What gear do you mow in?
 

I personally mow in first gear, but I was wondering if any of you guys run in second?

(Using a Cub Cadet 100/102/... anything with the standard three speed)

I mow in 2nd with the 1806 and 44 inch deck.

1st or 2nd, depending on the conditions.

Actually....I mow with a hydro...:Duel:

That all depends on which tractor I am useing.
582-Special = 3rd gear
100 = 2nd gear

My 1200 has gear drive(with the lower gear set in the transmission) and I mow in second gear. I like the whine from the trans as it sounds like an M22 rock crusher tranny. I have been asked by several pullers to swap them the rear since these are the ones they like.

i'm with you bignasty!! 2nd gear with my 1200 44" deck. jeff

I just pull the hydro lever down until I am fast enough. :)

on the deere/farm tractor 5th gear = 4.9 mph, that coupled with the 72 inch deck makes quick work of the main area then i mop up the tight areas with the cc125 and on that i have a 48 inch deck, also have a 44 inch sweeper i just picked up to aid in fall clean up.

could get away with out using the cub but i never plan on getting rid of it, is a solid built tractor made when quality counted, and is a good back up incase of a break down, other people have classic cars i have a classic lawn tractor

2nd gear on my 100 until I get over my septic, then I have to use 1st.
Ian

Mowing Gear
 

2nd Gear w/ my 1000 / 44A deck

cub 122 2nd gear unless grass is to my knees.

Mowing Speed
 

I try to mow in third gear with my 582 / 44" deck. But, I have to reduce the throttle half way to reduce the speed. This, of course, reduces the blade speed and results in a bad cut ( currently using gator blades). I am thinking about experimenting by changing the main drive pulley on the deck to a larger size. My theory is that this will allow me to reduce the engine rpm without reducing blade speed. Has anyone attempted this before? If so, then were you successfull? 2nd gear is too slow, 3rd is a bit too fast for my bumpy 2 acres!:bigthink:

I think you would want a smaller pulley. That would increase the blade speed. I have often wondered about this. My neighbor has a newer 2000 series and the blades hum on it. They are definitely turning faster then on our older ones. We both have gators on, but it is a night and day difference between the discharge. He has almost no visible clippings.


JOE

Gotcha Joe! Smaller would be the right one. My neighbor across the road uses a huge John Deere Garden Tractor (newer model) that I borrowed before purchasing the 582. Those blades are singing! I believe that if I could get these blades to spin faster, then I could get a better cut in less time! Any ideas on where to get the pulley and what size might provide the best ratios?

Don't mow at anything less than full throttle...you'll eventually damage the engine. It needs to run at full throttle to cool properly.

I didn't think of that Matt! Thanks for the heads up. That said though, my neighbor (72 years old) believes my 16 hp briggs revs much too high. Is there a limiter that I can adjust? Is it possible that these motors can rev too high?

It's possible, but if the governor is put together right and is working, it shouldn't. If you look at the throttle linkage on the motor, there's several slotted holes, and the governor spring is in a different hole depending on the application of the engine and therefore what the max RPM should be. Max engine speed should be set at 3600 RPM. I'll have to look at one of mine and see which slot the spring is in. The only way to really know if it's right is to use an inductive tach or something like that.

I can check, but it sounds like any of those holes selects an rpm range that the engine is calibrated for. Would an old automotive tach work for checking the rpm's? if so, then where would you attach it?

I mow in 3rd with my 1200 w/44" deck. Try to hit it twice a week and cut it to the roots.

yea put a smaller pulley on. the larger the pulley the slower it will turn. the smaller, the faster.