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Garden Tractors Discussion Forum

Adding angle iron to bottom of deck for vacuum????

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Boyd

07-23-2004 22:52:47




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I've been told and read that adding about 2" of angle iron to the lower edge of the mower deck (facing under the deck) creates a vacuum effect for better lift. I'm not impressed with the quality of cut that the 52" deck does on my Toro riding mower. Any one out there done this??? Boyd near St.Paul Minnesota.




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Boyd

07-24-2004 23:05:13




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 Re: Adding angle iron to bottom of deck for vacuum in reply to Boyd, 07-23-2004 22:52:47  
Well I think the factory blade tip speed is 180mph. Going from a 5" to a 5.8" pulley I calculated increases blade tip speed up to 208.8mph. I do use this mower for my lawn service that I do part time. I do go over sandy areas on a few of my lawns but theres not that much. It hasn't rained much of anything now for over 2 weeks and it is dusty. I need to take notes for the difference in the different types of blades I use. But the gator blades for sure have the worst lift of all the blades I have. Next time you get to a Toro dealer, look at the underside of the 52" deck. I'm pretty sure they use the same basic stamping on all models with a 52" deck. Inside the front leading edge of the deck, completely from the left side to the discharge there is open space for air flow out the side so there is less close shrouding of the blades. I have owned a few Snapper 21" push mowers that have a rolled inward lower lip all the way around the blade. They have a much better cut than my Toro 52". Boyd.

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JT

07-24-2004 11:13:08




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 Re: Adding angle iron to bottom of deck for vacuum in reply to Boyd, 07-23-2004 22:52:47  
If you have a 117 Groundsmaster and have tried all the Toro higher lift blades and have tried actual Gator blades and get no help, you are kinda stuck with this problem. That has been the biggest problem with Toro Groundsmasters, all the way from the 117 up to the 325D. The only way to get a decent cut is to mow slowly. You might also check your deck belt and make sure you are not loosing blade tip speed from having a loose belt or an idler frozen in position and not keeping the belt tight. I have never seen Gator Blades that dull that quick, normally they are the hardest blade on the market, OEM or aftermarket. We have used them on a Cub Cadet and sharpened blades once a month, mowing 7 hours a week and they were still kinda sharp, not dull or rolled at all.

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Boyd

07-24-2004 09:25:55




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 Re: Adding angle iron to bottom of deck for vacuum in reply to Boyd, 07-23-2004 22:52:47  
I think I have every varying style of blades that Toro sells for the 52" deck, low, medium, high, super high and the mentioned gator blades. I think the gator blades are the worst. The grass blades are much shorter coming out of the deck as they are chopped up a lot more, but there isn't much lift at all. My toro is a 117 front deck groundsmaster. With the gator blades it doesn't flow much air to blow off the driveway when the deck is down or lifted in the up position. Once the blades lose thier edge after about 4-6 hours of use, the cut goes way down in quality. I did replace the pulley from the engine going to the deck to a bigger size. The original pulley was a 5", the new pulley is a 5.8" which would increase the blade tip speed a bit and shorten the life span of sharp edge of the blades I'm guessing. Max I lost your email address. Email me if you still have mine. Boyd.

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Ron

07-24-2004 10:00:46




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 Re: Re: Adding angle iron to bottom of deck for va in reply to Boyd, 07-24-2004 09:25:55  
I can't imagine what you are cutting... I get 30-40 hours out of Gatorblades cutting bluegrass/fescue and the blade is still sharp... I just touch them up then more out of habit than necessity.



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Max

07-24-2004 09:01:31




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 Re: Adding angle iron to bottom of deck for vacuum in reply to Boyd, 07-23-2004 22:52:47  
Usually the vacuum is related to how much air can be pulled in. For example, some manufacturers place the blade so far up into the deck that a 90 degree lift on the blade won't do any good. Others will add a lip to the edges of the deck to contain the clippings above the blades and increase the vacuum. What I have noticed on these designs was a fuzzy cut which doesn't show up for a couple of days. I've also tried adding the angle iron at different angles under the deck in relation to the blades and wasn't impressed with that either. First I would check the relationship of the lower part of the blade to the lower edge of the front and sides of the deck. The front should be about 1/8" or so higher than the blade not to excede the thickness of the blade and the sides should be about a 1/2" lower than the blade. If the sides and front are the same distance which normally insets the blade inside of the mower deck, this is why you're not getting a vacuum. If you try to just lower the blades when the distances are equal, you are then going to have problems with flying debris and projectiles. If you measurements are within the above numbers you can then measure the angle on your current blade lifts and increase that angle with new blades and then notice quite a difference. Recently I've been experimenting with some blades on my 88 and started out with 10 degree lift on the blades. My initial thought was to keep the noise down. The problem was it wouldn't pick up the grass for proper cutting and mulching on the first pass. After futile attempts to increase the vacuum by varing the blade position, I just ended up changing the lift angle on the blades. The resulting cut was good but now I must wait for the leaves to drop to ensure I didn't mess up that aspect of the mulching. I wouldn't advise just taking a torch to your current blades for this will change the hardness of the blades which may result in a brittle blade which shatters on impact.

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JT

07-24-2004 08:26:14




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 Re: Adding angle iron to bottom of deck for vacuum in reply to Boyd, 07-23-2004 22:52:47  
Adding angle iron to a deck will not increase the vacuum at all, the angle iron peices will only give you a poorer quality of cut. The best blades to use to is Gator Blades, they are made and sold by Oregon Outdoor Products. I sell them for $10.50 ea plus tax and shipping. The part number is a 94-918. If I can help you, let me know, I have them and can ship immediatly.



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Sol

07-24-2004 05:31:42




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 Re: Adding angle iron to bottom of deck for vacuum in reply to Boyd, 07-23-2004 22:52:47  
Pretty good advice from the other posts. I live in South Dakota and just use a blade and chains and have'nt had much of problem. Like that other guy said when it piles up though there is no place to push it. I push mine way back but it is hard on the grass and if you have a gravel drive you end up pushing allot of gravel with the snow. I sometimes move the edges back with a walk behind snowblower if I get to it before it gets hard. Stones are hard on a snowblower though. Also like the other guy said make sure you have a well tuned motor. A kohler engine that has allot of hours on it and lacking good compression will not start easyily when it gets really cold.

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Ron

07-24-2004 04:03:34




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 Re: Adding angle iron to bottom of deck for vacuum in reply to Boyd, 07-23-2004 22:52:47  
Use blades made by Gatorblade. Any mower shop will have/can get them.



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lucas

07-24-2004 03:07:06




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 Re: Adding angle iron to bottom of deck for vacuum in reply to Boyd, 07-23-2004 22:52:47  
dont do it... i did it to my cub and a tornado came out from under the deck and distroyed the town... ended up getting some high lift blades and taking the metal off... lucas



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