Should Lawn Mower Deck Wheels Touch The Ground?

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If you're looking to grow a greener lawn, there's certainly no shortage of lawn care advice out there. From watering schedules to fertilizer timing, you can practically earn a doctorate in lawn care with all the information that's available. But even though everyone talks about how tall to mow your grass or when to aerate your lawn, one detail you don't hear discussed very often is how high your lawn mower deck wheels should be. The answer to the question of whether your lawn mower deck wheels should touch the ground is a resounding no. The anti-scalp wheels are there to help prevent the deck from scalping your lawn when you're mowing over uneven ground.

While you should always refer to your owner's manual, when you're adjusting the height of the mower deck wheels, aim for about ¼- to ½-inch off the ground. On flat ground, mower deck wheels really don't do much, and many mowers with decks don't even have them. However, every situation is different and how high they need to be actually depends on the mower and the terrain.

If they're too low, they tend to drag and interfere with the quality of the mowing job. But if you set the mower deck wheels too high on uneven terrain, they may not catch the deck in time, causing scalped patches on high spots in the lawn. That's why, whenever you adjust the cutting height of your mower, you also have to change your mower deck wheel height.

If your mower has been scalping your lawn, and you're thinking that it may be time to replace your lawn mower deck, consider adjusting the height of the wheels before you do anything else. As mentioned, always refer to your machine's manual before working on it. Start with safety first. Turning the engine off and disconnecting the spark plug or battery before working near the blades or mower deck should always be standard practice.

When you're making this adjustment, you need a hard, level surface to obtain the narrow ¼- to ½-inch height range that's best for mower deck wheels. Park the mower on your driveway or the floor of your garage. Check the tire pressure before anything else, since a low tire can throw off your reading. Then, set the mowing height and adjust the wheels from there.

Once you make your adjustments, measure the gap between the wheel and the ground again to make sure it's what you want it to be. Adjustment mechanisms are different for various models, so you may not be able to get it as precise as you want. While you're working on them, look for signs of wear on the wheels themselves, and if they're worn, your next project will be replacing them with a set of Powercare Universal 5-inch Deck Wheels for Lawn Tractors.