I have had the same issue. Stragglers all over the place if I go too fast. If I have a rain delay on my lawns for a couple days then I will run these blades to absolutely destroy the thick St Augustine since I am going to have to slow down and double or triple cut anyways. Otherwise I run high lifts. Great video! 👍
I've been looking for this type of review for a long time, lol. I cut lawns very similar to yours and was considering the ripper blades. Thanks for the review...maybe another video with the ballard regular lift blades on the same grass to really put a yes or no on it.
I ended up taking them off and going to the standard cub cadet blades. They don’t mulch much but they didn’t leave the stragglers behind like the Ballard blades either. Good luck!
I had the best of luck with my zt1 with high lift in Club Cadet mulching blades for the leaves have amazing cut every time for cool season grass though
I just ordered some ripper blades for the same reason. I have a commercial walk behind with the advanced chute system and I mow some properties bi-weekly and I’ll will let you know how they turn out for me in a few weeks. Curious to see if I have the same results.
The best I’ve found are the g6. Unfortunately what I believe is happening is the stem is so long that it is not raising it effectively. A high lift blade is probably what you will need for this grass. However as a farmer that type of grass may never cut that well.
Thank you for the info! I ended up going back to the manufacturer spec blades and it cuts better than anything else I’ve put on it. I’m thinking it may not have quite enough rpm for some of the aftermarket blades.
A Home Depot mower with all do respect can’t compare with a 22hp commercial mower. Like the review for sure just waiting on mine to slap them on my Wright zero turn.
I get the frustration maybe the ballard razors or try copperhead brand standard lift shouldn't have an issue also when I found that it was leaving patches no matter new blades or not have the edges cleaned off doesn't have to be sharpened just take the paint off that will help as well
@JoshFugate you're welcome. I have a 22 bad boy maverick hd efi honda, and i had a time with leaving patches. I took it back several times under warranty when it was new, just all on the blade type along with grass type makes all the difference 🍻
I'm having the exact same issues with these blades but also a terrible vibration. Awful cut quality!! I have to make 3-4 passes just to make it look decent which eats up a lot of time and gas... I contacted Ballard about this but without much helpful feedback which is irritating because this is what they recommended. After doing more research I am 99% sure that these are the wrong blades for my use... I'll be removing them first thing in the morning!
Definitely not a prosumer mower my friend. Also "biweekly" mowing from a business perspective is DUMB! It wasts your time and adds more struggle for your mower. We use those with full exmark mulch kits on WEEKLY lawns and they do just fine.
I agree biweekly cuts aren’t good for business. But as we all know, starting out you tend to take whatever you can get. I wouldn’t recommend building a business around biweekly cuts at all.
I have had the same issue. Stragglers all over the place if I go too fast. If I have a rain delay on my lawns for a couple days then I will run these blades to absolutely destroy the thick St Augustine since I am going to have to slow down and double or triple cut anyways. Otherwise I run high lifts. Great video! 👍
I've been looking for this type of review for a long time, lol. I cut lawns very similar to yours and was considering the ripper blades. Thanks for the review...maybe another video with the ballard regular lift blades on the same grass to really put a yes or no on it.
I ended up taking them off and going to the standard cub cadet blades. They don’t mulch much but they didn’t leave the stragglers behind like the Ballard blades either. Good luck!
I had the best of luck with my zt1 with high lift in Club Cadet mulching blades for the leaves have amazing cut every time for cool season grass though
I just ordered some ripper blades for the same reason. I have a commercial walk behind with the advanced chute system and I mow some properties bi-weekly and I’ll will let you know how they turn out for me in a few weeks. Curious to see if I have the same results.
Good luck!
Random thought. Do you know if your deck rake is still in adjustment? 1/4" higher ish in the rear. Back of the deck might be too low. Just a thought.
That’s a good question and I have not checked that. Thanks!
The best I’ve found are the g6. Unfortunately what I believe is happening is the stem is so long that it is not raising it effectively. A high lift blade is probably what you will need for this grass. However as a farmer that type of grass may never cut that well.
Thank you for the info! I ended up going back to the manufacturer spec blades and it cuts better than anything else I’ve put on it. I’m thinking it may not have quite enough rpm for some of the aftermarket blades.
Have you tried the Oregon G6? I've done a good bit of research and think that's what I"m gonna try.
I have not tried those.
I based my business on mulching. It's all I do. The Ballard mulching blades leave more stragglers than any other blade I owned.
That was the same experience I had!
Yes, a Chinook....LOL glad you showed it..
A Home Depot mower with all do respect can’t compare with a 22hp commercial mower. Like the review for sure just waiting on mine to slap them on my Wright zero turn.
Not a Home Depot mower. This is the ZT2 not the ZT1. Very different mowers.
I just replaced mine with the Razors and I am having the same issue
Seems the longer this video is up the more people are coming forward with this issue. Has Ballard done anything to address any of this?
I get the frustration maybe the ballard razors or try copperhead brand standard lift shouldn't have an issue also when I found that it was leaving patches no matter new blades or not have the edges cleaned off doesn't have to be sharpened just take the paint off that will help as well
Thanks for the tip!
@JoshFugate you're welcome. I have a 22 bad boy maverick hd efi honda, and i had a time with leaving patches. I took it back several times under warranty when it was new, just all on the blade type along with grass type makes all the difference 🍻
The ballard gold hybrid are horrible for me in memphis tn. I'm running x blades with gold hybrid.. I'M taking them off and going back to oem
OEM was the fix for me as well
I'm having the exact same issues with these blades but also a terrible vibration. Awful cut quality!! I have to make 3-4 passes just to make it look decent which eats up a lot of time and gas... I contacted Ballard about this but without much helpful feedback which is irritating because this is what they recommended. After doing more research I am 99% sure that these are the wrong blades for my use... I'll be removing them first thing in the morning!
As soon as I removed the blades, my problems ended!
Definitely not a prosumer mower my friend. Also "biweekly" mowing from a business perspective is DUMB! It wasts your time and adds more struggle for your mower. We use those with full exmark mulch kits on WEEKLY lawns and they do just fine.
I agree biweekly cuts aren’t good for business. But as we all know, starting out you tend to take whatever you can get. I wouldn’t recommend building a business around biweekly cuts at all.
Let me teach you a lesson. Mow at your desired height like 3". Then raise deck to 3.25 or 3.5 and mow 2nd time. You will thank me later.
Let me teach you a lesson. Nobody wants to cut twice when you are trying to run a business.
He gave you some very solid advice. Using that cub is holding you back from being more productive.
@@Orefamilylawncare you gotta start where you can. And nothing in his comment said anything about the Cub. He said mow it twice.