help

[HOLE IN ONE]

I just put a double blade kit on my 36wb. gator blade on top regular on bottom. when I mowed it left very distinct stripes, but the light colored stripes look like the tips of the grass are torn bad. it looks as if it scalped the grass. I can not figure out how one pass can look fine the grass green and cut fresh . and the other pass looks ragged and dull cut. has anyone experienced this before when using double blades.

[roscioli]

um.. that makes absolutely 0 sense.. there is somethign else wrong, sharpen your blades, and use thread titles that actually explain your question.

[HOLE IN ONE]

the blades are brand new. I know it makes no sense,it has me stumped that's why I posted the thread help. is everyone stumped because there is only reply and it was no help

[madmow]

I also have no clue, but post something more than HELP-- I only looked at this cause it was on top, not because it caught my attention. Post again with a partial question in the thread title.

[LawnMower]

It makes plenty of sense. Now you were saying that the lighter stripes look like the grass was torn? Remember that the light stripes look dark when you look at it from the other angle. When you look at it from the other angle do the lighter stripes still look torn? If they do, then all the tripe’s have torn grass. Now that mystery is solved.

However why is the grass being torn? It could be that you don’t have the horsepower to spin double blades. If you’re lacking some horsepower, then they may not be spinning fast enough, and will rip the grass. Also, now that you have another blade on the spindle, the mower is cutting a little lower then before using the same setting. If you put the mower at a lower setting then you had it last week, it will look like heck this time of year. You’re taking too much off.
If the blades are not spinning fast enough, then it will be even worse.
My 2 cents.

[tiedeman]

I have actually had problems with my gator blades ripping the lawn as well. I don't know what it is about them, but sometimes, not all the time, they will rip. So try a different set of blades other than the gators first to see whether or not that is the problem

[HOLE IN ONE]

Hey guys thanks for your input. the lighter stripes are yellow looking from both directions. what i don't understand is why is one stripe looks perfect dark green nice sharp cut on end of grass blades and the stripe right next to it where i came from the other direction looks scalped. I also did not compensate for the xtra blade and raise the deck,but if it were cutting to short would'nt the grass look yellow and torn on both stripes?If i knew how i would post a pic. oh I forgot my gravely has a 13 hp kaw.

[greenman]

Originally posted by LawnMower


However why is the grass being torn?

Did you sharpen the new blades before you put them on?

[roscioli]

Originally posted by LawnMower
Remember that the light stripes look dark when you look at it from the other angle.

LMAO LawnMower... hahaha. I didn't even think to say that.
Sorry I wasn't helpful in my first post, I wasn't in a good mood at the time. Are you changing mowing patterns often? Maybe you are creating ruts and are somehow lower in one direction than the other. Or perhaps its not something to do with your mower, but just a coincidence, perhaps it was over/under fertilized, on some stripes, but just is a coincidence that your mower falls in the same lines that the fertilizer was applied in.
OR, perhaps you always mow in one direction, and the grass lays flat down in that direction, and is longer than your blade height because of the lack of lift, but now that you have doubles on, and so much more lift, it is pulling that grass up straight, and hence it is much shorter now than it used to be, even though walking on it, it seems to be the same length. Once in a while I try to get into the areas that I have to follow the same pattern every week (a tight area for example), and use my blower to lift the grass before I mow it, so if it always gets laid down by my tires, it will be lifted to get mowed this time...

[Envy Lawn Service]

Every stripe in that direction looks that way and every stripe in the other direction doesn't? Did you check closely, by this I mean walk all over the lawn, bend down and inspect the blade tips?

If so, would this lawn happen to be on a slope? If so, maybe the deck pitch may be shifting to near level or more when going up or down. That would be logical because the blades of grass would be getting cut, then torn or beat as the mower passed over them.

Nothing else I can think of really makes any more sense than that. Check your deck pitch and see what you have.