Hustler - bad customer service.Be aware

[bertsmobile1]

I Big snip ?
Who cares about black paint on blades? As long as they're balanced they will be fine! Talking of blades, you know Hustler doesnt make them themselves dont you? You do know that some blades are out of balance from new dont you?

I understand that its not just Hustler but, this is the Hustler forum. We're talking about Hustler not GMC!

Well I fit 20 - 30 sets of blades a week and am yet to find one that is out of balance and yes I do check them all including swing backs where they are supposed to be within 6 grm.

AFAIK no mower company makes their own blades.
It would not be economic to do so the machine would only be working about 1/2 day a week.
Blades, like engines & trannies and seats & switches are bought in.

Now you are obviously not happy about your design flaw. Which you have refferred to in several posts but not specified.
SO what is it, I am sure others would lie to know so they can check theirs for the same design flaw.

 

[Micko]

Well I fit 20 - 30 sets of blades a week and am yet to find one that is out of balance and yes I do check them all including swing backs where they are supposed to be within 6 grm.

AFAIK no mower company makes their own blades.
It would not be economic to do so the machine would only be working about 1/2 day a week.
Blades, like engines & trannies and seats & switches are bought in.

Now you are obviously not happy about your design flaw. Which you have refferred to in several posts but not specified.
SO what is it, I am sure others would lie to know so they can check theirs for the same design flaw.

I can assure you that, at least until now approx 50% of the blades I get are out of balance from new. Not just end to end but the hole can be closer to one side than the other. Think of it as like swinging a coat hanger around your finger. You can get them balanced end to end but one side will always be heavier than the other.

The main flaw is the deck. Its very difficult to see whats happening under there but what we think is happening as part of the problem is the trim side blade throws clippings towards the back side of the discharge chute. In doing that it will throw into the middle and right spindle housings and blades. That will cause clippings to come out in clumps. That mainly happens when there is moiusture no just on the surface ie dew but moisture in the grass itself.
Also and my biggest annoyance is clippings get caught up on the rear of the discharge chute, build up and drop and as clump(s). We have tried many turbo baffle design to stop than and nothing has worked. Its been a nightmare!

To fix the deck, the clippings need to follow the front skirt/baffle on the deck and come off the front of the discharge chute. This can be done using super high lift blades but using those blades causes more issues like extra strain on the motor, clutch etc and uses a lot more fuel. Also requires cutting off a piece out of the deck. Those blades also tend to bend down and wear fairly quickly. They are not the heavy build like the standard blades.
We have tried add ons from Hustler and turbo baffles and versions of those baffles. Approx 12 different versions. That was an extremely long and frustrating process with no result in the end.
Hustler knows all about the issues and I am not the only one to tell them about it.

To give you a basic idea Ive attached a pic below. I chose this one as you can see how little Im cutting off. Some might think these little clumps are no big deal but when you ave 2 or 5 acres of them, they do become a big deal. Either looks terrible or spend the extra time cleaning them up! These clumps are from clippings building up on the rear of the chute and dropping o the ground. The grass cutting in the pic should of been easy and perfect finish but nooooo, lets double cut it and spend the extra time and money on something that shouldnt need doing!

 

[bertsmobile1]

Thank you,
Not some thing I have come across to date but worthwile knowing about.
I can understand why you are so cranky.
Which deck ?

Now as for the bade balance, front back is insignificant
If it was statically in balance it could very well still be dynamically out of balance when rotating due to both the actual variations in the flute and the ground effect of the underside of the deck.
If the blade was 12" wide or 10" thick then the front back might become significant . But on a 1/4" blade the moment of twist ( forgot the actual term been 40 years since college ) about the spindle axis will be insignificant.
This should be obvious if you think about it.
The action of cutting a blade of grass will try to twist the front edge of the blade down due to the chisel angle at the cutting edge however the fluteedge will suffer a massive down force, equal to the up draft, you know Newton's opposit & equal bit . and these two opposing but unequal forces will be in dynamic variation due to the fact your are mowing grass that is not level, has different ground levels, is not consistent in density etc,etc etc.
It is a blade. At any specific point in time the load on the blade will not be uniforn unless ou are mowing astro turf.

Having said that, tiny vibrations can cause some really weird actions.
We had a vibrational feeder for a furnace that would build a massive pile of metal at the lip but not one tiny piece would crop in untill about 1/4 of the load was at the edge then the whole 1/3 would drop in with a nice big 1800 deg C splash.
They never got that sorted,
Howeven under the deck the air stream does all of the transporting and the latientcy of the air should be damping out any pulsing effect.

 

[Micko]

Thank you,
Not some thing I have come across to date but worthwile knowing about.
I can understand why you are so cranky.
Which deck ?

Now as for the bade balance, front back is insignificant
If it was statically in balance it could very well still be dynamically out of balance when rotating due to both the actual variations in the flute and the ground effect of the underside of the deck.
If the blade was 12" wide or 10" thick then the front back might become significant . But on a 1/4" blade the moment of twist ( forgot the actual term been 40 years since college ) about the spindle axis will be insignificant.
This should be obvious if you think about it.
The action of cutting a blade of grass will try to twist the front edge of the blade down due to the chisel angle at the cutting edge however the fluteedge will suffer a massive down force, equal to the up draft, you know Newton's opposit & equal bit . and these two opposing but unequal forces will be in dynamic variation due to the fact your are mowing grass that is not level, has different ground levels, is not consistent in density etc,etc etc.
It is a blade. At any specific point in time the load on the blade will not be uniforn unless ou are mowing astro turf.

Having said that, tiny vibrations can cause some really weird actions.
We had a vibrational feeder for a furnace that would build a massive pile of metal at the lip but not one tiny piece would crop in untill about 1/4 of the load was at the edge then the whole 1/3 would drop in with a nice big 1800 deg C splash.
They never got that sorted,
Howeven under the deck the air stream does all of the transporting and the latientcy of the air should be damping out any pulsing effect.

First thing I need to say is, my apologies for how badly written my post was! Oh man, I was in a rush but still, that was so badly written... Im embarrassed! Admittedly Im not very good at composition but still, doesn't go well for my credibility!
Before I say any more, I am quite drunk at the moment so I'll do the best I can in answering your questions...

The "VX4" has issues, known by everyone! The problems have been known for like, 2.5yrs. I dont remember the date exactly but Ive been stressing about it since like, March/April/May 2012.
Im not worried about that hole balance from the side thing but for the last god knows how long, its like 2 out of 3 blades are out of balance end to end. I have a Magna balancer/set up! As you know, if something is out of balance, it will cause vibration! Ive been cutting grass for over 20yrs and those vibrations have caused some problems! Not just the mower but the trimmer as well! I cant do much wit the trimmer but I can balance the mower blades!
Unbalanced blades may not be an issue for the spindles but they can certainly be a problem for the operator over time! Look up "HAVS"! Hand and Arm Vibration Syndrome! It has a few names but start there!
Yes, just the action of cutting grass drags the blades down. The super high lift blades I use at times is a great example of that! I use "chisel into wood" to try and describe the action. These blades can and do twist! That means (as you know) the cutting edge cuts deeper into the turf which in turn, exacerbates the problem ie, makes them twist! But, those blade make the VX4 work! Thats the fix in general conditions. Problems is, they bring there own issues!
Speaking of badly made blades, Ive bought them (the HL blades) in the past and they were already twisted from the manufacturing process! They punch up the "sail" to around 45deg which in turn, twists the blades. But not always! Got into an argument with my dealer about that actually but thats another story leading into my distrust and hatred for some dealers! I digress.... Point is, I understand completely how blades work and react in the mowing process!
You last line was about air! Im going to call it "air flow!" That is a huge issue with the VX4.

Have I covered everything? If not, let me know! More than happy to talk about this!
Im now going to go and pass out! Cheers!