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does a smaller deck cut better


thirdjoker

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Hello all;

if i'm looking at a older tractor to mow with, and have a choice of deck sizes. will a 32" deck give me a better cut than a 42" deck. My lawn is less than an acre. Lets say a Allis Chalmers B-10 with a 10 hp engine. I realize this is subjective so any opinion is relavent.

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This is a totally subjective interpretation of the 1960's-1970's Smiplicty deck performances:

1. My dad's 36" deck Broadmoor always gave a great cut with that classic lawn striping 'effect'.

2. The 42" used from the '700 model to the 3400 series also had a fantastic cut quality.

3. The 48" decks from the mid 1960's to the mid-1970's somehow never delivered the cut quality like the 42" decks (IMHO). Granted they all had high lift blades. My ground-up restoration of one of these 48" decks, still never leaves what I'd call a great quality cut.

4. My brother's Sunstar w/48" deck yet delivers a great cut and striping effect.

5. On an alternate subject, how did Simplicity/ Deutz-Allis do the belt wrap on some of the 60" mower decks with 1 blade going CCW and the other 2 going CW? Was it some kind of square/hex profile belt to do it?

Tom(PK)

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The sovereign and sunstar decks in 48 inch are the same exact deck with a gear box. I know 42s do a better cut then a 48. Is because they spin faster. As to the smaller or lawn tractor decks? No clue...

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I found the same results as above.

Only thing I have noticed is that the shorter the cut with all of them, the better the job looks. On the newer 44 ,50 and 54's, It looks best cut right on the #2 setting.

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I have a simplicity 707 with a 32 inch deck,so i think i'll look for a 42 to use with the B-10. I'll use the smaller tractor and deck to ( trim ) with and the larger tractor with the 42 inch deck to mow. Sound reasonable?

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quote:Originally posted by thirdjoker

Hello all;if i'm looking at a older tractor to mow with, and have a choice of deck sizes. will a 32" deck give me a better cut than a 42" deck. My lawn is less than an acre. Lets say a Allis Chalmers B-10 with a 10 hp engine. I realize this is subjective so any opinion is relavent.id="red">


id="quote">
id="quote">LOL so here is mine.I think the smaller decks cut better: because of the front axle carrying the deck and the full width roller bar.Also, it matters greatly how smooth and flat your lawn is.My lawn is all small hills and fairly rough. With a wider deck, you have a better chance of getting one front wheel and one end of the roller bar on high spots at the same time, leaving the grass in a low spot longer.The narrower roller bar gives you a better chance of getting the whole bar between humps, rather than "bridging the gap"One example is straddling a mole or ant hill with the front wheels.The front of the deck will scalp the hump, then when the roller bar gets to the hump, it will lift the back of the deck, leaving the outer ends of your deck width a bit higher than the scalped part.Or, mowing parallel to 2 humps (I mow an old field that had a furrow) depending on where I position the front wheels, I can ride both humps and leave the grass in the center at 4" or more while the edges are 2 1/2"Or, If I put one front wheel (lets say left) in the bottom of the "valley" the deck will tip on the roller bar, leaving the right end of the roller bar off the ground. I can effectively make a "w" appearance across the yard.Just for giggles, I can also put my foot on the outer or high side of the deck, and because the hump acts as a fulcrum, by adding and releasing pressure, pushing that side of the deck down and letting it up, I can make a rippling effect down the center of the valley. :o)Or, because the blade tips stick out a 1/2" or so past the rollers, I can create a distinct scalped line down the center of the valley.Perpendicular to a hump can be just as bad. If the hump is the right width for the front wheels to drop on the far side, and the roller bar to drop on the near side at the same time, you will scalp the entire "face" of the hill.All of the scenarios and many more happen without most of us having any clue.Make any sense ??? :D
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The best cut I have ever gotten is with an 18" walk behind. The width of cut/quality of cut depends on the amount of hills and terraces and bumps in the yard. Narrow width does not scalp the way a large cut does. My yard is far from golf course perfect, but when cut with the 30" Dixon, looks better than with my 42" Landlord, but even better when cut with a 20" walk behind Yazoo.

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"The best cut I have ever gotten is with an 18" walk behind. The width of cut/quality of cut depends on the amount of hills and terraces and bumps in the yard. Narrow width does not scalp the way a large cut does. My yard is far from golf course perfect, but when cut with the 30" Dixon, looks better than with my 42" Landlord, but even better when cut with a 20" walk behind Yazoo."

Of course, due to age and time allotted for mowing the yard, I ride most of the time, and as the Landlord is more forgiving on the edges in the woods, I ride it most of the time. I have bad knees and have to pick the times for walking or let the doc surgify my knees. When cutting with the wider mower, I simply do not cut full width at times where the yard is not level, to obtain a better look with the finished product

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Interesting discussion, I was kind of thinking about this the other day. I have a 6512.5 with 48" deck, I notice a bit of the scalping (maybe scalloping is a better term) over bumps, but overall it cuts evenly. Tire pressure also can mess with things - one of the rears has a slow leak and needs to be tubed, so if my son doesn't add air, it's obvious.

My only comparison is with neighbors' cheap new tractors; they can't believe that my 'ancient' tractor cuts so much better than their uber expensive Lowes/HD tractors :D .

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