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I have a Troybilt 50" ZTR, when I change my blades, 3 of them, do I align them any certain way?

No they can go back at any angle relating to each other. The belt on the pulleys always slips a little so they are always changing a bit..
The only real consideration is, the wing goes UP... don't mount the blades upside down....
BTW ...welcome to the LawnMowerForum... KennyV

I am just curious. about something you said kenny.. what happens if you do mount them upside down. Is it dangerous or will it just not work?

Would not be dangerous, but although it still cuts, the cut will be very messy and uneven. The very dull edge of the wing will tear the grass instead of cutting it.

The exception to this... a rare blade that is flat, with no lift wing at all... that type blade is usually reversible.
You have a sharp cutting edge on both the leading and lagging edge, when it gets dull you flip the blade over, this saves the time of sharpening when switching cutting edges. Those type are not generally used on lawn mowers. KennyV

First -
Rule of thumb -If the blade tips on ANY mower's blades can be within 1/4 inch of each other while rotating, offset one from the other by 90 degrees. Some mowers require this - consult your owner's manual or go to your manufacturer's web site and look up your model.

Following the offset rule, for a three blade deck:
Make the Left and Right blades face North/South (i.e. Front-to-Back) and
make the middle blade face East-West (Left-to-Right).
Yes, belts can slip but at least you started with the most seperation possible and if the belts slip 90 degrees worth, you have a larger issue.

For a two blade deck, have them both face the same direction - UNLESS instructed otherwise by your manual.

CQ_DX said:

First -
Rule of thumb -If the blade tips on ANY mower's blades can be within 1/4 inch of each other while rotating, offset one from the other by 90 degrees. Some mowers require this - consult your owner's manual or go to your manufacturer's web site and look up your model.

Following the offset rule, for a three blade deck:
Make the Left and Right blades face North/South (i.e. Front-to-Back) and
make the middle blade face East-West (Left-to-Right).
Yes, belts can slip but at least you started with the most seperation possible and if the belts slip 90 degrees worth, you have a larger issue.

Click to expand...

You can not be serious ...
Have you ever ran a multi blade deck... and experimented with indexing:confused2:???
unless the set is connected with roller chain or fixed gearing they will ALWAYS slip with relation to each other.

Do it sometime!.. you will be surprised at how much slippage there is. ... do it without engaging any grass, there will be a LOT on any deck.
I have Never seen a manufacturer recommend setting indexing of multi blade sets... :smile:KennyV

Skag TURF RUNNER

Model STR

NOTE: has Left & Right blades
Cutting edge faces (rotates) towards center of deck.

IMPORTANT
Do not interchange the blades. There is a
left and a right cutting blade. Be sure to
install the blades correctly or the mower will
not cut properly.

IMPORTANT
The blades must be installed 90° to each other
as shown in Figure 7-10. If the blades are
not installed as shown, they will contact each
other and could cause severe damage to the
blades, deck, and blade drive system.

Tilt mower deck & use two prop rods
Not Flat when tip is off by 1/8th inch.

Remove the cutter blade from the blade drive adapter
by removing the (2) two # 10-32 X 1/2" socket head
capscrews, elastic stop nuts and spacers.

To install the cutter blade, position it on the blade
drive adapter and secure using the #10-32 X 1/2"
socket head capscrews, spacers and elastic stop nuts.
Install the cutter blade and blade drive adapter
assembly to the spindle shaft using the flatwasher,
lockwasher, spacer and bolt. Tighten the bolt to a
torque of 150 ft-lb.

Angle = 30 degrees

*****************

CQ_DX said:

Skag TURF RUNNER

Model STR

NOTE: has Left & Right blades




The blades must be installed 90ｰ to each other


*****************

Click to expand...

Excuse me... I was going by the thread heading... "Re: Three Blades"

All three blade systems Have offset
and due to belt path always have an index change whenever they are operating...
:smile:KennyV

eXmark Lazer Z w/ 3 blades do not require ofset. All can be aligned at any angle. Spun by a single belt.

KennyV said:

You can not be serious ...
Have you ever ran a multi blade deck... and experimented with indexing:confused2:???
unless the set is connected with roller chain or fixed gearing they will ALWAYS slip with relation to each other.

Do it sometime!.. you will be surprised at how much slippage there is. ... do it without engaging any grass, there will be a LOT on any deck.
I have Never seen a manufacturer recommend setting indexing of multi blade sets... :smile:KennyV

Click to expand...

I guess dual blade decks don't qualify as "multi-blade"?

CQ_DX said:

I guess dual blade decks don't qualify as "multi-blade"?

Click to expand...

once again I was responding to THIS thread title
Re: Three Blades
:smile:KennyV

CQ_DX said:

eXmark Lazer Z w/ 3 blades do not require ofset. All can be aligned at any angle. Spun by a single belt.

Click to expand...

I can not place any 3 blade sets that can not be aligned to any angle... NO indexing of any type ever needed...
:smile:KennyV

My old 3-blade deck had a diagram, but the belt slips as soon as the blade hits something, so I do not know.
On my new Husqvarna fabricated deck, all the blades rotate both clockwise and clockwise easily with little force.

This leads me to believe on 3 blade decks it may not matter. The biggest issue would be airflow to excrete the cut grass from the deck.

WHAT HAPPENED TO REAR DISCHARGE TRACTORS!

Why are you responding to threads that are over five years old? I doubt that any of the original posters are around