Help Grass keeps getting shredded when mowing.

8 years ago

Guys/Gals, I need help. Everytime I mow the lawn the grass is getting shredded. I have the mower raised as high as possible, I have a brand new mower blade, I thought my engine was maybe not strong enough so I bought a new Honda engine and strapped it on. The grass is still getting shredded.

The blade is NOT on upside down.

Here is the engine i have on there now, i think it should have plenty of power:

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200656883_200656883?cm_mmc=Housefile--RECEIVED--707-_-CONF

And here are the pics

Featured Answer

danielj_2009

8 years ago

That looks perfectly acceptable to me. I would just keep mowing the same way for a couple of weeks so that you are sure to get rid of all the old cuts. Once you know where you are at then you can even speed back up a little until you see problems again.

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Comments (12)

mishmosh
8 years ago
Side discharge or mulching?
lawniac
8 years ago
Also, are you following the 1/3 rule?
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Jay Man
Original Author
8 years ago
Side discharge. What is the 1/3 rule?
danielj_2009
8 years ago
The 1/3 rule is never to remove more than 1/3 of the blade length at any one time. If the grass is 6" long don't remove more than 2". If it is 3" long don't remove more than 1" and so on.

What kind of grass is that? The only other variable is mowing speed. The faster you mow the more problems you will have. Maybe slow down and see what happens.

Also, you don't provide any background info. Is this a recent problem? New mower? New lawn? etc. etc.
Jay Man
Original Author
8 years ago
It's been going on for a while. I do mow really fast as i don't really enjoy it. I will try to slow down next week and see how it turns out.
Ted (Zone 4) IA
8 years ago
New blade does NOT mean sharp blade. Sounds strange but unfortunately true.

Also ensure RPM is at spec, that governor operates properly. LCD tachometers are very inexpensive these days to check. 8 bucks delivered to your door. 3200-3600 is what you would want to see.
danielj_2009
8 years ago
FYI blades are not supposed to be too sharp. They should be more like a butter knife than a steak knife. When they come new they are coated with paint to protect you from the somewhat sharp edge. That paint wears off the blade quickly during use. Just slow way down as an experiment and please do report back on what you find.
Ted (Zone 4) IA
8 years ago
Nobody is suggesting "too sharp", however, the pics show textbook example of shredded or torn leaves, result of cutting with a dull blade. New blades come with a lousy edge. I wish it were not so, But "dems the conditions dat prevail".

Keep blade sharp and you can mow as fast as you want, practically speaking.
danielj_2009
8 years ago
Ted, you may well be correct. I'd like to see the OP change one variable at a time. He did say that he mows "really fast" so that is a logical place to start. If that doesn't solve it then get out the grinder!
lawniac
8 years ago
My hunch is that since the OP does not enjoy mowing, he waits too long between mowing and ends up cutting really long grass to a really short length. Thus bogging down the engine and reducing RPM significantly.
Jay Man
Original Author
8 years ago
Well it finally stopped raining, so i mowed today, I sharpened the blade, really sharp, and i slowed down, it looks a little better. I also tried lowering the front, but it totally destroyed the grass (only dirt left on the spot i mowed) so i had to raise it back up to the highest setting. I think my next step will be to increase the RPMs. I don't have a tachometer, but i bet if i increased it, i would prob push it faster. BTW, i usually mow once a week in the summer.