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easier way to lift mower deck

I’m not a very tall person, and I’ve found that I can’t get the leverage I need to fully lift the deck on our Walker mower. The deck needs to be perpendicular to the ground in order to clear a blockage, since the collection chute is in the back. I’m on my own when I mow, and it usually gets blocked at least once when I mow the 10 acres by the house. I’ve been using my thigh to help get the deck upright, so I can secure it…which is very painful and leaves deep bruises. We’re going through a drought, so I haven’t needed to mow for 2 months. I still have very pale remnants of bruises from lifting the deck.

Does anyone know of a mechanical way to lift the mower deck? Something with pulleys, maybe? Floor jacks don’t work, and I don’t have any ramps to drive it up.

They make various forms of mower lifts and jacks like
https://www.amazon.com/300-Pound-Tractor-Riding-FEATURES-DESCRIPTION/dp/B00JTJOUY0

Or you could buy some ramps if you think that would work?

Or sharper blades, or they make oily or teflon sprays for the underside of the deck that are supposed to help grass slide off.

My hubby tied a tow strap to the mower, tossed it over a (very solid, very strong) oak limb. Tied the other end of the strap to his truck, and, well. It lifted quite easily! :lol: Wasn’t sure if I was impressed or horrified.

Are you using any kind of collection bags?

If not, consider taking that chute down to the mower deck and you should not have any more blockages.

There are several ways to help you lift that, depending on what you have to lift with overhead, like already mentioned tree branch.

If you have a way to attach a come-along high enough, that would be one easy way to lift anything, rachetting it up there.
This one would work just fine for that:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Maasdam-2-000-lb-12-ft-Winch-Puller-144S-6/100153422

Blade sharpness doesn’t seem to matter. We just changed the blades, and I still have the same blockage problem.

I think this mower works a bit differently than that. There’s a metal opening in the back of the deck that connects to an internal metal chute that brings the grass to the collection area at the back. No bags. The pics at the bottom of this page show where it collects (that metal opening at the bottom between the little wheels) and the position it needs to be so I can clean it. That big, grey plastic box is where the grass collects.

I have 2 covered areas with high ceilings and electricity, so that’s not a problem.

That opening looks way small, no wonder you have problems.
Where it is to clean, it is an accident waiting to happen, with someone clawing grass out of that hole with that mower waiting to fall on top of them.

If you can’t find a place above the mower you could use a come-along or some hoist to lift the mower deck, could you at least get a very long pipe to pry the mower up until it is high enough you can finish shoving it up there, using the pipe as a pry bar, deep across one corner?

If you use the left corner looking from the seat, you can pry it up with the bar/pipe and push with your shoulder at the same time, taking the stress of using your arms and hips.

If you don’t need to collect clippings, I would disconnect that chute part that clogs up and leave it off, see how that works.

Instaed of figuring how to lift the deck, solve the blockage problem.

Other than wet clippings…Blockage will be some combination of poor air flow and restrictions in the flow path. One make sure the deck opening is clear through to the collection chute. Poor air flow… is the underside of the deck clean ? Built up clippings will disrupt the air flow. Are the blades you’re using the proper type? Not just the correct size, but with the proper shape to move clippings and air? Do you have a block off panel to direct the air to the collection chute? Is it in place ?

Leverage with a bar is a really good idea. It’s not as dangerous as it looks, since there’s a clip that secures the deck in its upright position.

Blades are correct for this machine. I’m not a very mechanical person, so I’m not 100% following everything you said hosspuller. There are little holes on the sides that get clogged, and I clean those out every time I lift the mower deck. There’s mostly surface dirt, nothing big. There’s no removable components on the underside of the deck or the chute. It’s all welded metal. Granted it’s a little beaten up, but nothing major.

I just took a look at it and hosed off the underside. There were a couple little chunks of dirt, but it’s mostly just a little dirt on the surface. Also hosed the holes on the sides, and water passes through just fine.

2miniB … Those little holes… Might there be a missing piece of metal ? You might go to the dealer and look at a new machine for example. Another potential problem… The collection container has a vent. The incoming air has to go somewhere after dropping the clippings. Is the vent and its screen clear ?

If you post the model number of the mower, we might be able to research more info for you. And the deck model …

[QUOTE=2miniB;8771049]
Leverage with a bar is a really good idea. It’s not as dangerous as it looks, since there’s a clip that secures the deck in its upright position.

Blades are correct for this machine. I’m not a very mechanical person, so I’m not 100% following everything you said hosspuller. There are little holes on the sides that get clogged, and I clean those out every time I lift the mower deck. There’s mostly surface dirt, nothing big. There’s no removable components on the underside of the deck or the chute. It’s all welded metal. Granted it’s a little beaten up, but nothing major.[/QUOTE]

You could even try a long 2"x4", on edge, stuck under the front and see if that will help lift it for you, where you mostly have to guide it up, rather than pull it up by hand.

Just stay clear of it if the board slips and the deck falls down before you have it up.

2miniB after a bit of research… Your mower has a blower to help move clippings to the collector. Have you checked the blower housing and its drive belt ? If the housing or blade is not clear air flow is reduced. If the belt is loose or worn, air flow is reduced. Any of these or combination will lend themselves to clipping blockage on your mower.

The screen in the collection area doesn’t like to stay in place and it falls out at least once every time I mow. I just hosed down the underside of the deck, the screen in the collection area, the collection area itself and the radiator screen. All totally clean. And it still got blocked repeatedly. I know it gets serviced annually…don’t know anything beyond that. I’m not a mechanical person, and my dad takes care of equipment maintenance. I’m the animal care person, and he’s the infrastructure person. We each know a little about the other person’s area of expertise, but not much. He’s better with animal stuff than I am with machine stuff.

I think its a model MDD mower. There’s a bunch of warning labels on the deck but no model number. There’s photos here. I’ve cleaned the underside of the deck since I took that photo. It did this all last year when I mowed and its still doing it, so I thought this was just a normal problem associated with mowing. Its more a cosmetic annoyance now, since I don’t have any animals on pasture. One of the down/upsides of having metabolic horses, depending on how you look at it.

2miniB… I would suspect the blower drive. Just looking at the blower blade pic 4024 … If it were impacting material at full speed, it would be clean from the material. In pic 4023, it looks like a build- up in the chute