Deck Leveling Gauge (How to check a mower deck the right way)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 ส.ค. 2018
- Every year when mowing season starts many people end up throwing all kinds of money at their tractor or zero turn because it is mowing uneven and they aren't really sure what is causing it. Well before you go spending money on new blades, new spindles, and God knows what all else, how about saving some time and figuring out what is actually causing the problem. This will not just save you time, but will also save you a lot of money and a lot of hassle. All you need is a mower deck leveling guage. This simple tool costs around $10 and will help you figure out exactly what is causing your mower deck to not mow level. Many times there is not actually something wrong with the blades, spindles, or anything else on the mower deck. The majority of the time the reason a mower is not mowing level is because the tire pressure is not correct. This is a VERY common problem every spring that most people don't realize because the tires look like they have air in them. Or the tire was flat and the owner inflates the tire to what they think looks good and does not bother to check what they inflated it to or what any of the other tires are inflated to. Over or under inflated tires can cause the whole tractor to sit akwardly rather than how it was designed to sit to operate properly. ALWAYS check your tire pressure before making ANY adjustments to your mower deck.
These deck leveling gauges are available at:
EM Herr Farm & Home Center
14 Herrville Rd
Willow Street, PA 17584
1-717-464-3321
(Shipping is AVAILABLE)
#HowTo #MowerDeck #DIY DeckLevel #EshlemaniaTV - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
EXCELLENT VIDEO..AS A SMALL ENGINE MECHANIC FOR MANY YRS.. i LEARNED ALOT.. THANKS!! JD
Man this video helped me so dang much! Thank you for posting this and for taking the time to do so
I've got to get one of these gauges. Looks like a more accurate way and easier way than I've been doing. Thank You.
No problem 👍
Actually man, whatever you have your deck set at on the mower gauge, say 3”, you need to make the deck match that exact measurement- 3”!!! If your deck is set at 3” and you adjust it to 2-1/2”, your deck will never match up and will always be off!!! You need to get them to match up as close as possible, not 1/2” to 3/4” off!!! It needs to be within a 1/8” of what the mower gauge is set at!!
That is only possible on certain models. It does not work with many of the mower height settings these days because the numbers on the height indicator do not coordinate to inches. They are just index points. For example, most mower decks on tractors do not raise higher than 4 inches, but the height indicator has height settings from 1-6. So, if you set the # 3 position to be cutting at 3 inches there is no way that at setting 6 you will be mowing at six inches. And since 4 inches is as high as the deck can raise, on a mower with settings of 1-6 the # 3 setting should be around 2 inches since it is the halfway point in the lift mechanism's available travel.
Very informative video. Thanks
Glad it was helpful!
My rule of thumb is 8psi back 10 in front. Takes a little stress off the engine bouncing around.
Great vid thanks
Thank you
Thanks for watching and commenting!
make sure to inflate the tires when they are cold and have not been driven that day. Just a tip.
I have a question, I know you want both sides to be the same left to right, but does the front measurement or the back measurement supposed to be the same as the left/right? I know the back is supposed to be higher, so I’m assuming the front 3 measurements should be the same 🤷🏻♂️
I think your actually supposed to turn the blades front to back and whatever height the deck is set should be your front measurements...and the back should be 1/4 to 1/2 higher
Is the gauge universal or designed specific for that brand of mower?
It is universal. You can use it on any brand since it is measuring from the cutting edge to the surface the mower is sitting on.
@@EshlemaniaTV thanks
But what if your blade is worn or bent? Doesn’t that throw the whole reading off?
Make sure your blade is balanced and not damaged before you check.
I need on, too
Give them a call. They will ship them.
Just measure to the flat s from the blade and stop wasting peoples time you clown
why would you recommend splitting the difference if the deck isn't leveled side to side? That particular mower has markings which appears to be in inches and not just numbers. So I would recommend setting this deck to 2 inches to match up with the deck lever. You should measure from the front of the middle blade to the rear of the outside blade to get the deck tilt that you need if your mower has three blades. Leveling decks on lawn tractors like this is very simple compared to zero-turns.
This mower has a max cutting height of 4 inches. The height of cut indicator numbers go higher than that, so the indicator does not match the actual height of the grass. That is why you "split the difference" to get both sides cutting tat the same height.
Know the difference between the blade height and the deck rim and measure to the rim. To check for bent blades use a straight piece of wood across the deck rim. Measure both ends of the blade without turning it to be sure that the deck has not bent around the bearings and try to move the blade end up and down any undue play should be investigated. Mowers are not cheap look after them and they will give many years of good service.
TIP. If you do not fill your garage with specialist tools that you do not need then you will have room for the beer cooling fridge that you always wanted, or at a push you might even get the car in.
I got a question why did he show the other side because you know why it is a b****
2” is way too low to mow a lawn. It makes the unhealthy and promote weed growth. the bare minimum you wanna have is 4 inches. If you don’t believe me, consult any extension agent or any lawn care expert. All my neighbors around me mow their grass like a month and then skin it to the bone. Lazy as hell . As a result, their lawns look horrible. I mow mine high and often at 4 inches and it looks amazing. No special skills required. But your video is spot on!
Thanks for the feedback. We use a range between 2-3 inches to level the decks because we want the deck gauge wheels to be off the ground and the deck to be away from the stops on the frame. But as you mentioned, trying to mow the grass down to a short height in once pass when it's over grown is not healthy for the lawn.
Depends on grass type. Turf grasses thrive being cut low
2.5" to 3" is the recommend mowing height I always mow at 2.5" and It seems to keep the grass nice
Depends on grass type. Down south they mow warm season grass pretty low, unlike us up in the North area.
Centipede grass needs to be cut at 2". Any higher will promote weed growth.
Tire pressure is in the manual. The pressure on the sidewall is the max pressure. Same as on cars and trucks. Never use the sidewall pressure.
Most tires have a max pressure listed on the sidewall and a recommended operating tire pressure on the sidewall as well.
@@EshlemaniaTV wrong. In fact, the pressure you pointed out on the tire said Max. Car and truck tires never have the recommended operating pressure on the sidewall. The pressure on the sidewall is maximum pressure at maximum load. The tires on my mower have a max pressure of 20 psi printed on the sidewall. The recommended pressure set by the mower manufacturer is 10psi, which isn't on the sidewall. Why? Because like cars, tire pressures are set according to the weight of the vehicle. That's why the sticker pressure is always lower than the sidewall pressure. If you used sidewall pressure in your car, your tires would be constantly overinflated, causing premature tire wear. On a mower it would also increase the likelyhood of ruts in your lawn.
No, these tires say on the sidewall that the max operating pressure is 14 PSI and the MAX pressure for the tire is 30 PSI. That is for the front tires. The rear tires say 10 PSI for operating pressure and have a higher overall MAX PSI.
@@houndawg3 you are spot on, on this one. I go with the recommended pressures on my mowers,...not what the sidewall max pressure says. I drive diesel pickups and big SUVs. The front tires are always set to max pressure, because anything less will cause the tires to be underinflated. The rears are only set accordingly,...and like you said,...it's according to the weight that the rear axle is carrying. Been doing that for over 20 years,...and all of my tires have been wearing evenly since.
Instructions unclear mower deck ripped off.