through it and never even grunted. :thumbs2:

[Ken B 3,116]

When I mow I have the throttle wide open, especially when its hot out. You want to keep the RPM's up so the motor gets properly cooled. You will have more wear or do possible damage by running too hot and you won't even know it till its too late.

[sshell 8]

I have a GT1142 with a 42" deck. It has an 11 HP Briggs and has never gevin me a spec of problem. I have been thinking of getting a 48" for it and Know it will be no problem. Just dont try cutting your hay with it:)

[Mattbg79 1]

My dad mows at 3/4 throttle too, has been since 86 when he bought his 310-8. Its been mowing a hilly 4 acres once a week 8 months out of the year for 23 years now, best i can figure with no hr meter thats about 3000hrs on that engine from just mowing, not to mention the tilling, and other things its been used for. It was just rebuilt for the first time this season, and only because it puffed a little smoke on some of the steep hills, and hes extremely anal. It is also turning a 48" deck.

IMO more rpms = more heat, and the flywheel/fan is always spinning at the same ratio to the firing of the motor reguardless of engine rpm's. It worked for him, and thats the way i run all 3 of mine. Maybe were both wrong, but ill be happy with 3000hrs out of mine before spending $100 on rebuilding it.

[Rollerman 290]

I see some of you mentioning running at lower RPM's thinking it's less stress on your engine or tractor.

All the Wheel Horses & implements are designed to run at wide open throttle.

Not only are you running the deck, snow blower, tiller, etc,etc slower than what it's designed to....you could also be causing premature engine wear.

This is probably especially true with the splash lubed singles.

Keeping up on the oil changes, keeping the cooling fins clean & free of debris, plus avoiding extended idleing will go a long ways in makeing a small engine last years......much more than in theory cutting the RPM's & going easy on an engine.

Sorry I'm not trying to be preachy & don't mean to hijack the thread.

To get back on track with this threads intent.....

Elmwood any updates on that 48" deck you seen listed in the CL add?

[nylyon-(Admin) 7,120]

Tell you what, get the 48" if it doesn't work out well for you and it's in decent shape, I'll swap you a 42" for it. Can't lose....

I'd bet it would work just fine though.

[Boston Horse 2]

jtmoyer (or anyone) - I am thinking of putting a 42" deck with a vac blower from a 1997 416h to a 1987 310-8... I went on the Toro website, and they list a 42" deck as an option, but do you think the vac blower will push it over the edge? I have around 1000 hours on this machine, and it is still strong. Thoughts?

[leeave96 487]

I have not ran a 10 hp Wheelhorse at all - but have an IH Cub Cadet hydro 109, 10 hp with a 44 inch deck. It doesn't seem to struggle with a deck full of tall grass. The IHCC is still fairly new to me, so take my comments with regard to it and the 10hp Kohler it has as compared to a Wheelhorse with a grain of salt. With my 314-8, I've killed the engine mowing tall wet grass, as well as slipped a worn belt. On my 520H tractors, I've never stalled the engine, always slipped the belt. I think it's better to lug the engine down rather than slip (and glaze) a belt. If your belt is sticking and you are pulling down the engine, that's your signal to take a smaller cut.

My view with the IHCC and your 10 hp Wheelhorse is this: The 48 inch deck is fine for it. If the grass get's to tall, take a smaller cut, i.e. transform it into a 42 or 36 inch deck for a day. The other thought is that if you can get a nice 48 inch cut with 10 hp, you are going to get some great gas mileage out of your tractor vs. my 20 hp Onan 520H.

Also, run your tractor full throttle, 3600 rpms. They are designed to run and run cool at this speed. The cooling is not necessarily linear with rpms. The other important thing to remember with a Kohler single cylinder engine (and most twins) is they have peak torque at 3200 to 3400 rpms. So when you are tooling around at 3600 rpms and hit a high spot of grass, the engine will lug down to it's highest torque range and plow right through it - as designed.

Good luck,

Bill

[JackC 616]

Just buy another Wheel Horse with a bigger motor.

You need more than one anyway.

[Hodge71 663]

jtmoyer (or anyone) - I am thinking of putting a 42" deck with a vac blower from a 1997 416h to a 1987 310-8... I went on the Toro website, and they list a 42" deck as an option, but do you think the vac blower will push it over the edge? I have around 1000 hours on this machine, and it is still strong. Thoughts?

I can speak from experience on this one...I mowed my parents acre and a quarter with my Dads '73 12 auto and we had a Wheel Horse Lawn Vac on it and a 42" deck for 35 years. It ran just fine 90% of the time, but if you let the grass get ahead of you it will be into the governor almost constantly for the entire time youre mowing. Alot of the time in the spring and fall when the grass was growing like crazy I would cut once with the deck up and once with it down in the highest notch. In the summer I could mow at full speed and burn a couple gallons, spring and fall would be half speed and 1 tank and a half. Now my Dad cuts it with my 48" deck form my 416 and never has any issues or even gets into the governor unles its really really high. One thing about those old Kohler thumpers you can definitely tell when they are into the governor hoggin through something...nothing sweeter than that sound as far as my ears are concerned.....

[Boston Horse 2]

UPDATE - I just put the 42" 3 blade with vac onto my little 310-8... drumroll please... fail. The motor was lugging in park on the driveway - once I started cutting, the vac slowed it down so much that it didn't spin fast enough to cut the grass and barely threw the clippings out of the blower. Granted, my grass was pretty long and thick, but even after a second pass, it still looked terrible. Back to the old 37" with bagger. Has anyone seen where I can buy a "tall" bagger for my 310-8 with a 37" deck? I have the lower bagger and the bags constantly fall off even after I adjust them. The tall (newer) style looks like a better design.

[leeave96 487]

There's another route you might investigate. That is a 42 inch rear discharge deck and sweeper. I used this combo on my 314-8 for years - and still have it. You can mow and sweep at the same time. The sweeper also doesn't care if the grass is wet or dry. Does a great job.

Good luck,

Bill

[MalMac 1,328]

A 10hp should have plenty of power to run a 42. If the motor is getting bogged down setting in the drive there is something wrong. Somewhere along the line something is binding you up. Check spindles, belt routing, Vac belts. Somethings just not right.

[Boston Horse 2]

Let me rephrase... I think the combination of the 42" SD AND the vac is bogging the motor down. I just meant that you can hear the motor stress a bit when its on the driveway. When I mowed the grass, the blades werent spinning fast enough to cut the grass. I think the deck itself is not the problem, but the combination of the bagger AND the vac is the issue.