I know you folks have probably read this time and time again, but I am seriously at a loss here. I build turf equipment for a living, and also help a friend out doing a little lawn care on the side when he is short handed. I also rent his house so I have full access to his equipment when the yard needs mowed. Just got done mowing it with his exmark 60" and I am having a horrible problem with divots. Someone may not believe me, but my pivot wheel is in reverse at a speed that looks pretty close to my outer wheel when turning yet I STILL leave a divot. I make 3 point turns when possible, but some areas are just too tight. To paint a picture for you, when I can't do a 3 point turn, I come to the end of my stripe, I slow down, and come to a stop. Pull both control arms back to get both wheels in motion (all the while staring down my pivot wheel) slowly pull back the arm on my pivot side to start the turn, then ease my outer wheel arm forward to complete the turn. Still a fairly good divot. Am I missing something here? Still fairly new to the lawn care side of things, so lay it on me. Luckily it's my yard this is happening on and not the commercial properties. Ugh. I'm broken.
#2
exotion
First off is the ground wet at all if its soft its more prone to getting torn.
Practice practice will get you what you want. Come to a complete stop before you switch direction of the wheels and slow them down and ease them forward
Definitely not wet, but wouldn't say it's bone dry either. So I come to a complete stop at the end of my row, carefully make my turn, bring both controls back to neutral, then ease into a forward motion? Maybe that's where I'm going wrong. Not leaving a divot in the turn itself, but coming out of the turn?
First off is the ground wet at all if its soft its more prone to getting torn.
Practice practice will get you what you want. Come to a complete stop before you switch direction of the wheels and slow them down and ease them forward
Possibly, everytime you go straight from forward to reverse your tire is going to grip the ground. That's where the practice comes in come to a complete stop before you switch direction of the tire
#5
Carscw
I run ATV mud tires.
At the end of my pass I turn towards my next pass then back up to face my next pass and go forward. All in one motion without stopping. Like a Y
I find if I stop I leave a circle.
#6
TaskForceLawnCare
it sounds like you're mostly doing this at your own house. also it doesn't sound like you're doing anything horribly wrong. soil compaction, moisture, root depth operator skill, tire type, all kinds of things play a roll in divots, and hey sometimes it just can't be avoided. I know just south of Indy the grounds saturated right now and the leafs are just holding the moisture in. I unknowingly had my pivot wheel on a sprinkle head today and it pushed it twisted it right up and off the supply line today. I'd much rather just left a divot, I can't wait to get that bill.
#7
Ric
How can I turn with my zero turn riding mower without tearing the turf? Experienced operators of zero-turn riding mowers can often perform the zero-turn maneuver without causing turf damage. However, while zero-turn mowers can turn on a dime (or in very tight circles), it may not always be the best practice to do so on grass. Even tight turns have the potential to cause turf damage in some situations and conditions. The best way we have found to prevent and/or greatly minimize turf damage is to:
Use 3-point / Y-turns at the end of a mowing row rather than zero-turns to change direction. It is still a fast maneuver and will reduce the potential of turf damage greatly.
1. At end of mowing path, turn toward next mowing path. 2. Reverse while turning slightly in opposite direction to align mower with next mowing row. 3. Proceed into next mowing path.
On "tight" turns, pay special attention to the inside drive wheel. This wheel will naturally spin slower than the outside drive wheel. It is important to keep the inside wheel turning at all times. If the turn is made to cause the inside wheel to stop turning, this is when turf damage can occur.
We have found that by using both of these methods, turf damage is all but a thing of the past. Over a short period of time, it becomes second nature and overall productivity can be increased.
