2186 Cut Height

[kevintee]

Hello to all. I am new to this forum but think I know how to act.

I have a 2186 44" deck that I bought used a couple of years ago. I am puzzled as to why it cuts so low. I normally mow at 5, sometimes at 4 but below that it's cutting dirt. I have a bagger but the tube plugs when I cut what I consider a normal amount off the top.

Questions

1. does this deck use a straight blade or one with an offset in the middle?
2. how close to the bottom edge of the deck should the blade be? Vertical dimension not blade tip to the deck edge.
3. What blade do you use?
4. is a high lift blade better with a bagger?

Thanks in advance.

Kevin Tee.

[J-Mech]

Hello and welcome to OCC!!

In the parts book, the pic shows an offset in the blade. The correct part number for the blade is 759-3939. Cub cadet only lists one blade, so if you want something different, you will have to look around. I hear a lot of people talking about the "Gator" blades. I'm not sure how they work with a bagger.

I'm not sure why the deck cuts so low. Perhaps something is bent. Or, the wrong blades are installed.

Baggers are temperamental things. The work on the principle that the air movement from the spinning blades will "blow" the grass up the chute. Personally, I hate them. I like my sweeper. Here are some tips:

1.) They don't handle wet/green grass well, so make sure the grass is dry. (Mow in the heat of the day.)
2.) Because they "blow" the grass, cutting just a little off the top makes the clippings very small. The small surface area can't catch the air. (Imagine a full dead leaf, then smash it to pieces and see how well you can blow it.) Perhaps you need to let the grass grow longer.
3.) Too long of grass is too heavy. There is a happy medium.
4.) Get some graphite spray, and spray the inside of the chute.

Good luck!!

[kevintee]

I ordered some Oregon G5 Gator blades because the Oregon web site states that blade is good for mulching and bagging. If there is clearance I think I will put the blade spacer on the bottom of the blade when I replace them. This will move the blades further up in the housing but I don't know what it will do the cut quality.

The only adjustment I see is the front deck mount. Is this correct?

[J-Mech]

The front adjustment changes the deck's pitch. (Front of the deck up or down.) There is also an adjustment on the RH side of the rear subframe for the deck. This adjusts the deck perpendicularly from the tractor. (Side to side.)

[restore49]

Front edge of blades should be lower (pitch) than rear 1/4 +- 1/8.

[kevintee]

Update;

I purchased Oregon G6 gator blades and they are great. They blew wet grass through the grass catcher tube. Cut great also.

[ACecil]

That's great! Thanks for the update.