I have one acre of all grass, it takes over 3 hours to cut. one hour to trim and outline with push mower and two hours to mow with my MTD 18HP 46" cut mower bought new in 1992. I can only cut grass when it is bone dry which is only after 11:00 so it effectively ruins up a whole day. I see guys using newer equipment like zero turn stuff cutting in the RAIN and cutting grass mulching so fine as to not need to pick it up with a sweeper. Also they do it at a much higher speed than mine could ever do and do a decent job. 

    A friend of mine has a 1973 ish Allison Chalmers 620 19.5 HP with a 60" deck. I am considering buying it if the speed makes it worth it and especially if i don't have to have perfectly dry grass to get a decent job.. In all everyone's opinion does this AC 620 stack up anywhere near a newer decked machine in mow speed and quality? or should I stick with my ol reliable but slow MTD and bank on a newer more modern model.

   He wants $1500 with just a mower deck.  Cool looking machine by the way like its got stamina and strength.

   Thanks in advance everyone 

 

But, I really like the unit-big and tough.  There have been problems, but the members on this web site are very willing to help solve the problems.

As with the others, that's a great deal!

Knowing that there is a hi-lift blade made, I would look to get a set so that they can throw the grass out and not ball it around underneath the deck. 

I went from a mulching blade & medium lift blade to a hi lift on my Craftsman and it made a world of difference and I scoot right along, too! 

Also the obvious, keeping the blades sharp and balanced helps a lot with the sickling through it.

Zeros are way capable, but can they push and blow snow? Plow and till and blade? Mount a loader or a backhoe? Compete in a tractor pull or simply be as cool as a AC large frame?  Don't think so.  JP

  LOL!

   The AC runs well, turns, changes direction and cuts grass as well as I guess it should but deck control does not go up properly, the guy seems to think the bleed or down valve may be hanging open. He says the same hydro pump drives the trans and the deck piston under the seat so obviously the pump is ok. Also if it were mine I'd disassemble the thing completely, sandblast each piece and re assemble the thing so it would look sa good as my MTD. As of now I don't need another project.

       Possibly for a few more bucks and a little luck I can get something that I wont have the never ending desire to completely disassemble and clean up. All my junk is older as I keep stuff forever but it is all clean under a small layer of dirt like my MTD.

   If he still has it after I try a newer design blade on my existing machine and still am not happy I may check it out again if he still has it. He is a friend of mine so I don't think its right to ask him to hold it for me as I may not buy it so I am going to add this link to the craigs list listing he has it under. It is in Adamstown which is in  Frederick County Maryland. 

http://baltimore.craigslist.org/for/5010131187.html

Ken

You're close enough to be a member of this group! 

You had an exposure to an AC and now you want one!

Ken & Brian C:

I get my hi lift blades from Stens.

I talked to them yesterday about becoming a distributor/dealer. 

Phone number is on the site and I'd call them to find out where the nearest dealer is to you. HTH.

Hi Brian.

This should get you to Stens site with 3 choices of blades for your size of cut. 

tel:800-457-7444

Give them a call to find out where your nearest dealer is. 

      Bottom line is the deck I have is the deluxe version and already has high lift blades from MTD. They haven't changed the design So...if I find something that fits from a different manufacturer that looks different I'll try them. Other than that I will get it back together and use it to reset my base line for a while then decide what to do from there. 

  I really don't like to replace a piece of equipment until it is either useless or in a state of disrepair past senseless overhaul.  With about 1400 hours on it it has had multiple tie rod ends, one front axle, king pin bushings, steering worm gear and rack(?) gear multiple batteries and one set of belts oil changes and spark plugs once. That is all. The deck has no rust and the blades are sharp from whenever I sharpened them last. I hit nothing at all doing my yard so its an easy job for my machine. I guess there is something to be said for keeping it in a garage on a concrete floor. That's why my deck is in such good shape as well as no rust anywhere in the machine. As sweet as this thing is it will likely reconfirm how slow it is compared to the folks I have been hiring.

  

   I will re evaluate after using it for a few months, turns out I don't have the kind of cash to blow right now like I usually have, slow at the shop. My very good condition machine won't bring but maybe $200 so its not even worth selling.

  Good luck all

I was answering Brian as he probably didn't see further up where I posted Stens website to chase down the blades for his mower. I think that if he changes blades, it will make a lot of difference. 

From the looks of your deck, I'd say that you've got the clearance there to get the air flow.

What I did was to pull up the deflector on my Craftsman which allows it to really spread out the cut grass. 

I don't doubt that your blades are hi lift as per their specs and say so. 

The blades that I have on my Craftsman of about the same vintage as your mower, '96, I think, have the back edge turned up to about a 40-45* angle to aggressively throw out the cut grass. As a matter of fact, take the paint off of our mowers and they almost look like twins!

I'm not kidding that I really can cut my acreage when it's dry, about an acre an hour or less when it's shaggy and needing it. Obviously, a little linger when it's taller. This is with my Craftsman with an 18.5 hp Kohler and 46" cut deck. 

You may want to look Stens over and/or call them to find a dealer near you to compare blades. 

   After working on my MTD I found that from lack of lubrication (my fault) the throttle control at the governor was loose with a little slop not allowing for full throttle. I adjusted and lubricated the thing and picked up 300 RPM. Did my acre in under an hour easily. Not the best job but I need to find out what the optimum engine Wide open throttle is supposed to be. Its at 3200 now.

   Also found a way to calculate blade tip speed and am still shy of the 19000FPS allowed by law. Im going to find engine WOT speed then re calculate and possibly install a smaller driven pulley on the deck. 

Glad to hear that you got a couple of bugs taken care of to wind 'er up!

With kudos to HudCo, I've had an old timer small engine repairman tell me to set the top RPM to 3600 & no more, which is pretty much what my Kohler 18.5 hp runs. 

And with my hi lift blades on, it's sucks the dry leaves and anything else out of the low spots down to the dirt normally & if I lower the deck when they're wet. 

I also don't set it down for very long when I lower it if I have any smalls branches hiding underneath them neither. But it does clean out the deck of any stuck grass, too. 

Glad to hear it! 

I was wondering how it went and I thought of you yesterday when I mowed mine. 

I see you already did what I was about to suggest by taking off the rock deflector. 

Mine is hinged, so all I dis was make a stiff wire bracket to hold it open and it's there to flip down when I mow a ditch with houses around. 

I also balance my blades, too, and that really makes it nice with no vibration. 

 

Just a thought,  double check your deck belt tensioner to make sure that it's able to keep the belt tight. 

I discovered that my Craftsman had a scissor style tensioner and had started to have a rust build up and would keep the deck belt tight as it was sticking.  

I took it all apart, cleaned and greased it good & stuck it back together. 

I don't get any slippage now!

  Thanks again all!!

   Ken

That's acuttin' grass in a hurry!

Glad to hear of the huge improvement!