High lift problem diagnosed.

[bradcash]

For 15 yrs I have mowed with a John Deere 15hp 42" at work and a Murray 16hp 46" at home. With the JD it leaks grass out the left side under the deck and doesn't "lift" the grass for a smoother cut. But the Murray is much better and you get a smoother cut and no grass shooting the wrong way. I was puzzled for a while about this lift. The blades on both mowers are high lift. I finally felt where the blades on each mower were compared to the deck. The Murray blades were up about an inch inside the deck. The JD's blades were even with the deck. If you are buying a mower make sure the blades are up inside the deck.

 

[KennyV]

Thats good to note...
The turbulence created under a mower is intense... some decks will not tolerate much changing of blade design.
I discovered that on my 72 inch when I tried the meg-mow system ... just would not work right.
The baffling is going to have to work with the blades, air flow and grass flow most likely have limits to what they will change before the cut suffers... :smile:KennyV

 

[173abn]

Thats why I buy stock blades for my Grasshopper.On my little JD111 I rebuilt the deck with new spindles and used new blades that deer sold me but tomorrow I'll have a looksee because I get a lousy cut.Good tip bradcash. russ

 

[blades]

On your deer you could likely extend the rear turned up lip some to create more lift, or try the gator blades.

 

[rander]

This is a little late for the party but. Check if the blades specified for your JD are straight or contoured. Contoured blades can have a drop from the center bolt to the blade tip of 1/2 inch or more. Doesn't sound like much but may be enough to cause the problem you are encountering.
An old eXmark Explorer I have calls for a straight blade. However I have bought non OEM blades described as "fit eXmark Explorer" but are contoured blade and don't cut as well. Also it makes the actual cutting height less than the mower gauge setting.
The other Russ