Hayter Harrier 48 pro with two blades.

Hi all, this is my first post. I am not a pro, but enjoy gardening and have 1 other garden that I look after besides my own. I have looked at this site quite a lot in the past and thought I would join. I have a Hayter Harrier pro which does an excellent cut and leaves a superb finish but the collection with anything other than really dry grass is poor. I have read the other discussions about Hayter Harriers and have followed the advice and had my dealer increase the engine revs to about 3100rpm and have tried a different blade (Oregon). Increasing the revs made the drive of the mower a little quicker which was welcome, but the grass collection was still poor and I was always having to stop to unblock the chute. Fitting a different blade made a bit of a difference, but not a lot. The other day I was just doing my final cut of the year when I though I'd try it with both blades on the bottom in a + shape; the original Hayter one, and the Oregon one I had. I could not believe the difference, the extra lift almost blew the bag off the back of the machine and the grass was blown completely into the grass bag and did not block the chute.

I was wondering if anyone else had tried putting two blades on their mower and whether or not this will cause any long term damage to my machine. I am very impressed with the extra performance that both blades give, but do not want to damage the mower.

I'd like to add that I cut my lawn every week at a medium length but the grass does grow very quickly ( I fill two green wheelie bins with the clippings).

Many thanks, Nathan

Replies

PRO

Seth Burgess December 16, 2015 at 7:39pm

Double engine stress. Would probably be awful on wet grass as there isn't the power in the engine to turn double the number of blades (but on short dryer grass there's still the power in the engine to keep it going) Not made for using two blades for a reason, like tom said the chance of a blade coming loose as the bolt and boss is made to take one could be very expensive or cause a very bad injury.
PRO

Richard Gadsby December 16, 2015 at 9:32pm

I've got 2 blades on one of my mowers but it's part of the mulch kit and the uppermost one is just used for chopping the grass after the bottom blade has cut it.
As others say it won't do the boss or bolts any good
Andrew Midgley December 16, 2015 at 9:55pm

One of the things to do is to ensure that the grass collection bag is clean and that the fabric is not blocked up with dust and old grass that has accumulated over the years. A clean and rip free bag act as a suction for the grass to be 'thrown' into. Pressure wash the bag inside and out and hang up to dry. I use a customer's Hayter Pro at one of my customers' and I periodically clean the bag by tapping the dust out of the bag or giving it a quick hose down.

Running two blades will damage the engine and weaken the boss on the mower and could be potentially dangerous.
Colin Hunt December 17, 2015 at 6:16pm

Attaching an extra blade - scary! One of the big no, no's is don't modify a machine. It is made the way it is for a reason and in this case, the extra stress on the machine could cause a bent crank or bearing damage, not to mention insurance problems should the worst happen.
PRO

Andy December 18, 2015 at 11:22am

I use a hayter pro. It is slow, it does struggle on occasion collecting grass but keep that bag clean, clean the underside and no, absolutely no, to the second blade. You can speed it up a bit by adjusting the cable to the rear roller. It'll never be supersonic but it does go a bit quicker. I wish hayter would consult with users more regards use age and "problems" as imo they're cracking mowers but not yet perfect for us. Great for the owner on his own lawn but us commercial chappies we need speed, efficiency and a great finish. Thanks
Nathan Lee December 18, 2015 at 2:23pm

Thank you everyone who replied. I will remove the extra blade because the last thing I want is to damage the machine or, more importantly to cause an accident/injury. Thanks.
- Lawncare-4u.co.uk > Nathan Lee December 18, 2015 at 6:39pm
  
  Wise, not worth it.
  Get an Etesia mower instead !