Mowing rck48-18bx mower deck blades

[tjkubota93]

I got these part #'s from Bahrns Equipment for replacement blades-

Kubota blade K5181-71940
regular
Kubota blade 70000-25040
mulching

I have emailed Oregon tech support and they said they didn't make anything for my mower deck.

I took one off and measured it-

16 7/16"-16 1/2" long
2" wide
~1/4" thick (slightly less)
3/4" center hole
3/16" offset
3/4" air lift

I got all the terminology above from Oregon website (like offset and air lift).

I have tried looking up by part # and by size in Oregon catalog with no luck.

Anyone have an idea on non-Kubota blades?

I A$$umed i would be able to get Oregon Gator blades when I bought this deck, so now I am dissapointed (in myself and situation)

Thanks for any help!

 

[Scooby074]

Are you measuring the blade corner to corner? Are you sure the bore size is 3/4 and not 11/16?

Oregon has a Kubota replacement Gator 392-047 that measures 16-9/16 long with a bore of 11/16. Its 3" wide with more lift but more drop however. Hard to say if theyd hit. They might Thats where the grinder comes in lol. Not the end of the world, I had to grind about 1/8 off one of the blades on my deck and rebalance because it was hitting its neighbour. It must have been a manufacturing defect.

Have you tried calling Oregon vs email? Email they might not be as thorough. Oregon makes a ton of blades. They should have something close. A quick looks shows lots with a 3/4 hole and 16.5" length, but in 2.5" width. You might have to grind a few 1/16th off the ends and rebalance, but it should be doable. The Gator blades are very good blades. It would be worth it to get them even if you have to do some work. I know of guys who bought blades the right width but wrong hole size (only way they could get them) and had the centres re-bored to the correct size.

 

[tjkubota93]

I used a vernier caliper on center hole and got 24/32". Yeah diagonal corner to corner measurement like oregon says to.

Ive seen a few that are close but the offset is bigger than mine. That would put the blades closer to the ground.

 

[Scooby074]

Whats the actual shaft size on the deck. Even if you had to bore the 11/16 out its not a big deal. As I understand it, the centers of the blades arent that hard and can be bored pretty easily.

Yes you might end up 1/4 + closer to the ground. Again not that huge a deal really. I usually set my deck and forget it lol. The lawn will never know if its cut at 3.5" or 3.25. One thing though, you might be dropping 1/4 closer to the ground, but you are gaining 1/4 of lift (1"vs 3/4). So the blade will be higher suction which is better.

Thats why Oregon via email wasnt helpful. Theyre not going to recommend something that isnt 100% useable and equal to the OEM blade. Via phone, they might be more open to discussing some options that require modifications on your part.

Really the only serious things to concern yourself with is interference between the blades. Small changes in cut height or having to mod the blade are minor. The Gators are worth it IMHO.

Id probably get the 392-047's and make them work (they should be 99% useable already)

 

[tjkubota93]

I know what you mean about the email. I was more shocked they didnt have a direct replacement.
My concern with the offset is the blades sticking out below the deck. Now if i drag the lip of the deck across something it protects the blade.
392-047 wasnt in the catalog i downloaded-im about to google it. I see a 92-047 in my catalog.

 

[Scooby074]

You'll have to check your deck. You dont want the blades below the edge of the deck anyways. Not only is it unsafe, can damage the blades when you hit something, but it also means that you wont have much lift. Below the edge is bad.

The reason there is no direct replacement is because the RCK48 is a relatively low production deck. Even the 54 didnt get direct replacements until maybe last year (year before?) when enough people contacted Oregon that they figured they should make them. There is a thread on here when they announced it.

If there is too much drop in the 392-047 , Id look for another. That was the first Gator I came across that was "close". There are literally a TON of different combinations in the Oregon catalog. There is likely something there that is even closer.

392-047 is the Gator version of K5575-97530 which fits the 48" on the ZD's, ZG and Gr's.

 

[tjkubota93]

My kubota dealer told me if i buy the mulching kit for my rck48-18bx deck, the new baffles would make it the same as the rckp48-18bx deck. Oregon makes regular and gator blades for that deck. I am going to look into all this. I will post whatever i find out. I know theres a couple people wanting to know about this from past threads.

 

[tjkubota93]

I bought a kubota 70000-72900 mulching kit. It comes with 3 70000-25040 mulching blades that do not have an oregon replacement. They are a little different from the k5181-71940 blades that came on my deck.

The rckp-18bx deck comes with k5575-34330 blades that cross to an oregon 92-047 or 392-047. These blades hang down 1/4" futher than the rck-18bx deck blades.

I ordered the oregon's and will see if they work. I will post results.

 

[tjkubota93]

The Oregon 392-047 worked on my rck48-18bx deck.

They do hang down 1/4" futher, but not past the the lower edges of the deck. The suction seems the same, if not improved.

I had to special order them from bailey's because they are new for 2015.

I have not used them with the mulching kit, that will probably be a while.

 

[DBT]

I was never impressed with this deck's(RCK48-18BX) cut quality (especially the perception of lack of lift). So, after a few months of use, do you think they are better than the originals? Any modification needed to the blade? Did you end up installing the mulch kit (I was leery of dropping the cash on this), did it help? I am considering a set of the gators to help chew up the leaves this fall. Sorry for all the questions and thanks in advance for the feedback.