After the great amount of knowledge that was passed around on my caked grass under deck thread, I took it to heart, and made a couple changes tonight. After reading the current thread about lawn mower jacks I purchased the Northern Tool brand jack that lifts 400lb max, it was on sale and I also had a $20 coupon so after tax and all it was a little over $100 (woohoo! Everybody loves a deal). My father in law was making a trip to our local NT yesterday which is 1.5 hrs away so he picked up mine and also one for himself. I cleaned out the decks on the GX255 and GT235 this evening using the new jack. Many Kudos to whoever suggested using a nail puller to clean the caked grass from under the deck, it worked like a charm and made light work of the task! I also raised the air pressure in the tires some to prevent leaning as much as possible, I'm running 20 in the front and 20 in the rear now on both machines. Last but not least I re leveled the decks due to raising the air pressure, they were off by 1/2" after air pressure adjustment. Here are the pictures of my GT235 on the new lift. I highly reccomend this thing, its a very affordable mower jack compared to the Omay Ackjay and it seems very sturdy as well. I've not had the X500 on it yet but I will soon to clean its deck and I have no reservations about it being on there at all. If it doesn't rain tomorrow I have 3 yards to mow and I will report back on the mow quality with a clean deck. I can understand now what you guys were saying about no room to lift the grass to cut it with caked grass already taking up room under the deck. Here's to hoping this solves my cut problems!
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No more caked grass under my decks!
MowJoe
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After the great amount of knowledge that was passed around on my caked grass under deck thread, I took it to heart, and made a couple changes tonight. After reading the current thread about lawn mower jacks I purchased the Northern Tool brand jack that lifts 400lb max, it was on sale and I also had a $20 coupon so after tax and all it was a little over $100 (woohoo! Everybody loves a deal). My father in law was making a trip to our local NT yesterday which is 1.5 hrs away so he picked up mine and also one for himself. I cleaned out the decks on the GX255 and GT235 this evening using the new jack. Many Kudos to whoever suggested using a nail puller to clean the caked grass from under the deck, it worked like a charm and made light work of the task! I also raised the air pressure in the tires some to prevent leaning as much as possible, I'm running 20 in the front and 20 in the rear now on both machines. Last but not least I re leveled the decks due to raising the air pressure, they were off by 1/2" after air pressure adjustment. Here are the pictures of my GT235 on the new lift. I highly reccomend this thing, its a very affordable mower jack compared to the Omay Ackjay and it seems very sturdy as well. I've not had the X500 on it yet but I will soon to clean its deck and I have no reservations about it being on there at all. If it doesn't rain tomorrow I have 3 yards to mow and I will report back on the mow quality with a clean deck. I can understand now what you guys were saying about no room to lift the grass to cut it with caked grass already taking up room under the deck. Here's to hoping this solves my cut problems!
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Harry I bought that on the bay, I bought one for all 3 GT's. It could be very easily made though its a 3/16 piece of steel drilled out 5/8" for the ball shank and then drilled out 5/8" on the other end for the tongue of whatever you will be pulling.
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Well after mowing a couple yards today, cut quality is better in the turns but my tires are still leaving tracks. My yard was mowed six days ago and I mowed it again today on 3, it mows nice but its leaving some un mowed grass in the wheel paths. Any ideas? Would lowering the deck take care of this?
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Lowering your deck would likely help. Remember, the higher up the deck, the further away the suction is from the grass. It is a fine balancing act. If your deck is too low, it can't suck in air from around the edges to give you airflow to push out the clippings. Leave your deck too high and the suction will not be able to raise the grass.
Not sure what kind of blades you are running now, but you could install hi-lift blades. Just keep in mind they are louder, more expensive, and the clippings will be large and noticeable on your lawn.
Not sure what kind of blades you are running now, but you could install hi-lift blades. Just keep in mind they are louder, more expensive, and the clippings will be large and noticeable on your lawn.
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I came across a statement in the second paragraph of the description of G6 Gator blades in this link which states that these blades have LESS vacuum?? :dunno: Is there a Gator blade which is specifically a HIGH lift blade?
http://www.shopgreendealer.com/54C-54-Edge-Deck-Gator-Mulcher-G6-Blade-Set-396719.html
Anyone have enough experience with a variety of blades to comment?
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They look like a mini crow bar with a wide head on it. S shaped flat steel. Just gives you more leverage and keeps your hands further away to prevent banging knuckles and what not. Certainly much faster to use and easier to apply more force to those thick stubborn spots
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136 Posts
there is one on the floor in front of the jack in the op's first picture. We call it a wonder bar some times around here.
Wow, I thought that's what you guys were referring to. Jeez, I just use a plastic putty knife to avoid scratching the paint, but take the deck off and clean it once a month at the lastest. Even my 1996 LX188 deck had just a few stone chips underneath. You guys are tough on your stuff!
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876 Posts
I have one of these:
Good Vibrations Hitchin' Post Hitch Plate
http://www.mowersdirect.com/Meteor-170/p7218.html
I mowed a yard today, deck was clean underneath. The yard was a little high but not bad, mowed it on 2.5 and it just wallowed the grass over, very bad cut. My blades are sharp so now I'm starting to wonder if I could be having pto problems, how would I know if it were slipping?
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This yard has had no fertilizer on it. The grass is a little thick but some areas were just sparse. I mowed a thick yard this evening with my x500 and the cut was leaps and bounds better than what the gt235 and gx255 are doing right now. The x500 left a very clean cut an only streaked in a couple places. You could even tell a big difference in the grass being discharged from the chute. It was just hurling out. All three mowers are running gator blades.
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