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Hello,

I am new here. I just got finished mowIng again and I am completely frustrated. That's why I'm here.

My mower deck plugs up with grass constantly. I have to stop, lower the RPM and let the grass kind of clear itself. Some times I will have to shut the blades off and restart a few times to clear.

The grass is damp, but it's Oregon, it will always be that way.

Is this a problem with the blades or John Deere design flaw. The old craftsman we had worked better then this L130 does by far.

My dad purchased this quite some time ago. When he passed away and I bought the property from the estate I ended up with this also.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Joe

It is not a blade problem. I have a customer with the same problem, and I have tried every blade that will fit that mower. I have even cleaned the underside of the deck down to bare medal and then applied multiple coats of slip plate, lasted about 2 mowings. I think there is something about the deck that prevents the inside blades from properly discharging the grass causing a mulching effect leading to deck plugging, when the grass is damp. Customers problem was also from mowing damp grass.

ILENGINE said:

It is not a blade problem. I have a customer with the same problem, and I have tried every blade that will fit that mower. I have even cleaned the underside of the deck down to bare medal and then applied multiple coats of slip plate, lasted about 2 mowings. I think there is something about the deck that prevents the inside blades from properly discharging the grass causing a mulching effect leading to deck plugging, when the grass is damp. Customers problem was also from mowing damp grass.

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Thank you. Looks like its time to replace it. Maybe I'll look for a good used Kubota diesel.

I have an L130 also and put a set of high lift bagging blades on it last month. Really increased the air flow and eliminated my plugging problem. Might want to try this before giving up.

Keep blads sharp and mow higher also go slower thats what i did

Ditto on the high lift blades.

One question is have you replaced the belt on the deck?

There are two different sizes that are matched to the serial number of the deck. The wrong belt will let the blades slip and may cause the plugging problem.

ILENGINE said:

It is not a blade problem. I have a customer with the same problem, and I have tried every blade that will fit that mower. I have even cleaned the underside of the deck down to bare medal and then applied multiple coats of slip plate, lasted about 2 mowings. I think there is something about the deck that prevents the inside blades from properly discharging the grass causing a mulching effect leading to deck plugging, when the grass is damp. Customers problem was also from mowing damp grass.

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ILENGINE Slip plate could you tell me more about this? I have not heard of it before. Is that a brand name of some type of coating like Por 15?
Thanks in advance
Ken

Carl T said:

Ditto on the high lift blades.

One question is have you replaced the belt on the deck?

There are two different sizes that are matched to the serial number of the deck. The wrong belt will let the blades slip and may cause the plugging problem.

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Belt is brand new and I just sharpened the blades. I'll try mowing higher, but don't want to

Did it plug up before the belt change? Are you using the bagger setup?

I have 2 L130's one a few years newer than the other, I had a belt I bought at the dealer as a spare in case it broke on a weekend. I bought a used older model L130 and found the belt I had purchased for the new L130 was for an older model, it was a little shorter. The new model deck belt used on an older deck will let the center blade slip in heavy grass, the blades will also engage slowly.

If you go to "JD Parts lookup" there is a error in the drawings, It shows the new and old decks with the same idler pulley which is incorrect. The new decks have the larger diameter pulley and longer belt. The numbers are correct but the pictures are wrong. It is tough for a parts guy to find the difference unless he is familiar with that particular model.

I have since bought the parts to change to the new style deck to only have one number spare belt that I can use on either machine now.

JoeCasper said:

Belt is brand new and I just sharpened the blades. I'll try mowing higher, but don't want to

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This thing plugged up before and after the belt change.

I tried mowing yesterday and got so fed up that I stopped after 2 passes around my yard. I am now shopping for a new mower, a finish mower for my tractor or a good fix for this one.

For now I'll probably cut with my woods bush hog. LOL :thumbdown: