Riding mowers, Zero turn or Tractor?

[TerryMiller]

While my circumstances don't mirror the OP's circumstances, we used to have a home on 5 acres that had a pond. We purchased a Craftsman garden tractor with hydro-static drive that allowed one to really go slow. When I first went to mow around the pond, I tried following the online advice to always mow up and down the slope. Sadly, our slope was steep enough that I was never comfortable with driving down the slope and being sure of turning before going into the pond.

My solution was to drive horizontally across the slope, and when near the pond, I went as slow as that tractor would go. And, just to play it safe, I always mowed where I was free to jump off away from the pond just in case. Never had a problem mowing that way, but the wife refused to EVER watch me mow around the pond.

Nowadays, she almost refuses to allow me to get close to cliff edges to take pictures. When we were at Toroweap Overlook at the Grand Canyon, the wind was pretty strong, and she wouldn't let me get within 20 feet of the edge.

 

[dennishoddy]

The sand blades I have seen are flat no lift. So they can be sharpened on both sides and you just flip them when they get dull. If you have real sandy soil they will eat the back side of your blades up where the lift is. It literally sands it off.

I have a 60” bad boy ZTR with hills and sandy soil on 3+ acres.
Two ways to resolve both issues. My dealer sells Fusion blades for sandy soil. They fuse carbide granules to the blade and to the lift on the back of the blade. With standard blades I got 3/4 of a season before the lift on the blades was worn out by sand erosion.
I’m starting my third season now with the fusion blades and I might finish it looking at the minimal wear they are showing now.

For hills, I go up and down, never across the face. Problem solved.

 

[Snattlerake]

Use a Sand Blade in sandy soil areas, when the conditions are dry, or when performing seasonal scalping. Lift created by the cutter blades will be reduced, decreasing the abrasion wear to the cutter blades and deck caused by sand.

Nice to know, Ain't got no sand.

 

[dennishoddy]

While my circumstances don't mirror the OP's circumstances, we used to have a home on 5 acres that had a pond. We purchased a Craftsman garden tractor with hydro-static drive that allowed one to really go slow. When I first went to mow around the pond, I tried following the online advice to always mow up and down the slope. Sadly, our slope was steep enough that I was never comfortable with driving down the slope and being sure of turning before going into the pond.

My solution was to drive horizontally across the slope, and when near the pond, I went as slow as that tractor would go. And, just to play it safe, I always mowed where I was free to jump off away from the pond just in case. Never had a problem mowing that way, but the wife refused to EVER watch me mow around the pond.

Nowadays, she almost refuses to allow me to get close to cliff edges to take pictures. When we were at Toroweap Overlook at the Grand Canyon, the wind was pretty strong, and she wouldn't let me get within 20 feet of the edge.

We had a guy in Ponca using a small tractor mowing around a pond with a brush hog. As best they could figure, he thought it was going to tip and he jumped. It didn’t tip and his body stalled the tractor when the brush hog ran over him.
That scenario of mowing around a pond is best handled by backing down it using one of the old style sickle mowers.

 

[Snattlerake]

I have a 60” bad boy ZTR with hills and sandy soil on 3+ acres.
Two ways to resolve both issues. My dealer sells Fusion blades for sandy soil. They fuse carbide granules to the blade and to the lift on the back of the blade. With standard blades I got 3/4 of a season before the lift on the blades was worn out by sand erosion.
I’m starting my third season now with the fusion blades and I might finish it looking at the minimal wear they are showing now.

For hills, I go up and down, never across the face. Problem solved.

Fusion blades, sounds like they are hard surfaced like a plow or spike.

 

[dennishoddy]

Fusion blades, sounds like they are hard surfaced like a plow or spike.

Kinda. If you hard surface with stoodite you use a torch to melt it into the surface like on plows, etc
If you hit rock at high speed it will flake off and shatter. I used to work at an oil field drill bit manufacturing company that employed a dozen or so hard facers to tip the low speed drill bits in soft rock and it worked great for that. Several tried to hard surface mower blades but it never worked.
The fusion blades have what looks like granular carbide chunks about the size of salt grains that are some how fused to the blade. I suspect electrical fusion of some sort, but don’t know.

 

[Glock 40]

I am googling fusion blades now my yard is pure river bottom sand. Dennis can you still sharpen them with a bench grinder without issue?

 

[cm_osu]

I am googling fusion blades now my yard is pure river bottom sand. Dennis can you still sharpen them with a bench grinder without issue?

I have used the oregon gator blade g5 and g6. These are their fusion blades.

https://www.oregonproducts.com/en/p...es/gator-mulching-blades/c/g6-mulchingblade-p

Oregon says you can sharpen them like normal. I bought them because both of my grandparents yards are very sandy and would eat through blades. They didnt make the g6 for one of my mowers so I got the g5. Tbh I couldn't tell much difference in the life between the two but both lasted more than full season. With oem blades I was replacing them at least twice a season. I have never sharpened these blades. Mostly because as long as they've lasted it doesn't bother me to buy a new set. They are not usually much higher in price than oem.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[Glock 40]

Thanks for the info guys. I am running gator blades right now. I didn't even realize they had different versions. I will have to try and figure out which version I am using now.

 

[dennishoddy]

I am googling fusion blades now my yard is pure river bottom sand. Dennis can you still sharpen them with a bench grinder without issue?

I’ve never sharpened them, so can’t offer any opinions on that.