Krivman65 1 #1 Posted June 30, 2022 Hi all, I have a 1995 Wheelhorse with a 42" recycling, rear discharge deck and have always had issues with it leaving windrows. Well, come to find out that the blades are super short. Has anyone else ran into this? I haven't had a chance to measure a blade yet, but everything I am reading says that it originally would have come with 14.5" blades. What length should I buy to fix this problem? Thanks!!!! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gwest_ca-(File Mod) 11,454 #2 Posted June 30, 2022 This may not be the exact model of deck you have but the belts and blades should be the same. Click on the fuzzy picture to see them. Blades are measured diagonally from cutting tip to cutting tip. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
8ntruck 7,809 #4 Posted June 30, 2022 to the forum. Are you leaving windrows of grass clippings, or are you leaving strips of uncut grass? I have a 42" rear discharge deck that trends to leave windows of grass clippings between the centre and left hand blades. Some baffles are missing under this deck, so that might be the cause. However, others on the forum report that their rear discharge decks tend to leave this wind row even when the baffles are there. Good luck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Krivman65 1 #5 Posted June 30, 2022 Thank you! I am unfortunately leaving strips of uncut grass. That's why I am hoping that someone has a longer blade length that works with this deck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeff-C175 7,206 #7 Posted July 1, 2022 10 hours ago, Krivman65 said: strips of uncut grass You don't like corduroy? I guess it is sorta out of style. Yes, 14-1/2" is what should be installed. Welcome to R.S. ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Handy Don 14,007 #8 Posted July 1, 2022 @Krivman65 @Jeff-C175 has you covered. According to the manual, 14.5" (measured diagonally at the corners of the cutting edge. Also, the blade ends should rotate quite close to the cylindrical walls of the recycler insert. Those blades must be sharp, sharp, sharp and have the cutting edge be squared at the end (i.e. not rounded). Lastly, the correct blades have a somewhat larger "wing" that other standard blades that introduces a lot of up airflow at the edges to stand up the grass as it enters and so the mulched grass exits mainly downward at the center. Lots of engineering in that unit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Krivman65 1 #9 Posted July 1, 2022 3 minutes ago, Handy Don said: @Krivman65 @Jeff-C175 has you covered. According to the manual, 14.5" (measured diagonally at the corners of the cutting edge. Also, the blade ends should rotate quite close to the cylindrical walls of the recycler insert. Those blades must be sharp, sharp, sharp and have the cutting edge be squared at the end (i.e. not rounded). Lastly, the correct blades have a somewhat larger "wing" that other standard blades that introduces a lot of up airflow at the edges to stand up the grass as it enters and so the mulched grass exits mainly downward at the center. Lots of engineering in that unit. Thank you!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Handy Don 14,007 #10 Posted July 1, 2022 (edited) Just putting this out there for anyone searching for 42 inch RD Recycler mower deck info These are the Toro numbers stamped on my blades - 79-2920 is the current part number. I believe W12239 is the number for a 3-blade kit. This is the general layout of the insert and blades. Blade end-to-insert clearance is about ½+" laterally and about ¼" vertically below the rim of the insert (upward in this image because the deck is upside down!) Blade is still above the lower front lip of the deck shell, but not buy much. If the lip hits something, the blade is likely to hit it too. 14.5" diagonally 5+ inches of cutting edge (Many after market blades have 3½ to 4" here. The mulching function wants the extra cutting edge to work well! This blade end is starting to be a bit worn at the end but not too bad yet. It's important to realize that the "open" decks can eject sticks and small rocks pretty easily without excessive damage. On a recycler, though, something wedged between the blade and the insert wall or one of the baffles can cause noticeable damage to the blade or deck. Similarly, an overloaded (too much grass too quickly) recycler will stall more easily than an "open" deck. These decks must run at full speed to be effective. Edited July 1, 2022 by Handy Don Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
