I recently started checking into this site. I read a post about using double blades. I would like to try it out on my Dixie, but wasn't shure if I needed a bracket to hold them in place. I have a 25/60" so do I use a smaller blade on top like a ones for a 52" mower and place the 60" ones on bottom. I was also cocerned on weather it would slow my blade tip speed down. So if you have any experiance with this let me know. And is it really worth it.
Not to beat a dead horse, but I think all the previous posts speak for themselves. And yes, it's worth it...it works awesome!
This is my 13th season of using double blades, so I guess I would qualify to answer this one. Yes, you have plenty of power to run double blades. I've run them on 60" DC's with only 20 HP Magnum engines and they handled the double blades just fine. I run a high lift blade and a Gator blade, both for 60" Choppers. You can use 2 sets of regular lift blades, a high lift and a regular, which ever you have laying around. The top blade doesn't even need to be a new blade, a worn out one will do just fine, because all it does is chop up grass clippings more. The bottom blade does all the cutting. You can get brackets, but you don't need them. I have a set of brackets now, but went for 12 full seasons and part of the 13th without. The only time they will move is if you hit something solid and if you do, just loosen up the bolt and adjust them in the + possition again and away you go. If you use a gator as a second blade, it only slows down the rpm's about 50 rpms, so it's not a big deal and the cut is worth it. They also are great for mulching leaves. I have an article on my website about double blades if your interested. Just make sure the bolt has at least 1" or more of threads to screw in the spindle and if you ever shut off the blades to scrape a deck, make sure the blades have come to a stop before putting your hands underneath. The blades will take a longer time to stop with double blades on. I put on a set of mulching chains on my diesel Chopper today for the first time which are supposed to help with leaves and clippings. It is a bracket that has 2 short chains on each spindle and are 3" above the bottom of the spindle. I also have the double blades on so I am going to chop the leaves up big time this year. With this set up I'm not using the brackets to hold the blades in a + possition. The leaves haven't gotten very thick yet, so I'll report in on how this works later on when they start dropping more. Good luck and if you have any more questions, I'll do what I can to answer them. If anyone has an interest in this setup, I'll post a picture of this combination so you can see it. I've taken the picture, I just don't have it uploaded yet.
Go for it! Tonight, I cut semi-high grass wet with a plugged deck and at 4-5 MPH or so. Not bad! Our machine, a Bob-Cat ZT219 48"cut 2000 model ZTR. I can't say all this was because of double blades, but it has a very fine cut and stripes better.
Try them both ways and see what works best for you. I've tryed them both ways and it doesn't seem to make much difference for mine, but each mower and deck is different. On an old 1993 60" DC we had, it didn't cut worth a darn if I put a Gator on as a second blade, so we used a high lift and a regular lift blade on it. Just try different combinations until you find what works best for you.
As a result of this forum, a couple of months ago, I installed double blades on my 48 WB. WOW! I now nicely mulch grass that I definitely would have been bagging in the past. So, save a lot of time. Striping is also noticable better. I have regular high lift blades on the bottom, a 1/8" spacer, then a mulching blade on the top. This is simply a high lift blade that is sharpened its entire length.
Try a Gator on top or double Gators when it comes to mulching leaves and see what that does for you. I think it will chop up the leaves a little better.
I tried the double-blading through August-September and loved the way it cut up the high grass. However, on leaves it was atrocious. Instead of sucking the leaves up and mulching them fine, as they should, the leaves would just blow out from under the deck. I use the Micro-Mulch setup for my 36" Exmark Hydro, and in single-blade setup the leaves suck under the deck much better. Not as good as my little Toro 21" Recycler, but then the lil Toro hardly has the power to handle the big chores that my 36 does. Anyone else experience this problem, or have an idea why my commercial machine won't mulch like my little Toro wonder? If I could match the Toro's mulching capability with the Exmark's power, combined with double blades, the world would be my oyster... -TGC
TG, We love the two blade system but now that the leaves are just begining we are having the same problem, too much air comming out from under the deck, so we switched back to Gator Magnums. Maybe Eric can solve our problem because I sure would like to find a way to mulch leaves better. Even during late spring and summer there wuold be alot of grass flying up from the front of the deck because of the increased air volume! Good Luck! jerryslawnservice@home.com
