Meg-Mo blades

[DavenFla]

Has anyone used these and can report on their experiences? "They say" the blades will last 8x longer (not sure I believe that) and keep the spindles on a finish mower deck from being damage. They're expensive relatively speaking, but if they last longer ( I go through two sets of blades a year) and my spindles last longer then 3-4 years, I'm a buyer.

$300 plus shipping for 72" finish mower with 3 blades.

Rotary Mulching Blades Built to Last

meg-mo.com

 

[LD1]

They last longer because disc mower blades which they use are normally something like 5160 spring steel. They are a harder blade. Most lawnmower blades are just a low or medium carbon steel. They are designed to be tough, but not hard. So they dull quicker and need sharpened more often (thus wear out faster).

Making spindles last longer is marketing propaganda. Most spindle failures are the result of lack of maintenance. Sure some are non-greasable.....but maintenance in other aspects. Making sure pulleys and belts are in good condition and not slipping (causing heat to cook the grease). Not hosing off the mower when its hot (when hot spindles cool they create a vacuum and suck in water). Keeping blades balanced, etc.

As far as not damaging the spindles when hitting something because the blades are not rigid....well a mower is designed to cut grass, not rocks, and stumps, and scalp dirt, or bang against curbs, etc. So if you frequently do that...then yea maybe that will save a spindle from time to time.

Cut quality "can" be better because you have twice the number of cutters swinging around. But from what I have read and heard is it vastly depends on the types of grasses you want to cut. Some grasses and mower deck designs dont do well with the added air flow created by doubling the little air plane wings flying around under there. And...they are heavier. So it is harder on your mower clutch and belt starting up and shutting down.

IF you want to replicate what the meg-mow blades will do on YOUR lawn with YOUR deck and mower before you drop $300...its easy IF you have a spare set of blades. (If you dont....see if a friend has a spare set or will let you borrow a set). Simply double stack the blades in an X fashion and bolt them on your spindles. Dont worry about the fact that one blade will be a measly 1/4" cut height difference than the other. IT wont make a hill of beans difference.

Doing this you can see first hand on YOUR machine and YOUR yard what the added air flow and extra load at start up does before you commit to $300. IF you like the results.....then take the plunge. If results are less than desired, you just saved yourself $300

 

[quicksandfarmer]

I have a review in this thread: Meg-Mo swinging blades -- first impressions

 

[DavenFla]

I looked at the other threads and like most... it wandered off into the weeds. Yep the posters talked about 'em, how they were made, can make 'em my self, hate the web site form etc., but actual experience was limited. Most were turned off by the price.

I hope to get some real world, actual user info on longevity and performance. I don't have a lawn, so not looking for a manicure cut. Thanks for the link, your (quicksandfarmer) post was comprehensive.

 

[LD1]

Well if cut quality is of no concern, they certainly do hold an edge better because they are a harder steel, and there are more edges to share the duty. So if that is the primary reason....you are on the right track.

But it's a hard thing to measure. Because everyone's idea of a sharp blade, or when to sharpen is different. And alot depends on what you use for standard mower blades too.

Have you looked into the fusion blades that have sintered carbide on the under side of the edge? There also used to be some self sharpening blades where there was a hard layer on the underside....where as the softer meat of the blade wore away...they were "self sharpening".

In either case.....I'd still try double stacked blades before dropping the money. That way you can see how your yard and mowed react to the added load and airflow. That alone may be a deal breaker.

 

[DavenFla]

Blades get paper thin from the (Florida) sand. The grass is (mostly) Pensacola Bahia. Broad bladed low profile pasture grass, tough and cuts well.
My issue is mostly wearing out blades. I sharpen with a grinder as needed, maybe 2X or 3X, before the blades are wore out. My finish mower isn't the highest quality (King Kutter) so the spindles are affected by impact. I just replace the bearings with non chinese ones from Germany.... assuming the guts aren't damaged, but I digress.

The Meg-Mo web site says they last longer. However... I'm not sure I believe how long they say = 8X longer. If they did the blades would be a bargain.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

I looked at the other threads and like most... it wandered off into the weeds. Yep the posters talked about 'em, how they were made, can make 'em my self, hate the web site form etc., but actual experience was limited. Most were turned off by the price.

I hope to get some real world, actual user info on longevity and performance. I don't have a lawn, so not looking for a manicure cut. Thanks for the link, your (quicksandfarmer) post was comprehensive.

It will probably be a year before I can give feedback on longevity -- unless they fail before then.

I've been using them for about a month now. All I can say is I've mowed a bunch of stuff I never would have dreamed of mowing with a rider mower before I got them.

 

[dadohead]

As previously mentioned most mower blades are made from medium carbon steel... 10B38 actually. It has a high boron content which allows easier cold or hot forming but can be through hardened to that magical HRc 40-45 tough range. Why don't the OEM's use something harder? They would except most equipment needs to pass the ASNI B71.1 stake test in North America and a similar CE test in the EU.

It is a devastatingly destructive test where a mower is placed in a lab with cardboard "target" paper surrounding the machine. The mower is run at WOT and a 1" steel bar is fired up from the floor remotely into the spinning mower blade. After the huge BANG... (engine is snuffed instantly) the target paper is examined for any marks that may have resulted from objects (blade parts) exiting the mower. Anything flying off the machine hitting the target area results in a failed test. Any parts falling off the mower onto the floor results in a failed test. Failures are a pretty big deal. The stake will have a large V cut into it and is often bent as much as 30 deg. The mower deck gets it worse. A mechanic usually has to pound the spindle pocket back into shape, install a new spindle/blade assy, and the test is repeated for the other spindles. It is a 'destructive' test as the deck is almost always scrapped afterwards.

Several things concern me about Meg-Mo blades if I was a pro cutter or put a mower out anywhere besides the "back 40". Harder blades (north of HRc 45) have been exhaustively tested by OEM's and are very difficult to get past the stake test. The swing blade design probably helps blade fracture during impact but I would still be mindful. Also, a very common issue when a mower blade is impacted is that the other blade(s) unscrew themselves and falloff due to centripetal force.... often mangling the mower deck as they fall. Given the high mass of the Meg-Mo system, blades unscrewing themselves would be a high probability. All concerning but the stopper for me: adding 4 new blade joints into each spindle. With many mowers exceeding 18000 fpm tip speed, the consequences of a blade fracture or joint failure is just too great to nearby people, property, or my machine. I'll keep sharpening and swapping blades as necessary thank you.

 

[DavenFla]

As previously mentioned most mower blades are made from medium carbon steel... 10B38 actually. It has a high boron content which allows easier cold or hot forming but can be through hardened to that magical HRc 40-45 tough range. Why don't the OEM's use something harder? They would except most equipment needs to pass the ASNI B71.1 stake test in North America and a similar CE test in the EU.

It is a devastatingly destructive test where a mower is placed in a lab with cardboard "target" paper surrounding the machine. The mower is run at WOT and a 1" steel bar is fired up from the floor remotely into the spinning mower blade. After the huge BANG... (engine is snuffed instantly) the target paper is examined for any marks that may have resulted from objects (blade parts) exiting the mower. Anything flying off the machine hitting the target area results in a failed test. Any parts falling off the mower onto the floor results in a failed test. Failures are a pretty big deal. The stake will have a large V cut into it and is often bent as much as 30 deg. The mower deck gets it worse. A mechanic usually has to pound the spindle pocket back into shape, install a new spindle/blade assy, and the test is repeated for the other spindles. It is a 'destructive' test as the deck is almost always scrapped afterwards.

Several things concern me about Meg-Mo blades if I was a pro cutter or put a mower out anywhere besides the "back 40". Harder blades (north of HRc 45) have been exhaustively tested by OEM's and are very difficult to get past the stake test. The swing blade design probably helps blade fracture during impact but I would still be mindful. Also, a very common issue when a mower blade is impacted is that the other blade(s) unscrew themselves and falloff due to centripetal force.... often mangling the mower deck as they fall. Given the high mass of the Meg-Mo system, blades unscrewing themselves would be a high probability. All concerning but the stopper for me: adding 4 new blade joints into each spindle. With many mowers exceeding 18000 fpm tip speed, the consequences of a blade fracture or joint failure is just too great to nearby people, property, or my machine. I'll keep sharpening and swapping blades as necessary thank you.

Do you do destructive testing for a living or is this from published data? I'd like to see your sources if that's OK. Thanks

 

[GregE]

Has anyone used these and can report on their experiences? "They say" the blades will last 8x longer (not sure I believe that) and keep the spindles on a finish mower deck from being damage. They're expensive relatively speaking, but if they last longer ( I go through two sets of blades a year) and my spindles last longer then 3-4 years, I'm a buyer.

$300 plus shipping for 72" finish mower with 3 blades.

Rotary Mulching Blades Built to Last

meg-mo.com

I've used meg mow blades for probably 20 years. I first used them on my 5ft belly mower on my Ford/New Holland 1630 compact tractor. When I first used them I noticed that they didn't seem to use as much power to operate. Subsequently in 2016 when I bought a new JD3033R, with a 72" deck, after one mowing I bought another set of meg mow blades. I did this as my tractor has a cab and I wanted to, "tweak," the amount of power I was using as with the regular blades the tractor bogged down more that with the meg mow blades. Between the quality of the cut, and in the Fall when I mow/mulch leaves I couldn't be happier. I've had the same blades on this tractor with this being my 4th season and haven't had to sharpen them yet. One thing you'll notice is the blade is sharper than the OEM blades. Also, if you're concerned about costs, one thing to remember is the $300.00 price tag is the initial set up price. The four knives, or blades that come with the system are attached to a disk, which is the main expense for the system, it's a one time cost for the disk. So when you have to replace the knives you pay for the 4 blades per disk and the fasteners. I mow about 6 acres of converted hay field, (which is my main lawn), with about an acre of that being in a wooded area where it is not uncommon to be running over sticks or small branches. Again I couldn't be happier with this system!