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Toro timemaster blade discussion

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Charles E Billings

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Discussion starter · #1 · (Edited)
So I have been experimenting with my nw toro timemaster blade setup.
Doubles.
I ran two toro 20122p oem high lift blades per spindle in a scissor pattern with about 22 deg angle.
I used the an extra factory spacer ground off spindle locking tabs and side to make it fit into blade detent. I used epoxy to hold spindle spacer to top of each top blade. Second blade sits flat on spindle and 1 st blade rails.
First cut was a bagging cut of about 3" of really wet grass. No bogging or clumping tremendous suction and bag was tightly packed. Still left a few stragglers .

2nd cut same setup was a mulching cut. Similar wet thick grass I mulched about 2". No bogging or appreciable slow down. Still left a few stragglers.

I then pulled off doubles and ran the gator g5 by itself. I since learned it is not a mulching blade,. I cut about 2" off dryer grass. Cut was fantastic no stragglers, but quite a bit of clumping under deck. Most clumping I have had under deck since I bought mower.
It mulched well, very fine particles.
Mower bogged down quite a few times.
I only bag or mulch no side discharge, will next try gator for bagging and see if mower bogs down.

After that run.
I am going to run doubles again with different configuration.
Top blade on spindle, toro 20122p oem high lif blade that came with mower. Bottom blade toro 20120 older timemaster blade. It has significantly less sail.
On a side note. After first few runs with doubles i did the governor adjustment and got no blade revs to 3650.load revs around 3450after switching to single gator g5, no load revs went up to 3800, load revs to about 3650.
That gator blade is much wider then toro blades and has slightly longer sharp edge. Now that summer heat is in full force her in NJ, I am down to a weekly cut from a cut every 3-4 days.
After a few cuts with next double setup, I will do the dishboy mod and cut sails off gator g5 and run that as a single.
I am not suggesting anyone else try to run doubles as I know the mower is not beefy enough to sustain this setup for too long.
Funny thing though is the doubles seem to put less stress on motor then the g5. Even with the additional torque from the g5 and the slow down or bogging of motor, it cut better with the g5 then the 1st setup of doubles. It felt like the two high lift blades created too much vacumn, I noticed clippings being ejected out sides of deck instead of straight down into grass. Gator mulched clippings into very fine peices. Double high lifts moved through grass faster and bagged really well, but left bigger clippings and more stragglers.
I am hoping combining a high lift and a lower lift blade will strike a better balance between vacuum and mulching.
Fyi, I cut at b setting on front and a on back or c on front b on back.

Doubles are lower cutting height about 3/8" or so. Pics below are of deck after bagging and mulching run with two high lift blades per spindle. The g5 cut left a ton of clumped up grass under deck, so much so that when I tried to.wash it out with hose wash out motor actually stalled.

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Discussion starter · #2 ·
It's been 4 days since my last cut with gator g5. We had pretty heavy rain twice since then. Cut was about 2" of pretty thick grass.
I mulched today with doubles same height and a little wetter then last week with g5 gators on mower.

Today I used the oem toro 20122p high lift blade on top and the older toro 20120p on bottom. A few observations.
1.two toro blades cause less load on mower then 1 gator g5.
Rpms where much higher at idle with the two different toro blades then the single gator.

2.this combo of toro blades cuts better then two high lift and as good or better then the g5.

3. Grass was wetter and mower did slow down a bit on thickest wettest part of lawn but not as much as with the g5.

4. I could feel the deck getting full as I mowed. It was the most caked up deck I have seen since I bought mower. No clumps on ground and no stragglers, but man was deck filled up with a mass of mush.

5. The two high lift toro 20122 do not cut as well but keep deck spotless and never slow down at all.
6.the high / lo lift blade combo cut the best so far but also clogged up deck most when mulching.

Next up I am going to try high lift on bottom and lo lift on top and see if deck clumps up as much. If it does I am probable going to run the two high lifts . Cut quality was not the best, but it was good and the mower absolutely rips through the thickest wettest grass with nothing on deck. You can feel and hear the tremendous amount of air the two high lift blades make. The g5 singles sounds similar to the two high lights where the hi/lo lift combo was quieter.
Image
 
#3 ·
I am sorry to have to tell you this but having run a timemaster for a full season I can tell you at no point does that mower ever "rip through the thickest wettest grass with nothing on the deck". The sound you're hearing is what's referred to as a clogged deck airplane. WHen your deck is clean it's quieter, as it packs full of grass you get the airplane propeller sound.
 
#5 ·
Lol, i saw your pics, i've also cleaned out the bottom of a toro timemaster somewhere in the ballpark of 150-200 times last year. I've used it several hundred times on all types of yards for a long period of time. I'm not new to the timemaster like you are and I'm trying to tell you my experience. If you don't like to hear it that's fine. In the end, the timemaster is fine for a homeowner, who doesn't mind bogging down during wet spring growth. It's also fine for a LCO especially on weekly maintenance and after spring is done. Other than that, i'ts not got the power nor the build to be a commercial unit. It works fine for commercial use, as long as you know what you're getting into and can be there to nurture it along the way.
 
Discussion starter · #6 ·
I appreciate your experience I have had mower for 3 months. My spring was wet thick and lush. I cut grass every 3-4 days in spring and keep it at highest setting. I did get some slow down and clumping under deck under extreme conditions until I switched to double toro 20122p high lift blades. That setup creates so much turbulence that I get zero clumping under deck. Cut quality suffers as I think the extra turbulence prevents a clean upward vacumn so I do end up with a few stragglers. I also sprayed down entire under side of deck with three coats of dupont teflon. That's seemed to help keep it from sticking to deck. Everyone says mower is underpowered and that certainly may be the case for a weekly spring cut. I have tried single Toro high.lift 20122 and gator g5 594601, as well as double blades with 2 high lift toros 20122 and a toro 20122 and toro 20120 . The double toro 20122 was the best for sheer power. No appreciable slow down and zero clumping under deck. just a worse cut. I have since started to run 1 notch higher in back, based on feedback on this forum.
The 1st PiC's attached where mulching 2-3" of thick wet grass and bagging same.

I think you commercial guys should try running doubles. Its works for me. Now that it's getting really freaking hot grass is slowing down growth except after some serious rain. I also learned on this forum to schedule sprinklers to not run the evening and morning before cut. That gets me almost two days of no irrigation prior to cut.

This sunday I had to cut as lawn was looking wild after some serious rains storms. That was the worst clumping and some slow down since I bought mower. That was with the toro high and low lift blades.
I am going back to double toro high lifts this week.
I totally agree that this is a homeowner mower. I would not want to cut weekly in spring. If I waited a week between cuts I would be cutting off like 4". Even now at end of july some parts of my lawn is growing like 2" every 4 days.
 
#11 ·
I wonder if grinding the gator teeth off of the wing part of the timemaster blade would help with deck not clogging up, or even perhaps allowing for double blade cutting like the OP displayed, without stressing the belts, pulleys etc., because of extra weight being taken off of the blades.?
 
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#12 ·
I wonder how bored you were to find this silly thread. LOL

Here. I'll solve the deck packing problem for ten bucks...




And if you REALLY want to keep the deck from building up.

"If you love something, set it free" :ROFLMAO:

 
#13 ·
OakNut said:
I wonder how bored you were to find this silly thread. LOL

Here. I'll solve the deck packing problem for ten bucks...




And if you REALLY want to keep the deck from building up.

"If you love something, set it free" :ROFLMAO:

Click to expand...
I am not bored. Just wishing the Timemaster could somehow be operated commercially. But that hasn't been my experience.
 
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OakNut
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