All,
I love my Raptor SD 54, but I've been a little disappointed in the cut quality. I stepped up from a 36" Snapper Pro walk-behind that would vacuum and cut the lawn and make it look like a carpet when done.
The Raptor is doing a good job, just not excellent. It doesn't seem to get that vacuum effect like the Snapper did. For example, I used to run over twigs and sticks on the Snapper, and it would pick them up, chop them a bit, and spit them out. I've noticed that the Hustler rarely, if ever, lifts a twig or stick from the lawn. Same with stones - the edge of my property has a row of stones that I used to have to be careful with when using the Snapper (as it would lift them and discharge them). I can run over the stone edge with the Hustler with no worries of it lifting them up. With the Raptor, it generally seems as if the grass will lay down a bit while being cut instead of being lifted.
Seems as if I could get some more vacuum under the deck that I'd be able to get a better cut with the Raptor SD. At least that's my thought of what could improve the situation. I don't see anything else wrong with the mower (deck is level, blades are sharp), except for a little bit of clutch rattle when engaging the blades (but I don't suspect this would cause the cut issue).
Any recommendations on specific blades that can accomplish this? I know there are 5 blades listed in the Hustler parts manual (including what looks like Gator blades and high lift blades), but it's very hard to get a clear idea of what blade will work best to accomplish what I'm looking for. Some say the gators are the way to go, others say go high lift, but not a lot of reasons as to why to choose one over the other. I'd prefer some real-world experience as to which would be best to improve the cut quality. I don't want to keep buying blades (at 3 of them) to experiment.
Thanks!!!
I love my Raptor SD 54, but I've been a little disappointed in the cut quality. I stepped up from a 36" Snapper Pro walk-behind that would vacuum and cut the lawn and make it look like a carpet when done.
The Raptor is doing a good job, just not excellent. It doesn't seem to get that vacuum effect like the Snapper did. For example, I used to run over twigs and sticks on the Snapper, and it would pick them up, chop them a bit, and spit them out. I've noticed that the Hustler rarely, if ever, lifts a twig or stick from the lawn. Same with stones - the edge of my property has a row of stones that I used to have to be careful with when using the Snapper (as it would lift them and discharge them). I can run over the stone edge with the Hustler with no worries of it lifting them up. With the Raptor, it generally seems as if the grass will lay down a bit while being cut instead of being lifted.
Seems as if I could get some more vacuum under the deck that I'd be able to get a better cut with the Raptor SD. At least that's my thought of what could improve the situation. I don't see anything else wrong with the mower (deck is level, blades are sharp), except for a little bit of clutch rattle when engaging the blades (but I don't suspect this would cause the cut issue).
Any recommendations on specific blades that can accomplish this? I know there are 5 blades listed in the Hustler parts manual (including what looks like Gator blades and high lift blades), but it's very hard to get a clear idea of what blade will work best to accomplish what I'm looking for. Some say the gators are the way to go, others say go high lift, but not a lot of reasons as to why to choose one over the other. I'd prefer some real-world experience as to which would be best to improve the cut quality. I don't want to keep buying blades (at 3 of them) to experiment.
Thanks!!!
