Raptor SD cut quality - any recommendations?

I think if you were to use a set of high lift blades it would give you a better cut. It should give you better lift and discharge.

MRCo. said:

Anyone else thinks that grass looks pretty damn good?!?!? Nice yard.

That's some thick looking grass. The RSD deck is shallower and will have some issues with real heavy material volumes as such. A rule of thumb for grass health and cut quality is at most remove 1/3 of grass length, perhaps cut it a touch more often?

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I did a cut after the one pictured at TWO DAYS and still got some visible clippings. It's hard to find time more than once a week to be out there cutting.

Thanks for the compliments on the lawn. Definitely lush, at least this time of year.

Two elements determine the discharge and even dispersing of clippings for a clean cut but only one is thought to be the problem by owners of mowers and that one element is the blades. Change to this blade or that blade is usually the suggestion with disappointing results.

The second element is deck design and the engineering relationship of the blade to the deck. There are just some mowers that will never do the job you want to see no matter what blade is installed.

I'm sure this isn't what anyone that spends thousands for their pretty mower wants to read or hear but it is fact.

SeniorCitizen said:

Two elements determine the discharge and even dispersing of clippings for a clean cut but only one is thought to be the problem by owners of mowers and that one element is the blades. Change to this blade or that blade is usually the suggestion with disappointing results.

The second element is deck design and the engineering relationship of the blade to the deck. There are just some mowers that will never do the job you want to see no matter what blade is installed.

I'm sure this isn't what anyone that spends thousands for their pretty mower wants to read or hear but it is fact.

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I'm bought in with this idea, but what no one ever talks about is what attributes of either the blades or deck actually have an impact on cut quality. As an engineer, I'd love for someone to be able to point to something specific on the deck of my mower that is causing the issues I see.

I had a similar question about blade design that I posted on this forum or another some time back. I see so many posts where people suggest, "try high lift blades", or "try gator blades", but so little discussion of the science behind why one blade might be better than another for its intended purpose.

Not arguing with your point at all, just wishing we as an internet community could get more science behind the discussion to help understand the issues we're seeing, or at least help others make good choices.

mooch91 said:

I'm bought in with this idea, but what no one ever talks about is what attributes of either the blades or deck actually have an impact on cut quality. As an engineer, I'd love for someone to be able to point to something specific on the deck of my mower that is causing the issues I see.

I had a similar question about blade design that I posted on this forum or another some time back. I see so many posts where people suggest, "try high lift blades", or "try gator blades", but so little discussion of the science behind why one blade might be better than another for its intended purpose.

Not arguing with your point at all, just wishing we as an internet community could get more science behind the discussion to help understand the issues we're seeing, or at least help others make good choices.

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whelch1 said:

I think if you were to use a set of high lift blades it would give you a better cut. It should give you better lift and discharge.

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The Gator blade is a High Lift Blade and mulches. It's design to to reduce the size of the clippings which gives a finer discharge. The teeth on the gator blade are angled toward the center of the blade [SIZE=-1] to redirect the airflow and push the grass clippings back over the cutting edge of the mower blade again and again, the grass is cut multiple times before discharge [/SIZE]and faster breakdown of the grass. The op made mention that his deck is level, if so that could be the reason his cut quality is suffering.

mooch91 said:

I'm bought in with this idea, but what no one ever talks about is what attributes of either the blades or deck actually have an impact on cut quality. As an engineer, I'd love for someone to be able to point to something specific on the deck of my mower that is causing the issues I see.

I had a similar question about blade design that I posted on this forum or another some time back. I see so many posts where people suggest, "try high lift blades", or "try gator blades", but so little discussion of the science behind why one blade might be better than another for its intended purpose.

Not arguing with your point at all, just wishing we as an internet community could get more science behind the discussion to help understand the issues we're seeing, or at least help others make good choices.

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I'm just a self educated enjiner but I can tell you about the best mower I ever had for discharging / clean cut and a weed whacker edger was never needed to trim.

It was about 40 years ago when I was poor as a snake and raising 3 kids. I needed a mower, pusher of all things. I had an old engine from somewhere, probably the old Homeko mower that had a failed two speed, a blade from a mower shop. An old ugly yellow deck that looked like a doughnut, ( think Snapper RER with a depression for the engine ) 4 adjustable wheels and a handle from a co worker that kept a few old mowers around. So looking back this pusher was built up from at least 5 mowers.

Now, here is what made it work. The eng. shaft was too long so I cut a 3/4" thick plywood ring to elevate a little but the blade tip still was down at the bottom deck edge or just a little below and to top that off the blade only missed the deck about an 1/8". One did not place his boot toe anywhere close to the deck with it running. Just avoid that area even with steel toed boots.

Why wasn't a trimmer edger needed? It would suck 6" long grass from around a tree, off of a brick wall or from chain link fence. It even wanted some of that tall grass on the opposite side of the fence.:laughing:

It's last breath was the day we expanded the mowing area here at the ranch and went for a rider. The day I took it to the scrapper it still had the wooden LF wheel I had made from a 2x10 after the plastic wheel hub fell completely out taking a corner too fast.

That's my story and I'm sticken to it.

So where does front to back deck level adjustment come into play when using Gator Blades? I can't say what the OP's deck adj. spec is but on my Xone it's 1/4" lower in front than back. This goes against everything I've used when adjusting the deck on a garden tractor....which is 1/4 HIGHER in front.

I'm wondering if all the posts about wanting a better quality of cut...if the OPs' would adjust the decks to run 1/4" high in front. I've now got my XOne running 1/4" high in front with Gator blades. Just need the grass to grow to see if the QOC is better and leaving behind smaller clippings.

1striper1 said:

So where does front to back deck level adjustment come into play when using Gator Blades? I can't say what the OP's deck adj. spec is but on my Xone it's 1/4" lower in front than back. This goes against everything I've used when adjusting the deck on a garden tractor....which is 1/4 HIGHER in front.

I'm wondering if all the posts about wanting a better quality of cut...if the OPs' would adjust the decks to run 1/4" high in front. I've now got my XOne running 1/4" high in front with Gator blades. Just need the grass to grow to see if the QOC is better and leaving behind smaller clippings.

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Another great question. I've been using the owner's manual recommendation of level on the deck. I've set it a dozen times now, have always checked my floor to confirm exactly level.

Again, this also appears to be another one of those long-standing debates on the forums. From what I've read, 1/8 - 1/4" DOWN in front is the preferred setting for cut quality and vacuum. Raising it HIGH in the front causes double-cutting which robs power and causes an uneven appearance.

That said, I did recently drop it just a hair in the front. I set it about 1/8" lower and then lowered the front adjusters each another turn. The appearance looked good this last Sunday when I mowed, but that was after only 2 days of growth, so I'll give it a shot later this week to see how it does.

Unfortunately when I have the deck at an angle, I seem to have a problem with the lift pedal on the deck. It bottoms out before it engages/disengages the lock; I have to "put it through the floor" to get the deck to disengage. I did my setting at 3 1/4" with 3" blocks under the deck; I may need to set it at 3 1/2" with the 3" blocks to give the pedal a little more room to lift the deck (deck overall may be up too high).

1striper1 said:

So where does front to back deck level adjustment come into play when using Gator Blades? I can't say what the OP's deck adj. spec is but on my Xone it's 1/4" lower in front than back. This goes against everything I've used when adjusting the deck on a garden tractor....which is 1/4 HIGHER in front.

I'm wondering if all the posts about wanting a better quality of cut...if the OPs' would adjust the decks to run 1/4" high in front. I've now got my XOne running 1/4" high in front with Gator blades. Just need the grass to grow to see if the QOC is better and leaving behind smaller clippings.

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What type of blade your using doesn't matter, it can be a gator blade or what ever. You measure blade tip. In most conditions the back blade tip should be adjusted 1/4" higher than the front for the correct pitch on the deck. If your a 1/4" higher in the front you may end up getting a face full of grass because it will blow out the front of the deck because you wont be creating enough lift.

Spent a frustrating Friday cutting 5 days worth of dry growth from my lawn at about 3" high. It had not rained during the previous 5 days but the night before we got a bit of drizzle, leaving the lawn damp when I had to cut it that morning. Had to TRIPLE cut to get this:



Cleaned this mess from under the deck:



Went to see my local dealer. When I told him I was using the Gator G5s, he told me he's not surprised that I'm having discharge and clumping issues, saying the blades are better suited to mulching. He also recommended pitching the deck 1/4" forward.

He gave me a set of the high lift blades and asked that I try them with the deck pitched forward.







Installed them yesterday. Will try a cut today (though only two days of dry growth). I also installed a both adjacent to the discharge chute to level it out a bit so it's not pointing downward (raises it about 1").