DIYbanter - Power rake blade

"twfsa" wrote in message
news:rC3Ve.2939$GK2.220@lakeread07...
Anyone useing a power rake blade on there lawn mower? is it hard on the
mower?

Tom

I have used them. Don't see why they would be harder on the mower than a
regular blade.

What you are in for is a lot of work. The 14-inch blades I find in the
store require many more passes than normal mowing. And you will generally
need to push the mower at a slower rate than in normal mowing, particularly
if the thatch is thick. The short blade is probably necessary to lighten
the load on the mower engine. Best used with a side discharge mower which
will create a windrow. This will need to be hand raked or picked up after
two or more rounds by another mower with the regular bagging blade mounted.
The second way is the best way for me since I have a large yard and two
mowers.

The spring teeth wear down in sandy soils and reduce effectiveness but
replacements are cheap.

My lawn is mainly stoloniferous grasses, hybrid bermuda and zoysia which
produces a lot of raked-up trash which ought to be removed every year. But
I let it go for two or three years and it gets to be a pretty big job. The
non-stoloniferous grasses growing in shady areas do not produce much thatch
and are hardly worth the raking.

SJF