Grading Zforce 50 blade problem

steven1971 · Sep 3, 2006

I first want to say thanks for this site and to all of you who make it as helpful as it is. The problem I am having with my 2005 50" zforce is the correct blade size. When I purchased my mower this year I also bought the bagger. As you know the bagger comes with new high lift blades which for some reason are not the same length as the ones that came with the mower (OEM). The mower came with 17 5/8" blades that are 2 1/2" wide. The bagger came with 17 3/16" long and 3" wide. When I cut with the bagger blades on I am leaving an uncut strip about 1" or so. I called my dealer last week which he called Cub Cadet and the factory claims that those are the right size blades (17 3/16") that come with the bagger kit. The Cub dealer is ordering some new blades for me but as no idea of what size they are. I tried to find other blades that are 17 5/8" but have come up short only to find the Gator 17 3/16". Why am I having this problem? I thought of getting the mulching plug for the deck. Is it worth it? How well does it actually mulch? I like the idea of bagging but, it's turning out to be more work than I want. I cut around an acre of fresh sod just put down this season and so far my new $4000 mower is letting me down.
Thanks for the help,
Steve

gamble77 · Sep 3, 2006

I would let those new blades come in and see what the boys up at Cub tech came up with (they are usually dead on). Thoese Z-Force machines are really good bagging mowers when operating properly. Good luck.

OldMachinist · Sep 3, 2006

The standard blade number for the Z-Force 50 is 01010168 and is listed as 17.9 inches. Blades are measured across opposite corners. The blade set for the bagger is part number 02000138 and is also listed as 17.9 inches. This info is from the Cub Cadet web page parts lookup. Hope this helps.

steven1971 · Sep 9, 2006

Thanks for the replies guys. I went out and measured the gap with those bagging blades (02000138) and between the blades are 5/8" and between the OEM blades are 3/16". Why so much of a difference? What should it be? It's been two weeks and my Cub dealer still has not received the replacement blades. What about the mulching plug? Has anyone bought this plug or is it better to use the mulching blade with the side discharge?
Thanks again,
Steve

natem1984 · Sep 10, 2006

yes i use the plug on my zforce 44, with the blades that come with the mower. it works good as long as the grass is not to high.

OldMachinist · Sep 11, 2006

The gap between the blades where they pass each other doesn't mean much. What you need to know is how much the blades are over lapping. To do this lay the deck upside down and lay a straight edge accross it midway between the spindles. Bring the blades around and see if they overlap the straight edge.

TractorLarry · Sep 11, 2006

Yeah, I was wondering about this, then it dawned on me why the three-blade design was set in a diamond shape. Overlap!

-Larry

OldMachinist said:
The gap between the blades where they pass each other doesn't mean much. What you need to know is how much the blades are over lapping. To do this lay the deck upside down and lay a straight edge accross it midway between the spindles. Bring the blades around and see if they overlap the straight edge.

OldMachinist · Sep 12, 2006

I had the deck off of my Z today cleaning and sharpening the blades. While I was there I took some dimensions and improved my drawing. So check out the attached file for a better understanding of blade overlap.

steven1971 · Sep 13, 2006

I would really like to thank OldMachinist for all his hard work and detailed drawings that he made to help me with my question. Its people like him that make this forum such a valuabletool to use for the average homeowner searching for answers. I will take take off my deck this weekend and use the information off your drawing. One question.... why would I leave an uncut strip with the bagging blades on? I don't get any uncut strips with the OEM blades --- so I am still a little lost. Its been 3 weeks and I am still waiting to hear back from my Cub dealer about the blades he ordered me.
Thanks,
Steve

OldMachinist · Sep 14, 2006

I can't answer your question about the uncut strips because I've never had it happen with mine and I'm sure you checked the easy reasons like the blades aren't upside down and the nuts were torqued to 100-120 ft lbs. The reason I mention the torque is that on these blades it's the only thing that keeps them from slipping and too much torque might cause the bearings to be in a bind slowing the blade speed. The little bit of difference in the bagging blade length shouldn't make that much of a change in the cut. By the dimensions you gave the bagging blades are 17.45" across the cutting edge corners and that should still leave you with 1" of overlap. Have you tried using the bagging blades without the collection system connected to see if the cut is the same?