Anyone have any experience with these, they seem to get high marks from some on lawn & garden forums, and indifferent as well. I would appreciate a BITOG opinion if there are any. Thanks!
Gator Replacement Lawn mower blades
- Thread starter lobo11
- Start date
- Status
I like Gaters for my 42" Craftsman LT1000. Compared to stock mulching blades, they are more durable because they are thicker, easier to sharpen because the cutting edge is straight and the size of the discharged grass is finer. I'm usually cutting 4-6" of weekly new growth on approx. 2 acres. Due to sandy soil and tough bahaia grass, I wear down a set of gaters each season. Cutting a 'normal lawn' might yield better blade life and finer discharged clippings.
We are using Oregon Brand Gator Mulcher Blades on a 44 inch (3 blades) Cub Cadet and a 1989 Toro 21 inch alum deck walk mower with good rsults. The 44 inch side discharge deck seems to cut the clippings up in smaller sections that seem to drop into the grass better. The 21 inch Toro has a mulch plug that we use as opposed to the side discharge chute. It mulched very well with the standard high lift blades but the Gator blade seems to do a better job when the grass is very high. With light grass we cannot see a difference.
Wayne
Wayne
i had one on a 21" push mower
left strips of uncut grass down the center of the blade path
left strips of uncut grass down the center of the blade path
They seemed kind of heavy when I looked at them in the store, at least compared to the original 21in blade on our older (?) Murray. If it's made of the right materials and tempered properly it can be fairly thin, which is good as it's less rotating mass for he mower.
http://www.mowproducts.com/
I've been using it on an MTD walk-behind. I found it will take a decent edge (extra-sharp) with a less work than a few others I've used.
Went after it with a fine file and then the DREMEL tool.
Was very good on fall clean-up, and in winter mowings spaced a few weeks apart.
Lost edge quickly over areas of dirt, faster than other blades used. Not considered a problem.
Use is on FLORATAM St. Augustine, some common Bermuda, around 2.5" high; mowed twice weekly. No problems with leaving strips, but other blades are a bit better so I understand that concern. (This is on a very small yard -- around 7500 s/f -- and "mistakes" are obvious). I crosscut lawn at least once weekly, at a minimum 45-degrees.
Any reservations are less than minor.
I've been using it on an MTD walk-behind. I found it will take a decent edge (extra-sharp) with a less work than a few others I've used.
Went after it with a fine file and then the DREMEL tool.
Was very good on fall clean-up, and in winter mowings spaced a few weeks apart.
Lost edge quickly over areas of dirt, faster than other blades used. Not considered a problem.
Use is on FLORATAM St. Augustine, some common Bermuda, around 2.5" high; mowed twice weekly. No problems with leaving strips, but other blades are a bit better so I understand that concern. (This is on a very small yard -- around 7500 s/f -- and "mistakes" are obvious). I crosscut lawn at least once weekly, at a minimum 45-degrees.
Any reservations are less than minor.
Thanks everyone. I went ahead and ordered one from Jack's--I had found them earlier when searching Gator Blades (but thanks Jon, it is a nice site). I'll post result.
tdimaniac,
I have a 2004 38" Simplicity Regent w/highlift bagger blades and interested in the Gators. Are you using a mulch kit with your mower and Gators or just side discharging?
Thanks!
Mark in NC
BTW...happily using 100% USA B100 Soy Biodiesel in my '96 Passat TDI!
I have a 2004 38" Simplicity Regent w/highlift bagger blades and interested in the Gators. Are you using a mulch kit with your mower and Gators or just side discharging?
Thanks!
Mark in NC
BTW...happily using 100% USA B100 Soy Biodiesel in my '96 Passat TDI!
i am using them on a simplicity 38 inch for the last 2 years. they are quieter than the oem blades and sharpen easily and give a nice cut with bermudagrass not sure about the weight though. i will check next time i take them off.
oh yeah, i got them from the mowproducts site. i like their service a lot.
oh yeah, i got them from the mowproducts site. i like their service a lot.
Report-I cannot honestly say that the Gator blades seem to be any better than the OEM LB mulching blade used before. They seem very similar performance-wise. The reason I will be purchasing them in the future is similar performance at a cheaper price. In addition they seemed much closer to the weight of the original blade than the Arnold brand I looked at to replace the LB blades with. Overall very satisfied with price and performance.
mark in nc, sorry for the delayed response. we are just using the side discharge without the mulch kit. most of the time they work great with the side discharge (except when my kid lets the grass get too high).
dave in middle tenn (born in burnsville nc!)
dave in middle tenn (born in burnsville nc!)
Thanks Dave!
Do you have any issues with clippings/dust exiting out from under the front of the deck? Lots of discussion about this here:
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tractor/msg0716471325508.html?10
Ahhh...Yancey County! God's Country! Lived in Buncombe Co for 8 years prior to transfer to Charlotte. Lots of friends in Celo, Bakersville, Spruce Pine and Burnsville.
Mark in NC
Do you have any issues with clippings/dust exiting out from under the front of the deck? Lots of discussion about this here:
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tractor/msg0716471325508.html?10
Ahhh...Yancey County! God's Country! Lived in Buncombe Co for 8 years prior to transfer to Charlotte. Lots of friends in Celo, Bakersville, Spruce Pine and Burnsville.
Mark in NC
Lobo11, the blades being the same weight usealy dont mean anything as long as the balance is right on. In a car engine that sees vairable RPMs and needs to rap quickly the less rotating mass is better. But a fixed speed engine like a lawnmower or generator, the heaver the mass the less it will slow down when it gets into the tough stuff. My 80 year old sawmill 1 cyl engine has a 4 foot 450 Lbs flywheel and takes about one whole min to get up to about 1400 RPM but it will stay at that speed no matter what. I bought a look alike Gator 21" blade at Lowes for about $20 and it is thicker, heaver and has a longer and steeper pitch to the cutter area. Man that blade busts up a pine cone into a million peices. DaveJ
mark, thanks for the link. gardenweb is great; i used that site when i was deciding whether to go with a simplicity mower kit or the gators. the gators were much less expensive so i gave them a try and have been happy with the results. our mower is a 1999 model, and i have never really noticed the "blowout" problem. maybe because we only use the side discharge?? anyways hope this answers your question.
The gator blade was $15.44 online, plus I ordered some other parts, so even with shipping I was at almost $10 less than the LB blade and about the same as the Arnold by MTD blade. I will more than likely be purchasing the Gator Blades again as I expect nice durability if the Gator by Oregon is anything like their other cutting tools.
- Status
