Quick question concerning riding mower Blades.....I'm replacing my old mulching blades on my riding mower with a 46 inch deck and was going to buy new ones. Then while digging through stuff in my garage I found a set of brand new oem standard 2-in-1 blades I never used. There is a mulching kit on my mower. Now, here my question.....I was wondering if anyone else has tried this and how the results were? Can I substitute the old mulching blades with the 2-in-1 blades and get a half decent result?
Has anyone ever used a standard blade to mulch?
Any suggestion / experiences is appreciated. Thanks for you time.
Post your complete model & serial numbers from data plate on mower. If they are OEM blades I would give them a try.
#3
BlazNT
2 in 1 normally means Mulch or blow on to yard. Should be able to mulch no problem. Heck I have put my mulch cover on with high lift blades with very little difference.
2 in 1 normally means Mulch or blow on to yard. Should be able to mulch no problem. Heck I have put my mulch cover on with high lift blades with very little difference.
Bagging blades are nothing more then hi=lift and in come cases very hi-lift
2 in 1 blades are almost universally cut or much
As for the OP it makes little difference what blades you use if you have the mulching plate installed.
What is important is the ratio of cut to uncut, the overall height of the grass, and most important the wetness of the grass.
Some grasse with high moisture content are very hard to mulch no matter what blades you have fitted.
And you can not mulch grass that is wet itself.
#6
philadelphia1
Sorry I forgot to list my mowers information.
2008 Craftsman Lawn Tractor
Model # 917.288720
Engine: Kohler Courage Pro 25hp
Family: 8KHXS.7252GB
Spec # PS-SV730-0028
Build Date: 1-25-2008
That's what I was thinking Mark, I might as well give them a try. Yes, they are OEM and came with the tractor. When I bought the tractor I bought a mulching kit and installed that, never using the OEM 2-in-1/high-lift blades.
That is what I was hoping to hear BlazNT...so you in fact have the high-lifts on now and the mulch cover installed and see very little difference? Do you get much sticking or build up on the inside of the deck?
That was my initial thoughts too HughDaHand, that the 2-in-1's were exclusively for throwing and bagging.
Very good points bertsmobile1, I do in fact have the mulching plate installed. There doesn't seem to be much of a difference in the fabrication aspects between the two different types of blades other than the high-lift are more aerodynamic and appear to have wing-like lips at the end of each blade, while the mulching blade is pretty much a flat blade. They both appear to have equal cutting surfaces.
My biggest concern is there being a drastic difference between the two different types of cuts while taking into consideration ideal environmental factors such as grass height, moisture etc. So the consensus is I should notice very little if any difference between the blades as long as the mulch plate is installed?
I attached a Picture of the new oem 2-in-1 blades and my old mulching blades.
Attachments
#7
BlazNT
I do not mulch wet grass so not much build up at all.
#8
philadelphia1
Another question?
The mulching blades in the photo......do they look spent or do you think they can be sharpened again? I think I had them cut 3 or 4 times. Or nah?
No problems resharpening those blades.
I do not do it because I do not have a blade grinder and by th time I grind then balance the blades it is cheaper for the customer have me install new ones.
I do have some customers who resharpen their old blades & I change them over when I do a routine service but most times they get tossed into the poverty box for use on pensioners mowers or childrens sporting clubs etc etc etc.
The problem mulching with high lift blades is they tend to cit the grass once then cake it on the top of the deck till it falls off in clumps/
Not quite the magaic " dissapears into the lawn" effect mulching blades are trying to perform.
I would get another 8 years use out of those older used blades. I have those blades on my Craftsman since 2004. I would buy them if I saw them at a yard sale.
#11
philadelphia1
Ok great. I gleaned the information I needed form you helpful folks. Thanks to everyone who took a minute out of their day to contribute to my questions. I really appreciate your time. What a wonderful group of people on this forum. Thanks again!
I just gave my old Craftsman LT1000 42" tractor to my nephew and bought a new Craftsman Pro Series 42" Turn Tight Extreme rider. It's a nice mower with one aggravation. The blades aren't nearly as thick or sturdy as the old 42" blades on the LT1000.
My new blades with the 6 point star center hole measure about 1/8" thick (.125") and the old 5 point star Craftsman blades I used to use are noticeably thicker when I compare them at the local Sears Hometown store.
I'm wondering if it will be OK to use blades I've seen online that have the 6 point star configuration with a .149" thickness. They are advertised to be made a USA shop with good quality steel. I've bent 3 blades in four times cutting my 2.25 acre yard. There's lots of hardwoods and some roots that hide in tall grass. My concern with the thicker blade is that it's probably .014" thicker than the star on the mandrel, although the nut will still press the blade firmly to the mandrel's flat surface. Is that an issue?
I used the thicker 5 point star blades on the old Craftsman 42" and never bent a blade despite an occasional contact with the top of a root. It would just slice off the top and continue on. I know that's not recommended, but it's going to happen here and there with wooded acreage. When I gave away the old mower after 14 years of use it still had the original mandrels installed and working just fine, so I obviously didn't destroy anything by chopping small dead branches and infrequent contact with an exposed root.
The new mower is obviously lightweight in the blade department, despite being excellent in all other aspects. One tap on something other than grass and the blade is toast. I love the 5" turn tight radius and the handling that it provides. Handling is almost like power steering.
Another question I have is that some blades in my search returns for 6 point star use the universal blade center hole that is supposed to be compatible with the 6 point star config. Is the universal center hole really compatible with 6 point star blades?
Go to Oregon web site and see if they list a Gator to fit your mower.
Never buy blades off evilbay or amazon unless you know for sure it is a real retail outlet with pproduct liability insurance and the blades have a brand names on them.
Every $ 2.99 chain saw from China seem to have a "genuine" Oregon bar & chain on them.
However the bars do not have the usual Oregon features a, are painted in a different colour scheme and wear out in a few cuts.
