# New cub cadet xt2 first mow impression not good



## outdoorsmen (Jul 23, 2018)

I posted this in my other thread but I'll start a new one on this topic.

Well the deere I wanted got sold before I could get there. So I "settled" for the xt2 46". Brought it home and mowed right away. Thus far I'm not overly impressed. I have the deck up at highest 4" a left the anti scalp wheels in middle cause that's what the dealer said to do. I mowed the front and kinda thought it was scalping a bit so I lowered the wheels all the way to the bottom. I still think they allow for to much clearance when the deck is fully raised. And i have been noticing alot of stragglers of uncut grass blades in my front lawn. It was also leaving rows of clippings that we're not getting blown out of the Chute plus a lot of grass clippings are getting blown from the front of the deck and flying back on top of the mower deck. That doesn't make me to Happy.




Deck at highest 4" and wheels at lowest setting, about 2" gap. Shouldn't it be about 1/2", that's what my old deere instructed.


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## outdoorsmen (Jul 23, 2018)

I called cub today and they were no help. They told me to make sure the deck is all level which it is. There is no option of larger anti scalp wheels. Told me to take it up with the dealer. 
I called dealer and he told me that cutting at the highest setting is unheard of. He said I should cut at 3" not 4". I said I'm not cutting lower, I've cut at 4" all my life without issues of any kind with my old mower. He said the high setting isn't allowing for enough vacuum and that's why grass is getting blown out the front and clippings arent getting dispersed properly. He also said to slow down the drive speed which negates why I wanted a faster mower.
My main issue is the scalping. My john deere says on a sticker on the deck that the scalp wheels should be 1/4" off the ground. This stupid cub wont get any lower then 2". 
I am so aggravated that I dont even want this mower anymore. 30mins of mowing and I think I wasted $2400 on a bad purchase.
Dealer said even professionals dont mow at 4" they mow at 3".


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

Then why even manufacture that deck height? He probably doesn't know what to tell you. I mow at 4" as well....deck all the way up.


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

outdoorsmen said:


> I called cub today and they were no help. They told me to make sure the deck is all level which it is. There is no option of larger anti scalp wheels. Told me to take it up with the dealer.
> I called dealer and he told me that cutting at the highest setting is unheard of. He said I should cut at 3" not 4". I said I'm not cutting lower, I've cut at 4" all my life without issues of any kind with my old mower. He said the high setting isn't allowing for enough vacuum and that's why grass is getting blown out the front and clippings arent getting dispersed properly. He also said to slow down the drive speed which negates why I wanted a faster mower.
> My main issue is the scalping. My john deere says on a sticker on the deck that the scalp wheels should be 1/4" off the ground. This stupid cub wont get any lower then 2".
> I am so aggravated that I dont even want this mower anymore. 30mins of mowing and I think I wasted $2400 on a bad purchase.
> Dealer said even professionals dont mow at 4" they mow at 3".


Professionals mow as high as they can because it reduces the likelihood of "finding" things in the law, saves fuel, and minimizes required mowing frequency.

Investigate Cub's return/satisfaction policy. Clearly this machine will never live up to your expectations.


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## outdoorsmen (Jul 23, 2018)

Thanks for agreeing with me. I was starting to think I was doing things wrong .


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## outdoorsmen (Jul 23, 2018)




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## outdoorsmen (Jul 23, 2018)

Right outa the owners book. 1/4" to 1/2" at desired cutting height.


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## h22lude (Jul 24, 2018)

outdoorsmen said:


> It was also leaving rows of clippings that we're not getting blown out of the Chute plus a lot of grass clippings are getting blown from the front of the deck and flying back on top of the mower deck.


I bought a XT1 46" last year and it worked great. This year so far I have been noticing the same row of clippings. I have my blades set to 3.5" (which it was last year). I notice if I go about a 1/4 of the top speed, it doesn't happen. If I go any faster, I get a big clump of clippings on the left side. I think the blades suck. I'm going to try the mulching kit.


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## FlowRider (Apr 7, 2019)

Sorry to hear you're having issues with your Cub Cadet XT2 mower. At least you got the Kawasaki engine...! Right?

What is the return policy on your mower through your dealer - how long do you have before you can't obtain a refund?

What blades are you running on it? Standard 2-in-1 high-lift blades, or 3-in-1 mulching blades?


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## krusej23 (May 8, 2018)

Are your blades at 4" from the ground, not the deck? From that picture it looks like you could bring the deck down a little to get down to 4". Maybe it's just the angle.


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## craigdt (Apr 21, 2018)

Okay, here's some thoughts for you:

You should be able to cut at 4" if you want to. "Supposed to mow at 3 inches" is an arbitrary statement that a dealer cannot just state.

Lowering the deck can increase the vacuum and help the blades stand up for better cutting performance and striping.

Do you need to slow down to help your deck handle the cut material? No matter how nice the mower, a slower speed will cut better than a faster speed. Period. I got a commerical mower that CAN mow at 10mph, but the cut isnt nearly as good if I cut at 3.5mph.

Also- what kind of blades are you using? Throw some nice mulching blades on there, and don't close off the discharge chute. Like the 3 in one type, with the serrated sail things on the top.

Make sure your blades are not mounted upside down, as weird as that sounds. Also make sure the blades are sharp. Often times, consumer mowers are shipped with awful blades.

If you can, try to pitch your deck about 1/4" forward, so the front of the deck is lower than the back. You might not be able to, but see if you can make forward/backward adjustments. This may increase your vacuum a tad, and can sometimes increase the material handling abilities of the deck.

How much of the blade are you cutting off? 4" cut is good if the grass is 4.75", but if your grass is 6" and you are cutting off 2" at once, it's going to struggle.

See if you can get some more RPM's out of the motor. You can get an RPM gauge for like $20 at Amazon to mount on your mower. Easy to hook up. Wouldnt surprise me if your motor was runnning at like 3,100RPMs instead of 3,600.


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## outdoorsmen (Jul 23, 2018)

Ok so I called cub again yesterday and was on the phone for over an hour, mostly on hold. Anyway I told the tech guy all the details. The deck is 1/4" low in front, front of blade is 3.75" rear is 4". The blades are the ones that came on the mower. The cub guy said that all sounds like it should be ok so the issue may be deeper and wants a service guy to look at it. He gave me a case number to give to my dealer. So I loaded it up and went to my dealer. Told him I talked to cub and they said bring you the mower and refer to the case number notes. Dealer said "I dont think you will ever be happy with the mower, there is nothing wrong with it, how about I just refund your money." I said ok!..... so I got my money back and now I'm mower shopping again.


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## krusej23 (May 8, 2018)

That's always good when they at least give you the money back. I had that once with my honda push mower I bought from a deere dealership. Same issues, no suction at higher heights and they said there was nothing wrong just to mow lower. A frustrating situation and I'm glad you were able to get out of it. For what it's worth, I love my John Deere D130.


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## maynard9089 (Apr 11, 2019)

I know you looked at the Deere previously. Much better than a Cub. I still think you should look at the Husqvarna and would even look at a zero turn. Look at Exmark, Ferris, Toro and even a Scag Liberty Z. Some of these will be a little more or even double what you spent on the Cub but it will likely last you 2x longer and make you happier with the cut. I switched to a zero turn this year and it has cut down on my time to mow. Not that my mowing speed is any faster, because as others have mentioned the cut is better when you slow down, but my time savings seems to come in the time to turn, how close I can get into areas that allow me to eliminate some trimming and when I am moving between mowing areas I can get there really quick on a mower capable of 10mph.


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

Glad you got your money back!


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## craigdt (Apr 21, 2018)

This is a good outcome! Now, if you can hack it, step up to about $5,000 and get a really good ZTR, like the brand's listed above. You will love it and it will last 20 years.


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## Art_Vandelay (Nov 20, 2018)

Get a Deere. At least a 300 series but I'd get a 500 series


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## ctrav (Aug 18, 2018)

That ended well for you with the money back. If I were doing it over I would never gat an entry level (no matter what brand). JD and Bobcat would be high on my list...


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## Cory (Aug 23, 2017)

Get something with a fabricated deck. I could never get my rider with a stamped deck to cut nice. I got tons of advice, tried everything, nothing ever worked out. Went and bought a John Deere with a 54" stamped deck to replace the fist rider, had all the same problems and more. Bought a ZT mower with a fabricated deck and all my issues were solved.


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## outdoorsmen (Jul 23, 2018)

I'm now looking hard at the scag liberty z 48".
Does it have anti scalp wheels? Does it scalp?


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