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age old question mulching blade or not


brockway

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I have installed a vac on my b10 and was looking for incite on what blade to run on it. I am thinking of using gator blades but not sure if it will create enough lift.

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Long story short: Buy gator blades.

Long story long: This is on a 7116 but I'm sure the concept is the same. I started 3 years ago with it with the normal high lift blades. Even when the leaves were dry and in a fairly light layer, I encountered more plugging of the chute. When I shut everything down to clear it, it just seemed to be plugged up from friction of the mostly whole leaves, not a stick or a particularly evil pine cone as is the case now.

I switched to gator blades 2 years ago and I will never go back. That goes for leaf duty, normal cutting, etc. I can't tell the difference in the cut quality throughout the year but they really shine on leaf duty. Far fewer jams (I did the whole acre yard w/ lots of hardwoods with only jam) and more fits in the trailer. The difference in particle size and how much fits in the trailer is noticeable. If you are composting the leaves, they break down even faster. The 3 year old pile of non-gator'd leaves is still just matted together in the center. Even with no turning, the chopped up leaves have broken down nicely and I use them all over the garden.

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quote:Originally posted by Mike_H

Where can you get gator blades for a LH discharge deck? I've been looking all over, and can't find the buggers


id="quote">
id="quote">I think they quit making them. I have a set on my Sovereign but that number is NLA and no listing in the catalog for the Sovereigns.
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I remember hearing that now that DanD mentioned it. I know our blades for the 48" and 42" decks had a drop in them from the center mounting area out to the cutting edges. I'll grab one next time I'm heading to the local farm store and see if I can match something up from the wall of 100+ different blades they stock. It may not be referenced to fit that model but there has to be something out there that would fit.

I did have some issues with the blades being slightly to long when I first got them. We went round and round on here a bit, wondering if my arbors were bent, bearing shot, etc, and it ended up being that those blades were just long enough to kiss when they lined up right, despite the fact that they were the proper item and length. I just took a hair off each end with the bench grinder, rebalanced them, and was back in business.

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I called Oregon directly with what I had and what I was looking for and they gave me the part number I needed. My blades did come slightly long and hit the mulching kit on my tractor, but a quick tap with the grinder and everything seems to work fine now. The blades themselves were fine. I wish I still had my photo with the factory blade next to the Simplicity bade. They were dramatically different in thickness.

http://www.oregonproducts.com/pro/lookups/selguide_bladelookup.aspx

At the bottom, you have what my front yard looked like, On the upper right, you can see what the yard looked like after the first pass, and the left shows after my second pass. It will all compost back into my yard.

22383855646_3bb9cbdbc3_k.jpg

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I have a 917 with 42" deck and attached bagger. I have not been impressed with the gator blades. They do not have the lift to create the vacuum, so they leave much more behind when using the bagger, they do not seem to break up the leaves any more than the standard blades.

Without the bagger they just do a slightly better job of mulching than the standard blades, but I do not have a mulching kit for the old 42" deck, I just block off the discharge.

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I ran blades from www.meg-mo.com. I had them on my 42" 6011 deck. Ran them for about 5 summers. They work as advertised. They are pricey. I took them off but still have them. I will probably use them on my 42" deck on my new 7119 next summer.

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I'm late to this party, but the following are the old Gator part #s for the splined shaft arbor mower decks:

flat blade, left hand cut, 42" (Sim #1656144): 90-942

flat blade, left hand cut, 48" (Sim #1656143): 90-941

gull wing blade, left hand cut, 48" (Sim #1679916): 90-892

Sometimes they show up on eBay.

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Saw and ad for Cub Cadet

They have a baffle kit that encloses each blade

so that each of the three blades has its own area to mulch in

I think that would make quite a difference

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Talked to a Oregon distributer about the blades and they have discontinued these blades but he had 7 left so I purchased what he had left.thanks for all the help.

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quote:Originally posted by MikeES

I have a 917 with 42" deck and attached bagger. I have not been impressed with the gator blades. They do not have the lift to create the vacuum, so they leave much more behind when using the bagger, they do not seem to break up the leaves any more than the standard blades. Without the bagger they just do a slightly better job of mulching than the standard blades, but I do not have a mulching kit for the old 42" deck, I just block off the discharge.


id="quote">
id="quote">With Gator Mulcher™ blades it is not necessary to cover the discharge chute. That is the beauty of the design of the blades is that you get effective mulching without covering the discharge. Leaving the discharge open allows you to mow at a much faster rate. Also, when sharpening the blades, all you need to sharpen is the cutting edge. The teeth on the lift do not actually cut the grass, they are there to redirect air flow and will not get dull. Let us know if you have any other questions or concerns.Dale MarcellProduct Line ManagerOregon OEPHave a set for a 42" deck on a 7116, a peco mounted vac, found that stock blades do better for lifting pine needles. The above reply from Oregon line manager was from 2008. With the peco vac how wet the leaves are and kind (maple, pin oak, poplar) make a big difference one how much the leaves are broken up. Stan
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