Simple question....I'm looking to purchase a new riding mower and debating between a 46" with 2 blades, or a 50/54" with 3 blades. I prefer to bag the clippings, so would 3 blades do a better or poorer job? I realize some of it may have to do with the mower itself, but generally speaking what is the consensus?
2 blades or 3 for better bagging?
- Thread starter Kssummers
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Well that was easy....makes perfect sense, thanks!
I've had a 46 with 2 blades and now have a 54 with 3 and haven't noticed any difference in bagging so I don't think its the number of blades but more the design of the deck and whether or not you have a blower on it. Both had/have blowers and even with damp grass its pretty rare to get a clog.
My neighbor has a budget Husky with a 2 blade 40 something deck (without a blower) and it constantly clogs on damp grass.
My neighbor has a budget Husky with a 2 blade 40 something deck (without a blower) and it constantly clogs on damp grass.
My current mower is 40" and 2 blades, but it is almost 27 years old and I'm afraid the engine is getting weaker and I have noticed the grass shoot clogging up more even with dry grass. The power just isn't there to get all the grass up and into the bags. About a month ago I did put on high lift blades and that has helped. I had not considered a blower as a possibility on a new mower....thanks!
This is John Deere's "Powerflow" blower on my X739, its belt driven off a deck pulley. I think most of the major brands offer some version of it on their mowers.
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Thanks, Eric....I have been considering a JD for a while. I like the 5 series, but in all honesty it's probably overkill for my yard. I have a little over an acre, mostly flat, no obstacles, etc. A 3 series would probably make more sense. But, the 5 has a better transmission from what I can determine. My 27 year old Kubota just keeps going, but today's mowers do a better job with cutting, bagging, etc. one day I'll pull the trigger....
bertsmobile1
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Now from left field.
Unless you have a lot of trees dropping leaves or only mow when the grass is 10" tall why bag ?
do you run composters to make beautiful compost to grow your nice fresh veggies in or just haul all that nutrient rich expensive grass to the dump ?
Mulching is 300% better for your lawn than bagging is cheaper because you need less water & fertilizer and is quicker to boot, particularly if you only have an acre to mow.
If your yard is flatish then consider a Rider Pro with the bio clip deck.
The up front deck is a breeze to maintain, as is the rest of the mower, being up front you can see exactly where the deck is which makes mowing so much easier it is not funny and so much faster.
Being a service tech, I get to play on a wide variety of mowers and apart from the Walkers, which is also an out front deck mower, the Rider Pro & the Jonsored from which it was copied stand head & shoulders above any mower for speed, ease of use and quality of cut .
I have been told the Stiga park series are also good mowers but down here their parts distribution sucks so the mower would spend more time in the shop waiting for parts than on the grass.
The overlapping ( timed ) blades means that never again will you ever have to do a second pass because you have left a rooster tail and because the blades do work so well you only need to overlap each pass by 2" rather than 1/4 of the deck as recommended with most other deck
Again because of the overlapping blades , you can run the blades for much longer because when they wear a little short again, they don't leave the rooster tail of uncut grass that passes between the blades.
They are also quiet.
The only downside is they are a finish mower tat produces a gold green quality cut, but will not cut very long grass so if you only mow once a month weather you lawn needs it or not they are not for you.
They also do not handle steep slopes or rough terrain.
When Husqvarna released them into the USA ( made in Europe ) they were a disaster and had to be modified because owners kept on rolling them over so most of the initial shipment got transhipped down here so we got thousands of them till the new model came out which is a little wider and does not turn as tight as the ones we got down here .
Unless you have a lot of trees dropping leaves or only mow when the grass is 10" tall why bag ?
do you run composters to make beautiful compost to grow your nice fresh veggies in or just haul all that nutrient rich expensive grass to the dump ?
Mulching is 300% better for your lawn than bagging is cheaper because you need less water & fertilizer and is quicker to boot, particularly if you only have an acre to mow.
If your yard is flatish then consider a Rider Pro with the bio clip deck.
The up front deck is a breeze to maintain, as is the rest of the mower, being up front you can see exactly where the deck is which makes mowing so much easier it is not funny and so much faster.
Being a service tech, I get to play on a wide variety of mowers and apart from the Walkers, which is also an out front deck mower, the Rider Pro & the Jonsored from which it was copied stand head & shoulders above any mower for speed, ease of use and quality of cut .
I have been told the Stiga park series are also good mowers but down here their parts distribution sucks so the mower would spend more time in the shop waiting for parts than on the grass.
The overlapping ( timed ) blades means that never again will you ever have to do a second pass because you have left a rooster tail and because the blades do work so well you only need to overlap each pass by 2" rather than 1/4 of the deck as recommended with most other deck
Again because of the overlapping blades , you can run the blades for much longer because when they wear a little short again, they don't leave the rooster tail of uncut grass that passes between the blades.
They are also quiet.
The only downside is they are a finish mower tat produces a gold green quality cut, but will not cut very long grass so if you only mow once a month weather you lawn needs it or not they are not for you.
They also do not handle steep slopes or rough terrain.
When Husqvarna released them into the USA ( made in Europe ) they were a disaster and had to be modified because owners kept on rolling them over so most of the initial shipment got transhipped down here so we got thousands of them till the new model came out which is a little wider and does not turn as tight as the ones we got down here .
Typically I too only bag the clippings in spring and fall....usually in summer I just cut and go. I try to cut each week, but if it gets too high, I don't like all the excess grass lying on top, so I will bag it. In a perfect world, I would like to cut every five or six days and use a mulching blade. I agree that returning the cut grass back to the ground is beneficial, but only if you aren't cutting off too much. I haven't seen many of the front mount Husqvarna mowers in my area (MD and SC) except on golf courses. I know Walker makes an excellent cutting machine, but they are a little expensive for my yard. But I would definitely consider them if I ran a landscape company.