My new Snapper SR1433

[twall]

I hope you find the problem - The pully system is different on the new 33" from the older 28" The older system had an adjustable idler pulley with spring tension and this one does not. I don't know why they changed the design, but am glad to know it isn't just his machine.

There is also 5" less blade spinning.....on the 28".

 

[mystreba]

This is a 33" blade.....the slightest thing being off will really magnify itself with that large of a blade.

Woah! That's huge! Since the blade is the simplest solution, if you've got something that will spin it and check for balance, that's where I'd start. It seems to me that it could be in balance out from center - so it would pass the old-fashioned hanging-cross test. But any kind of twist or warp might cause the issue, and this could only be found by spinning the blade.

 

[twall]

Woah! That's huge! Since the blade is the simplest solution, if you've got something that will spin it and check for balance, that's where I'd start. It seems to me that it could be in balance out from center - so it would pass the old-fashioned hanging-cross test. But any kind of twist or warp might cause the issue, and this could only be found by spinning the blade.

-Exactly......but BK said he checked his friend's blade, and it checked out.....and vibrated WITHOUT a blade.....but then again, it would......bearing slop, anything would vibrate W/O a blade. There is no weight to stop it.

BK, when you checked it w/o the blade, was it the same KIND of vibration? Or did it change 'pitch'?

 

[BKBrown]

It changed some, but there wasn't all that weight on the shaft. With JR on the mower, when he engaged the mower deck (with and without the blade) I could SEE the long section of belt (left side looking from front to back) slap violently in and out. I also believe these blades are not much more than stamped sheet metal and could twist while spinning ! I think 33" is too long for a single blade ! I asked Roy Megli at Meg-Mo if he could fit this Snapper with a Meg-Mo blade system and he said he could.

-Exactly......but BK said he checked his friend's blade, and it checked out.....and vibrated WITHOUT a blade.....but then again, it would......bearing slop, anything would vibrate W/O a blade. There is no weight to stop it.

BK, when you checked it w/o the blade, was it the same KIND of vibration? Or did it change 'pitch'?

 

[mystreba]

I think 33" is too long for a single blade !

I was thinking the same thing - everything would have to be perfect to get a 33" blade to spin from pulleys at that RPM without vibration

 

[twall]

I was thinking the same thing - everything would have to be perfect to get a 33" blade to spin from pulleys at that RPM without vibration

Correct - which is why RER's never exceeded 30"!!

 

[twall]

That vibration really shook the heck outa everything. The inner tie rod on the fron end was loose! The nut came off, and I lost steering! Luckily, it was on pavement, and it landed red side up. I gotta check every bolt on this thing. Gotta be why no one will touch it. There is a real problem here with these newer models.....It's the deck that's making it vibrate.....just towing a cart is smooth as butter.

After checking the front end out, made 3 more trips to the woods (1/4 mile away) to dump yard debris.....all was well. Ran super.

 

[BKBrown]

That is all JR can use it for - he tows his firewood cart to and from his splitter and stacks of firewood. It threw and tore up the mower belt and I got him a new one, but he isn't even interested in having me put it on.

That vibration really shook the heck outa everything. The inner tie rod on the fron end was loose! The nut came off, and I lost steering! Luckily, it was on pavement, and it landed red side up. I gotta check every bolt on this thing. Gotta be why no one will touch it. There is a real problem here with these newer models.....It's the deck that's making it vibrate.....just towing a cart is smooth as butter.

After checking the front end out, made 3 more trips to the woods (1/4 mile away) to dump yard debris.....all was well. Ran super.

 

[Two-Stroke]

It might be worth your time to repeat BKBrown's experiment: take off the blade and see how that affects the vibrations.

When you have the blade off you can also take off the belt and give the blade shaft (and bearings) a close look. There shouldn't be any play in the shaft. If it's even a tiny bit sloppy the 33" blade will magnify the problem.

I guess there's a reason that most manufacturers don't design mowers with blades that large.

 

[BKBrown]

JRs was brand new so there should not have been bad bearings etc. - it is possible that something was bent or bad from factory ??? I think it is just poor design. :thumbdown: