[Jashley73]

The turbo baffle confuses me. I've heard that it's intent is to keep clippings from re-circulating back into the discharge blade's chamber. But I've also heard that wet clippings will collect here, and then clump. So, which one is right...? LOL

The adjustable deck rake; I thought that had more to do with cutting crappier/overgrown grass conditions. I was told by a gentleman from Exmark, that for dealing with stragglers, try to level the deck as much as possible - that it would allow the back of the blade one less chance to swipe and stragglers. I'm ass-u-ming that a negative rake (lifting the front edge higher) would help taller grasses get past the front baffles and into the deck chambers. Wouldn't give the best finish cut quality, but would allow the deck to process those longer grasses better.

(Maybe I'm wrong?)

 

[Turf Chopper]

Taking out the turbo baffle helps, the one at the discharge. I bought a baffle from Red magic that "seemed" to help some.

Exmark has added a feature to some of the Lazers allowing one to tweak the deck rake. I'm guessing more rake equals less clumping.

Lowering the rpms does help too.

I've been wondering about what style blade is best to combat this. Curious if a lower-lift blade would help prevent clumping.

I know that a higher lift blade will obviously create more vacuum. However, the Ultracut decks are so tightly baffled, that vacuum isn't really a problem for them.

I ran G5 Gator blades all last year, but I'm game for trying whatever come this spring. My unscientific, anecdotal experience is that the G5's process longer clippings better, and ultimately give a little finer dispersion. But, this may not help all that much in wet conditions. My smaller, nicer yards, I would typically double-cut anyway if clumping is an issue.



Alternatively, I wonder if keeping the G5's, and/or high-lift blades, but at a reduced throttle wouldn't help with clumping too. I know that the G5's will create a lot of blowout in dryer conditions. If I throttle back 10-15%, the blowout goes away.

Lots of variables to think about.

only experience with exmark ive had is using an older lazer z, we had high lift blades on it last fall for the powered bagger, and it was a vacuum cleaner but it had terrible blowout.

some say running wavy mulching blades can help with grass clumps, depending on the deck. the low lift blades may help some, but at the same time it might effect the clipping dispersal.

i wish exmark made their decks more customizeable like scag, toro, wright, and gravely do, and even though they made it easy to change the deck rake on their top end lazer z, i think most probably are going to set it and forget it at 1/4" rake.

wouldnt be a bad idea to mess around with the deck rake, maybe trying a level deck all the way up to 1/3", i probably wouldnt go much more than that, though.

fun part about mowing is experimenting with different blade and deck setups, good luck!

 

[Turf Chopper]

The turbo baffle confuses me. I've heard that it's intent is to keep clippings from re-circulating back into the discharge blade's chamber. But I've also heard that wet clippings will collect here, and then clump. So, which one is right...? LOL

The adjustable deck rake; I thought that had more to do with cutting crappier/overgrown grass conditions. I was told by a gentleman from Exmark, that for dealing with stragglers, try to level the deck as much as possible - that it would allow the back of the blade one less chance to swipe and stragglers. I'm ass-u-ming that a negative rake (lifting the front edge higher) would help taller grasses get past the front baffles and into the deck chambers. Wouldn't give the best finish cut quality, but would allow the deck to process those longer grasses better.

(Maybe I'm wrong?)

it actually might help with stragglers, but blowout might be insane.

 

[Turf Chopper]

I bought new Vertex last year. It doesn't clump as bad as my other Exmarks. Not sure why.

maybe it has something to do with the slower ground speed compared to other mowers? only goes 8.5 MPH if i recall- what size deck did you get? and do you have the stock blades on it?

 

[Turf Tracer]

The new Wright LC/HC are basically beefier Tracers; ECS knock off controls and integrated parking brake. Better protected hoses, wiring and welds. They are tanks. Worth the premium.

the 36 and 52 also sit in the handlebars for stupid easy in field scraping and blade changes.

 

[Turf Chopper]

The new Wright LC/HC are basically beefier Tracers; ECS knock off controls and integrated parking brake. Better protected hoses, wiring and welds. They are tanks. Worth the premium.

the 36 and 52 also sit in the handlebars for stupid easy in field scraping and blade changes.

also wright makes an alternative "northern grass baffle" you can bolt onto the deck, which makes it cut just like an exmark ultracut.

 

[Turf Tracer]

Don’t know what baffles came on mine but found wet grass balled up when throwing so cut out the baffles and throws cleaner. Also easier to scrape when running mulch kits.

running 2 notched or low lifts per spindle in a + position also helped.

 

[Turf Chopper]

Don’t know what baffles came on mine but found wet grass balled up when throwing so cut out the baffles and throws cleaner. Also easier to scrape when running mulch kits.

running 2 notched or low lifts per spindle in a + position also helped.

on your exmark? by baffles did you cut out the discharge baffle or the front baffle?

 

[Turf Tracer]

On the Aerocore. The baffle near the discharge.

 

[Ridin' Green]

I've been wondering about what style blade is best to combat this. Curious if a lower-lift blade would help prevent clumping.

I know that a higher lift blade will obviously create more vacuum. However, the Ultracut decks are so tightly baffled, that vacuum isn't really a problem for them.

I ran G5 Gator blades all last year, but I'm game for trying whatever come this spring. My unscientific, anecdotal experience is that the G5's process longer clippings better, and ultimately give a little finer dispersion. But, this may not help all that much in wet conditions. My smaller, nicer yards, I would typically double-cut anyway if clumping is an issue.



Alternatively, I wonder if keeping the G5's, and/or high-lift blades, but at a reduced throttle wouldn't help with clumping too. I know that the G5's will create a lot of blowout in dryer conditions. If I throttle back 10-15%, the blowout goes away.

Lots of variables to think about.

G blades are great in the dry to light moisture, but they are bad about clumping if there's much moisture at all. They are like that under every deck I have tried them under, and I have seen many others on here say they experience the same thing with them. I have and use G3, 5 and 6 blades.

 

[Turf Chopper]

G blades are great in the dry to light moisture, but they are bad about clumping if there's much moisture at all. They are like that under every deck I have tried them under, and I have seen many others on here say they experience the same thing with them. I have and use G3, 5 and 6 blades.

being that all 3 of the blades have the same lift, curious what differences you notice between them in performance?

 

[Ridin' Green]

The G3 high lifts are hard to come by anymore, and not made for all that many models. They work just as wel as the other two, but don't have the fusion treatment. The G5's are the better blade between them and the G6 IME. They are lighter and spin up faster/recover faster and have slightly more lift since both are the same exact height to the top of the sails when laying on a flat surface. The 5 is thinner so there is a little more lift to the tab and teeth. In seriously overgrown grass or brushy conditions, when using a higher HP machone that can keep them spinning, the heavier G6 is a better choice since it deflects less under the load and rpm's.

 

[Jashley73]

only experience with exmark ive had is using an older lazer z, we had high lift blades on it last fall for the powered bagger, and it was a vacuum cleaner but it had terrible blowout.

some say running wavy mulching blades can help with grass clumps, depending on the deck. the low lift blades may help some, but at the same time it might effect the clipping dispersal.

i wish exmark made their decks more customizeable like scag, toro, wright, and gravely do, and even though they made it easy to change the deck rake on their top end lazer z, i think most probably are going to set it and forget it at 1/4" rake.

wouldnt be a bad idea to mess around with the deck rake, maybe trying a level deck all the way up to 1/3", i probably wouldnt go much more than that, though.

fun part about mowing is experimenting with different blade and deck setups, good luck!

G blades are great in the dry to light moisture, but they are bad about clumping if there's much moisture at all. They are like that under every deck I have tried them under, and I have seen many others on here say they experience the same thing with them. I have and use G3, 5 and 6 blades.

What would be your weapon of choice for avoiding clumping? Low-lift blades?G6's

My understanding is that G6 (wavy edge gator blades) are best used with mulch baffles, as they create a downward thrust in the center of the blade, and thus, cause an up/down vortex & discharge clippings on the downward thrust.

Not sure how the G6's would do under normal side discharge decks for wet cutting.

 

[Ridin' Green]

There are no wavy edged G blades. There are some that are somewhat similar made by Sunbelt called Predator blades that have the teeth and wavy edge though. Maybe those are what you are thinking of?

IME with my JD decks, the oem high lifts are hard to beat in the wet. All blades will cause some clumping, but JD HL's have some serious lift to them and they tend to throw the clippings well and help break up wads on the way out the chute. For a more tightly baffled deck, I would drop back to a medium or even a low lift in actual wet conditions, or run mediums at about 2/3 throttle.

G blades specifically are NOT made for use with a mulch kit or baffles of any kind. I know some here use them that way with decent results, but the manufacturer rep that used to post here told us all on more than one occassion that G blades are for side shooting, not for using with a mulch kit.

 

[Turf Chopper]

gator blades arent made for mulch kits. they have too much lift for it and often end up sticking most clippings to the roof of the deck life peanutbutter in your mouth. makes scraping later a pain. only works in dry, perfect conditions. in my shop, we run gators under the mulch kits most of the time and it kinda sucks having to scrape them later.

as far as i know, scag eliminator and sunbelt predator are the only wavy toothed blades out there.

as far as weapon of choice, you really just have to experiment on your own, as different blades work differently for different decks.

 

[Ridin' Green]

Scag Eliminator blades are Sunbelt Predator blades.

 

[gcbailey]

One of my main issues in regards to clumping and ANY exmark is the number of commercial sites we do early AM (5:30am+), summer dew is just awful.

 

[Groomer]

I came from a Exmark Viking and have been running a Ferris Fw35 for about 5 yrs.
Reasons I like it over the exmark(both my viking, and the TT's I looked at when getting the ferris)

-Much more friendly hand controls. Didn't realize how hard I had to squeeze the ECS until I had the ferris.
-A bit more open of a deck, so better overall cutting conditions. On perfect lawns I'll still give the edge to the exmarks.
-Much easier to change deck heights. No pins, just turn a know up or down.
-Bigger engines.
-Much less $ for a comparable machine.

good points, Hawk.
do you run exmark blades on the ferris? I know when I switched to exmark blades for the ferris stander, the QC went up for sure.

 

[Hawkshot99]

good points, Hawk.
do you run exmark blades on the ferris? I know when I switched to exmark blades for the ferris stander, the QC went up for sure.

I do not. I run G5's yr round, then double them up with another blade depending on the season. Spring and summer, I run a high lift, and in the fall, a toothed mulcher.
Every hr I've put on the mower has been with doubles.

What specific blade do you like from exmark?

 

[Jashley73]

There are no wavy edged G blades. There are some that are somewhat similar made by Sunbelt called Predator blades that have the teeth and wavy edge though. Maybe those are what you are thinking of?

IME with my JD decks, the oem high lifts are hard to beat in the wet. All blades will cause some clumping, but JD HL's have some serious lift to them and they tend to throw the clippings well and help break up wads on the way out the chute. For a more tightly baffled deck, I would drop back to a medium or even a low lift in actual wet conditions, or run mediums at about 2/3 throttle.

G blades specifically are NOT made for use with a mulch kit or baffles of any kind. I know some here use them that way with decent results, but the manufacturer rep that used to post here told us all that on more than one occassion that blades are for side shooting.

I must be thinking of the Predator blades then. Seems like my memory is all twisted around.

Anyway, the blades pictured below - That's what I was referring to being designed for use with mulching kits. Now I'm wondering if they'll work in wet conditions, side discharging. Maybe, maybe not. I'd just hate to spend the money on them, only to find out they're total crap, and never to be used again.