Exmark Turf Tracer Mulching Kit Install

[ba1m2x2]

So I want to give my Clients the best looking lawns in town. I am fairly new to owning my own Lawn Care company....but not new to working hard and busting my A$$ to do a good job making a yard look amazing ( I have to thank my old man and his size 12 boots for that.)

I do the research and get what I consider to be one of the Better Commercial WB's out there....Exmark Turftracer HP 48".....and I get the striper and the Mulching kit.....Herein lies the issue....I have no problem installing the striping kit and the Mulching Baffles go in like a glove...however and I am hoping that whoever reads this is nodding their head saying....."You are wondering why the blades have a smaller hole in them than the stock ones and now they sit a little lower once installed"...if you know this let me know. I should go to the Dealer I purchased the Equipment from but for some reason I tend to stand in line over there and wait and wait and wait only to watch some guy scatch his head and say....well let me see?? So I figured I would come here...where the pro's go right. My thoughts are to just drill out the smaller hole on the drill press but I guess I am asking are the blades set up to hang a little lower under there for a reason. Thanks Guys....I am a virtual LSF virgin...but this seems like an awesome resource for info.

[Jack D.]

Please note that the eXcalibur mulch blades do not have a "smaller hole" and the blades do not "hang a little lower". Mr. ba1m2x2 has purchased the wrong blades.

[steve-o]

same setup here. the only thing i noticed was that the stock blade had a big notch in it whereas the blade that came with the kit did not. maybe jack d can help.

steve

[MortNuke]

Please note that the eXcalibur mulch blades do not have a "smaller hole" and the blades do not "hang a little lower". Mr. ba1m2x2 has purchased the wrong blades.

This is truly an awesome resource. Now go get in line, and tell the head-scratcher what Jack D. said.

Mort

[ba1m2x2]

Thats what I figured.....Mr head scratcher set me up with the wrong blades. I knew something was up....time to strap on the size twelves and pay Mr Head scratcher a visit to let him know where he can put the wrong blades he set me up with....then I will see if I can get some Excalibur blades.

[Jack D.]

Please purchase BO-175 Offset mulch Blades. These are comparable to OEM eXcalibur mulchers. Please note the price of $8.37 and tell your dealer that you will be shopping for blades elsewhere.

http://www.j-thomas.com/Catalog/192.htm

[steve-o]

one thing i don't understand......... when i bought my mulch kit the excalibur blades came with the kit. so what is up with this deal?????????

steve

[steve-o]

one thing i don't understand......... when i bought my mulch kit the excalibur blades came with the kit. so what is up with this deal?????????

steve

we have to get to the bottom of this as my kit and excaliburs were in a sealed box............................

steve

[ba1m2x2]

mine were already in the box as well.....the way the stock blades were set up is this was from threaded bolt to Spindle

1) Threaded Bolt....
2) Washer...
3) Gear LIke bushing.
4 ) Blade........Blade has a 1 inch hole so that the Geared Bushing can fit through the blade so the sequence can fall as above.....

With the blades that were in the Kit the sequence from the theaded bolt to the spindle were as follows

1) Threaded Bolt
2) Washer
3) Mower Blade ( the hole in this blade was much smaller not allowing the Geared Bushing to fit inside of it....so this dropped the blade the width of a mower blade down)
4) The Geared bushing

These were the Blades that were in the kit.....the hole it way smaller in the new blades Tomorrow night I am taking a inch Drill bit and drilling a hole in the blades so they fit correctly.....

The reason why this concerns me ...is because the blades have dropped down just enough that it increases "blow out"

[steve-o]

mine were already in the box as well.....the way the stock blades were set up is this was from threaded bolt to Spindle

1) Threaded Bolt....
2) Washer...
3) Gear LIke bushing.
4 ) Blade........Blade has a 1 inch hole so that the Geared Bushing can fit through the blade so the sequence can fall as above.....

With the blades that were in the Kit the sequence from the theaded bolt to the spindle were as follows

1) Threaded Bolt
2) Washer
3) Mower Blade ( the hole in this blade was much smaller not allowing the Geared Bushing to fit inside of it....so this dropped the blade the width of a mower blade down)
4) The Geared bushing

These were the Blades that were in the kit.....the hole it way smaller in the new blades Tomorrow night I am taking a inch Drill bit and drilling a hole in the blades so they fit correctly.....

The reason why this concerns me ...is because the blades have dropped down just enough that it increases "blow out"

mine does not have this bushing. i have a 15/16 bolt with a cone shaped washer. i don't think i would go drilling holes in the blades on a $5000 plus mower. you might cause alot of problems to your wallet. maybe jack d can shed some light on this. did you check your manual?

steve

[steve-o]

i just posted but i got to thinking about something. this years models come with what they call WET BLADES for use in the rain. the deal is they don't have deck build up with wet grass. maybe that bushing is for this reason. this is for side discharge only. the mulch kit is a different deal with different blades. i bet that is it and if you use the kit you need to forget the bushing. just my 2 cents worth.

steve

[ba1m2x2]

So I got to the bottom of it today....the problem with my machine is the Muching kit my Equipment dealer set me up with was for the "Old Serial Number" Exmarks for 05....I have the "New Serial Number" 05 mower.....So anyone out there with an Exmark Turf Tracer HP with a 48" deck...I would check to make sure the parts you are buying from your dealer are for the right 2005 model you are buying......So my dealer is going to exchange the blades out for me.....and will continue to scratch his head over it for some time I bet.....

Happy Fathers Day Out there!!!

[steve-o]

So I got to the bottom of it today....the problem with my machine is the Muching kit my Equipment dealer set me up with was for the "Old Serial Number" Exmarks for 05....I have the "New Serial Number" 05 mower.....So anyone out there with an Exmark Turf Tracer HP with a 48" deck...I would check to make sure the parts you are buying from your dealer are for the right 2005 model you are buying......So my dealer is going to exchange the blades out for me.....and will continue to scratch his head over it for some time I bet.....

Happy Fathers Day Out there!!!

so did this have anything to do with the blades i was talking about? glad you got it straight.........

steve

[ba1m2x2]

THIS JUST IN.....if you have a later serial number EXMARK TTHP with a mower blade that has a 15/16" hole in it.....better get ready for a wait....apparently EXMARK has these blades on back order and there is no ETA as of right now as to when I am gonna have em.......The plot thickens......