Striping and Gas

[jjbyers]

OK, being a "Cub" guy I have to ask this question. Striping has to take more gas than just "cutt'n the grass". With Gas prices doubling in a year, are you still striping or not?

[JDFANATIC]

I'm not sure the difference would be measurable. I for one try to cut the lawn a little different each time -- keeps the compaction down to a minimum.

Cheers

JDFANATIC
JD2210

[Keweenaw4310]

We just string up temporary line and let the horses eat the yard grass.

I then run the old Craftsmand over what they missed.

Using that technique, I've probably only spent about 1 hour mowing total this summer.

[simple_john]

i guess the extra friction may take a little more gas... but the striping occurs just because there are rollers behind the deck... so it does not take any more time or effort to stripe...



of course, if you do a not straight line.. it shows up much worse but thats the only problem i have.. Crown Royal AFTER i cut.. not before ROF

[farmallb]

I am still waiting for stripes. Does it take a specific variety of grass?

I doubt the roller affects the fuel efficiency very much. If it does, is the roller adjustable?

[simple_john]

I am still waiting for stripes. Does it take a specific variety of grass?



Hi at the back of the simplicity deck are rollers... See pic:


http://www.apartofme.com/images/Mvc-330x.jpg

all they really do is flatten the grass a little.. so when you cut in 1 direction the grass is flattened one way.. when you make your return pass... its flattened the other way.. causeing a striped look


heres some examples of striping (http://www.apartofme.com/striping.htm)

[farmallb]

Nice pics. I wish I could get that effect. The reason I don't get stripes could be that my yard is rough and composed of crabgrass and other weeds. I thought cutting height could have something to do with it, but I have tried the highest setting (5), then 4, and lastly 3 (which was too low, I don't know how anyone could possibly mow on 2 or 1). The roller does seem to contact the grass (I can see it rolling when I look at it).

I guess I'll have to wait for stripes.

At least I get the mowing done in half the time it took the Murray.

[simple_john]

. The reason I don't get stripes could be that my yard is rough and composed of crabgrass and other weeds.

sorry farmallb i forgot you had a simplicity... :fing32:

[Fusion1970]

I guess trying to stripe the yard would use more gas with all the backing up- instead of just mowing in circles, but I too think the difference in gas would be mediocre.

If you are really concerned about striping, they make a roller similar to the roller on the Simplicity decks, only it attches to the back of the tractor. Its like a lawn roller, only a few inches in diameter instead of a drum type thing.

Greg

[fouracres]

We have tried stripes and no stripes and gas consumption/time is not that different. Many of our runs are measured in hundreds of feet (up to 600'). My wife goes no stripes but I always stripe. We get the lawn done using about three gallons either way.

We bought sweet corn the other day from a farmer neighbor. He came out to chat and told Cathy he noticed that she was mowing the yard (must have been the swimsuit) but she was not spending tiome "putting those lines and exes" on the grass. Cathy said she might try stripes next year. Fellow looked me in the eye and said "but they do look good when you put them down"!

If it's green we mow it (weeds of many kinds with a little grass thrown in). These are from an hour ago. The angle of the sun makes or breaks the picture of stripes.

[fouracres]

simple_john,

Whew, I just opened your link and looked at one of the pond pictures. We are dial-up and at 26.6k that took a while, cheese and crackers but those are big pictures. Did you ever get that pond finished? Ours is 3/4 acre and 10' deep. Out here in the country it is for the fire department to use (heaven forbid) on our place or anybody elses.

Ponds are great, lots of trout and bass, plenty of geese (up tp 150 a day), and the odd wood ducks. We had two nesting pairs of geese this summer with 7 little ones and a family of ducks with 9 ducklings. Funny to watch them grow up. I could not do much to control the muskrat errosion of the shoreline because Cathy did not want to see any babies in a trap. Have to get the Honda RT5000 out there and roto-till this fall.

PITA mowing through all of that p00p, siezes the deck roller end pieces right up. Simple fix and cleaning out the underdeck is always a treat! I ended up with the front wheels in the pond after slipping in due to the goose cr8p, ACT did not help as I kind of broke through a muskrat tunnel at the same time... Pesky little beasts, right up there with the blue herron.

[depasseg]

Hi Guys-
I've been striping for a couple years, and I haven't noticed any performance difference. As you saw above, the rollers are mounted to the deck and the height is adjustable between 2 different positions. The big user of gas is engaging the mower deck. Luckily for striping, the deck doesn't need to be engaged. Unfortunately, for optimal striping you need to go over the pattern a couple times, and for more interesting patterns, you might have to criss cross your patterns. You could end up "dry-mowing" your lawn 3-4 times. In case you are interested in more lawn striping info:
http://www.simplicitymfg.com/lawn_striping.php

-Greg

[simple_john]

Hi Guys-
I've been striping for a couple years, and I haven't noticed any performance difference.

-Greg


hi greg and welcome to MTF:Welcome1:

[depasseg]

Thanks - it's good to be here.

Where is everybody else? The forum looks kinda lonely. :)

-Greg

[depasseg]

Whoops, nevermind my "lonely" post. I just found out that I had the default view set to display only 1 weeks worth of messages.

I've got some striping pics for you:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/depasse/tags/lawnstriping/

Greg

[simple_john]

http://static.flickr.com/28/47544946_084fca1352.jpg

nice.....

[simple_john]

greg on the top part of the above picture... where you have a semi circle...
have you ever made the stripes come off of that shape.. to give it a sun burst effect?


i apologize in advance for my graphics skills...

[Greg]

Greg... :Welcome1:

Welcome to the world of Greg... We have 3 now, it appears. Enjoy, and thanks for the pics. We like to see what you have for equipment and where you live.

There is a sub-forum called "My Place" that might interest you. http://mytractorforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=88

Also one for landscaping. http://www.mytractorforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=50

Uncle Greg

[depasseg]

Simple_John-

I hadn't thought of that. But it's an interesting idea. I actually have 20yds of loam awaiting the arrival of my new tractor so I can fill in that semi-circle (and the one across the grass from it).

Greg-
Thanks for those links. I've been browsing here all weekend. I updated my profile to include my location (Londonderry, NH), but I could find anywhere to include my equipment. So here it is: a 16hp Simplicity Regent with a 38" deck and 36" single-stage snowthrower. As I mentioned above, I have a new tractor on order which should be here this week. It's a 27HP (L.C. kawa) Simplicity Legacy XL. It's got a 54" deck, FEL, backhoe, and 2-stage 47" snowthrower. I can't wait. I have a list of projects longer than my arm waiting for it to arrive.


-Greg

[Greg]

Greg,

Go to User CP in the upper left corner of the page, click, drop down to "edit signature" and click. It opens up a window where you can list your equipment, or other things you want to show up at the bottom of each of your posts. Give it a try...

Uncle Greg