side discharge or rear discharge?

[bean 85]

I am looking at another wheel horse to mow with, and the owner has both a rear and side discharge deck. both are 42" and in usable condition. the rd deck looks like it is in better condition.

i mow 1-1/2 acres and there are times when one of our lots, which is low lying, gets 2-3 days of rain and takes a while to dry out. usually, it is 4-6" tall by the time it dries out. other than that, it is pretty straight forward.

so, given those circumstances, would you opt for the sd or the rd deck?

[liketoplayto 6]

ive mowed with both and really doesnt make that much of a difrence other then one throws it out the back and the other out the side even though one out the side sometimes grass tall makes it look more like a cut hay field but in the end ull get same result . just my 2 cents thanks wes

[bean 85]

thanks. I like the rd just because I have numerous trees on one of the lots and was thinkiing I could get close to them from either side of the rd deck,

[smoreau 658]

I will have to say if your using a hydro, do NOT get the RD deck! But if your using a 4-8 speed tractor then ether one is fine. The SD deck is more desirable and will bring more $ then a RD deck. RD decks do cut nice and you could add a recycle in it and go with that. SD are all I have and I like them, but thats just my opinion .

[jay in nc 210]

greg, i use both on my tractors . right now i have a 48 side discharge on the 518. but last week i wanted to give the chickens some green so i put on a 42 rear discharge & pulled the sweeper. both cut well but in high grass i think side is better 42 or 48 . oh B.T.W. one disadvantage to rear discharge decks is they will pack grass into the right hubcap, not so much the left one. Jay

[Hydro 131]

That is an advantage to the RD also althought maybe not in your circumstance you will never fill a flower bed or garden with an RD. It really does not throw the grass very far, it sort of just falls where it's cut, no windrow.

[bean 85]

i am only leaning towards the rd because it looks likes it is in better condition. we are going to install both when i go back, so that may give me a better idea.

[brybrychrismer 17]

I have had both but i prefer the rear discharge deck. The grass don't fly all over the place and if you do hit gravel it don't zing all over.

[bean 85]

I will have to say if your using a hydro, do NOT get the RD deck!

thats interesting. what is the issue? does it throw grass into the trans/pump?

[bean 85]

on a side note, the owner told me that the two decks use different length belts. he even has 2 mule drive / belts, one for each deck

[otrelwood 32]

i like the rear discharge as long as its not a mulcher deck that somebody took the baffling out of, in which case it throws all the grass to the right side in a windrow in the yard . just an opinion

[bowtiebutler956 650]

I prefer RD because it doesn't leave the rows of cut grass!

Matt  

[Forest Road 594]

With the RD you can get up close to your beds with either side. And if you tow a sweeper it's easy sweeping right into the hopper.

[varosd 1,185]

RD is great for , as already stated above, tight areas, flower beds, towing a lawnsweeper. only disadvantage is if you let the grass get to high and don't cut it twice with adjusted blade height, you will get clumps! of course the same goes for the SD but throwing it to the inside track and hitting it again and again will take care of it faster than having to try to run over it again and again with the RD. that being said. using my gang reel exclusivly and left the decks off to save weight and so no issues!

[smoreau 658]

I will have to say if your using a hydro, do NOT get the RD deck!

thats interesting. what is the issue? does it throw grass into the trans/pump?

Thick grass can build up under the seat and not let air flow around the pump and cause the hydro to over heat. I have seen first hand and it's been told her on RS. I just don't want you to make this mistake that the PO of one of my tractors did. I had over 2 hours pressure washing the old grass on the sundstrand rear end to get it all off. Then I had to replace the pump with a good used unit. If you don't mind hosing off the pump and get all the clippings of the pump when your done cutting, you should be ok, but this was behind the tins and the tractor would come to a stop after 10-15 min of use. Smelt burnt when I opened it up. and it had a new filter on it when I picked it up. My brother has the 69 electro 12 and it still working good, but I have more into the pump the I had into the tractor.

[bean 85]

great info, everyone. I am really leaning towards the rd, just because of all the trees on one lot.

[boovuc 1,090]

I'll go side discharge over rear. I have both and in higher grass, the RD leaves longer clippings on the surface. This is with both gator blades and standard issue with both sets sharp. i kind of look at the RD deck as a utility mower or if the grass isn't that high. I also use the rear discharge to grind up leaves in the fall. I use it on my 8 speeds and those who commented about not wanting them on their hydros are correct. It will coat the rear axle with debris that will interfere with the hydro's cooling and muck up the cooling fan requiring more maintenance after each use.

[can whlvr 993]

i too like the sd over the rd,you cant blow away leaves and long grass with the rd,if you can only have one for me it would be the sd,i sold all my rd,s but thats me,i have lots of trees and you just use the closed side,i liked the rear for some things,like flower beds etc but the trees dont matter much to either deck,its cleaning up that you cant do with the rd,in the fall i start in the middle and blow every thing to each side,i do this with long grass too

[ericj 1,578]

When I bought my 314-8 new in 99 I bought a rd. so if I had a choice between a 42 rd or a 42 sd I take the rd. the rd as stated above does mess the back and under side of the tractor up. I just blow the tractor of after every use, but I do this every time I mow any way it just a little more to do with the rd. with all being said i now mow with a 48" sd or a 60" mower deck to get done faster and less trips around the yard make it look a little better just my 2 cents worth

Eric

[GlenPettit 1,716]

With either the RD or the SD, just adding a set of 'Gator Blades' will give you smaller clippings and better throw (six blades = 12 cutting edges, about $50/3 blades).

• Keeping the original metal extender chute on the SD will reduce blow-back onto the tractor by extending/lowering throw, but it sticks out another 8" (some people have added a hinge to reduce the storage width).

• A firm rubber baffle can be added to the back of the 42" RD, (the original 6 bolt holes for it are already in there), that would reduce the clipping 'blow-up' (I bought and used a 4' long strip of black kitchen rubber edge base molding, 4" tall, $2, Menards, but have to replace it yearly, gets brittle over the Winter here in Michigan). Wheel Horse did offer a metal baffle for this at one time, but using it makes it harder to slide the deck off & out sideways for blade sharpening (unless you lift the entire front end to pull the deck forward & out to remove it, like I have to).

Both mower decks have their advantages/disadvantages that were well pointed out above; condition of the deck is a big factor, and if the price is right, get both and sell one. They each do take different belts and blades, are not really interchangeable.

[Herbl 10]

Well there is lots of different opions out there already but I'll add mine. I have mowed with a 42 RD (Mulcher) 48 SD and 60 SD, my favorite is the 48 SD. I mow a little over 2 acres and it's hilly and also certain spots have lots of trees and bushes. First off the 42SD mulcher does great except if you don't mow when the grass just thinks about growing it will be a nightmare mowing (going over repeated times), if the grass has grown an inch or so and you mow with the RD Mulcher deck the grass looks like a green carpet. I've also used a regular 42RD and it wasn't as tempermental as the mulcher deck but still to get a nice cut you have to stay on top of the growth of the grass or pay the price with lots of repeat mowings, of course if you stay on top of that it works fine and allows you to mow close on either side of the deck. My favorite is the 48 SD because of the power with I can cut high grass and not have to worry about clumps or other things like mentioned before it will leave a row and I can go back and just run over it with another pass, you stated that you have an area that gets wet and you have to let it go for a few more days than the rest of the lawn, I would only recommend to use a SD deck for that, also it really doesn't matter about having 2 side I can get glose with because I keep pretty good record on which side I'm blowing and which side I can get close to objects. Just a little side note the reason my favorite id the 48 over the 60 is both cut great but the 60 is heavy and it requires all my energy to mount and unmount. I hope this info helps... Now I need to go out a mow.....

Herb

[hm12460 53]

I have to use a side discharge deck, use my 312 to pick up leaves in the fall. Otherwise I would have a rear discharge.

[Ken B 3,164]

Here is my take on this and it is quite simple. I have mowed with both type decks over the past 30 yrs. and both do a decent job. The advantages and disadvantages of each deck have all been mentioned so I won't bore you. A rear discharge deck is boring! It just seems as though you are doing nothing but riding around the yard with one. Being able to watch the clippings come out of the side discharge keeps me entertained.

[WH520 17]

I prefer the side discharge deck. I've had a 42" RD, a 42" SD and now a 48" SD. The RD never left the grass looking very good, it didn't seem to matter how often it was cut. I've never had any problem cutting close to trees with a SD. I just make as many passes as I can to one side of the tree and then go around it with the left side of the deck.

[leeave96 487]

I prefer the side discharge deck. I've had a 42" RD, a 42" SD and now a 48" SD. The RD never left the grass looking very good, it didn't seem to matter how often it was cut. I've never had any problem cutting close to trees with a SD. I just make as many passes as I can to one side of the tree and then go around it with the left side of the deck.

I was just going to say the same thing LOL

I bought my first Wheelhorse, a 314-8 and got a rear discharge deck. My yard ain't that big and I have lots of things to mow around and the RD seemed like the ticket. For a few years, I made a center chute and blocked the rear sides of the deck and had the clippings exiting the deck just before you get to the rear hitch. It worked pretty good, but was a pain to take on and off. I've now got a couple of 48 and 42 inch side discharge decks. I too like to watch the clippings blow out the side - can't explain why, I just do.

My 42 inch RD deck gives a great cut, but one time I had a 36 inch RD and that gave the best cut of any Wheelhorse deck I've owned. The best thing I like about the RD is the ability to trim on both sides, mowing direction is not/never and issue, they don't kick-up a lot of dust and you can sweep the lawn while mowing - even in wet grass.

My advise is to get BOTH!!!!!!!

Good luck,

Bill