Gull Wing Blades

[Tragu]

At some point Simplicity switched to "Gull Wing" mower blades. Does anyone know why? What is the benefit? Does it have something to do with the turbo vac? If so, what about if your not using a turbo vac?

[Al]

Hi, These came out about the same time as the Sun Star. The older deck for the 7100 1690501 and 502 used the regular blades. The newer 7100 decks 1691219 and 18 or 20 I can't remember which used the gull wing blades the same as the Sun Star. They use different washers and hardware to mount them. The mower housing stamping was changed slightly at this time. This when the turbo became available for the 7100 series. The turbo will not backfit to the 501 and 502 and earlier decks. The discharge area is not compatable. I haven't measured, but I believe the arbor mounting base heights are also different. I believe the overall die is the same as used for stamping the Sun Star housing, with maybe the exception of some holes. Good luck, Al

[BradW]

Al, Thanks for the response. Don't know how, but I missed it until now. I tried the deck for the first time today. It seems to have more lift (suction) than my older decks w/o the "gull wing" blades. I say this because I routinely mow near (2 inches) a weed mat in my lawn. When I mowed with the "gull wing" deck, the mat got pulled right under.