Doubles - not for all machines.

[Turfdude]

I finally tried double blades on my machines for clean-ups (after only 15+ years). They worked okay on z-rider w/ PECO catcher, but seemed to blow more leaves out front of 48" Standers. Did so-so w/ 36" Snapper WB. What got sucked up was better shreded w/ 2 sets of hi-lift gators, but again alot of debris actually shot away from edge ofdeck that would normally be sucked up. Live and learn. If it rains tomorrow, I'll just zip off 12 blades and re-set blade height. Fortunately I didn't do this to all of my equipment.:o

Bob

[SlimShady]

Try attaching a skirt of baseboard rubber around the deck with self-tapping screws & duct tape, dropping it about 1/16" below flat ground.

[AndysLawns]

I absolutley love them, however i can not run a mulch kit w/ them way too much blow out. But just side discharging is working fine, sometimes i have to double cut

[TGCummings]

They haven't worked real well for my 36" Exmark TTHP with mulch kit. I mulch everything and they seem to do a better job of that with single blades...

[SJR Lawncare]

I love them on my 52 Scag hydro. Believe it or not, I use 2 sets of scag factory recycling blades, The top set is much more grinded down than the bottom set to make the set up lighter.

[awm]

as far as im concerned this ranks as a big find. i think it does take a while to learn how to make it work best for u.
it improves cut ,discharges much better ,and doubles the leaf
mulching of my mower. unless its as dry as it was this yr.
i ran half speed most of the time to cut down on the dust.

[accuratelawn]

Doubles work well on the 52 Great Dane. Not very well on the 60 Lazer.. too much blow out. Haven't tried it on the Walker GHS.

[strickdad]

im with the above post the doubles work great on all our 48"danes

[johnnyjay]

I have a 52" Lazer HP. This week I have tried double blades. I put a Gator Blade on top and LO Lift Blade on bottom. I ran over yards first to side discharge and to chop up leaves.

Then I added the Ultra Vac to the mower. Then it Sucked up everything with NO Blow Out. Man the Lo Lift Blades makes a difference. I haved previously tried a Hi Lift Blade on bottom and gator on top and the blow out was discouraging. I asked on Lawnsite for suggestions of blade combinations. Also, did a search on doubles and wrote to ExMark for suggestions.

Recommendations are and were to use the Lo Lift Blades to stop the blow out. Exmark said the same thing, however they suggested using the hi lift blades if leaves are wet or matted.

Now to make me really happy would be for Exmark to make a quick quick conversion kit to change between Mulching and Side discharging or Bagging.

On my 36" Exmark Metro HP I get best result with single wavy mulching blade. I tried doubles in the past but the blow out was too much. I have not tried the lo lift and gator mulching blade as doubles on this machine yet.

[eslawns]

In today's lawsuit oriented climate, I wouldn't consider making this type of modification to a mower. If something ever happened, no matter what the circumastances really were, this is what the lawyers would blame it on. My mowers do a very good job the way they are.

[AltaLawnCare]

Like said before, the trick is to find the right combination. The right blades, rpms, and deck height. This set up does make the mower more productive and efficient. :)

[awm]

eslawn ,i appreciate your opinion ,but any mower can throw
a bullit now and then.thats the only thing i can think might be affected. i keep my chute dn if im any where close to something i could damage.later now

[TGCummings]

Originally posted by johnnyjay
On my 36" Exmark Metro HP I get best result with single wavy mulching blade

Same here with my 36" Exmark TTHP. However, the wavy blades are a pain to sharpen! I would use them and nothing else, every time, if I could figure out how to sharpen them effectively with my RBG!!!

[Chopper Lover]

I have 2 mowers. A 36" Scag Walk Behind and a 60" Gravely PM260Z.

Scag 36", 12.5 hp, WB:
I always keep the Scag with High Lift's on the bottom and Gator Magnum's on top. The cut is great, discharge is great. I have found I had to slow down just a hair on my ground speed because of the extra power used with the doubles. Keep in mind the mower is about 7 years old and may be getting a little "tired".

Over all opinion: VERY SATISFIED!

Gravely PM260Z, 60", 25 hp:
I tried double on this mower and I was not real happy. With Gravely High Lifts on the bottom and Gator Magnum's on top I found the grass was sometimes being "folded over" rather than cut. I ran out to the trailer and switched to just singles and the problem was resolved. The blades ended up below the baffles with the doubles. I don't know if it has to do with the way the deck/blade height relate or not...

Over all opinion: I will stick with singles for now.

For the Gravely I was considering purchasing regular Gator's and trying them instead since they are a lighter weight blade. Any uselful thoughts or suggestions?

Happy Holidays!
Mark

[Eric ELM]

Double Blades? HUH?

J/K :D

After using them for the past 12,000 hours of mowing, I would say they are the best thing I've added to my mowers. ;)

I have found out the tighter the baffles, the more blow out you will get. Using lower lift blades will help with blow out and so will slowing down the rpm's a bit. The old Chopper has next to no baffles compared to the new one, so it has very little blowout.

The new one is another story, so I need to use lower lift blades on it to help prevent blowout.

All in all, I will probably will always use doubles since I have for about 12 years or more. ;)

[treeman82]

I had put doubles on my 48" Scag and really enjoyed the results. It has a 14hp Kawi in it. Then I went over to a good friend's house and put doubles on his 48" machine with the 17hp Kawi with the help of the "mechanic." We tried it out after putting the blades on and noticed a great gain in suction, as well as that the machine was running quiter. His guys took the machine out and claimed that something was wrong with the machine. What I think happened was that they were not used to the decreased noise put out. The lawn mower almost sounds like a Bunton now with running the doubles.

[MIDSOUTH]

They do well on my scag with the mulch master kit, However I just replaced the clutch. Though I don't think the doubles did it, I think the clutch was shot anyway.

[AltaLawnCare]

I had good luck with them on the Toro, back when this came up. I don't like them on the Lazer...
Haven't tried them on the Metro.

[BUCKY12PT]

I tryed double after reading about them here on this form. I have a exmark viking and a lazer efi. I realy like them on the lazer.But not real crazy about them on the viking. The combo on the lazer is the orig.on the bottom and the exmark mulcher's on top.I am really happy with this set up. the costumers even noticed the diff.:laugh:

[eslawns]

eslawn ,i appreciate your opinion ,but any mower can throw a bullit now and then.thats the only thing i can think might be affected. i keep my chute dn if im any where close to something i could damage.later now

I realize that any mower can throw something, but if you modify a machine which passes an industry standard for safety, and end up facing a lawsuit, it will fall on you not the people who make the mowers. The person suing you will still go after the mfg, because they have the big $$$, but you gave the big company their out.

My wife works for a personal injury law firm. They left me with the feeling that making modifications to vehicles and equipment is foolish. Since they represent injured people for a living, I get the feeling they may know what they're talking about.

You guys can do what you want. I've never needed doubles, I can't see any reason to take a risk that has the potential to cost me my business and my home.

[Romey]

95% of all safety equipment is for the Harry Home owner type who really doesn't have the knowledge and experience around power equipment we landscapers have. We use this stuff day in and day out. Harry pushes pencils all day and thus he is more apt to do something stupid and get hurt. We landscapers rely on our mowers to pay the bills so we need the most efficient grass cutting equipment available without the Harry Homeowner safety devices. Education is the best safety mechanism we have. Why don't you tow your landscape trailer with a horse? Your driving a truck with a big engine in may cause injury and have an injury lawsuit litigation. If you think about it, you could potentially cause way move devastation driving your truck than putting double blades on your mower.

[Burnandreturn]

I think Shakespeare (?) had the right idea! "The first thing we do is kill all the lawyers!"

[Luv'Cuttin']

I like them when the grass is not too high and that's with LO lift on bottom and reg gators on top. This combo is equivelant to as much vacuum as single high lifts without the blowout on my 52" Surfer but I don't like the strain it puts on the clutch or on the engine in thick tall grass. Also I had to stop using the double blade brackets because I kept busting them up so now I just do the without a bracket. I'll be putting mine back on in the next week or two and keep them on through the Fall for the leaves, I just have to let the mower warm up longer before engaging the blades. I'm too impatient.