Mower leaving 1 or 2 blades of grass standing

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krusej23

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• Jul 14, 2014 / Mower leaving 1 or 2 blades of grass standing

• #1

Mower: 2008 Poulan Pro PR160Y21RDP
Honda GCV160-LAS3A 5.5 hp engine
Two sharpened original 21 inch mulching blades
I didn't have any problem with this last year or earlier this mowing season. I just started having it happen the last 4 times I've mowed. When I mow, it will leave 1 or 2 blades of grass standing per step I take. I have tried walking really slow to see if maybe I was walking too fast but that didn't help. I bought a new blade that is on the parts list of my mower to see if maybe the blade had gone bad somehow. That didn't help. Could it be something with the engine not running fast enough to get the blade rotating quickly enough? I don't know much about engines but with directions I am not afraid to try to fix things myself. I just ordered a mulching plug for the bagging chute so that doesn't get filled up with grass. Could that be causing it? It seems like it's just not getting enough lift. Thank you for any help.

 

BlazNT

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• Jul 15, 2014 / Mower leaving 1 or 2 blades of grass standing

• #2

Check for build up under the deck. Scrap all old grass off. Make sure it is clean on sides and top.

 

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krusej23

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• Jul 15, 2014 / Mower leaving 1 or 2 blades of grass standing

• #3

I will do that before I mow tomorrow. I'll let you know if that helps.

 

F

FIX THIS

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• Jul 21, 2014 / Mower leaving 1 or 2 blades of grass standing

• #4

Ideally, the engine speed for a 21" blade would be 3,454 rpm. That would keep it within the 19,000 FPM recommended safe blade TIP speed.
Now your mower mfg may have another lower number in mind...

 

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krusej23

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• Jul 21, 2014 / Mower leaving 1 or 2 blades of grass standing

• #5

FIX THIS said:

Ideally, the engine speed for a 21" blade would be 3,454 rpm. That would keep it within the 19,000 FPM recommended safe blade TIP speed.
Now your mower mfg may have another lower number in mind...

Click to expand...

I mowed this last weekend and while it seemed to cut better, it was still leaving sprigs of grass bent over and uncut. It is probably only 2 or 3 blades of grass per 5 steps but over a lawn it can be seen pretty easily. Could the rpm of the mower be causing this issue? If I took it into my local hardware store could they speed it up or is it something I could do? This just started to happen in the last month so the mower used to be fine. Thanks for any help.

 

BlazNT

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• Jul 23, 2014 / Mower leaving 1 or 2 blades of grass standing

• #6

I just reread your original post. Remove the mulching plug then try again. Change Spark plug, air filter, and oil. Clean outside of carburetor with soft bristle brush to make sure everything is moving fine. Take a picture before you start just in case something comes off while cleaning.

 

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krusej23

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• Aug 3, 2014 / Mower leaving 1 or 2 blades of grass standing

• #7

Could it also be the mower belt needs to be replaced? Unfortunately my car's trunk isn't big enough to fit the mower in to take it to my local hardware store to be fixed.

 

BlazNT

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• Aug 3, 2014 / Mower leaving 1 or 2 blades of grass standing

• #8

The only belt on the mower is the one that runs the wheels so no. The blade is directly connected to the engine.

 

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krusej23

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• Aug 3, 2014 / Mower leaving 1 or 2 blades of grass standing

• #9

So the belt under the deck is not connected to the blades at all?

 

BlazNT

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• Aug 3, 2014 / Mower leaving 1 or 2 blades of grass standing

• #10

The blades are connected to the engine the pulley is connected to the engine. Engine turns the belt to drive the mower and blades. So the shaft that the blade is connected to is the engine.