Tractors, Mowers, Chippers, Trailers, Chainsaws, Generators, Driveway Erosion Control, ETC.

I thought about putting mine up higher but I never cross any streams or get that axle in deep mud. It could easily be extended if desired. Longer hose.

 

I should add a lot of the guys that installed that Otis do snow removal and commented it keeps the slush and whatnot off the vent. Some made their own and complained they would get plugged by splash up or whatever so Jake made the kit with a longer hose. I do like yours and have seen some real good cheap ones and clever DIYs since mine and almost facepalmed for spending a hundo on it but it’s for support for a friend so I don’t mind.

 

heres a quick throw in post:

while things at "our place" have sucked..... the work still has to be done & it doesnt matter what life throws at you.

most of you who bother to read this have seen a pic of my "mower" as the wife calls it.

its a ZXT Wright, 61" cut 40HP EFI Its an absolute beast of a mower. more power than the Hustler i rode for years, better ride with the suspension capsule on shocks/springs. Blah Blah blah. could go on for a long time on how this is a great machine. but like everyone else, we buy something we like & if its not what we want? we get rid of it & try again.

this mower is really good. no intentions of getting rid of it unless my health gives out & cant ride it.

BLADES on the other hand are a bit different. Here we go== (remember i have a very rough farm yard. NOT a flat or subdivision yard)

set from facgtory was decent. got right at 100hrs out of them before they really started to leave shabby cuts. figured id just get another set of those & go another 100hrs.
called my dealer, he said sure will send em to you. shipped em for about $15. they showed up this winter & i traded em out before cutting this spring. look identical, part number the same.

uh & thats where it went to sh*t. the pic below is right at 15hrs on these blades!! Thats literally 5 mows for me into the season. YIKES!!!
as you can see these blades are just ate to pieces.

Yes i hit stuff all the time.
Yes i mow too fast.
Yes i mow wet.
Yes its really that rough here.
Yes they are marked L, R, C so you can see the wear difference from leading side to discharge.

messaged KODitten about some Gators & he gave me some good info. Since power & blade speed are not a problem for this machine? went with the G6 heavier blades. will come back after i mow next time with "cut input".

but just for reminders:

factory blades= 2.5"w x 21"l x .200 thick "hardened w/carbide"

the G6s'= 3"w x 21"l x .250 thick regular issue..

gotta say that when you look at the pic its very easy to see the difference in these blades. These are actually a LOT closer to what i ran on the Hustler Hyper Drive for years.

enough talk/type heres the pic.

 

started replacing the old Kohlers with HOnda V twins a long time ago. they were just so good for the money & a direct swap on the Hustlers back then....

now that ive went to that 40hp EFI Vangaurd? sheesh.... wont have anything else until something really special comes along. they are the schnizzle.

 

That sounds like my property. There were many horses here for (at least) decades, maybe for a hundred years. Ground is hard, has ruts from horse traffic, as well as roots and stumps. I changed the blades on my 61" Scag in April, at about 120 hours I think. The mower is 2 years old this month. I replaced with OEM blades the same as the mower came with. I'm interested to see how the Oregon hold up for you.

The Scag OEM blades are 2-1/2" wide, 21" long, .203" thick

 

I used to finish mow 5 acres of rough field at my property. My blades looked the same. I decided that I didn't love mowing that much and backed off to just 2 acres of finish mowing.

The rest and more are now cut with the Swisher tow rotary cutter and I only mow the rough stuff with it every 4-8 weeks depending on growth. Saves time and no more beat up finish mower blades.

 

This is the exact same blade for your Scag if you want the G6 vs teh G5..... You are correct mine were .203 thick as well.... my mistake.

like you, im down to 5acres of mowing now.... then i hog the trails every few weeks weather permitting. its just part of owning a property like this one. we are a small fruit, nut & berry farm... cant let it get away from us or you get ate up trying to do the collections.

The people we bought it from had gotten unable to take care of it & were only having about an acre around the house mowed for a couple years before we bought it... when it gets to that point for us? we will sell to a young family with a lot of kids to raise. pass it on.

 

We affectionately refer to our place as the A&D Ranch, Anger and Disappointment...

 

This is the old LH blade that I took off the mower, alongside one of the new blades. The do look pretty much identical to your OEM blades. I hope the ones I put on in April last longer than 20 hours... I'm past 20 hours with them already.

 

If you have dry sandy soil, blade wear is gonna be an issue. Hi-lift blades are the worst.

 

I had a front axle leak on my SL&H tractor. I took some time with a pick and pliers and cleaned the grass out of the moving parts and the leaks went away!

 

I was going to mention the front axle on the 1 series JD SCUTs this is talked about. Several venders have a solution for this. Speaking of 1 series, the OE battery in my 11yo

$126 1025R TETON Sports Deer Hunter -35 Degree Sleeping Bags. Warm and Comfortable Camping Sleeping Bag, TETON Tough Canvas Shell for Camping, Hunting, and Cold Weather

1025R finally crapped out. Done in by the 100°F no doubt. Will replace with another OE. Can’t argue with 10+ years on an ag battery. And no issues with figment.

 

Yep but $100 for the kit vs $16 DIY for the same result

 

I was referring to the OE battery not front axle solution. I’ve got no dog in that fight. If someone wants to spend $100 for a pressure release valve then that’s their choice.

 

I was referring to the first lines of your post. I edited my reply for clarity. I agree on the battery unless it is outlandishly priced.

The US has gotten to where many batteries are made by the same mfg with different labeling. May have different specs of course so research is your friend.

 

John Deere and outlandishly priced sometimes go hand in hand. It’s not that far out of bounds. Dealer is 10 mins down the road and at this point in life time saved and easy of replacement means more to me than days of research and a little $$. Cheers.

 

I used to go straight to Sears for Diehard Golds knowing it would be solid and I never felt the extra cost was not worth it.

Towards the end of their demise they made ordering one that wasn't in stock impossible and I was forced to research the rest to find something comparable.

 

A hundo to support a small American business using American resources is fine by me. Not that I got hundos to throw around but at the time I had a big investment in the tractor so I spent the money without going down a rabbit hole of researching diy for it. I diy a lot of things for my tractor including building my own canopy and ballast basket among lots of other useful things out of recycled materials. Some things I splurge on and some I can’t abide spending the money. Either way it’s my money so I’ll do what I want with it.
There’s dudes on the third gen threads paying 800 bucks for fog lights. To each his own

I just buried my dog last night so sorry if I’m blunt

 

Condolences on the pup. I understand

 

Sorry for your loss, condolences.