Is your Craftsman trimming grass more than it needs to? Do you see abnormal patterns of grass throughout your lawn? These are indicators that you should consider altering the cutting height on your Craftsman lawnmower. In certain instances, Craftsman mowers have cutting blades that are too close to the ground. This results in short-cut grass that eventually reduces the density of your turf. You might often want to give your lawn a variable cutting pattern similar to those seen in soccer fields. You need to understand the mechanism needed to change the Craftsman lawnmower’s height in all these instances. This blog post looks at the height adjustment process for different types of Craftsman lawnmowers.
How to change the height of the lawnmower step by step:
- Step 1: Put your Craftsman lawnmower on a flat surface. Take off the ignition key.
- Step 2: Check the air pressure of all tires. They need to be under the same pressure.
- Step 3: In the case of a Craftsman riding mower, adjust the lift connection adjustment nut to lower or boost the mowing deck. Use the given adjustment lever on the tires to lift or lower the tires for push mowers.
- Step 4: After adjusting the height, please ensure the lawnmower is fully leveled.
A lawnmower often has a feature that can raise or lower the blades of a lawnmower. For riding mowers, by using the lift link adjustment nut, the mowing deck can be balanced. In self-propelled mowers, the wheels are pushed onto the notches with the adjustment levers’ aid. Please note that the lawnmower must be leveled from the sides if you adjust the cutting height. If not done correctly, you could notice a variation in grass patterns in the side-to-side direction.
This blog gives you an in-depth understanding of height adjustment for various types of mowers and answers a variety of commonly asked questions.
Contents
Adjust the height for Craftsman lawnmowers:
We provide you with a step-by-step method to adjust the height of various kinds of Craftsman lawnmowers.
● Equipment required:
All you need for height adjustment is a wrench set and a ruler. You may also need a pressure gauge and an air pump to determine tire pressure. We recommend using protective gloves when handling the blades of the mower as a safety measure.
● 1. Riding mowers:
In the case of riding Craftsman lawnmowers, the cutting blades are mounted under the mowing deck. The mowing deck is a separate addition to the mainframe of the mower. Lift link adjustment is used to adjust the height. The entire process is detailed below:
-Step 1: Position your lawnmower on a flat surface:
It is best to park a riding Craftsman lawnmower on a flat surface, such as a driveway, and use the parking brake until you finish changing the height. It’s going to be easier for you to find the screws and nuts that fall on the floor instead of grass.
-Step 2: Take the precautionary measures:
You don’t want the Craftsman engine to start during the height adjustment because you’re coping with the blades on the deck. So make sure you remove the ignition key. It would be even safer to remove the spark plug cables to ensure the engine can not start unexpectedly.
-Step 3: Change the tire pressure
Before increasing the height, we want to ensure that all tires have the same pressure so that the Craftsman mower is not inclined to any particular side. To do this, you may need to use the tire pressure gauge to measure each tire’s air pressure and then use the air supply to fill the tires.
-Step 4: Use lift link adjustment to raise the deck sideways:
The lift link adjustment on the deck lowers or raises the deck from the side. Each complete turn raises or lowers the specific side by 3/16th of an inch. Turn the nut sideways to make a side-by-side adjustment and use the ruler to measure its initial height from the ground.
After you have reached the desired height by adjusting the lift link, measure the blade tip’s final height again. Do this on the other side of the Craftsman mower platform as well. You should ensure that the blade tip’s final height on both sides of the deck is the same; otherwise, you can experience irregular cutting patterns due to the incorrect level of blade cutting.
-Stage 5: Adjust the deck from the front and back using the adjustable nut
Now that we’ve made a front-to-back adjustment, we also need to verify that the Craftsman mower pitch or rake is within the specified limits. To this end, align the blade’s tip in the front to the back along the blade’s length. Record the height of the tip of the blade from the ground separately from the front and back.
Usually, the front is 1/8th to 1/2 inch lower than the back so that the cutting portion does not scatter the grass straws across the yard. Use the adjusting nuts provided to shift the level from the front and back. Ensure that you stay within the tolerance values for any adjustments you make as specified in the Craftsman owner’s manual.
● 2. Self-propelled Craftsman lawnmowers:
The cutting blades are installed below the deck in self-propelled Craftsman lawnmowers. The deck is not a separate object and is part of the main body. It cannot be lowered or raised, as was the case for riding mowers.
-Step 1: Position your lawnmower on a flat floor.
The lawnmower should be parked on a perfectly flat surface so that the change in height does not cause an error in the blade’s cutting level. If it is a gas Craftsman mower, turn the engine off and unplug the spark plug cable as a safety measure against unintended starting of the engine.
-Step 2: Seek the lever for height adjustment:
For self-propelled Craftsman mowers, the height can be changed by raising or lowering the tire’s level using adjustable levers. These levers are located on the inside of each tire, which is attached to the notches.
-Step 3: Alter the height of the mower with the adjustment lever
Shift the lever forward or backward to raise or lower the height of the particular wheel. Since we’re going to raise the height, we’re looking to roll the lever forward and position it in one of the notches.
– Step 4: Repeat the procedure for the rest of the wheels.
Repeat the third step on the remaining wheels on your Craftsman lawnmower. All the wheels have to be at the same height. Or else, on the opposite side, your lawnmower may create inconsistent cutting patterns.
Related Question:
1. How to change the height of a reel lawnmower?
- Step 1: Position your mower on a flat surface, such as a driveway.
- Step 2: The bracket holds the roller assembly to its place. The bracket is fixed to the outside with the help of nuts.
- Step 3: Loosen the nuts from each side of the bracket and remove them. Drive the roller pinout of the bracket.
- Step 4: Insert the roller pin into a wider hole in the bracket. Place the roller at the same level on both sides of the hole.
- Step 5: To secure the bracket, put the nuts back. Tighten each side of the bracket’s nuts.
2. How high am I supposed to be on my lawnmower deck?
The perfect setting for lawnmowers varies from 3 to 3.5 inches. Usually, it’s the easiest to mow your lawn in the highest condition. This cutting height provides a much greener and more dense lawn, encourages deep root digging, and avoids grass diseases. The middle setting has to be tried for the first and last mow of the season. Your shorter lawns usually use more water, are smaller, and have a lighter shade. Such turfs are chosen for golf courses.
3. Should my mower deck be leveled?
The mower deck must be on the same level sideways. There is a height difference, also referred to as pitch or rake for lawnmowers from front to back.
This pitch increases the cutting deck’s aerodynamic performance and prevents the grass from spreading around the yard.
Usually, the pitch value varies from 1/8th to 1/2 inch. A value greater than this results in short cut grass.
4. Should I leave the grass clippings on my lawn?
Yeah, it’s very helpful to keep grass clippings on the lawn since this contributes organic matter to grass in the form of nutrients. They are primarily made of water and also encourage the activity of beneficial microbes.
Clippings decompose very quickly, that is, within a few hours. As long as you do not cut 1/3 of the grass plant during mowing, the clippings would not cause any harm but would have a beneficial effect instead.
5. Why does my lawnmower leave a row of grass near the blades?
Suppose your lawnmower has left rows of untrimmed grasses. In that case, it is most probably because your cutting blades have become rough or have been damaged or broken. Tilt your mowing deck to inspect your blades visually. If they don’t seem compromised, try a grinder or a file to sharpen them. The blades should always be sharpened for better results at the start of the season.
Final remarks:
Changing the height of the lawnmower is a simple operation. Whenever height correction is made, always verify that the mower does not tilt sideways due to incorrect level adjustment. Maybe you don’t want unusual grass patches all over your lawn, because that’s why you bought a lawnmower. Furthermore, a test should be carried out on the mower blades, particularly when they have been in service for quite some time. Blunt mower blades can create rough grass patches and affect the aesthetics of your garden. After every 25 hours of use, we suggest sharpening the mower blades to enhance mowing results.