Blades, Baggers and Catchers

[MannyJ]

Hi everyone,

I figured I would post this question here in hopes that someone could help me out. I couldn't find any previous threads on this specific question so here it goes.

I recently bought a bagger for my 42" cut Fastrak (see attached image) for $75.00. It's all steel and heavy as hell. It's not made for the Fastrak and will need a little fab work to get the mounting to work on the Fastrak but I couldn't pass it up for the price and build quality. The guy I bought it from said it was a brand new take off. It is not a belt driven bagger/catcher and therefore will be completely reliant on the lift generated by the blade(s) to push the clippings up the chute.



I plan to use this primarily for leaf clean ups in the fall here in Connecticut. Right now I am running the mower with a set of Gator blades but I know I will have to probably get high lift blades so my questions are as follows:

1) Do I need just one high lift blade on the chute side or do in need two?

2) Does anyone have a bagger unit or can anyone recommend a high lift blade for the Hustler 927368 that generates sufficient lift for non belt driven baggers?

Thank in advance for your help!

Manny

 

[BoylermanCT]

I run XHT blades on my RSD. They are the highest lift blades I have found for the Raptor SD. I tried Gator blades, but found they turn the grass into a wet mess under the deck. But for leaves in the fall, they are outstanding.

I think Hustler makes a special blade for their bagging unit that is super high lift. Check the dealer for it.

 

[kraky]

I bet your gators will handle dry leaves fine.... keep pushing and grinding the leaves into a wind row as best you can and then blow them up in your bigger and I bet it works perfectly

 

[MannyJ]

Thank you for the replies.

I've been pleased with the Gator blades so far. I know they have gotten mixed review with other members on the forum.

I thought I would put it out there.

I'm curious to hear anyone's experiences with non powered baggers on the Fastrak.

 

[kraky]

Well not exactly what you asked for but I've got a little bit of input.
I currently own a 2015 FasTrak 54 inch deck and I have it equipped with a steel catcher basket for the fall work. My unit came from the factory with high lift blades. Running the catcher Basket in Fall with the high lift blades is a really dirty proposition... there is crap flying everywhere. Safety goggles are a must because you will wind up with stuff in your eyes. But it does pack the basket really good and it holds a surprising amount of material. And it's really quick on and off which I like.
A couple of units before this fast track I had a John Deere lawn tractor with a 42 inch deck and a bagger... it would easily bag fall leaves with the Gator blades not even close to a problem. Deere does not spin the blades anywhere near as fast as Hustler does on the fast track so I can only tell you I think you will have perfect luck with Gator blades and your 42-inch FasTrak. If not have the Buy It Now button ready to push on some high lift blades.... but I really don't think you'll need them.

 

[MannyJ]

Thank you Kraky for the real world feedback. I have a GrassGobbler as well and opted to not use that because I had read about the mount of dust that passes through the mesh on side discharge units. I did see that some people have used special fitted filters for them to help reduce some of the dust but because they were positioned to the side there was no real way eliminate all the dust.

I had read that the dust on the rear baggers was a bit more manageable so I thought would try the rear bagger option first.

 

[rbsmith6]

The dust is just awful. I have a Raptor SD 42". I'm using the standard blade on the left side anf the high lift blade that came with the bag system on the right. Never clogs does a great job.