So, my Ariens Apex 60 is coming up on 6 years of use and I’ll eclipse 200 total hours next week. The original blades had been in use the whole time without a single sharpening, but the cut was still nice and even, so why mess with it?
Anyways, I finally decided to replace the blades. I ordered a set of the Oregon mulching blades since Ariens does not sell a mulching blade. Trying to reduce clumping and piles of grass. Anyways, when I got the old blades off, I noticed the Oregon blades are easily twice as heavy and probably twice as thick.
On to the main question. Can a heavier blade actually improve gas consumption due to a heavier centrifugal (flywheel) effect? I’d always use roughly 5.5 gallons each time of use (about an hour 40 minutes) and with these new blades, I’m consistently using about 4.25 gallons over the 5 uses since the new blades. The cut time is still within 5 minutes, and there have been no other changes to the mower. I’m at a loss other than the heavier blade actually “helping” the engine be more efficient after it’s spinning, even though it obviously takes more energy to get them spinning… blade tip speed is 18,000 fpm.
Has anybody else seen something like this, or does the heavier blade idea make sense?
Anyways, I finally decided to replace the blades. I ordered a set of the Oregon mulching blades since Ariens does not sell a mulching blade. Trying to reduce clumping and piles of grass. Anyways, when I got the old blades off, I noticed the Oregon blades are easily twice as heavy and probably twice as thick.
On to the main question. Can a heavier blade actually improve gas consumption due to a heavier centrifugal (flywheel) effect? I’d always use roughly 5.5 gallons each time of use (about an hour 40 minutes) and with these new blades, I’m consistently using about 4.25 gallons over the 5 uses since the new blades. The cut time is still within 5 minutes, and there have been no other changes to the mower. I’m at a loss other than the heavier blade actually “helping” the engine be more efficient after it’s spinning, even though it obviously takes more energy to get them spinning… blade tip speed is 18,000 fpm.
Has anybody else seen something like this, or does the heavier blade idea make sense?
