- Thread starter glennster
- Start date
no and on some mowers the thicker blade and heavier will not let the mower start the deck. from what i see in shop the heavier mowers you want stay with high lift suction blades work the best. you need it to get the grass back up from packing down in front tires. the gators are for when you want to mulch upleaves then yes they mulch them up better.personally i run the thinnest lightest high lift blade i can run.
Josh in Pa
Member
We had a set on a grasshopper. They seemed to cut really good, never had a problem. My wife ran over a 50' electric cord, and I expected a chewed up cord wrapped up in the mower. I found about 6" of cord and a few bits of insulation. I was pretty impressed by that. The new grasshopper has standard high lift grasshopper blades, and the cut is pretty comparable.
Josh
Josh
cumminspuller
Member
I used to run them on a GT235 and a Deere walk behind. The worked great. Both of those mowers were used commercially. Never had the first problem out of them. On my zero turns I stick with the factory blades. The blade speed is high enough on the all of the zero turns that there is very little if any difference.(top of the line homeowner or commercial mowers)
I have ran them on a few different mowers. Some they work better than others and different times of year they can act different too. Only way to know if you like them is to try a set on YOUR machines and conditions. They are definitely not a one type for all kind of a thing.
Wemedeeres
Member
I have them on my Toro groundsmaster, like stated above they work good for grinding up leaves but in my opinion not worth a crap during the rest of the season, I think the fins that are supposed to help grind and mulch make the blades loose suction. I put them on for the last couple mowings of the season when there is more leaves on the ground.
BAnNC
Well-known Member
- Location
- Western North Carolina
Run gators on a CC2550. Been real pleased with the fine particles that it throws out. Spread out better and don't seem to lay on top of grass as badly. Haven't used them with leaves yet.
Case Nutty 1660
Well-known Member
I would not run just the blades as I doubt you will see a lot of mulching action with out the full mulching kit like I sold dozens of on new Dixon mowers back when they were Dixon and not who owns them now, back then a mulcher on a 30" single blade unit would mulch a 3' tall kosha weed into a fine ground mass, the three blade units worked well to as long as the plastic grinder pads were in good shape, like others said I have no idea how it would work on your unit but the Gator blades I sold and installed worked very well, it does require keeping the deck clean more often than regular blades due to the juice you grind out of the material you are cutting
2 Old 2 care
Member
I've been using them for 14 seasons. One set on a Deere 265, a set on a Cadet 782, and another set on a CC2550. As mentioned, they do an incredible job with leaves. Better than any other "mulching" blades I've tried. Also, they hold a sharp edge longer than most blades. They do good job in average to dry conditions, just not thrilled with how they do when the grass is wet. I try to cut when dry anyway, but you know how it is sometimes....You just have to cut when you have the time.
It all depends on what type of grass you have. If you have any real fine grass like blue grass or rye grass the Gator blades have less suction. You will not pick all of the grass that is pressed down.
IF you have grass that is coarser and stands up well then they work fine.
It has to be DRY for them to work. In wet grass they make a mess.
They work good for leaves.
I have a set I bought to try out. In the shade my grass is finer and the Gator blades did not do a very good job regardless of the time of day or wet or dry, they just would not pickup the grass.
So I took them off. I have a power flow bagger for leaves in the fall. I put the Gator blades on with it and they worked great on leaves.
So it all depends on your grass and what your wanting to do.
IF you have grass that is coarser and stands up well then they work fine.
It has to be DRY for them to work. In wet grass they make a mess.
They work good for leaves.
I have a set I bought to try out. In the shade my grass is finer and the Gator blades did not do a very good job regardless of the time of day or wet or dry, they just would not pickup the grass.
So I took them off. I have a power flow bagger for leaves in the fall. I put the Gator blades on with it and they worked great on leaves.
So it all depends on your grass and what your wanting to do.
Mike Aylward
Well-known Member
I have a John Deere 425 and I won't run anything else. I will disagree with some that say they are inferior in wet conditions. I have mowed in some rugged conditions, including in the rain on tall grass, and the gator blades excel. They take much less power, lay the grass out much nicer, and cut cleaner. One time I ruined one blade and bought a set of standard blades instead. I ran them one day. They are now hanging in my shop. I bought another set of gator blades as soon as possible. The standard blades took more power, plugged the deck more easily, and were generally inferior in all performance categories. We have them on two mowers now and will use nothing else. Mike
I have two lawn tractors with baggers. One is a Gravely G16 and the other is a Wheel Horse C175.
I wasted my money on Gator blades for both.
Didn't cut any better then the stock blades.
Look at the blade wing, how could it mulch with blunt edges??
On both mowers, I compared the size of clippings gathered in one pass on app. 200 foot. Clippings were the same volume and same length! I tried on leaves and got same results.
I know many people that love them, but they just don't appeal to me.
If they cut better----manufacturers would install them on a new machine. I don't know of any machine that comes with them.
I wasted my money on Gator blades for both.
Didn't cut any better then the stock blades.
Look at the blade wing, how could it mulch with blunt edges??
On both mowers, I compared the size of clippings gathered in one pass on app. 200 foot. Clippings were the same volume and same length! I tried on leaves and got same results.
I know many people that love them, but they just don't appeal to me.
If they cut better----manufacturers would install them on a new machine. I don't know of any machine that comes with them.
Charles Branch
Member
I have used both the G5 and the thicker G6 blades on my Gizmow 62" three-blade ZTR mower with a Kohler 27 engine and a mulching plate installed over the outlet. Both blades work great on both grass and leaves, but I do have to overlap about 1/2 to get complete mulching. I find that if I cut clockwise, the few remaining clippings on each pass are pushed to the center, leaving just a single row at the end. A few more passes, and they all just disappear. Most of my grass is centipede. If I let it get ahead of me, then I do have to hook up my DR lawn vacuum, which works great when the grass or leaves are too thick for mulching. I agree with others that you would be wasting your time if you don't have at least a mulching plate, or better yet, a deck designed for mulching.
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