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Hi lift blades.....

#1

A

adjc

Anyone have a part # on 18.5" hi lift blades for SD54"? Currently using G5 gator blades an not to thrilled with them, thinking hi lift blades might be what I'm looking for. Link? Appreciate any help.


#2

5

577jersey

I have been using XHT hi lift blades for a couple weeks now,they are the best blades for this machine in my area hands down!!
The stock blades would not even pick up small sticks,,these XHT blades pick up twigs,sticks,pine cones,chops them up and spits them out,,alot better cut quality also...no more scragglers like before and the blades are holding an edge for over 10 hours now and still cutting great!!

I have not noticed a drop in fuel consumption or the engine working any harder than normal either...even though Im sure it is a little :)

The only con I can think of is you will throw more dust and dirt around when its dry with these blades,Id say 35-40% more suction easy!!

These blades are hard as a rock,not like alot of those other brands made who knows where...these are made here in USA.

Here is a link to the same ones I got,,I will be buying more of these blades for sure,,best blade yet for the RSD 54 IMO.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/121750425758?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Tom :)


#3

A

adjc

Thx...appreciate the link. Looks like he's on vac till the 29th but will get them once he comes back. Talked to a hustler rep today and he highly recommended hi lift blades. Not a bad price on 3 blades delivered. Thx again!


#4

5

577jersey

Oh,,he is on vacation,,that stinks lol.

No problem buddy,,Im going to order another set also.

Please check back and let me know how they work for you and your application.

Take care and mow on!!!!!

Tom


#5

B

BoylermanCT

When you say G5 blades, who made them? Are they the Oregon blades? I've ordered them for my new Raptor, as I have them on my Craftsman tractor, and love how they cut and how clean they keep the deck. Just wondering if they cut differently on the Raptor SD.

I'll start with the stock blades, then switch to the Oregon G5's, and depending on how everything goes, may get a set of these to try.


#6

T

turboawd

what dont you like about the oregon blades?
i've tried stock, med lift, high lift, and oregon blades, and found the oregon to cut best for the tall grass that i cut. the only downside is they are louder since they blow(suck) more air, and are heavier, which take a bit more power to get them going on engagement.


#7

5

577jersey

I’ve used gator blades in the past and never had good luck with them except in the fall for clean up..I found they did not have enough lift due to the wing being foiled or cut like it is...they left tons of scragglers,,had them on a Exmark Turf Ranger 60".

I have not tried them on my RSD because of the experience I had in the past,,but if you guys say the Oregon G5 blades have a good lift and cut quality I might shell out the dough and try a set.

These XHT blades are working really good for me on the RSD.


#8

K

kraky

I had really good luck with the G5 Gator blades on my RSD..... but I cut my lawn pretty regular..... some of you guys are doing hay fields. They had plenty of suction and cut real clean for me. They also did a super job of grinding up trimmings from Hedge trimming....2 passes and they were mulch.
For you guys cutting commercially I would imagine the biggest hurdle is how early in the morning with wet dew conditions you can get out there and get to work.... and leave a cut that satisfies?


#9

5

577jersey

Yeah,,if I have a few crab grass lawns lined up for the day,I always try to cut those in the PM,,that stuff is just nasty early in morning..stays wet even late in the day at times of high humidity.

I always cut the sunny areas first then cut the shaded last,,Ill even do my trimming first if they are really wet.

Tom


#10

A

adjc

turboawd said:
what dont you like about the oregon blades?
i've tried stock, med lift, high lift, and oregon blades, and found the oregon to cut best for the tall grass that i cut. the only downside is they are louder since they blow(suck) more air, and are heavier, which take a bit more power to get them going on engagement.
Click to expand...

The blades (Oregon gator G5) themselves do what they are suppose to do. But the prob I have is that I live in an area where high humidity very seldom lets the grass dry out. Even at 2pm it's still wet enough that when you walk thru the yard your shoes still get wet. It also clogs the deck up where I have to clean it 3-4 times per cut. I'm mowing right at 1 acre. I've tried different methods such as speed, height and anything else you can think of, doesn't matter. Also I have a very high water table, you can dig 24-30 feet an hit water....needless to say grass grows unbelievable fast! I will say that the factory blades were less troublesome for me so this is what's got me to thinking the higher lift blades may work for my conditions. Had this conversation with the hustler rep the other day and he seems to think that this may be my better route. So for $30.00 shipped....worth a try on the hi lift blades. Who knows, may be the fix for my area, I know I've spent more in days past and have gotten less!!


#11

K

kraky

Let us know how they work..... I may order a set for my fastrack for spring mowing when things are pretty gummy...


#12

5

577jersey

You guys will like em,,cant go wrong..they are not a fix all,,but defiantly help out quite a bit!!
I cut a really high 15" wet one last week down to 3.5" and my chute never clogged,,I did blow a few piles of big chunks here and there but the double cut broke them right up...the deck was clean underneath also,,had a couple spots where it was building up but nothing like the stock blades.

The more powerful suction and vacuum of the hi lift wing really does move the clippings out better.

I was at the same lawn prior with stock blades and the chute got plugged shut,,had to raise the deck all the way up for first cut and let it dry out more.

Tom


#13

RhettWS

RhettWS

BoylermanCT said:
When you say G5 blades, who made them? Are they the Oregon blades? I've ordered them for my new Raptor, as I have them on my Craftsman tractor, and love how they cut and how clean they keep the deck. Just wondering if they cut differently on the Raptor SD.
Click to expand...

Don't know if you ordered yet or not. On my Raptor SD the G5 cut is really nice. But, the deck gets covered in clippings, I mean a boat load. IMG_0978.jpg This is more of an annoyance than a problem. I clean the deck with a blower after every mowing. With the stock blades I would not collect that much grass if I mowed my yard 3-4 times without cleaning.

I suspect this has a lot to do with the deck design. The cutting height and deck attitude may also be a factor. I cut at about 2.75 to 3 " (still tweaking that). I think my deck is level but I will verify this weekend. I checked it shortly after I got it but frankly I don't remember exactly.


#14

1slow5point0h

1slow5point0h

I've been contemplating different blades. I put the mulching kit on mine with the Hustler mulching kit and they work decent, but I'd like a little finer cut. Of course after 2 weeks the center divider bolt sheared off and that was an experience, bent the divider all up, plus they don't sell the dividers individually....so I may end up going back to a stock setup and a better blade.


#15

5

577jersey

Yeah,I would never put more than a chute blocker on any mower,,just too keep grass off things and mulch up leaves a little in the fall.
Not a big fan of mulching kits.


#16

Ric

Ric

adjc said:
The blades (Oregon gator G5) themselves do what they are suppose to do. But the prob I have is that I live in an area where high humidity very seldom lets the grass dry out. Even at 2pm it's still wet enough that when you walk thru the yard your shoes still get wet. It also clogs the deck up where I have to clean it 3-4 times per cut. I'm mowing right at 1 acre. I've tried different methods such as speed, height and anything else you can think of, doesn't matter. Also I have a very high water table, you can dig 24-30 feet an hit water....needless to say grass grows unbelievable fast! I will say that the factory blades were less troublesome for me so this is what's got me to thinking the higher lift blades may work for my conditions. Had this conversation with the hustler rep the other day and he seems to think that this may be my better route. So for $30.00 shipped....worth a try on the hi lift blades. Who knows, may be the fix for my area, I know I've spent more in days past and have gotten less!!
Click to expand...

The reasons your using for having problems with G5 Gator blades doesn't really pan out, if they did I couldn't use them to cut grass here in Florida. High Humidity doesn't really have much to do with it or matter when it comes to mowing lawns. Yeah the wet grass probably doesn't help matters but as far as cutting wet grass humidity doesn't hurt anything. I mean I walk out the door every morning at 7 am to mow lawns and I have 85 to 90% humidity every day and that generally after a nice 10 to 11 pm evening rain the night before. If your having the problems you say your having my guess would be there's a problem with your deck not creating enough vacuum to make the blades work the way there suppose to.


#17

K

kraky

It's Different Strokes for different folks all across the USA. Some people think hi lift blades totally home run Gator blades and vice versa. Gator blades work perfectly for me on my lawn last year even when it was wet. But when my neighbor's machine broke down and I did his lawn for him 2 times I got a ton of build up with the Gator blades. He had a lot of leafy weeds in his lawn... all I can think of is the Gator blades were chewing up those leaves and spraying the juice all over the underside of the deck and it became glue. Every pass I made I could tell from the sound of the deck I was building up a little bit by little bit. I don't know if hi lift would have worked better over there or not.
This year I bought a fastrack and figured I would have to switch out the standard blades but they're working fantastically well for me even in wet grass. We had two and a half inches of rain the other night I have standing water in one part of the lawn I was able to go right up to it and discharge it and it looked great. My lack of tire tracks for a 850 pound machine tends to Boggle my mind ton!


#18

5

577jersey

kraky said:
It's Different Strokes for different folks all across the USA. Some people think hi lift blades totally home run Gator blades and vice versa. Gator blades work perfectly for me on my lawn last year even when it was wet. But when my neighbor's machine broke down and I did his lawn for him 2 times I got a ton of build up with the Gator blades. He had a lot of leafy weeds in his lawn... all I can think of is the Gator blades were chewing up those leaves and spraying the juice all over the underside of the deck and it became glue. Every pass I made I could tell from the sound of the deck I was building up a little bit by little bit. I don't know if hi lift would have worked better over there or not.
This year I bought a fastrack and figured I would have to switch out the standard blades but they're working fantastically well for me even in wet grass. We had two and a half inches of rain the other night I have standing water in one part of the lawn I was able to go right up to it and discharge it and it looked great. My lack of tire tracks for a 850 pound machine tends to Boggle my mind ton!
Click to expand...
Im looking forward to seeing how the RSD 54 with these wide tires does in real wet standing water areas..we just have not had enough moisture this Summer at all.
I did cut/sip all my treads in half with a thin metal cut off wheel,,smoked out my neighbours,,well see how she holds the banks this week :)


#19

K

kraky

The soil underneath standing water can be a real crapshoot. Sometimes it's pretty firm and you can walk right across the top. Sometimes it's a virtual muck.... my bet is if those Wide Tires sink down a little bit and build up a little wall in front of them you're going to be wishing you hadn't experimented! But there's only one way to find out and from watching your post I'm pretty sure I can predict what your going to do....lol. Enjoy!


#20

5

577jersey

LOL,,yeah right..you know it!!


#21

1slow5point0h

1slow5point0h

577jersey said:
Im looking forward to seeing how the RSD 54 with these wide tires does in real wet standing water areas..we just have not had enough moisture this Summer at all.
I did cut/sip all my treads in half with a thin metal cut off wheel,,smoked out my neighbours,,well see how she holds the banks this week :)
Click to expand...

I've had ruts in my yard where I had to pull mine out, and there was barely any standing water at all. Even sometimes if it's just fairly damp it'll spin and I just floor it and ride it out lol.


#22

A

adjc

Finally got it to working like it should. Put the hi lift blades on, cut out the wedge shaped piece of steel on the mower deck discharge opening. Also trimmed up the chute deflector. These 3 mods made a difference between nite an day on the discharging of grass. It can be wet, dry, or clumped up clippings doesn't matter....it all goes thru without clogging the discharge opening. Can finally mow again without stopping shutting down the mower for unplugging. A lot of folks who own these raptors (in my area) are cutting off the bottom bar at the deck opening and are not having any neg results. Many use them for commercial use. Some hav gone as close to 2 yrs after cutting it out and have no probs with the deck at all. It's just steel...it can be re-welded if need be.


#23

5

577jersey

Glad to hear it,,yeah its a great deck design other than the opening being a bit restricted,I cut wet sloppy crab grass and the deck stays clean...I do think cutting out the triangle piece would help me from dropping a pile of clippings once in a while.My opening doesn’t gets clogged up any more after hi lift blades,,I don’t cut 2ft grass either..lol

These RSD,s are super mowers,,just need to be smart about what you have and work with it.For the $$ I payed I’m completely satisfied with my mower so far.

Alot better than bouncing around on that sulky all day:)


#24

K

kraky

Fyi.. I bought a set of the xht hi lifts for my FasTrak. Dumb me when I took my original blades off I found out they already were high lift blades from the factory.
The way the grass comes out from under the fast track I would have never believed they were high lift blades because they don't spray the way they used to under my old raptor SD. Something about the deeper deck and more wide-open discharge the grass comes out nicely and in an even blanket but not nearly as far as the SD.
The differences between the aftermarket xht and the original Hustler hi-lift are tiny...
But I think I see just a little more lift in the xhTs and I think they're working slightly better than the original hi lift blades under the fastrak so I'm still happy I got them.
Everytime I use my fastrak I fall more and more in love with it.....


#25

5

577jersey

Yeah man,,the RSD has some air flow for sure,,maybe its the small opening that makes it spray so far,,ID love to cut it bigger and find out :)


#26

1slow5point0h

1slow5point0h

Jcook78 said:
I've had ruts in my yard where I had to pull mine out, and there was barely any standing water at all. Even sometimes if it's just fairly damp it'll spin and I just floor it and ride it out lol.
Click to expand...

I stuck mine the first 2 times I used it. I've had a few times where it started spinning and I just threw it wide open and rode it out lol. Luckily I'm out in the country and the cows don't mind if there are a couple of ruts in the yard :laughing:


#27

mhavanti

mhavanti

Adjc,

Would you post some pics of your modifications?

Thanks in advance,

Max


#28

A

adjc

mhavanti said:
Adjc,

Would you post some pics of your modifications?

Thanks in advance,

Max
Click to expand...

I would but I traded the SD in on a new Fastrak 54" Friday...so I no longer have it. I did get to mow with it after the mods but in my mind I was still thinking that this is still not over. It did do very well but one thing that still bothered me was the build up under the deck each time I mowed......just had enough of it! Do a search on here "54 raptor sd mods" this is where I got the idea from. I did cut the discharge chute flush with the deck opening, I think that was more help than anything.....opened up the flow with less restriction on getting the cut grass out, but it does throw the grass a lot futher and higher up, so keep that in mind before you consider it. But my real advice is upgrade to the next level which is the Fastrak, one time mowing with it you'll understand why I suggest it. No comparison between the two mowers.

I know it's more $$ but getting the job done means more to me. It only rains here 2-3 times a week and it's almost impossible to keep up. Never seen so much rain in normally a dry summer. My dealer gets a lot of complaints on the raptor line up, so much that he is considering selling the Fastrak and on up but will special order the raptor-sd if that is what the customer wants.

Good luck if your having issues....it will try your patience for a $4000.00 mower!!


#29

mhavanti

mhavanti

I'm not having any problems other than airing up the left front tire each time I mow.

I've seen the cut out pics. Some are saying they're cutting a bit differently than others. Just wondering what the cut was on your deflector.


#30

5

577jersey

I cut the triangle out on mine other day,,it didn’t help much at all for wind rowing in wet stuff,,only way would be to cut the opening back all the way to the first angle or bend at the rear of the opening...the bottom bar does not cause much if any issues on the RSD,,I have been watching it for a few weeks now closely,,the bar is just there because the upper part of the deck is cut back and a few inched of the blade is exposed on this mower,,so without that bar the blade would be hitting objects very easily :)

Best mod for improved cut on this mower in my area and grass types was the hi-lift blades so far.


#31

1slow5point0h

1slow5point0h

I added the Hustler mulching kit, and it didn't leave a very clean, smooth cut. There'd be 2 small trails of grass where I made every pass. Then I ran over something and bent one of the dividers, so I pulled it off. Yesterday I put on some G5 Gator mulching blades and removed the other divider, and now the grass is smooth, no clippings to be seen and it's just a much nicer looking cut.The blades are a ton sharper than the ones that came with the mulching kit too.


#32

5

577jersey

Jcook78 said:
I added the Hustler mulching kit, and it didn't leave a very clean, smooth cut. There'd be 2 small trails of grass where I made every pass. Then I ran over something and bent one of the dividers, so I pulled it off. Yesterday I put on some G5 Gator mulching blades and removed the other divider, and now the grass is smooth, no clippings to be seen and it's just a much nicer looking cut.The blades are a ton sharper than the ones that came with the mulching kit too.
Click to expand...
Thats good news bro,,sounds like you are onto something now...


#33

K

kraky

So.... if I'm clear on this you're still running the metal discharge cover, no dividers and the Gator blades?
Last year on my raptor SD 54 I bought a metal discharge cover by itself and tried mulching with the Gator Blades. It didn't work very well... it cut okay but all the clippings came over to the right side of the deck and when they couldn't get out they blew out the front and landed all over me and the mower.


#34

1slow5point0h

1slow5point0h

kraky said:
So.... if I'm clear on this you're still running the metal discharge cover, no dividers and the Gator blades?
Last year on my raptor SD 54 I bought a metal discharge cover by itself and tried mulching with the Gator Blades. It didn't work very well... it cut okay but all the clippings came over to the right side of the deck and when they couldn't get out they blew out the front and landed all over me and the mower.
Click to expand...

Correct. It had rained for about 2 weeks so I had the deck set about halfway up/down because the grass was pretty tall and thick. Some blew out the front and a little on the sides, but not much. Overall I'm really impressed as of now. In a day or 2 I'll cut it again and get it down to my usual setting.


#35

K

kraky

Hey...if it works that's cool. On the sd54 I bought the plate not so much for mulching grass but I figured in Fall I could pre grind the leaves and round them up and then put the cover on and Destroy them from there. My one and only test there was a disaster like mulching grass.
So this year I moved to a fast-track and then a few weeks ago I bought one of the rackem catcher baskets that hangs on the discharge chute. My first test of that was pretty unimpressive too. A lot of fine mulch flies out the screen holes... when the wind is blowing from the side it creates just a terrible mess... possibly worse than my mulching experience. It looks like anytime I try to do a shortcut I am cursed....lol! My allergies are not impressed!


#36

5

577jersey

lol..Id love to get a chute blocker just too shut once in a while to keep grass out of beds,off houses,and cars...I have my deflector bungeed up 90% of the time....if you throttle the RSD down it also helps alot to tame the spray and dust in certain spots.
If you think about it even the small 22" mulchers get a little messy with stuff flying out from around the sides at times.
The decks on these big mowers really are not designed for mulching anyway.


#37

B

BoylermanCT

I just installed the XHT high lift blades on mt RSD yesterday and cut my deck chute way back so it only overhangs the deck by 2" and the difference in mowing through the thick stuff was incredible. The chute definitely was the main cause of my clogging issues, and was not helped by the Gator blades which tends to turn weeds like pigs ear into mush by cutting it up so many times. The high lift blades threw the grass 10-12 feet and grass was coming out the entire chute opening, not just the front portion as was my experience with the stock chute. Very pleased with the cut, no missed stragglers. Thanks for the recommendation of the XHT blades!


#38

5

577jersey

Glad to hear!!
Yeah those blades where the best thing I ever did to my RSD,,I got two sets now I like them so much.
The suction has increased by at least 35% compared to the stock blades,,i wont even use them any more unless I do a real dirty lawn.

One of the main reasons I hate g5 blades is because they do just that,,turn everything into mush when its wet,,Id rather have a longer cut blade of grass flying out the chute then mush..then u can double cut if you really need to :)

The g5s are good in the fall I guess,,but I wont be wasting my $$ on a set any time soon..been cutting grass since 1987 and have only purchased one set of the g5 style,,they have horrible lift from my experience.

Tom


#39

C

cruzenmike

adjc said:
I would but I traded the SD in on a new Fastrak 54" Friday...so I no longer have it. I did get to mow with it after the mods but in my mind I was still thinking that this is still not over. It did do very well but one thing that still bothered me was the build up under the deck each time I mowed......just had enough of it! Do a search on here "54 raptor sd mods" this is where I got the idea from. I did cut the discharge chute flush with the deck opening, I think that was more help than anything.....opened up the flow with less restriction on getting the cut grass out, but it does throw the grass a lot futher and higher up, so keep that in mind before you consider it. But my real advice is upgrade to the next level which is the Fastrak, one time mowing with it you'll understand why I suggest it. No comparison between the two mowers.

I know it's more $$ but getting the job done means more to me. It only rains here 2-3 times a week and it's almost impossible to keep up. Never seen so much rain in normally a dry summer. My dealer gets a lot of complaints on the raptor line up, so much that he is considering selling the Fastrak and on up but will special order the raptor-sd if that is what the customer wants.

Good luck if your having issues....it will try your patience for a $4000.00 mower!!
Click to expand...

Have you seen the recently released Raptor SDX? I too had been shopping the Raptor lineup from the Limited to the the SDX with the regular SD in the middle. After watching a video from GIE 2017, it was clear that the chute opening was quite small on most of the lineup below $4k. The SDX has the bottom edge cut off of the deck at the opening. I was having a hard time justifying the extra $400 to go from the SD to the SDX, but I can see that it might be worth it for some. I can completely understand everyone's desire to have a nice looking yard, but I just don't see why anyone should have to modify a machine, especially one this expensive, to make it cut well. Otherwise, some are asking too much of their machine! Never cut more than 1/3 of the grass, cut when dry or as close to as possible, slow your ground speed when you notice a change in performance of cut quality and keep your machine maintained and your blades sharp. If you let the grass get too long, cut on the highest setting and then an inch lower on your second pass.


#40

primerbulb120

primerbulb120

cruzenmike said:
Never cut more than 1/3 of the grass, cut when dry or as close to as possible, slow your ground speed when you notice a change in performance of cut quality and keep your machine maintained and your blades sharp. If you let the grass get too long, cut on the highest setting and then an inch lower on your second pass.
Click to expand...

There are some yards here in FL that you'd have to cut every 3 days to follow those guidelines. Even with weekly maintenance, I end up removing more like 2/3 of the grass length when I mow. Solution: sharp Gator G6 blades. They will cut wet, 8-inch grass and leave a perfect cut with no visible clippings. :cool:


#41

5

577jersey

I have 134 hours on my SD 54 and cant complain about anything..been cutting grass for 30 years now and this mower does just as good as all my other mowers that where twice the price.
The deck is a little light but who cares,great mower for my neck of the woods for sure!!

Id like to be the first guy who puts 1k hours on it :)


#42

L454S

L454S

Have had the gator blades on since last summer, they are worth the money and time to install IMO. Much better than factory blades.


#43

5

577jersey

I dont have a set of G5 blades for my SD,reason being,any mower I put them on in the past they seemed to lack lift and cut quality was not that great,but i did love them in the early spring and fall for mulching up sticks,leaves,and debris.

Maybe i will try a set this season for the SD since alot of you guys speak highly of them in this application.

Another thing I am going to try is X blade on the chute side,doing this by using two blades one on top of another creating an X shape,that will really help move things out of the deck and mulch up clumps more.


#44

mhavanti

mhavanti

I was rebuilding a mower deck on a '96 YM. Ordered a pair of G5 Gators. They arrived and they have absolutely zero cutting edge. The edge is as round as my stomach. Apparently there is something y'all know about cutting that I am left in the dark about.

Just sharpen and go. By the way, as an aside, the original blades from '96 were only sharpened once in all those years and if one wasn't warped, wouldn't have replaced during spindle rebuild.

Have a great mowing season all.

Max


#45

primerbulb120

primerbulb120

The G5 and G6 blades do not come sharpened. You have to sharpen them prior to installation.


#46

BlazNT

BlazNT

primerbulb120 said:
The G5 and G6 blades do not come sharpened. You have to sharpen them prior to installation.
Click to expand...

This is so not true. They are sharpened to exactly how they should be. Blades are not supposed to be razor sharp. They are supposed to have a small blunt edge.


#47

primerbulb120

primerbulb120

BlazNT said:
This is so not true. They are sharpened to exactly how they should be. Blades are not supposed to be razor sharp. They are supposed to have a small blunt edge.
Click to expand...

The edge on a brand new G6 blade is 1/32 inch thick, measured with a caliper. Maybe you call that sharp, but I don't.

Read this, specifically the parts relating to G6 blades: https://www.lawnsite.com/threads/do-you-sharpen-new-blades.379943/


#48

5

577jersey

I dont like the way new blades cut,they cut much better after the paint comes off and or after a sharpening,,even though they wont hold an edge as long..on well manicured lawns,there is no better cut then a sharp,crisp,edged,blade IMO.

If you have a dirty lawn well then its good to have the blunt edge,just as long as the grass gets cut clean and not ripped..Ive seen lawns completely covered in a yellow tint from cutting with dull blades that rip and not cut.


#49

primerbulb120

primerbulb120

577jersey said:
I dont like the way new blades cut,they cut much better after the paint comes off and or after a sharpening,,even though they wont hold an edge as long..on well manicured lawns,there is no better cut then a sharp,crisp,edged,blade IMO.

If you have a dirty lawn well then its good to have the blunt edge,just as long as the grass gets cut clean and not ripped..Ive seen lawns completely covered in a yellow tint from cutting with dull blades that rip and not cut.
Click to expand...

:thumbsup:

The G6 blades have a thick coat of paint, but once that comes off they're still not sharp. A few minutes with the grinding wheel fixes that! :thumbsup:


#50

mhavanti

mhavanti

I own a machine shop and a fair portion of the yearly income is from sharpening blades, from saws of all kinds, planers, metal cutting tools for lathes, band saw blades which I always suggest just buy the band saw blade in a 100 foot roll, cut and weld them together rather than sharpen the old blades.

Anyhow, I never had anyone come in and ask me to dull their blades. Sharper a blade, less torque and horsepower to slide the blades thru whatever you're cutting. You shall also use less fuel and the mower engine will run cooler during operations.

After I removed the paint from the blades, they still have a rounded "edge" of the blade. Its a about a 3/32" radius. Not acceptable.

Also, we were mower parts distributors for over 25 years. We would have returned the entire shipment to the manufacturer if we received blunt blades. Anyone tell you a blade is supposed to be blunt, rounded or have a shoulder on the "edge" of the blade and it will cut better. They'll purchase swamp land to build skyscrapers on it. lol Ok, bad joke.

Respectfully, cutting grass is no different than cutting lumber, metal or anything else. Sharp cuts, dull doesn't.


#51

L454S

L454S

Not sure what all this talk of blunt blades is about. Mine came with an edge about the same as the original blades. I could not shave with either, but it was as sharp as any I have purchased over the past 35 years of taking care of my riding mowers. Did I happen to get a set that was ready to cut? I don't know, but if they would have been as others describe(blunt), I would have sent them back.

These seem to cut as well as originals, just produce MORE exit pressure, almost no chute clogging for me. Works as advertised.


#52

K

kraky

After using them for one half year I really like those xht blades that Jersey recommended. Our cities brush pile is all the way across town on the other side.... I hate to admit this but I trimmed back all the shrubs this year and threw everything out on the lawn and went over a few times with the fast track and the xht blades and everything disappeared and Blades are just as sharp as when I started... the deck didn't labor anymore than being in medium tall grass.... and I think the small wood chips did a pretty good scrape job on my old residue underneath there....lol!


#53

B

BoylermanCT

Ditto on the XHT blades. They fling grass and leaves 10-15 feet once the chute has been modified. I blew my leaves into a huge pile and on a whim decided to see what happened if I mowed through the pile. 5 minutes later you could not see any leaves in the yard. The XHT's obliterated the pile to dust and the wind took it away. Nice way to do leaves!


#54

Datadave

Datadave

I'm not thrilled with the Oregon G5 blades, even though they do good on everything else -
They leave many seed stalk stragglers when cutting Pensacola Bahia just like the OEM blades do.

So I took advice from 577Jersey and ordered a set of XHT Blades from the link Jersey posted.

Should be here in 4 to 5 days W/free shipping for $30.80
Can't beat that with a stick, Just hope they do the trick on the Bahia.


#55

jekjr

jekjr

We run Oregon High lift blade on our Scag Tiger Cats. We cut some incredible Bahia Grass this time of year. The only drawback to them I know if is that they will sandblast the bottom of the deck out terribly. I have a Tiger Cat that we have had to replace the baffles under the deck and patch holes in the top of the deck that are worn through. The mower in question started wearing through at a little over 1000 hours. I have a second one now that has about the same hours on it and it is doing the same thing.


The added performance cutting the tall Bahia Grass is worth the wear and tear though.


#56

B

bertsmobile1

kraky said:
After using them for one half year I really like those xht blades that Jersey recommended. Our cities brush pile is all the way across town on the other side.... I hate to admit this but I trimmed back all the shrubs this year and threw everything out on the lawn and went over a few times with the fast track and the xht blades and everything disappeared and Blades are just as sharp as when I started... the deck didn't labor anymore than being in medium tall grass.... and I think the small wood chips did a pretty good scrape job on my old residue underneath there....lol!
Click to expand...

Don't feel bad about it you are doing exactly the right thing for your soil.
Continue doing this it is good to mulch up the clippings and return them to the soil
Healthy soil = healthy lawn


#57

B

BoylermanCT

577jersey said:
I dont have a set of G5 blades for my SD,reason being, any mower I put them on in the past they seemed to lack lift and cut quality was not that great,but i did love them in the early spring and fall for mulching up sticks,leaves,and debris.

Maybe i will try a set this season for the SD since alot of you guys speak highly of them in this application.

Another thing I am going to try is X blade on the chute side,doing this by using two blades one on top of another creating an X shape,that will really help move things out of the deck and mulch up clumps more.
Click to expand...

577Jersey, did you ever do the X blade experiment? Would you have to add spacers to the other 2 blades to keep the cutting edge on the same plane on all the blades? Would there be any issues since 1 spindle would be moving twice the weight? The idea sounds interesting.


#58

C

ChuckL

Looks like I bought the bastard size. Doesn't look like the XHTs are made for the 48 Raptor SD, least not with my search.


#59

Scythe

Scythe

ChuckL said:
Looks like I bought the bastard size. Doesn't look like the XHTs are made for the 48 Raptor SD, least not with my search.
Click to expand...

I'm in the same boat.

I bought a set from Amazon that I'm very happy with. Required minimal work to get them balanced and I am very happy with the first test run.

The G5's I have are not my favorite, I actually like my original blades more. I will hold the G5's in reserve until the leaves fall, maybe they will be better for that.

Hi Lift Blades on Amazon


#60

Datadave

Datadave

Scythe said:
I'm in the same boat.
I bought a set from Amazon that I'm very happy with. Required minimal work to get them balanced and I am very happy with the first test run.
Hi Lift Blades on Amazon
Click to expand...

Lift: Extra High Lift
I bet those bad boys will kick up some dust.
One reviewer said the sail was so tall it scrubbed the bottom of his mower deck.


#61

5

577jersey

Copperhead makes a killer HL blade,Im trying to find a set for the SD,they are a little thicker than the XHT blades and look like the ones in the amazon store.
Ive been really happy with the XHT blades but these new Copperhead blades look better to me.


#62

B

BoylermanCT

The Copperheads I got this week when I ordered XHT's were lower lift than the XHT's. They matched my original Hustler blades that came on the RSD. I returned them and asked the Amazon seller to send me the XHT's I originally ordered. They do spec out thicker .208 vs .194 if I recall.


#63

H

Hegsz71

Well having a fastrak 54" I had a massive clogging issue with the stock blades, switched to gators and it was still there just less frequent. Bought High lift blades last week and my clogging problems are gone! checked the deck when I was done and the thing was spotless In fact it was cleaner then when I started. ( cleaned it before I mowed, but after doing it for the 100th time this year I did it really half assed.) I mowed in tall wet grass and it clumped a bit, but nothing like it normal did and there was no engine bog which would always happen before. just my $.02


#64

mhavanti

mhavanti

Hegz,

Sounds like you hit on the right set up for sure. What is the brand and number of these blades if you don't mind?

Max


#65

Ronno6

Ronno6

Hegsz71 said:
Well having a fastrak 54" I had a massive clogging issue with the stock blades, switched to gators and it was still there just less frequent. Bought High lift blades last week and my clogging problems are gone! checked the deck when I was done and the thing was spotless In fact it was cleaner then when I started. ( cleaned it before I mowed, but after doing it for the 100th time this year I did it really half assed.) I mowed in tall wet grass and it clumped a bit, but nothing like it normal did and there was no engine bog which would always happen before. just my $.02
Click to expand...

We're hanging on your every word in order that we may know which blade you are using!


#66

K

kraky

Wierd on the fastrak....my 54" 2015 came with high lift blades on it from the factory.
I didn't realize it until I ordered some xht high lift blades based on jerseys recommendations... when I was flipping them out they were virtually identical to the XHT'S but I thought the XHT'S had a tiny tiny bit more lift. The xht have certainly lived up to their names whenever I trim all the shrubs I just blow them out on the lawn and run them over with the mower and they don't Nick or Dull the blades at all. Recycling had it simple purest best!


#67

jekjr

jekjr

Hegsz71 said:
Well having a fastrak 54" I had a massive clogging issue with the stock blades, switched to gators and it was still there just less frequent. Bought High lift blades last week and my clogging problems are gone! checked the deck when I was done and the thing was spotless In fact it was cleaner then when I started. ( cleaned it before I mowed, but after doing it for the 100th time this year I did it really half assed.) I mowed in tall wet grass and it clumped a bit, but nothing like it normal did and there was no engine bog which would always happen before. just my $.02
Click to expand...

One thing you are going to find out running the high lift blades all of the time is you are going to have problems with sand blasting of your deck. I have two Scags that we have always run high lift blades on that have holes worn in the top pf the deck. Had to weld scalps over them. They do great work but they do bring about issues.


#68

K

kraky

The sandblasting thing is pretty area-specific. I live in Central Wisconsin and we have a heavy clay soil and the high lift blades don't even begin to damage things under the deck.... if you go 40 miles north of here you run into a totally different sandy soil it will actually cut the lift right off of the blade like a torch!
But it certainly is a good idea to keep an eye on things!


#69

B

BoylermanCT

Same here in CT - clay soil, no sand. My blades / deck all last many years. I have seen some blades in areas with sandy soil that have been ground away and have to be replaced on a regular basis, no such problem here.


#70

C

ChuckL

I just bought a set of the Hi-Lift XHT blades for my SD 48". Looks like I had the factory hi-lift blades, 601123?

Oh well, I now have a spare to sharpen for a quicker swap.


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