Good day all!
Looking at the posts from the thread, "Harder Steel Mower Blades" - http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/threads/48-Harder-steel-mower-blades caused me to think about when we had just finished clearing some brush under the hydro service lines, letting grass take over rather than saplings and stumps. I noticed that my blades would dull more quickly when mowing that section of my yard versus the much more "civil" area around the house. The lawn around the house was started on black earth with seed and some sodding whereas the cleared area under the service lines is all sand. I was keeping the deck height well up off the ground, but when conditions were right, the vacuum caused by the mower deck would suck the sand up and through the deck, past the blades (obviously) and out the side discharge. It wasn't like I was driving in a cloud of dust, in fact, that was rare as I tried to mow when it was slightly damp, post rain, but I suspect the sand at a microscopic level was the culprit. I went through 2 sets of mulching blades in one summer mowing this area (roughly 3/4 of an acre).
I tried using high-lift blades, but they eventually wear out also and don't have as nice a cut as mulching blades - the high-lift set I went through now has lasted 2 years, but I only mowed under the service lines 2x last year, rather than every 2 weeks.:smile:
I'm wondering what others have experienced. Of course, roadside mowing has the rock hazard as touched on in the other thread. What about cost? At some of the big box stores, a set of blades for my 42 are $50.00.
Graham
Looking at the posts from the thread, "Harder Steel Mower Blades" - http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/threads/48-Harder-steel-mower-blades caused me to think about when we had just finished clearing some brush under the hydro service lines, letting grass take over rather than saplings and stumps. I noticed that my blades would dull more quickly when mowing that section of my yard versus the much more "civil" area around the house. The lawn around the house was started on black earth with seed and some sodding whereas the cleared area under the service lines is all sand. I was keeping the deck height well up off the ground, but when conditions were right, the vacuum caused by the mower deck would suck the sand up and through the deck, past the blades (obviously) and out the side discharge. It wasn't like I was driving in a cloud of dust, in fact, that was rare as I tried to mow when it was slightly damp, post rain, but I suspect the sand at a microscopic level was the culprit. I went through 2 sets of mulching blades in one summer mowing this area (roughly 3/4 of an acre).
I tried using high-lift blades, but they eventually wear out also and don't have as nice a cut as mulching blades - the high-lift set I went through now has lasted 2 years, but I only mowed under the service lines 2x last year, rather than every 2 weeks.:smile:
I'm wondering what others have experienced. Of course, roadside mowing has the rock hazard as touched on in the other thread. What about cost? At some of the big box stores, a set of blades for my 42 are $50.00.
Graham