Soil conditions vs. mower blade life

Coolnorth

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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
 

rekees

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Mowers are designed to cut grass so anything like ground, sand, stones, sticks, dog bones, etc. that is hard is going to dull the blades quickly.
 
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It comes down in my experience how much sand is in your soil that will blow around when cutting, your effectively making a sand blasting cabinet under your deck , I have one customer who's going through 2-3 pairs of blades a year and others where blades last 2-3 years, it is wise to check your blades regularly (Like checking your oil) as blades wear they will become very thin and little bits will break off and come flying out at a zillion mph and if they hit something there is going to be damage:eek: there is my 2 cents worth.
 

Coolnorth

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It comes down in my experience how much sand is in your soil that will blow around when cutting, your effectively making a sand blasting cabinet under your deck , I have one customer who's going through 2-3 pairs of blades a year and others where blades last 2-3 years, it is wise to check your blades regularly (Like checking your oil) as blades wear they will become very thin and little bits will break off and come flying out at a zillion mph and if they hit something there is going to be damage:eek: there is my 2 cents worth.

That sums up what I was saying quite nicely! A sandblasting cabinet under the deck. Yes, those little frayed blade ends are not friendlies by any stretch to any thing in their path.:eek: For that matter, dog bones? Definitely not a good thing to mow. I check my blades every time I start mowing and note the cut they make to ensure they are in shape. Also, if something is struck it is wise to power down and check the blades and mandrel housings, too. (I took a small stump once and cracked the mandrel housing mount. That was my liberal sweep of the bush-line while mowing the yard. :ashamed:
 

jross

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It was getting harder to find 28" blades at a decent price for my Deere 56, so I went to a Meg-Mo system. While the initial outlay was around $75, 4 replacement blades are a little over $20 and since they seem to be modified hay cutter blades, they last for at least two years. The mower has a 6 hp TEC engine so it takes a few seconds to get up to speed.If I hit something other than grass, theblades just swing back. Search Meg-Mo.
 

Coolnorth

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Jross, that is a nice looking system. I can understand that it would be quieter, put less strain on the spindles, etc.
I will definitely consider this Meg-Mo blade system. I spent a half hour last week "tuning-up" my old blades until I get new ones - did a carbon steel overlay on the cutting edge, removed some thinned spots, etc.

Graham
 
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