andre53
New member
Last year I added the GR2709 mulching kit to my RCK54GR 54" mower deck. I have been pretty pleased with the results from the Kubota mulching blades (PN K5231-92340) even when mowing grass that is too long or wet for mulching. This year I ordered a set of Gator G6 blades (PN 396-812) as spares, got them for $16 a piece online. I installed them this weekend since I needed to sharpen the existing blades.
The Gator blades fit perfectly on the deck though they are about 3/8"-1/2" wider across the web of the blade (not longer). They have the normal Gator blade 3 "secondary" cutters on the tail of the blades. The tail sweep up also appears to be a bit more agressive than the Kubota blades.
Cut performance - The grass conditions were not ideal for mulching, some areas were very wet and I mowed a section that was over 10-12"" tall so this was going to be a worst case test. The results were very impressive. In the really tall stuff, the blades did an amazing job, you could hear the deck "loading" up at times, but just raising the deck would allow it to unload, and then I could lower it and continue. The cuttings were very finely mulched. Under more normal cutting conditions where the grass was only 5-1/2"-6" long there was no loading at all and the cuttings completely disappeared in the lawn. Overall, the lawn really looked good dispite the adverse conditions...
The Gator blades do generate more mower noise then the OEM blades, but I think that is due to the agressive tail design. It is my opinion that they are slightly more effective at "sucking" the grass up under the deck so the cut appears more even (fewer missed blades of grass). I think that these blades are a definite up grade.
The Gator blades fit perfectly on the deck though they are about 3/8"-1/2" wider across the web of the blade (not longer). They have the normal Gator blade 3 "secondary" cutters on the tail of the blades. The tail sweep up also appears to be a bit more agressive than the Kubota blades.
Cut performance - The grass conditions were not ideal for mulching, some areas were very wet and I mowed a section that was over 10-12"" tall so this was going to be a worst case test. The results were very impressive. In the really tall stuff, the blades did an amazing job, you could hear the deck "loading" up at times, but just raising the deck would allow it to unload, and then I could lower it and continue. The cuttings were very finely mulched. Under more normal cutting conditions where the grass was only 5-1/2"-6" long there was no loading at all and the cuttings completely disappeared in the lawn. Overall, the lawn really looked good dispite the adverse conditions...
The Gator blades do generate more mower noise then the OEM blades, but I think that is due to the agressive tail design. It is my opinion that they are slightly more effective at "sucking" the grass up under the deck so the cut appears more even (fewer missed blades of grass). I think that these blades are a definite up grade.
