TECHNICAL
A sharp, balanced blade
A worn, unbalanced blade will negatively affect cutting performance, and is a huge safety risk
mowing in the UK, rear discharge is the standard option for these reasons.
Mulching decks have been very popular, particularly on smaller machines, as they can leave a clean finish and remove the need for collecting grass clippings. They do, however, work at their best in lighter conditions and, for larger width decks, mulching larger volumes of lush wet grass can cause problems. There is also an additional power requirement to mulch for grass as opposed to cutting and throwing it.
The Blades
A rotary blade is supposed to cut the grass. To do this efficiently, it must be sharp! Rotary mowers often suffer from neglect. The blades are under the deck and, therefore, unseen. Blade inspection should be part of the daily pre-use inspection for every rotary mower.
The cutting blades should be visually inspected daily. They should be changed every week, with the worn blades being re- sharpened and balanced. Cycling blades in this manner will reduce wear and tear on the deck, reduce fuel consumption and increase productivity. The blades last longer as a result and all this saves you money. Changing rotary blades is easy and operators should be trained to do this.
As many of the mowers are designed and built outside the UK, they are primarily designed for a side
”
discharge deck. The rear discharge deck is,
therefore, often a northern European accessory
A rear discharge deck reduces the chance of thrown debris 124 PC October/November 2018
Pre-use inspections: The daily inspection of the underside of the deck should note any wear or damage to the blades and other components of the deck, (baffles and anti- scalp rollers), and these should be reported to the workshop under a defects system. Badly worn blades are also a safety hazard. Excessive wear can lead to blade failures and high-speed metal parts leaving the deck. The potential consequences of this do not bear thinking about.
Lift: Most blades will have a lift tab at the back of the cutting edge, which is designed to create air flow under the deck. The airflow is designed to lift the grass up, so the blade can cut it more easily. It is also designed to carry cut grass away from the cutting area and out through the discharge chute. As the lift tab creates air movement it also creates noise, and manufacturers have a balance to achieve between the discharge performance and the noise the deck generates. Do check your operators and parts books to see if there are blade options for your rotary mower. There are often higher lift blades available which will improve the performance of the deck in heavy conditions.
Out-front mower decks: Many of the current out-front mowers sold in the UK have a
service feature, which allows the deck to be swung through ninety degrees (to a near vertical position) for easy servicing and cleaning.
As many of the mowers are designed and built outside the UK, they are primarily designed for a side discharge deck. The rear discharge deck is, therefore, often a northern European accessory. The key dimensional difference between a side and rear discharge deck is the depth of it. Rear discharge decks tend to be deeper (due to the discharge chute) than their side discharge counterparts. This really matters when the decks are flipped up for servicing and for blade maintenance. Some models do not have enough ground clearance to allow the deeper rear discharge decks to swing into the service position, requiring the use of wooden blocks or ramps to access the underside of the deck. If it’s too difficult to do, it simply doesn’t get done. An out-front rotary, which has been designed to have a rear discharge deck as standard, should be able to easily flip the deck for safe and easy service access.
Drive systems
Typically, rotary mower decks can be either mechanically driven, (via drive shafts,
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