gator blades... anyone use them? [Archive] - LawnSite.com™ - Lawn Care & Landscaping Business Forum

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GracesLandscaping

01-31-2009, 01:01 AM

i have seen these before but nobody i know has ever used them. i was wondering if they were any good because i would like a better "mulching" blade that would chop the grass up more finely i guess you could say... any input would be appreciated!!

jsw2008

01-31-2009, 08:48 AM

I don't like them for grass, but for leaves they're great. They leave lots of stalks of grass sticking up and I have to double cut. On leaves they just turn the leaves into tiny pieces and I either leave them or suck them up with the bagger.

David Haggerty

01-31-2009, 09:06 AM

C4chris70

01-31-2009, 09:25 AM

I agree with jsw2008. They leave stalks of grass sticking up everywhere especially in bahia grass causing the need to double cut. They do work well for mulching up leaves.

grassman177

01-31-2009, 09:41 AM

yep, i use then only in the first mowings and cleanups and in the fall for leaves, bagging and mulching. other thatn that they area a nightmare. they cut not that great and actually pack normal grass up under the deck, much more than high lifts do. still worth having a set or two for the above states purposes

mowerbrad

01-31-2009, 10:20 AM

I used my gator blades all season last year. I mainly did that because I was bagging most of my properties last year and the gators helped to compact the grass in the bagger better. But during the spring and fall when I was doing clean-ups, the blades did an awesome job, I was extremely happy with them.

jsw2008

01-31-2009, 10:28 AM

I forgot about the huge amount of grass you have to scrape from the underside of the deck when you use gators. After every yard, you have to clean the mower if the grass is the least bit wet.

nosparkplugs

01-31-2009, 10:36 AM

I have always used gators when offered as a replacement, the Walkers you cannot use them on GHS decks:cry: I tried thy rub:laugh::hammerhead: The new BB AOS diesel i got came with the new Oregon "Fushion" extend cut blades. On this diesel the Fushions cut/mulch better than the Gators on my lower hp machines.

When I was running lower hp/torque machines, the proper blade choice was critical, but when you get into the high hp/torque engines blade types becomes less of an issue, what a blade lacks in a design advantage, the ZTR engine makes up for with sheer hp/torque.

Jason Rose

01-31-2009, 11:08 AM

I have always used gators when offered as a replacement, the Walkers you cannot use them on GHS decks:cry: I tried thy rub:laugh::hammerhead:

I have a set of the "gators" (different brand, same design) for my 48" GHS. I didn't have any problems with them hitting the underside of the deck, but they also did a terrible job of getting leaves sucked up out of the grass and thrown to the blower. I had high hopes that they would have shread leaves better but they just made me go over everything 2 or 3 times. Now, I can certianly see how they could hit the deck, they are pretty THIN and I think if used in more serious mowing conditions they would whip some. I figured I'd give them a shot but they only stayed on for 2 days and I went back to std. high-lifts.

I use Gators in the fall only on my Grasshopper. The less lift cuts down on blowout of leaves (bagging) and I believe they do help shred the leaves a bit more.

GracesLandscaping

01-31-2009, 11:08 AM

I use Gator blades as the top blade for my double-blade set up. My 36" WB cuts like crap without this set up.

From what I've read Dixie Chopers cut better with double blades too. Especially in cool season grasses. Are you using double blades?

No, I am not currently running double blades. If i do not end up selling my dixie this is something that i am going to look into i just have to figure out somewhere to get it since my dealer dropped dixie a few years ago ( im sure he would get it for me but it would be higher than an internet site) what adjustments do you have to make to accomadate double blades?
BTW you allkeep mentioning the thick warm season grasses and i cut very few to none of these yards... they only grow in spots of untreated yards. mainly all my yards are a tall thin bladed fescue. usually a cool season grass

DLAWNS

01-31-2009, 11:11 AM

I pretty much only use them for when I'm bagging leaves because they turn them to dust.

nosparkplugs

01-31-2009, 11:15 AM

I have a set of the "gators" (different brand, same design) for my 48" GHS. I didn't have any problems with them hitting the underside of the deck, but they also did a terrible job of getting leaves sucked up out of the grass and thrown to the blower. I had high hopes that they would have shread leaves better but they just made me go over everything 2 or 3 times. Now, I can certianly see how they could hit the deck, they are pretty THIN and I think if used in more serious mowing conditions they would whip some. I figured I'd give them a shot but they only stayed on for 2 days and I went back to std. high-lifts.

I use Gators in the fall only on my Grasshopper. The less lift cuts down on blowout of leaves (bagging) and I believe they do help shred the leaves a bit more.

I have the gators for the new BB 72", but I was to lazy to change them out, so use to the easy of blade changing with the front mowers :laugh: So I used the Fushions, and honestly my off the hip assesment the Fushions are going to be good for really high grass fieldgrass, your right the lift on the Fushions is crazy:dizzy:

jkilov

01-31-2009, 12:19 PM

I don't like them for grass, but for leaves they're great. They leave lots of stalks of grass sticking up and I have to double cut.

Agree 100%. Gators are overrated.

Valk

02-01-2009, 12:00 AM

Echoing the above: Gators are great for grinding up DRY material. Not the best when the grass is long and/or wet.
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