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Our local newspaper had a story yesterday saying because of the unrest in Libya, the price per gallon may hit $5 by summer. Diesel of course will be even more costly. I would cut back my mowing but I already let it go too long between mowings because my lawn is so huge. The irritating thing about my mower deck is that it doesn't chop the clippings up very well and the longer I go between mowings the worse the rows of uncut clippings get. I should try to find some new blades that will do a better job of chopping the clippings up. Anybody have experience with a good replacement blade for a JD 7-Iron deck? Mine still has the OEM set.

Gator blades chop up the clippings. With regular blades, I had to empty my bags every other pass. With Gator blades I can make 6-8 passes. And for leaves, I put on my mulching plug, mulch them, then go over them again, after they are mulched, with the bagger on and suck the mulch into the bags.

If gas hits $5 a gallon or even $4 a gallon I can guarantee that I will let my grass get a little taller than I might otherwise. Everything else is already going up so much without adding gas into the mix as well.

indypower said:

Gator blades chop up the clippings. With regular blades, I had to empty my bags every other pass. With Gator blades I can make 6-8 passes. And for leaves, I put on my mulching plug, mulch them, then go over them again, after they are mulched, with the bagger on and suck the mulch into the bags.

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Gator blades...does that refer to a different model of JD blade? For leaves I always use my pusher mower and bag them up, it has a mulching blade and I do not have that many leaves to take care of.

As far as the homeowner changing there mowing habits I'd say probably not. I think your larger Commercial Businesses with working crews and the larger Residential Businesses will be hurt the most if the gas gets to $5 a gallon.
I got gas this morning Reg. unleaded was 3.14 Mid-grade was 3.26 diesel was 3.54. There was some Oil Executive on the Tv ( MSNBC ) last night saying there quarterly adjustment is due the first week of March and there would be 25 cent across the board increase.

Ric said:

As far as the homeowner changing there mowing habits I'd say probably not. I think your larger Commercial Businesses with working crews and the larger Residential Businesses will be hurt the most if the gas gets to $5 a gallon.
I got gas this morning Reg. unleaded was 3.14 Mid-grade was 3.26 diesel was 3.54. There was some Oil Executive on the Tv ( MSNBC ) last night saying there quarterly adjustment is due the first week of March and there would be 25 cent across the board increase.

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Quarterly adjustment, huh? The first week of March will mean the calender year is two months old. How can the idiots make a quarterly adjustment after only two months? DUHHHHH. Any excuse to raise their profits.

I will sure change my mowing habits; kind of let the grass grow a bit taller as well. I also presume the unrest in Egypt was another contributing factor but thank God that got over.

mois25 said:

I will sure change my mowing habits; kind of let the grass grow a bit taller as well. I also presume the unrest in Egypt was another contributing factor but thank God that got over.

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It's really easy to let your grass grow a bit taller when "I don't own a mower"....:laughing:

JDgreen said:

It's really easy to let your grass grow a bit taller when "I don't own a mower"....:laughing:

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:laughing::laughing::laughing:

JDgreen said:

Quarterly adjustment, huh? The first week of March will mean the calender year is two months old. How can the idiots make a quarterly adjustment after only two months? DUHHHHH. Any excuse to raise their profits.

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Well March would be the third month of the year so I guess they observe that as quarterly. Ya know you really need to cut those company's some slack, I believe it was Exxon that only made 54.4 Billion in profits in 2010, they need the money :licking::wink:

Both of my mowers use a negligible amount of gasoline so price increases won't affect my mowing. While we're on the subject, it amazes me how much work my chainsaws can do on a tiny amount of gas.:thumbsup:

Five dollar gasoline would affect my driving -- and I have a four-cylinder engine in my truck.

I can't really change my mowing habits because of the city ordinances. You can't have it more than 6 inches high or they come out and charge you over $50 for mowing your grass. I think I'll just buy the 2 gallons of gas I normally do and suck it up.

Two-Stroke said:

Both of my mowers use a negligible amount of gasoline so price increases won't affect my mowing. While we're on the subject, it amazes me how much work my chainsaws can do on a tiny amount of gas.:thumbsup:

Five dollar gasoline would affect my driving -- and I have a four-cylinder engine in my truck.

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Being retired, I probably drive less than 1200 miles a year, my truck is a gas guzzler but I don't care about the additional cost for fuel. However, paying $5 a gallon for diesel and gasoline to care for my yard would be an expensive headache in the long run.

I'm with Two-Stroke, on fuel prices...
I mow with diesel and do a lot of mowing with a very little diesel...
Driving on the other hand will drop back... $5 gasoline may look cheep, it's definitely a global market and gasoline in Europe is already around $8 a gallon...
The Electric mowers may be showing up none too soon... :smile:KennyV

Ya know you really need to cut those company's some slack, I believe it was Exxon that only made 54.4 Billion in profits in 2010, they need the money

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Ha!Ha!Ha! :laughing::wink: I heard that gas prices would go up to $5.00 or $6.00 a gallon this summer before the unrest in Libya started. Mmmmm

I don't think it will change my mowing habits much because mowers don't use a whole lot of gas. We do plan to mow a couple of acres with a riding mower or small tractor with a mower. That might be cut back.

Yesterday morning gas price for Reg. unleaded was 3.14 Mid-grade was 3.26 diesel was 3.54. Today Reg. unleaded is 3.29 Mid-grade is 3.45 and diesel is 3.65 that's quite an overnight jump. Can't wait to see what going to happen when the do the quarterly adjustment Looks like there mid summer $5 price is going to be here sooner than they said.

$5.00 gas prices won't change any of my ope usage,but what i will do is change my vehicle driving habits, which is exactly what i did last time gas prices soared....i don't NEED to make extra trips here and there...i run the cruise control an extreme amount,even at low speeds, start outs are always with an egg under the gas peddle(and it never breaks:laughing driving like this really saves a lot on gas, but it is hard to do and always tempting to break the rules.

Where I live, gas is sold by the liter and right now it is anywhere between $1.19/L and $1.50/L. I think we just end up adjusting to the prices like we do for groceries.

david80 said:

If gas hits $5 a gallon or even $4 a gallon I can guarantee that I will let my grass get a little taller than I might otherwise. Everything else is already going up so much without adding gas into the mix as well.

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I may very well be doing the same. We have one of those grocer cards that lets you save on gas prices, but 5 bucks man that is a little too steep for my piggy bank.

greengrass said:

I may very well be doing the same. We have one of those grocer cards that lets you save on gas prices, but 5 bucks man that is a little too steep for my piggy bank.

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Yeah, those cards save you a whole five cents a gallon, what a laugh....gas here is $3.45 a gallon, diesel is $3.75...I did my weekly errands today, filled my diesel cans, so far this month I have used a huge amount of diesel plowing...hourmeter on my tractor has gone up 14 hours, at a gallon per hour that is about $45 worth of diesel fuel. But that cost is way offset by the very limited mileage I drive...so far this month, and I am not planning to go anywhere till mid next week...I have put 75 miles on my truck and 10, yes, ten, on my car. 85 miles total for the month.

I LOVE BEING RETIRED !!!!! :laughing::biggrin::thumbsup:

I am going to mow my lawn as normal, the diesel mower seems to be thrifty from my use so far.

I drive a lot less than most people for personal use, maybe 100 miles a month. I am kind of looking forward to higher fuel prices as most of my customers are in the oil buisiness. If they make money then they tend to spend more with me.

Didn't read the whole thread, so hope I'm not repeating anyone.
The Gulf oil spill was an excuse for the admin. to put restrictions on offshore drilling and production + even with proven safety records in Alaska, there are restrictions there, If we would develop all our own oil fields we could be less dependant on other sources. I also know of Natural Gas wells that were drilled in the 70s that have HUGE reserves, but have been capped for 35 - 40 years.

We need po push domestic production !

Our Gas went up $.26 in the last 3 days here in VA.

BKBrown,
When I was younger working the Gulf of Mexico we did drill alot of wells and cap them for sure. Most of the majors have proven reserves that can be brought online when the price is high enough to suit them.

BKBrown said:

...
The Gulf oil spill was an excuse for the admin. to put restrictions on offshore drilling and production + even with proven safety records in Alaska, there are restrictions there, If we would develop all our own oil fields we could be less dependant on other sources. I also know of Natural Gas wells that were drilled in the 70s that have HUGE reserves, but have been capped for 35 - 40 years.

...

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I agree. It would not only help U.S. consumers but would help make world supply more reliable and less subject to these periodic disruptions that send prices soaring.

If you are in the oil business you will buy from the least expensive source... and if you also own some of your own wells, you most likely will only use those resources when the price is up to where you want it...
Thats the only bad thing about oil, it really is a global market. and will flow to where the $$ are...
Another thing to consider .. if the far east supply were to be cut off for some reason... a lot of our domestic oil would be exported to the highest bidder...

as consumers we are going to be there with the rest of the world trying to fill our tanks...

I have a Black & Decker rechargeable battery powered mower. The price of gas might put a dent in how many trips I make to the garden center for flowers, but not in my mowing!

Harriet said:

I have a Black & Decker rechargeable battery powered mower. The price of gas might put a dent in how many trips I make to the garden center for flowers, but not in my mowing!

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Electricity...& batteries
Harriet you are definitely one up on most of us... :smile:KennyV

KennyV said:

Electricity...& batteries
Harriet you are definitely one up on most of us... :smile:KennyV

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Harriet, how long would it take you to cut 4 1/2 acres with that little toy? You are not one up on ME, thats for sure.

Well we moved in here right at the end of mowing season last year and the neighbors are all retired and as such keep their yards immaculate so I don't know if letting the grass get taller will be at all acceptable! I will however start limiting my trips and getting as much done in one trip as possible. My wife has recently discovered shopping at Walmart online and having items shipped to the house for 97 cents.

It probably won't affect my mowing habits to much since I cut the grass when I can and if I can't get to it it grows a few extra inches.

No it won't the grass has to cut regardless.

Ric said:

Well March would be the third month of the year so I guess they observe that as quarterly. Ya know you really need to cut those company's some slack, I believe it was Exxon that only made 54.4 Billion in profits in 2010, they need the money :licking::wink:

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Like the farmers,a person has got to take care of their crop, and grass is a crop.
Soooo..... I'll probably keep the same mowing habits, but modify my voting habits. I don't suppose any of you know the proper place to apply a manure fork to a politician to get their un-divided attention?:thumbdown:

JDgreen said:

Our local newspaper had a story yesterday saying because of the unrest in Libya, the price per gallon may hit $5 by summer. Diesel of course will be even more costly. I would cut back my mowing but I already let it go too long between mowings because my lawn is so huge. The irritating thing about my mower deck is that it doesn't chop the clippings up very well and the longer I go between mowings the worse the rows of uncut clippings get. I should try to find some new blades that will do a better job of chopping the clippings up. Anybody have experience with a good replacement blade for a JD 7-Iron deck? Mine still has the OEM set.

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I have a 52" dedicated mulching deck (no discharge or bagging) that I use during the "slower" growing months. If I try to cut grass that has grown more than normal in one pass, all I do is create creamed spinach out of it. Generally wind up cutting in multiple passes to get a decent job. Side discharge deck with gator blades does not retain the clippings long enough to chop them verry fine. Best cuts are with standard bagging deck, I added an oversized collection blower to enhance packing the clippings which workes well.

My unit is diesel powered, It gets twice the running time on a tank of fuel, as my water cooled F.I. gas engines do.
Same gallonage tanks. Even with the price of diesel being more the actual operating costs are half.

Where I live, gas is now $1.20/litre ($4.54/gallon), so it doesn't have far to go to hit $5. However, with a 1/2 acre lot, the cost of fuel is not such a big concern as to encourage longer mowing intervals. I just cut it when the weather allows and it looks like it needs it. Since I have mulching plates on both mowers I use, letting the grass get too long just leaves a mess of "clumps".

I have two old rear engine riding mowers, a John Deere Model 68 (34" cut, twin blades) and a Honda H3011H (30" cut, single blade), which I recently bought from my neighbour when the JD was broken. After fixing the JD, I use the two alternately, clockwise and counter-clockwise. Naturally, the old Briggs in the JD uses more gas than the more modern Honda OHV engine, so this coming season I'll see if I can come up with an actual comparison between the cost of running one against the other and maybe retire the JD if it's significant, but I doubt it. Even with the difference in cutting width, the difference in time to mow isn't much if anything, since the Honda turns tighter and cuts nicer.

House yard mowing habits will remain the same. I love a well groomed yard. As for my pastures, I'm thinking they will only get cut 3x this year. Having said that, with all the snow and rain we've had up here in Northwest New Jersey, I suspect the grass will be greener and growing above normal.

At the end of the day, it's either fuel for the tractor/mowers or a hand sickle. Yup fuel is the better choice.......

Ric said:

Well March would be the third month of the year so I guess they observe that as quarterly. Ya know you really need to cut those company's some slack, I believe it was Exxon that only made 54.4 Billion in profits in 2010, they need the money :licking::wink:

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Hey is this the Ric I know from other forums?

Tractor John said:

I have a 52" dedicated mulching deck (no discharge or bagging) that I use during the "slower" growing months. If I try to cut grass that has grown more than normal in one pass, all I do is create creamed spinach out of it. Generally wind up cutting in multiple passes to get a decent job. Side discharge deck with gator blades does not retain the clippings long enough to chop them verry fine. Best cuts are with standard bagging deck, I added an oversized collection blower to enhance packing the clippings which workes well.

My unit is diesel powered, It gets twice the running time on a tank of fuel, as my water cooled F.I. gas engines do.
Same gallonage tanks. Even with the price of diesel being more the actual operating costs are half.

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I just took delivery of a set of JD Gator mulching blades from an Ebay seller, the guys on TBN recommended them to me when I posted about needing a blade that would cut the clippings better.

JDgreen said:

I just took delivery of a set of JD Gator mulching blades from an Ebay seller, the guys on TBN recommended them to me when I posted about needing a blade that would cut the clippings better.

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I am running Gator mulching blades that are made for John Deere, on my CTL side discharge...
They cut things very fine... I almost always cut running clockwise, and re-cut my previous discharge:thumbsup:... that way even when I'm in tall grass it gets mulched to very short clippings... :smile:KennyV

KennyV said:

I am running Gator mulching blades that are made for John Deere, on my CTL side discharge...
They cut things very fine... I almost always cut running clockwise, and re-cut my previous discharge:thumbsup:... that way even when I'm in tall grass it gets mulched to very short clippings... :smile:KennyV

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Thanks for your input, I don't mind mowing but I hate having to rake all the time...

Let it greaux! Let it greaux! Let it greaux!

No way, if it was up to twenty I wouldn't change. It would just mean that I'ld be robbing banks.:confused2:

no because i want my yard to look like one not a jungle

Well, here in Ontario we're getting hit by a double whammy. Not only is the price of gas skyrocketing, but most of the effective lawn chemicals are now banned. Unless you own a golf course, (which are exempt), your yard is guaranteed to turn into a jungle. :frown:

oldyellr said:

Well, here in Ontario we're getting hit by a double whammy. Not only is the price of gas skyrocketing, but most of the effective lawn chemicals are now banned. Unless you own a golf course, (which are exempt), your yard is guaranteed to turn into a jungle. :frown:

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Regarding the ban on lawn chemicals, are you talking about bug killers, weed killers, or fertilizers? I will take a guess and say it's weed killers. To be honest, although I have a huge yard, I don't need to use much weed killer, it's mainly for areas around borders where it is hard to use a weed trimmer.

Yes, weed killers. I've used Killex in the past, but now all that's available are far less effective organic substitutes at a much higher price. Most home owners have given up and are letting their yards get over-run by dandelions when they're in season.

I don't think I will if it get to that point. I like to see a well groomed lawn, and I like to smell the fresh cut grass when I'm finish. Besides my Wife like to cut the grass anyways. All I have to do is keep the mower up with the maintenance and make sure it is full of fuel for her. I think it is cheaper then getting sheep to cut the grass anyways.:laughing:

James said:

I don't think I will if it get to that point. I like to see a well groomed lawn, and I like to smell the fresh cut grass when I'm finish. Besides my Wife like to cut the grass anyways. All I have to do is keep the mower up with the maintenance and make sure it is full of fuel for her. I think it is cheaper then getting sheep to cut the grass anyways.:laughing:

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But just imagine the free fertilizer sheep would provide....:laughing:

JD Green,
The coyotes around here kill the sheep. I live 4 blocks from city hall. When I built the house I drove 32 miles one way to work, that was 40 years ago. No one has sheep around here. The coyotes climb 7' fences to get to them. They cut into the sheep's belly and only eat the tasty stuff. Then kill another one. I live in Gilbert, Arizona. There's houses for 25 miles in all directions.

Got a JD 48" for the field and Black & Decker 48v electric for around the empty pool. Some times the B&D can mow the back yard twise. Desert front yard with turn drive.

Check out home projects in link below.

http://www.enichesoftware.com
Vern

Vern2 said:

JD Green,
The coyotes around here kill the sheep. I live 4 blocks from city hall. When I built the house I drove 32 miles one way to work, that was 40 years ago. No one has sheep around here. The coyotes climb 7' fences to get to them. They cut into the sheep's belly and only eat the tasty stuff. Then kill another one. I live in Gilbert, Arizona. There's houses for 25 miles in all directions.

Got a JD 48" for the field and Black & Decker 48v electric for around the empty pool. Some times the B&D can mow the back yard twise. Desert front yard with turn drive.

Check out home projects in link below.

http://www.enichesoftware.com
Vern

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Coyotes...worthless vermin. I have lived in Michigan all my left (59 years) and in the country for 23 but have never seen one, alive or dead. Our 4 cats only get outside when I am there to keep an eye on them and I carry a .380 just in case...if I ever see a live coyote it will be a dead one quick.

Hi there,

I'm new here to the forum.

Sounds like gas prices up here are worse than you guys. I paid $4.54 CAN on Saturday. :frown:

We arent mowing yet (still snowmobiling and ice fishing), but it sure makes you think about running the snow machine all day.

mumptia said:

Hi there,

I'm new here to the forum.

Sounds like gas prices up here are worse than you guys. I paid $4.54 CAN on Saturday. :frown:

...

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I think this will be a very interesting thread to follow as we get into the spring and summer...
It is going to most likely keep going up... I know we are at 3.39 now and on the way UP...
You can tap into fuel prices in the US and Canada at : GasBuddy.com - Find Low Gas Prices in the USA and Canada
:smile:KennyV