Standard Blades

philadelphia1

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Hello all,

Quick question concerning riding mower Blades.....I'm replacing my old mulching blades on my riding mower with a 46 inch deck and was going to buy new ones. Then while digging through stuff in my garage I found a set of brand new oem standard 2-in-1 blades I never used. There is a mulching kit on my mower. Now, here my question.....I was wondering if anyone else has tried this and how the results were? Can I substitute the old mulching blades with the 2-in-1 blades and get a half decent result?

Has anyone ever used a standard blade to mulch?

Any suggestion / experiences is appreciated. Thanks for you time.

Here in Philly Yo.
 

mechanic mark

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Post your complete model & serial numbers from data plate on mower. If they are OEM blades I would give them a try.
 

BlazNT

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2 in 1 normally means Mulch or blow on to yard. Should be able to mulch no problem. Heck I have put my mulch cover on with high lift blades with very little difference.
 

HughDaHand

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2 in 1 normally means Mulch or blow on to yard. Should be able to mulch no problem. Heck I have put my mulch cover on with high lift blades with very little difference.

I thought 2 in 1 blade were usually Discharge or Bagging blades and not for mulching, or high lift blades as they are usually called.
 

bertsmobile1

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Bagging blades are nothing more then hi=lift and in come cases very hi-lift
2 in 1 blades are almost universally cut or much

As for the OP it makes little difference what blades you use if you have the mulching plate installed.
What is important is the ratio of cut to uncut, the overall height of the grass, and most important the wetness of the grass.
Some grasse with high moisture content are very hard to mulch no matter what blades you have fitted.
And you can not mulch grass that is wet itself.
 

philadelphia1

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Sorry I forgot to list my mowers information.

2008 Craftsman Lawn Tractor
Model # 917.288720
Engine: Kohler Courage Pro 25hp
Family: 8KHXS.7252GB
Spec # PS-SV730-0028
Build Date: 1-25-2008

That's what I was thinking Mark, I might as well give them a try. Yes, they are OEM and came with the tractor. When I bought the tractor I bought a mulching kit and installed that, never using the OEM 2-in-1/high-lift blades.

That is what I was hoping to hear BlazNT...so you in fact have the high-lifts on now and the mulch cover installed and see very little difference? Do you get much sticking or build up on the inside of the deck?

That was my initial thoughts too HughDaHand, that the 2-in-1's were exclusively for throwing and bagging.

Very good points bertsmobile1, I do in fact have the mulching plate installed. There doesn't seem to be much of a difference in the fabrication aspects between the two different types of blades other than the high-lift are more aerodynamic and appear to have wing-like lips at the end of each blade, while the mulching blade is pretty much a flat blade. They both appear to have equal cutting surfaces.

My biggest concern is there being a drastic difference between the two different types of cuts while taking into consideration ideal environmental factors such as grass height, moisture etc. So the consensus is I should notice very little if any difference between the blades as long as the mulch plate is installed?

I attached a Picture of the new oem 2-in-1 blades and my old mulching blades.
 

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BlazNT

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I do not mulch wet grass so not much build up at all.
 

philadelphia1

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Another question?

The mulching blades in the photo......do they look spent or do you think they can be sharpened again? I think I had them cut 3 or 4 times. Or nah?
 

bertsmobile1

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No problems resharpening those blades.
I do not do it because I do not have a blade grinder and by th time I grind then balance the blades it is cheaper for the customer have me install new ones.
I do have some customers who resharpen their old blades & I change them over when I do a routine service but most times they get tossed into the poverty box for use on pensioners mowers or childrens sporting clubs etc etc etc.

The problem mulching with high lift blades is they tend to cit the grass once then cake it on the top of the deck till it falls off in clumps/
Not quite the magaic " dissapears into the lawn" effect mulching blades are trying to perform.
 

motoman

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I would get another 8 years use out of those older used blades. I have those blades on my Craftsman since 2004. I would buy them if I saw them at a yard sale.
 
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